Contemporary e-commerce means selling through a variety of channels beyond traditional company-owned websites — including a plethora of social media, mobile and other platforms. Multichannel selling quickly has become the norm, and consumers increasingly expect to be able to shop wherever they happen to be in the digital world.

“Today, retailers have countless options of channels to choose from,” said Marcel Hollerbach, CMO of Productsup.

“There are hosted online stores, big marketplaces like Amazon or Walmart where third-party sellers list their items, and social media platforms like Instagram or Pinterest that have recently added shopping features. If you’re listing your products on any of these channels at the same time, you’re partaking in multichannel e-commerce,” he told the E-Commerce Times.

The ultimate goal of multichannel e-commerce is to sell more products. Simply put, the more places where consumers can find a company’s products, the more products that company can sell.

“There are many benefits to selling on multiple channels, but the main goal for companies is to increase sales,” said Nick Maglosky, CEO of Ecomdash.

“Being able to have your products in a place where your target audience shops increases the chances of someone buying your products,” he told the E-Commerce Times. “Each individual consumer has his or her own appreciation for shopping on any given channel. Some shoppers only like to buy from Amazon because of the Prime shipping benefits, while other shoppers like purchasing directly from a retailer because it has that ‘support the local/small business’ feeling. The main goal for the company is to meet its target audience’s shopping desires by selling on the platforms they prefer.”