What can a marketplace unlock for a retailer with strong customer demand and room to expand customer choice?
For S Group, the answer is a new digital commerce model built around the strengths it already has.
S Group, Finland’s largest retailer, has launched a marketplace on Prisma.fi (opens in a new tab), its consumer goods e-commerce destination, powered by Mirakl (opens in a new tab). The marketplace brings carefully selected third-party sellers together with Prisma’s first-party assortment, giving customers access to more relevant products, brands and price points without requiring Prisma to own all the inventory behind that growth.
Prisma is moving early in a market where no dominant marketplace player has yet established a clear lead. By combining marketplace expansion with retail media from Day 1, S Group is building a model designed to create value for customers, sellers and the business over time.
“We’re not starting from scratch,” said Miia Vento, S Group’s Head of Commercial and leader of the marketplace launch. “We’re building on an existing brand, an existing customer base and an existing digital destination.”
Building on trust to expand choice
S Group has the scale to make a marketplace matter. It holds approximately 50% of Finland’s grocery market and reaches around 87% of Finnish households through its loyalty program. That reach gives Prisma a strong foundation for bringing more products and sellers to customers on Prisma.fi (opens in a new tab).
Customers can browse a broader assortment in a familiar destination and earn S-Bonus points on marketplace purchases. Sellers gain access to Finnish consumers through a trusted national brand and a new route to market.
For Prisma, the model creates room to respond to customer demand without owning every product or carrying all the inventory risk. It can add specialist products, new brands and more price points while building on the experience customers already know.
The marketplace starts with carefully selected sellers in electronics, home and sports, then will expand into additional categories as Prisma identifies the right opportunities and partners.
The goal is not more sellers. It is more relevant choice.
Marketplace growth is not about choice at any cost. For Prisma, the goal is to build a curated assortment that feels relevant, trustworthy and distinctly Prisma.
That means selecting sellers with relevant products, reliable operations and a clear fit with customer expectations. It also means managing performance closely and ensuring that sellers deliver on the promises they make to customers.
As Aleksanteri Kontio of S Group’s marketplace team put it:
“Signing sellers is different from having sellers live on the platform with a high-quality assortment and good discoverability. The first thing we need to focus on is not the number of sellers signed, but the quality they bring to the platform.”
That distinction is central to S Group’s approach. Carefully selected sellers bring useful assortment. Useful assortment gives customers more reasons to return. Stronger customer demand creates more value for sellers, helping Prisma attract additional high-quality partners without compromising trust or the shopping experience.
Retail media adds momentum from Day 1
Prisma launched its marketplace and Mirakl Ads (opens in a new tab) together, allowing marketplace and retail media to reinforce each other from the start.
Through Mirakl Ads, selected sellers can invest in making relevant products more visible to customers who are already searching and shopping on Prisma.fi. That helps sellers reach the right customers while giving shoppers easier access to products that fit their needs.
The flywheel starts immediately. A curated assortment gives customers more reasons to visit. Customer demand makes advertising more valuable to sellers. Seller investment improves product discoverability, supports sales and makes the marketplace more attractive to additional high-quality sellers.
In this model, retail media is not a later add-on or a source of promotional noise. It is part of the marketplace strategy from Day 1, helping Prisma compound growth as the assortment and seller community expand.
One Prisma for the customer
The ambition is to make the experience feel like one Prisma, regardless of who sells or fulfills the order.
“Customers don’t need to know that we have 1P Prisma and 3P Prisma,” Miia said. “We need to have one Prisma, and it needs to answer customer needs.”
That principle will guide the marketplace as it expands. Customers should be able to find what they need, understand the offer and trust the experience without having to think about the operating model behind it.
For S Group, the marketplace is a way to expand choice while protecting the strengths that made Prisma successful in the first place. For sellers, it offers access to a trusted customer base and a platform that rewards relevance. For customers, it creates a broader shopping experience without compromising trust.
Could a curated marketplace and retail media strategy help your business expand assortment, activate the right sellers and create a compounding growth engine? Explore Mirakl’s Marketplace Platform (opens in a new tab) to see how leading retailers are building broader, more connected commerce experiences.
