How to build a marketplace: Test and learn, build influencer relationships

In 12 years, marketplace Tuckernuck has grown from a small online retailer using friends and family to model their product to a robust marketplace offering men’s, women’s, and children’s apparel, accessories, and home goods.

Though the journey wasn’t easy—in the beginning, Tuckernuck had no money for inventory and had to convince brands to provide products on consignment—the brand grew organically, and then via paid ads across the web.

“We started testing on Meta and Google, and we found that we were able to take risks, test, and iterate,” said Tuckernuck co-founder September Rinnier Votta.

• This continual optimization has helped Tuckernuck grow, achieving a 90% YoY growth rate over the past three years, according to Rinnier Votta.
• AI tools, like those offered by Meta, have been instrumental.
• “In the past, our team was constantly slicing and dicing our audience so that we could do lookalike audiences, and it was so much more time-consuming for us,” said Rinnier Votta. “Now with AI tools, we are able to focus on what we do best, which is creatively showcasing our product, whether it’s through lifestyle imagery, studio imagery, or video.”

Influencers also play a major role in Tuckernuck’s digital ad strategy.

“We’ve always maintained close relationships with our influencers,” said Rinnier Votta, noting the brand looks for creators who are already fans of the brand, rather than sending out samples. “We’re not giving it to them, they’re actually choosing it.”

• When selecting an influencer partner, Tuckernuck considers the creator’s relationship with their audience as well as their follower count.
• “Some of the smaller microinfluencers are the most authentic and have an audience even more powerful than creators with a larger following,” said Rinnier Votta.

Heading into the holidays, one of Tuckernuck’s major objectives is ensuring discoverability.

“Our catalogs have gotten so big, some of our struggle is how to make sure that the customers are seeing all the product that we have out there,” said Rinnier Votta.

• This requires Tuckernuck to approach the season with a full-funnel approach, combining top-funnel tactics (high-quality creative and video ads) with lower-funnel tactics (engaging CTAs like “complete the look”).
• “We’re doing new and innovative things we hadn't tried before and trying to make it more of a top-of-funnel brand opportunity, rather than just this, like, last-click conversion optimization,” said Rinnier Votta.

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