Transitioning from Marketplace to Owned Ecommerce for Outdoor Brands

October 9, 2025

You launched your outdoor brand on Amazon or REI because it made sense. The marketplace handles payment processing, brings traffic, and offers fulfillment infrastructure you couldn’t build alone. But now you’re leaving money on the table—and you know it.

Every sale on a marketplace means you’re paying fees, giving up customer data, and watching competitors undercut your pricing. You don’t own the relationship with people who love your products. That’s the hard truth about marketplace-only selling.

The good news? You don’t have to choose between marketplace revenue and building your own ecommerce presence. The most successful outdoor brands in 2025 are running multi-channel strategies that leverage both. This guide will show you exactly how to make that transition without tanking your sales.

Why Owned Ecommerce Matters for Outdoor Brands

Let’s talk numbers first, because this decision should be data-driven.

The Margin Reality

Amazon sellers typically see profit margins between 5-15%, with advertising costs consuming 20-33% of gross sales and FBA fees climbing to 25-30% when you factor in storage. Meanwhile, Shopify merchants running their own stores typically see net margins around 10%, with top performers reaching 20%.

But here’s what matters more: customer acquisition costs on Shopify are about 18% lower than Amazon ads, and fulfillment through a 3PL typically runs 18-22% versus Amazon’s 25-30%.

The math isn’t about abandoning marketplaces entirely. It’s about shifting 30-40% of your sales to owned channels where you control the margin structure.

Customer Data Ownership

This is where marketplace-only brands really lose. When someone buys your tent on Amazon, you get a sale. When they buy it on your Shopify store, you get a customer.

That distinction matters because:

You can build an email list for new product launches
You learn what content resonates with your actual buyers
You can create lookalike audiences for more efficient paid acquisition
You own the relationship for repeat purchases and upsells

Major outdoor brands understand this. Deckers (parent company of Hoka) is pushing for 50% of total revenue to be DTC, specifically because physical stores and owned channels provide more granular customer information.

Brand Control and Differentiation

Marketplaces are built for comparison shopping, not brand storytelling. Your product page is a standardized template optimized for search and conversion—title, price, shipping estimate. That’s not enough to communicate what makes your outdoor brand different.

On your own site, you can:

Tell the origin story of how you developed your product
Show the testing and iteration process
Feature user-generated content from real adventures
Build brand affinity that justifies premium pricing

This matters more for outdoor brands than almost any other category. Your customers aren’t just buying gear—they’re buying into a philosophy about how to experience the outdoors.

When to Make the Transition

Not every outdoor brand is ready to launch owned ecommerce. Here are the signals that it’s time:

You’re Doing $250K+ Annually on Marketplaces

Below this threshold, your time is better spent refining your product and building marketplace traction. Above it, you have enough revenue to justify the investment in building and marketing your own channel.

You Have Product-Market Fit

If you’re still iterating on what you’re selling and who it’s for, stay focused on that. Marketplaces give you fast feedback. Once you know your product resonates and you have consistent sales, then it’s time to think about owned channels.

You’re Getting Organic Brand Searches

Check Google Search Console or just search “[your brand name]” to see what comes up. If people are already searching for your brand specifically—not just product categories—you have brand equity worth capturing with your own site.

You Want to Launch New Products or Categories

Owned ecommerce gives you a testing ground for products that might not make sense on marketplaces initially. You can validate demand, gather feedback, and build momentum before expanding to other channels.

Your Margins Are Getting Squeezed

If marketplace fees, advertising costs, and race-to-bottom pricing are making it hard to stay profitable, owned ecommerce gives you room to breathe. You can optimize for lifetime value instead of single transaction economics.

The Multi-Channel Strategy That Actually Works

Here’s the critical insight that most outdoor brands miss: transitioning to owned ecommerce doesn’t mean leaving marketplaces.

The most successful outdoor brands in 2025 are running integrated multi-channel strategies. On Running, Vuori, and Hoka all maintain strong marketplace presence while building DTC channels. Even Nike—the gold standard for DTC transition—still maintains wholesale partnerships alongside owned channels.

How to Structure Your Multi-Channel Presence

Use marketplaces for discovery and validation. Amazon and REI bring traffic you couldn’t generate cost-effectively on your own. They’re ideal for introducing new customers to your brand and validating product-market fit for new offerings.

Use your owned site for deepening relationships. This is where you sell exclusive products, offer bundle deals, create subscription programs, and build loyalty. This is where customers who already know your brand come for the full experience.

Create clear value propositions for each channel. Don’t just duplicate your marketplace listings on your own site. Give customers reasons to buy direct:

Exclusive colorways or limited editions only available on your site
Bundled packages that don’t make sense on marketplaces
Subscription or membership programs with perks
Early access to new products before marketplace launch
Better customer service and warranty handling

The Complementary Product Strategy

Here’s a framework that works particularly well for outdoor brands:

Marketplace products: Your core SKUs with proven demand. These are your tent models that sell consistently, your flagship backpack, your best-selling sleeping bag. Keep these widely available.

Owned site exclusives: Your premium versions, limited collaborations, or niche products for enthusiasts. Maybe it’s the ultralight version of your tent with exotic materials, or the custom color option, or the signature series with unique features.

This approach does two things: it gives marketplace customers a reason to visit your site, and it prevents pure price comparison that commoditizes your brand.

Migration Planning and Execution

Let’s get into the practical steps. This is your roadmap for building owned ecommerce while maintaining marketplace revenue.

Phase 1: Foundation (Month 1-2)

Choose your ecommerce platform. For most outdoor brands, Shopify is the right call. It’s built for DTC brands, has the app ecosystem you’ll need, and doesn’t require heavy technical resources.

Build your initial site. You don’t need perfection here. You need:

Clean product pages with good photography
Simple navigation
Working checkout
Basic brand storytelling on your homepage and about page

If you’re a small team (and most outdoor brands starting this transition are), keep it simple. A well-executed basic Shopify theme beats an over-engineered custom build that takes six months.

Set up essential integrations:

Email marketing platform (Klaviyo is standard for ecommerce)
Analytics (Google Analytics 4 at minimum)
Inventory management system if you’re already multi-channel
Customer support (even if it’s just Shopify inbox to start)

Launch with limited product selection. Don’t try to migrate your entire catalog day one. Start with your best-sellers or a focused collection. This lets you work out fulfillment kinks before scaling.

Phase 2: Traffic and Testing (Month 2-4)

Start driving traffic to validate the channel:

Email your existing customer list if you have one
Run small paid social campaigns to test messaging and creative
Consider influencer partnerships with micro-influencers in your niche
Create content marketing around your product category (this is where being an outdoor brand helps—there’s genuine content to create around use cases, destinations, techniques)

Set up your measurement framework:

Customer acquisition cost (CAC) by channel
Conversion rate by traffic source
Average order value (AOV)
Return rate and reasons
Customer feedback and support tickets

Test your fulfillment operations. This is where many brands stumble. Make sure you can:

Fulfill orders within your promised timeframe
Handle returns smoothly
Manage inventory accurately
Respond to customer service inquiries quickly

Phase 3: Scale and Optimize (Month 4-8)

Expand your product catalog as you validate the channel. Add more SKUs, test exclusive products, introduce bundles.

Build your email and SMS marketing program. This is your highest-ROI channel for owned ecommerce. Set up:

Welcome series for new subscribers
Post-purchase follow-up
Abandoned cart recovery
Product education content
Seasonal campaigns

Optimize your paid acquisition. Once you understand your unit economics, you can scale paid social and paid search. For outdoor brands, focus on:

Interest-based targeting (hiking, camping, climbing, etc.)
Lookalike audiences from your customer file
Retargeting site visitors
Search campaigns for branded terms and high-intent product categories

Create marketplace-to-owned-site bridges:

Include your website URL in product packaging
Offer exclusive discount codes for product registrations
Build a warranty registration flow that captures emails
Consider package inserts promoting your email list or exclusive products

Phase 4: Mature Multi-Channel Operations (Month 8+)

Implement sophisticated inventory management. As you scale, you need real-time synchronization across channels. Tools like Zoho Inventory, Sellbrite, or Veeqo handle multi-channel inventory and prevent overselling.

Develop your pricing strategy across channels. This is nuanced:

You generally want consistent pricing across channels to avoid channel conflict
Consider offering value-adds on your site (free shipping thresholds, bundling, loyalty points) rather than undercutting marketplace pricing
Be aware of MAP (Minimum Advertised Price) policies if you’re also selling wholesale
Watch for unauthorized resellers who might undercut your pricing on marketplaces

Build your content marketing flywheel. This is where owned ecommerce really separates from marketplace-only brands. Create:

Destination guides
Gear reviews and comparisons
How-to content for skills and techniques
User-generated content showcasing real adventures with your gear
Seasonal buying guides

This content drives organic traffic, builds brand authority, and gives you SEO presence that compounds over time.

Launch customer retention programs:

Loyalty or points programs for repeat purchasers
Subscription offerings if relevant to your product category
VIP tiers for your best customers
Exclusive access to limited products or early releases

Pricing Strategy Across Channels

This is where many outdoor brands get tripped up. Here’s how to think about pricing when you’re selling on both marketplaces and your own site.

The Pricing Consistency Principle

Start with consistent pricing across all channels.Marketplace-first brands face significant brand protection challenges when pricing becomes inconsistent. If your tent is $299 on your site but $249 on Amazon, you’re training customers to always check Amazon first.

Differentiate on Value, Not Price

Instead of competing on price across channels, compete on value:

On your owned site:

Free shipping on orders over a threshold
Bundled packages (tent + footprint + stakes kit)
Loyalty points or rewards programs
Extended warranty or satisfaction guarantees
Better customer service and easier returns
Exclusive colorways or configurations

On marketplaces:

Fast Prime shipping
Trust factor of the marketplace platform
Consolidated shopping (buying multiple brands in one order)
Customer reviews at scale

The MAP Consideration

If you’re selling wholesale to retailers (or planning to), you need to think about Minimum Advertised Price policies. MAP pricing protects your retail partners by setting a floor for how low products can be advertised.

The challenge: Amazon doesn’t actively enforce MAP policies, so you need to monitor independently. Tools exist for this, but it’s an ongoing management task.

Dynamic Pricing Caution

Avoid the temptation to use algorithmic repricing tools that automatically undercut competitors. This creates a race to the bottom that erodes your brand value. Outdoor brands succeed by building brand affinity and product differentiation, not by being the cheapest option.

Inventory Management for Multi-Channel

This is less exciting than marketing strategy, but getting inventory management wrong will kill your business faster than bad ads will.

The Core Challenge

Accurate syncing represents the most critical technical hurdle for multichannel ecommerce operations. A sale on Amazon must instantly update stock levels on your Shopify store and vice versa. Otherwise you oversell and end up with canceled orders and angry customers.

Solutions That Work

For smaller operations (under $500K annual revenue): Shopify’s native marketplace integrations can handle basic multi-channel inventory. It’s not perfect, but it works for simple setups.

For growing brands ($500K-$2M): Invest in dedicated multi-channel inventory software like:

Sellbrite (supports Amazon, Walmart, eBay, Etsy, plus Shopify)
Zoho Inventory (comprehensive across major platforms)
Veeqo (owned by Amazon, strong integration across channels)

For larger operations ($2M+): You likely need a proper OMS (Order Management System) that handles inventory, orders, and fulfillment routing across channels.

Inventory Allocation Strategy

Don’t allocate 100% of your inventory to every channel. This creates overselling risk when multiple channels sell simultaneously.

Instead, use safety stock buffers:

Hold 10-15% of inventory as safety stock not allocated to any channel
Set channel-specific allocation percentages based on velocity
Use your multi-channel software to automatically adjust allocations based on demand

Example: You have 100 units of your best-selling backpack.

Allocate 45 to Amazon (your highest velocity channel)
Allocate 35 to your Shopify store
Allocate 10 to other marketplaces
Hold 10 as safety stock for oversell situations

As inventory depletes, your system automatically adjusts allocations to prevent overselling.

Fulfillment Considerations

How you fulfill orders directly impacts your margins and customer experience. Let’s break down your options.

Marketplace FBA + In-House DTC

This is the most common starting point:

Keep using Amazon FBA for marketplace orders (familiar, fast, reliable)
Fulfill your owned site orders in-house or through a 3PL

Pros:

Leverage FBA’s infrastructure for marketplace sales
Control your DTC customer experience
Keep fulfillment costs transparent for your owned channel

Cons:

You’re managing two fulfillment systems
Inventory is split between locations
Can’t easily move inventory between channels without recalls

Multi-Channel Fulfillment Through 3PL

Use a single 3PL to fulfill orders from all channels:

Pros:

Single inventory pool serves all channels
More flexibility and control than FBA
Often lower costs than FBA fees
Can offer unique packaging and inserts for brand building

Cons:

Your marketplace orders won’t have Prime badge (this matters less than you think for outdoor brands with strong brand loyalty)
You need to find a reliable 3PL partner
More operational management required

When this makes sense: Once your DTC channel is doing $50K+ monthly, the economics of 3PL fulfillment usually beat FBA, especially for larger or heavier outdoor products.

Hybrid Approach

Some outdoor brands use a hybrid model:

FBA for their top 20% of SKUs that move fast on Amazon
3PL for everything else, including DTC fulfillment
In-house fulfillment for custom or made-to-order products

This maximizes flexibility while keeping complexity manageable.

Bringing Marketplace Customers to Your Owned Site

This is the question everyone asks: how do I move customers from Amazon to my Shopify store?

The honest answer: it’s hard, and Amazon actively works against it. But there are legitimate strategies.

Product Packaging Inserts

Include a simple card in every package with:

Your website URL
Reason to visit (exclusive products, warranty registration, care guides)
Exclusive discount code for first purchase on your site

Important: Don’t include promotions for other marketplaces or channels in FBA packages. Amazon prohibits this. But directing to your own website is allowed.

Warranty Registration Flow

Create a product registration process on your site that:

Captures email addresses
Provides extended warranty or service benefits
Gives exclusive access to care guides, maintenance tips, or pro-use content
Offers incentive for joining your email list

For outdoor products especially, customers value warranty coverage and product support. This gives them a legitimate reason to engage with your brand directly.

Content Marketing for Organic Discovery

Build content around your product categories that ranks in Google:

“Best ultralight tents for backpacking”
“How to choose a sleeping bag for winter camping”
“Backpacking gear list for [specific trail or destination]”

When someone Googles these topics, they find your content, discover your brand, and (if the content is good) are more likely to buy from you directly than search Amazon.

This is a long game. But it’s how outdoor brands build organic traffic that doesn’t depend on paid ads.

Outdoor brands have a huge advantage here. Your customers actually want to engage with content about using your products.

Build community through:

Instagram content showcasing real customer adventures
Facebook groups for users to share trips, tips, and experiences
Email newsletter with destination guides, seasonal advice, and stories
YouTube videos demonstrating proper use, care, and maintenance

This creates touchpoints where marketplace customers discover your brand presence beyond just the product listing.

Strategic Product Launches

Launch new products exclusively on your site first. Create waitlists, build anticipation, and give your email list early access. Then expand to marketplaces 30-60 days later.

This trains customers that if they want first access to your new gear, they need to be connected to your brand directly.

Case Studies: Outdoor Brands That Made the Transition

Let’s look at real examples of outdoor brands successfully running multi-channel strategies.

Hoka (Deckers Brands)

Hoka maintained strong marketplace and retail presence while pushing DTC to nearly 50% of revenue. Their strategy: use marketplaces and wholesale to build brand awareness, then capture higher-margin repeat purchases through owned channels.

Key lesson: DTC doesn’t replace other channels—it complements them for customers who already know and trust your brand.

On Running

On Running scaled online sales over 500% while maintaining both marketplace and retail partnerships. They differentiated through product innovation (their cloud cushioning technology) and created owned-channel exclusives around colorways and limited editions.

Key lesson: Product differentiation matters more than channel strategy. If your products stand out, customers will seek them out wherever you sell.

Vuori

Vuori built a balanced approach across DTC, ecommerce, and retail, maintaining consistent growth while many apparel brands struggled. Their focus on sustainability and versatile products created brand loyalty that transcended individual sales channels.

Key lesson: Brand values and product quality create customer loyalty that makes channel transitions easier.

Nike - The Gold Standard

Nike grew DTC from 15% of revenue in 2010 to 40% by their most recent fiscal year—without abandoning wholesale entirely. They maintained retail partnerships while building owned channels through product innovation, brand storytelling, and customer experience.

Key lesson: Even with massive brand recognition, Nike didn’t abandon other channels. They optimized the mix.

Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

Let’s talk about where outdoor brands typically fail when transitioning to owned ecommerce.

Pitfall 1: Underestimating Operational Complexity

The mistake: Launching a Shopify store and assuming customers will just show up. Running a DTC ecommerce brand involves heavy lifting, and having maximum control means bearing all costs.

How to avoid it: Start small. Launch with limited products. Test fulfillment on low volume before scaling. Build operational muscle before you need it.

Pitfall 2: Neglecting Mobile Experience

The mistake:D2C brands often focus on desktop experience and ignore mobile users. But most outdoor enthusiasts are browsing and buying on mobile devices.

How to avoid it: Test your entire purchase flow on mobile before launch. Make sure product images load fast, checkout is simple, and the experience feels native to mobile.

Pitfall 3: Focusing Only on Acquisition

The mistake: Spending all your energy and budget on new customer acquisition while neglecting retention, even though retention is much cheaper than acquisition.

How to avoid it: Build your email marketing program from day one. Set up post-purchase flows, abandoned cart recovery, and regular engagement campaigns. Make customer retention a KPI alongside acquisition.

Pitfall 4: Creating Channel Conflict

The mistake: Undercutting your marketplace pricing on your own site, or causing retailers to worry your DTC business will cannibalize their sales.

How to avoid it: Maintain consistent pricing across channels. Differentiate on value, exclusive products, and customer experience rather than price. Communicate clearly with retail partners about your multi-channel strategy.

Pitfall 5: Inadequate Product Content

The mistake: Using the same thin product descriptions from your marketplace listings on your owned site. If your DTC channel’s product pages don’t fully describe your product, shoppers will go elsewhere.

How to avoid it: Invest in rich product content for your owned site. Multiple photos from different angles, lifestyle shots showing products in use, detailed specifications, sizing guides, customer reviews, and brand storytelling. This is where you differentiate from marketplaces.

Pitfall 6: Wrong Platform or Technology Choices

The mistake:Companies trying to move fast often make short-term technology decisions that hamper scaling six to twelve months later.

How to avoid it: Choose platforms built for DTC from the start. Shopify is the safe choice for most outdoor brands—it’s built for this use case, scales well, and has the ecosystem you need. Avoid the temptation to build custom solutions unless you have specific requirements that justify the complexity.

Pitfall 7: Insufficient Market Research

The mistake: Launching products or channels without validating that customers actually want what you’re offering in the way you’re offering it.

How to avoid it: Use your marketplace data to inform your owned channel strategy. What products sell best? What prices work? What do reviews say customers care about? Let marketplace performance validate your owned channel product selection.

Step-by-Step Migration Roadmap

Let’s put this all together into a practical timeline.

Months 1-2: Foundation Phase

Week 1-2: Planning and Platform Selection

Define goals and success metrics
Choose ecommerce platform (Shopify for most outdoor brands)
Select initial product set for launch
Audit existing brand assets (photography, copy, brand guidelines)

Week 3-4: Site Build

Set up Shopify store with appropriate theme
Create product pages for initial SKU set
Write brand story and about page
Set up basic navigation and site structure

Week 5-6: Integration and Testing

Connect email marketing platform
Set up Google Analytics 4
Configure payment processing
Build essential email automations (welcome, abandoned cart)
Test checkout flow on desktop and mobile

Week 7-8: Launch Preparation

Set up fulfillment process (in-house or 3PL)
Create launch plan and marketing calendar
Prepare customer service workflows
Soft launch to friends, family, existing customers

Months 2-4: Validation and Early Growth

Month 2: Initial Traffic and Learning

Launch to broader audience
Run small paid social tests ($500-1000 budget)
Send announcement email to any existing list
Start content marketing (one quality piece per week)
Monitor metrics: traffic, conversion rate, AOV, CAC

Month 3: Optimization and Expansion

Analyze first month performance and optimize
Expand product selection based on what’s working
Test pricing, offers, and messaging variations
Build out email automation sequences
Start gathering customer feedback and reviews

Month 4: Scaling What Works

Increase paid acquisition budget on winning channels
Expand content marketing to 2-3 pieces per week
Add more product SKUs
Implement abandoned cart recovery
Test exclusive products or bundles

Months 5-8: Growth and Sophistication

Month 5-6: Multi-Channel Operations

Implement multi-channel inventory management software
Optimize fulfillment operations
Expand to additional product categories
Launch customer loyalty or rewards program
Build product registration and warranty workflow

Month 7-8: Mature Marketing Channels

Scale paid social and paid search based on proven unit economics
Launch influencer partnership program
Build email segmentation and personalization
Create seasonal campaign calendar
Test new acquisition channels (podcasts, YouTube, affiliate)

Months 9-12: Optimization and Scale

Month 9-10: Retention and LTV

Analyze customer cohorts and lifetime value
Build subscription offerings if relevant
Create VIP or tiered loyalty programs
Expand customer service and support
Optimize for repeat purchase rate

Month 11-12: Full Multi-Channel Maturity

Review and optimize marketplace vs. owned channel mix
Analyze profitability by channel and product
Plan next year’s product launches and channel strategy
Scale what’s working, cut what’s not
Set goals for year two

Realistic Timelines and Expectations

Let’s get brutally honest about what to expect.

Revenue Expectations

Year One Reality:

Months 1-3: $5K-15K monthly revenue (if you’re starting from scratch)
Months 4-6: $15K-30K monthly revenue
Months 7-12: $30K-75K monthly revenue

These numbers assume you’re starting with some brand recognition from marketplace sales. If you’re building from zero, cut these in half.

Don’t expect owned ecommerce to replace marketplace revenue in year one. Instead, think of it as building a second revenue stream that will eventually become your primary channel.

Profitability Timeline

Most outdoor brands don’t see profitability on their DTC channel for 12-18 months. Why?

Customer acquisition costs are high initially while you’re testing and learning
You’re investing in platform, tools, and infrastructure
You’re building brand awareness and audience
Your email list and organic traffic take time to compound

But here’s the important part: you’re building assets (email list, customer relationships, organic traffic, brand equity) that compound over time. Marketplaces don’t give you this.

Traffic and Conversion Benchmarks

Realistic expectations for outdoor ecommerce:

Conversion rate: 1-2% for cold traffic, 3-5% for warm traffic
Email conversion rate: 0.5-2% per campaign
Organic traffic: Slow build over 6-12 months, then compounds
Paid acquisition: $30-80 CAC depending on product price point
Return rate: 5-15% for outdoor products (higher for apparel, lower for hard goods)

The 30-40% Mix Goal

A realistic goal for year two is to shift 30-40% of your total revenue to owned channels. This means:

You’re still doing healthy marketplace business
You’ve built a meaningful DTC channel
You have customer relationships and data you own
You’ve improved overall margins through channel mix

Moving Forward: Your Next Steps

If you’ve read this far, you’re serious about transitioning to owned ecommerce. Here’s what to do next.

Action Step 1: Audit Your Current State

Answer these questions:

What’s your current annual revenue on marketplaces?
What are your product-level margins after all fees?
Do you have an email list of any kind?
What brand assets do you have (photography, video, copy)?
Do you have the time or team to manage another channel?

Action Step 2: Define Your Goals

Be specific:

Revenue target for owned channel in 12 months
Percentage of total business you want from DTC
What success looks like beyond just revenue (email list size, customer retention rate, brand awareness)

Action Step 3: Choose Your Starting Point

Based on your audit:

If you’re under $250K marketplace revenue: Consider waiting or starting very small
If you’re $250K-$500K: Launch with basic Shopify and limited products
If you’re $500K+: Invest in proper multi-channel setup from the start

Action Step 4: Build Your 90-Day Plan

Use the roadmap above, but adapt it to your specific situation. Focus on:

Month 1: Platform setup and initial product launch
Month 2: Traffic testing and early customer feedback
Month 3: Optimization and expansion based on what you learned

Action Step 5: Get Help Where You Need It

You don’t have to do everything yourself. Consider getting help with:

Shopify store setup and design
Product photography and content
Email marketing strategy and execution
Paid acquisition strategy
Analytics and tracking setup

The outdoor brands winning in 2025 aren’t choosing between marketplaces and owned ecommerce. They’re running sophisticated multi-channel strategies that leverage both. The transition isn’t easy, but the payoff—customer relationships you own, margins you control, and a brand you build—makes it worth the effort.

Start small, test fast, and scale what works. Your customers are already buying your products on marketplaces. Give them a reason to buy direct, and they will.