Niche marketplaces in health and Personalized nutrition
With an estimated 2.14 billion global consumers shopping online in 2021, e-commerce businesses have enjoyed a massive boom resulting in an $876bn market. Recent research indicates that as many as 57% of US adults shop online at least monthly. Most of the online shopping is conducted on Amazon (74%) and eBay (48%). However, a new day is looming. According to Cloudwards, more shoppers are preferring to shop at niche marketplaces that serve a specific segment of the market.
Based on the latest research, the number of consumers shopping in niche marketplaces has risen from 29% in 2020 to a whopping 42% in 2021.
This surge has been reported across all verticals driven by increasing consumer demand for better and specific products to no-code SaaS platforms which make it easy for anyone to set up shop. Obviously, nutrition has not been left behind.
The COVID pandemic led to millions being confined to their home, reluctant to venture back into physical stores and increasingly shopping online for nutrition solutions that could boost their health and wellbeing.
In recent years, virtual marketplaces for nutrition have become increasingly popular. With the rise of personalized health and wellness, many people are looking for ways to tailor their diets to their individual needs. Virtual marketplaces provide a convenient way for consumers to purchase pre-crafted meal plans tailored to their unique preferences in terms of health goals, dietary restrictions, and calorie budgets.
Niche marketplaces have the potential to offer more personalized, locally sourced products and services, which appeal to consumers who are seeking solutions that match their specific health goals. These range from increasingly complex dietary preferences and food allergies to food intolerances and helping consumers transition to a plant-based diet. They can also customize meals with spices or sauces according to their tastes.
Benefits of niche marketplaces include:
- Convenience
- Personalization
- Affordability
- Brand loyalty
In addition, smaller brands and startups have attracted small but loyal client bases, helped by the fact that environment and health-oriented messaging resonate strongly. Ensuring brand loyalty will require hard work on the customer experience front in terms of engagement and content as consumers will expect that the niche marketplace will have advanced knowledge on the topic.
As virtual nutrition marketplaces continue to evolve, they are likely to become even more popular with health conscious consumers.
We, therefore, expect these micro-markets to be hotly contested, with digital health and nutrition startups offering everything from free worldwide delivery to ethically sourced, chemical-free goods and produce that is hyper-personalized.
New technologies such as AI-driven personalization and virtual health coaching can make virtual nutrition marketplaces even more tailored and convenient for shoppers. In addition, virtual nutrition companies may start partnering with restaurants for additional meal selections or offering new types of services such as grocery delivery or meal kit subscriptions. All of these advancements will help virtual marketplaces remain attractive for both health conscious individuals and budget conscious consumers alike.
With so many options available, consumers will increasingly start looking for one-stop shops that remove the obstacles and overwhelm, but we think this should not be without clearly demonstrating a health benefit.
How are you adapting your offering to ensure customers can easily find solutions that match their health needs and goals?