Kaufland has opened the virtual doors of its marketplace in Austria, the first country where the brand does not have physical stores. At the launch, Kaufland.at offers more than three million items from three thousand different sellers.
These figures were announced by Kaufland Global Marketplace, the ‘all-in-one solution’ for international sales partners, in a LinkedIn post.
Marketplace expansion
Kaufland is a hypermarket chain from Germany and it is part of the Schwarz Group, like Lidl. It launched its marketplace three years ago, shortly after the acquisition of Real.de. In Germany, the marketplace attracts tens of millions of visitors each month, thanks to thousands of product categories. Last year, the marketplace expanded to Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
The platform expanded to Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
This spring, Kaufland announced an expansion into Poland, where it is an established chain with hundreds of stores, and into Austria, where the brand has no physical locations.
Brand awareness
Despite the lack of brick-and-mortar stores, Kaufland previously claimed to have brand awareness of over 40 percent in Austria. The country has few local marketplace providers with such a wide product range, which is why Kaufland sees an opportunity.
Potential online customers
Existing Kaufland sellers in other countries can easily offer their products in Austria. Kaufland Global Marketplace, that made changes to seller fees this spring, states in its LinkedIn post: “We are thrilled to open up a new target group to our sellers and with it, the chance to reach 81 million potential online customers through a single portal.”
‘We are thrilled to open up a new target group to sellers.’
Meanwhile, the company is building an international Fulfillment by Kaufland service, enabling faster delivery of orders to customers.
Loans as payment
Just before the summer, Kaufland entered into a partnership with Consors Finanz, part of the BNP Paribas Group. As a result, online shoppers can now use a loan financing option to purchase products on the platform.
