Mirakl - Leader in marketplace development 

Mirakl, a pioneer in the marketplace category, launched in 2012 and continues to help established retailers and B2B companies scale their businesses, maximizing growth and profitability. Through innovation, regulatory compliance and customized features, Mirakl helps companies deliver a seamless and scalable customer experience that reflects their brand. Mirakl was recognized as a leader in the report The Forrester Wave™: Marketplace Development Platforms, Q4 2024, where Forrester singles out the company for its ability to transform large retailers and distributors into an "endless assortment" of third-party products. 

Selling physical products on the marketplace: How mirakl can help you 

According to a Forrester report, today's marketplaces are revolutionizing commerce by serving both physical products ("atoms") and digital services ("bits"). If you want to sell physical products online on your marketplace, Mirakl enables companies to create high-performance sales platforms focused on physical products. 

What sets Mirakl apart? Key features and benefits 

Mirakl not only offers the most advanced, scalable and secure marketplace platform for physical products, but also features that Accelerate growth, improve efficiency and increase profitability by: 

• Modular platform models: Marketplace, Dropship, OneCreditor or a combination of models to maximize growth and profit potential. 

• Dealer network: Access to more than 13,000 pre-verified vendors with quick registration for fast deployment time. 

• B2B-specific functions: Integrated invoicing, customized pricing, flexible payment terms (30/60/90 days) and invoicing automation that meet the unique needs of B2B buyers. 

• Retail Media and Advertising: Enables vendors to manage ad placements and discover new revenue streams while increasing conversions. 

• Catalog transformation using artificial intelligence: Automate vendor catalog conversions and optimize product data to improve product visibility on the site and in SEO search results. 

• Payments to vendors: Payment automation with multi-currency support for easy scalability and rapid deployment. 

The e-commerce revolution 

Mirakl is a leading provider of eCommerce software solutions.
Mirakl's suite of solutions offers businesses a revolutionary way to drive significant growth and efficiency in their online business. Since 2012, Mirakl has been transforming the platform economy, enabling retail and B2B companies to take advantage of the most advanced, secure and scalable technology to digitize and expand product assortments through marketplace and dropship, improve efficiencies in vendor catalog and payment management, personalize the shopping experience and increase profits through retail media. Mirakl has earned the trust of more than 450 leading companies worldwide, including Macy's, Decathlon, Kroger, Airbus, Toyota Material Handling and Sonepar.

Global scalability:
Strategies and growth opportunities with Mirakl

Marketplaces enable transformation by delivering revenue growth that outpaces cost growth. However, marketplace business models involve operational changes that will be specific to your company and must be carefully planned. Marketplaces come in a variety of forms, such as B2B marketplaces for partners, expanded B2C assortments and specialized shopping portals. 

Forrester's report Budget Planning Guide 2025: Technology Executives indicates that the economic situation in 2024 has reduced IT spending by half of global technology decision makers, making it impossible for them to keep up with inflation. At the same time, the average score on the U.S. Customer Experience Index™ (CX Index™) fell for the third year in a row, reaching an all-time low. As a result, many companies are reporting that their analysis of wins and losses indicates a new major competitor: "no decision." This decline in transaction volume is limiting investment in supplier research and development, highlighting the gap between market leaders and the rest. 

Choosing a marketplace platform provider: What to consider 

When deciding on a marketplace platform, companies should consider the scope of the transformation the platform supports and the fit between the technology and the business model. Mirakl helps plan for operational changes, enabling a smooth launch of the marketplace. 

Customers of marketplace development platforms should consider the following aspects when making a purchase decision: 

1. Scope and scale of transformation. Marketplaces are not technology projects - they are business transformations that change the way a company serves customers and makes money. The end-stage business model determines the technology needed, not the other way around. Suppliers in this assessment support end-stage business models that combine three factors: what you sell, who you sell to and the channel through which you sell. Because of the large number of combinations of factors, suppliers offer consulting services - either directly or through their partners - to help you plan the operational changes you need to make to launch and grow your marketplace. 

2. What you sell Reselling cloud technologies, such as software as a service (SaaS), changes the structure of your revenue streams and requires rethinking how you sell in a world of faster value and revenue generation. Likewise, selling things you don't own frees you from constraints that have long held your business back (e.g., warehouse space, size of inventory credit line, size of merchandising team, etc.). Selling, servicing and managing multi-vendor solutions for cloud-connected devices represents a breakthrough in the way you do business. 

3. To whom and by whom you sell (companies or consumers). The dynamics of selling to businesses are more complicated than selling to consumers. Business buyers evaluate offers in groups, the offer negotiator must get manager approval, and in the end they receive one monthly invoice from one supplier. This requires sales representatives on the part of the vendor, marketplace operator or third-party supplier - or all three. Consumers, on the other hand, are emotionally volatile (and more complex), can buy products almost anywhere, and need a compelling reason to stay loyal to your brand. 
   
   

Evaluation Summary 

Evaluation Forrester Wave™ distinguishes leaders, strong performers and rival candidates. The purpose of this assessment is only a starting point, so we encourage customers to review the product ratings and adjust their conclusions based on their priorities using Forrester's interactive vendor comparison tool. 

Mirakl in Forrester Wave™ assessment 

Mirakl provides a back-end marketplace platform that can transform any large consumer retailer or B2B distributor into an "endless avenue" of third-party products. Its expanding portfolio aims to provide features to support the growth of large marketplaces, such as retail advertising, KYC (know your customer) verification for new sellers and payouts. 

1. Strategy: Mirakl offers a full range of integrated functions that simplify the growing marketplace technology stack. Its consulting services help clients plan for the complex operational changes that need to take place in an organization. Mirakl differentiates itself through innovation, offering features that support scaling product curation, monetizing site traffic, and ensuring regulatory and security compliance. Its partner ecosystem relies on carefully selected systems integrators to perform technical work planned by in-house strategy consultants. 

2. Capabilities: Mirakl focuses primarily on selling physical products, but is expanding its offerings to include physical services and B2B functions. It excels in B2B by offering consolidated invoicing through One Creditor, which allows marketplace operators to issue one monthly invoice. It can also offer 30/60/90-day payment terms. A weakness, however, is its digital services catalog, which only supports basic digital services. 

3. Customer reviews: Customers appreciate the scaling partnership, both technically and in the incentive structure to achieve KPI growth targets. They want more control over user permissions to maintain professional responsibilities and prevent unauthorized updates. 

4. Forrester's opinion: Mirakl is best suited to established retailers and B2B companies that need scale and experience to transform their brand into an experience that becomes an integral part of their customers' lives. 

Summary - Mirakl in leading position

Customers praise Mirakl for its partnership in scaling the business, appreciating its ability to support the growth of marketplace operations. Forrester identifies Mirakl as a top provider for companies looking to grow their brands and innovate marketplace solutions. 

Start your transformation with Lukardi 

Do you want your business to expand into new markets by leveraging the power of marketplace platforms? Lukardi is the partner to help you realize the full potential of your online business. Visit our website or contact us, to learn how ecommerce solutions can accelerate your brand growth and streamline your sales processes. 

 

Source: Forrester, The Forrester Wave™: Marketplace Development Platforms,
Q4 2024, December 5, 2024, Cicman, J.