Innovative eCommerce Marketplace Targets Australia’s $24 Billion Caravan & Camping Market

A new online marketplace targeting Australia’s burgeoning outdoor, caravan and camping market has been unveiled today.

Powered by the Marketplacer, the technology platform for global online marketplaces, Everything Caravan and Camping has been designed to meet the demands of a market segment worth an estimated $24 billion annually with more than 800,000 registered caravans in Australia. At launch, the marketplace offers more than 2000 products from 15 vendors.

The new site has been designed and built by lifestyle industry leader Leisure-Tec Australia. Chief Executive Officer Paul Widdis said it would become an invaluable resource for the thousands of people who regularly enjoy the nation’s natural wonders.

“We have established the marketplace in collaboration with the popular social media-based group Everything Caravan & Camping which was established back in 2014,” he said. “The group has more than 700,000 members on several platforms and has become the go-to destination for those seeking information, tips, and recommendations.”

Building the platform

When it came to selecting an underlying technology platform to power the new marketplace, Widdis said his company had sought a combination of flexibility, scalability, and local support.

“We spoke with several existing Marketplacer users and quickly discovered that the platform offered all the features and capabilities that we required,” he said. “From signing a contract to the site going live, our project was completed in just six months.”

Marketplacer’s platform gives individual vendors the ability to upload details of their product offerings to the site and provide real-time views of stock availability. Customers can quickly locate the products they need and place orders for delivery.

Marketplacer Executive Chair Jason Wyatt said the Everything Caravan & Camping portal was a fantastic example of how e-commerce was reshaping the way people locate and purchase goods. “It meets the needs of an enthusiastic and active community and will continue to grow during coming years,” said Wyatt.

Future plans

Widdis said his company’s plans include expanding the marketplace to incorporate access to service providers and recommendations on everything from equipment maintenance to insurance.

“Currently, it can be a challenge to find appropriate servicing facilities and support for caravans and associated equipment,” he said. “Through the site, people will be able to access everything they need and ensure their equipment is operating at peak performance at all times.”

With more Australians choosing to holiday domestically as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Widdis said growth prospects for the outdoor, caravan, and camping sectors remained very strong.

He said the new marketplace also featured an Australian-made section to highlight equipment manufactured locally.

“This will help customers who are keen to support domestic businesses but who may not be aware that some exist,” he said. “It’s all about helping people to find and purchase the products they need to enhance their outdoor experiences.

“We are planning to quickly ramp up both the number of items offered through the marketplace as well as the number of vendors providing them during 2022 and beyond.”

Widdis said Leisure-Tec Australia’s investment in the new site is a central plank in the company’s plans for growth.

“With Marketplacer, we now have a strategic technology partner who can aid our future development and expansion,” he said. “We look forward to working with them in the years ahead.”

About Leisure-Tec Australia

Leisure-Tec Australia commenced trading in July 2018 and since then has become a market leader in the Australian lifestyle industry. Part of the Truma Group of companies, Leisure-Tec distributes the Truma, myCOOLMAN, and Milenco brands. Our innovative German-engineered and designed products allow our supporters to enjoy life off the beaten track with all the luxuries of home.

About Everything Caravan and Camping

Everything Caravan and Camping was the brainchild of Matt Sutton and Paula Williams and was conceived in 2014. Since its inception, Everything Caravan and Camping has grown its outdoor lifestyle online network where its several hundred thousand members draw on the collective expertise and resources of the community.

About Marketplacer

Marketplacer is a global technology Software as a Service (SaaS) platform equipped with all the tools and functionality needed to build a successful and scalable online marketplace, at speed. To date, Marketplacer has helped build and deploy over 100 Marketplaces connecting over 13,000 businesses worldwide. The Marketplacer platform exists to make growth simple, from implementing marketplace strategies such as shipment from drop-ship sellers, adding new categories or third-party range extension, to consolidating markets and rolling out modern revenue models such as recurring memberships that allow businesses to grow faster and beyond the constraints of capital inventory.

Born and bred from the award-winning BikeExchange, the biggest online marketplace for anything and everything bike, founders Jason Wyatt and Sam Salter saw the opportunity to license the online software platform and apply it to new marketplaces. Marketplacer is responsible for the creation of online eCommerce solutions and business transformations of companies around the world. Visit Marketplacer for more information.