The Marketplace is a secondary archetype that combines attributes of of the primary Trade and Product archetypes. It brings together buyers and sellers for trade, but it does o via self-service platform which itself is product. The product could be a physical shopping mall or an online technology platform that facilitates payment processing and statistical reporting. What is sold in a marketplace can either be tangible products or services. In both cases, the value and the efficacy of the marketplace is affected by Metcalfe’s law (aka Network Effects): the value of the network exponentially increases with every new node on the network. This can be a powerful dynamic that sustains a marketplace once critical mass is achieved, though it can also be rather difficult to reach critical mass to begin with.
Indicative Attributes
Key partners: Merchants (sellers)
Value proposition: Destination shopping
Key Activities: Recruit vendors and advertise
Monetization: Commission per sale
