White and Grey Spots

What are the White and Grey Spots?

You've probably heard of the term White and Grey Spots, but what exactly does it mean? White and Grey Spots is a term that bol.com and other online marketplaces use to indicate products that are in demand. But are not yet offered or need to be sold on better terms. In fact, the White Spots are products that are in demand and have not yet been offered on the online platforms at all. The Grey Spots are products to which bol.com believes improvements should be made. These improvements could include one or more of the following: price, delivery time or overall product quality.

The lists containing the White and Grey Spots are released quarterly by bol.com. They do this through the partner platform. The list provides insight into the products that bol.com itself indicates are in demand, i.e. clear sales opportunities. The list is compiled from the search behavior on bol.com. Released sales opportunities, it doesn't get much easier than that, does it?

Source: Bol.com

How do you search the White and Grey Spots?

Finding products that fit your assortment is not so easy. In fact, the list of White and Grey Spots is so long that simply scrolling won't get you much results. To find out profitable products, the structure is important. There are several levels in the lists.

Main categories

The highest level is called a Store or Main Category. Of these main categories, there are about 25. These are not exactly the same main categories as on bol.com itself. Because of this, searching through them can still be tricky, but below you can read how to be helped with this.

Subcategories

After the main categories comes the next level, the Product Group or Subcategory level. Under each main category there may be several subcategories. Sometimes there are just one or two, but in other cases it can be as many as 500. Sometimes subcategories are broad in their assortment, but sometimes they are very specific.

Products

As the deepest level you have the real products, the White and Grey Spots. These have a number of characteristics namely:

• Brand
• Spot type
• Potential
• Monthly visitors
• Market Price

Use these characteristics to select interesting sales opportunities that fit your offering. On the contrary, it is often not the best-selling products online that create the very opportunities. Offering profitable items can also be done by having the best boundary conditions. Think delivery time, good customer service or quality. 

Practical example

By thinking in these levels, you will proceed much faster. We have described an example: 

Suppose you have a sports store and go looking in the White and Grey Spots. You select the Sports main category. Then you search for the appropriate Subcategory, you see Ballentas and select this.There are only a few products left that meet this search criteria. Then you still have the option to filter in the remaining products. The filters consist of the previously mentioned characteristics of the products. You select Spot type Grey Spot and are looking for products of at least thirty euros. Now only one product remains that meets all the criteria! Time to investigate this product further and add it to your assortment.

What Sellevate does for you

Searching in an excel is obviously not ideal, which is why at Sellevate we present the White and Grey Spots in the Product Research section of our tool.

Search

Searching the White and Grey Spots is structured at Sellevate in the levels mentioned earlier. First, we present the main categories. With each main category there is a matching image and it is mentioned how many subcategories there are within that main category. In addition, it also mentions how many White and Grey Spots are in that main category. This makes making a choice a lot easier.

After a main category is selected, we show the subcategories. It was mentioned earlier that the number of subcategories within a main category can vary between one or 500. To make these easier to search through, we at Sellevate make this a grouping. This means that similar subcategories are grouped together. For example, the subcategories Outdoor Jacket, Outdoor Skirt and Outdoor Dress are grouped under the name Outdoor. In the interface, it is still possible to view one specific subcategory but it is also possible to view a subcategory group. In addition, easy search and sort options have been added to the subcategories.

Now that subcategories have also been selected, Sellevate displays all White and Grey Spots within this selection. This is where the filtering options come in. For all previously mentioned characteristics, filter options are included in Sellevate. So you choose very easily what you are looking for. Is it White Spots or is it Grey Spots. Select a product type or set a market price. By filtering, you will find exactly the sales opportunities you are looking for.

Existing data

If a product from the White and Grey spots is now offered on bol.com, the data of the product is known to Sellevate. This data is then also directly accessible to you. For example, it is possible to see where the product is located in the bol.com category tree. But it is also possible to track the product, allowing Sellevate to keep track of sales and other important statistics. In addition, we provide useful links for all White and Grey Spots so you can directly look up the product on other marketplaces.

Recommendations

Sellevate has made searching for White and Grey Spots easy by giving you recommendations. Within the dashboard, Sellevate sees which products you as an entrepreneur are already selling, and based on that we make recommendations. This allows you to immediately see where sales opportunities exist in the White and Grey Spots. We choose the main category and subcategory that best suits your assortment. You can also choose your own category. Perhaps you would like to change tack, or start a new store. The recommendations provide clear insight into which sales opportunities suit you. 

In conclusion, the White and Grey Spots are a hugely important list full of growth opportunities for your online e-commerce store. With the help of Sellevate, you will know what fits your assortment and make the most of these opportunities.