OnBuy.com, the world’s fastest-growing online marketplace, has reported an all-time record-breaking week with nearly 1.5 million users browsing the site, resulting in nearly £2.75 million in sales between November 1 and November 8.
The UK-based eCommerce site has only just turned four years old – and is about to turn its attention to a global audience, rolling out into over 140 additional countries over the next three years.
As the UK entered the second nationwide lockdown, OnBuy saw a dramatic rise in users as shoppers scrambled to prepare for a month at home with no physical access to non-essential retail. Compared to the same period last year, users on the site increased by over 600% and sales revenue increased by an outstanding 837%.
Cas Paton, founder and CEO of OnBuy, said: “Last week was a major record-breaking week for OnBuy and we aren’t seeing any signs of this incredible growth slowing.
“We’re catering for an audience that is panicking about what Christmas might look like this year and stocking up early, as well as one that is more switched on to shopping ethically.
“Unlike other online marketplaces, OnBuy doesn’t compete with its sellers, so the sales boom we’ve seen last week is translating directly into profits for the small and medium sized businesses which sell with us.
“I started OnBuy with the vision that one day soon, the eCommerce monopoly would be broken, allowing for a fairer and more level playing field for all online sellers, and last week’s data demonstrates that we’re getting there.”
OnBuy’s record-breaking news comes only a matter of weeks before the popular Black Friday sales hit the retail sector.
Paton predicted: “Given that stores will still be shut over this year’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend, I am expecting that this year will be immense for online retailers and that a lot of small businesses will now be scrambling to get their products online before this all-important weekend.
“Not only did we see a huge uplift in sales last week, but we also onboarded a record number of 500 retailers in the past month, resulting in a 10% increase to our seller base.”
These records come as OnBuy prepares to launch into 42 countries next month as part of its plan to become the world’s first truly global marketplace, operating in over 140 countries by 2023.