Ozon has introduced third-party services to its multi-category online platform, bringing offerings from trusted service providers across various categories to its customers. The new Ozon Services project offers a nearly unlimited range of services spanning from medical check-ups to city tours, educational courses, handyman services and fitness training.
Ozon is expanding its marketplace offering to include services of third-party contractors on its website. More than 800 offerings across 12 service categories are already available on Ozon Services, and this number continues to grow with the addition of new third-party partners.
Purchasing a service on Ozon Services is identical to ordering items on the marketplace: after a customer reviews a service on the marketplace, he or she can add it to his basket and make a purchase via any of the available payment methods (credit card, Apple Pay, Ozon points, etc.). After placing the order, the customer receives instructions and a unique code that is also sent to the service provider.
Ozon Services offers online services as well as offline services that are available in the region where both the contractor and the customer are located. Currently, the service marketplace is accessible to a limited pool of customers in Moscow, and by the end of March it will become available to all customers in the region. In April, Ozon Services will begin to operate across all of Russia.
To implement the service, Ozon used the traditional marketplace approach. A contractor registers on the website as a merchant, creates product cards with detailed information about the service, and starts operating on the site based on the sales commission model. For most service categories, the commission levied by Ozon amounts to 5%.
In turn, Ozon performs due diligence on the contractor and verifies that the contractor holds the necessary permits to perform the service. Ozon also establishes the price of services as well as processing the payment and overseeing the delivery of services.
Sergey Petushkov, Director of Ozon Services, commented:
“We are continuing to expand the capabilities and convenience of the platform for our customers and contractor businesses. For many years, we have offered customers a wide selection of products, and now we are ready to offer them an extensive range of services, including ones that are complementary to our products. Unlike other market players, Ozon Services is not limited to specific categories of services and follows the overall structure of our marketplace, where a wide range of sellers meet an unlimited customer audience. Many businesses still only use SEO promotion and performance tools – now they get access to an organic stream of customers who trust the Ozon brand and are ready to purchase services ‘here and now’.”