The Marketplace Monetization Map: Complexity and Asymmetry

Marketplace monetization depends on two factors — Transaction complexity and the asymmetry in value to the demand and supply sides

Unlike the other monetization models I have explained so far, a complementary product does not generate revenue from access to or interactions on the marketplace. Instead, it involves selling a standalone product to enhance the marketplace’s value proposition.

Docplanner sells a SaaS product to doctors to help them digitize patient records and scheduling. This approach helped it attract a critical mass of doctors (the more valuable side) and allow patients to book appointments on its healthcare marketplace. OpenTable, Treatwell, and Lantum also monetize similar complementary products.

In addition, a paywall creates barriers to entry (and liquidity) on the marketplace. As a result, it is best used when having sufficient demand and supply (liquidity) does not automatically unlock transactions, i.e. marketplaces with very high transaction complexity. In other words, paywalls need both high complexity and high asymmetry.

Asymmetry in value between demand and supply: Typically, the value created by a marketplace is asymmetrically distributed across participants. In other words, marketplaces are often more valuable for one type of participant— either the supply or demand side. However, the level of asymmetry is not consistent across marketplaces. For example, supply ... See more

Uber is the quintessential example of a marketplace with low transaction complexity and asymmetry. Matching demand and supply is simply a function of availability and pickup time — commissions are the obvious fit here. On the other hand, marketplaces like Classpass and Scoutbee avoid commissions entirely.

Commissions (or interaction taxes) are viewed as the “obvious” way to monetize a marketplace.

Derived products are rarely seen in marketplaces because this data is better used internally to improve matching on commission-based marketplaces or lead generation in paywalled marketplaces. In rare cases, marketplaces targeting complex and opaque markets, like Leaflink, can provide aggregated and anonymized market data as a part of a paid tier.

Transaction complexity: This is a measure of how complex it is for the demand and supply sides to find a “match” on the marketplace and then complete a transaction. This can depend on a range of factors including the nature of supply and the density of supply by region or category. For example, both Upwork and Preply are labor marketplaces with dif... See more