A multi-vendor Marketplace app is a platform in which different sellers of goods and services can offer their products and services. The Marketplace Manager does not offer any products or services but provides a platform for others to do so.
The Marketplace Manager can receive commissions from sellers or ask buyers to pay a membership fee to use the store services. In Marketplaces, sellers have separate management panels to register their products and services and manage their orders from the same panel.
The main role of the Marketplace manager is advertising and marketing to introduce his store to more customers so that more sellers want to work with this platform.
How do I set up my Marketplace?
Marketplace apps or websites can be successful in the long run if they are useful to both sellers and buyers. If your Marketplace fails to provide useful services, it will not last long. Therefore, you should consider all aspects of the work so that you do not face failure in the future.
The following guide will help you set up a successful Marketplace in 4 simple steps:
Step 1: Select the Marketplace field
The main reason for reputable marketplace's glory is focusing on one field at the beginning to meet the needs of buyers and sellers in that field. Therefore, you must first determine your field of activity so that you can build your multi-vendor marketplace exactly according to the requirements of your target audiences.
All business can be presented in the form of a multi-vendor Marketplace and for running a marketplace app, there is no need to invest in supplying goods because each seller provides its service and product. That’s why this business model has been so popular in recent years.
If you are planning to start a multi-vendor Marketplace, it is better to check out some examples of the most popular Marketplace applications and websites in different types of businesses.
Let’s review the most famous ones!
Example of ad marketplace app
All of us are familiar with Etsy. This website and its related app are a good example of an ad Marketplace. Anyone can register their ad on any subject to let customers find their needs.
Example of a service marketplace application
Service marketplaces have provided are built for service providers to easily introduce their services and attract customers. It is the responsibility of the Marketplace Manager to find the customer for that service, so, the service provider focuses only on providing the best quality services.
“Britishdoctoronline” is one of the most successful examples of this type of web marketplace offering online medical consultation services in the UK.
Example of multi-vendor marketplace app
Amazon was an online store when it started, but it has recently changed its revenue model to a Marketplace, and it is now the largest Marketplace in the world. Dealers of various goods can join the Amazon dealer panel and start selling their products. The rest of the work from marketing, ordering, and shipping is done by Amazon, and this is very attractive for many sellers because it has reduced many of their costs.
Example of Food Delivery App
In recent years, food delivery apps have quickly become very popular. UberEATS, as one of the best food marketplaces all over the world, is a restaurant and catering marketplace that allows customers to find the nearest restaurants with different food varieties and place their orders.
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Step 2: Build a Marketplace app or design a website for the Marketplace
The success of your Marketplace depends almost on the platform you use to build it. To start a successful business, you can consider launching a multi-vendor web marketplace, mobile app marketplace, or both platforms at the same time.
Our experts have comprehensive programs for launching a Complete Power-packed Multi-vendor Marketplace Solution, by offering various plans to help you design any type of application, and of course, there are no restrictions for designing a web marketplace related to them as well. You can contact our consultants for advice on more specialized matters at the beginning of the work.
But in general, designing a Marketplace on different operating systems, including Android and iOS, is done in a few simple steps, including:
But in general, designing a Marketplace on different operating systems, including Android and iOS, is done in a few simple steps, including:
Research and drawing up application plans
The first step in building a multi-vendor Marketplace app is to design an app plan. In this section, the required features for your app based on a complete analysis of competitors are examined so that in the next steps, a comprehensive and competitive application can be designed.
All the features that your application needs will be drawn in this section to start a graphic design as well.
The most common features needed to build a Marketplace app
For customers
- Ability to find vendor and service provider
- Categorize sellers based on different filters such as province, city, type of service, popularity, and …
- Insert customer points and views
- Create account and Login with mobile number
- Flexible search
- Show popular products to users
- Ability to pay through safe gateways
- Ability to pay with different currencies
- Find the nearest store according to the customer location
- Track order and delivery status
- Add goods to wish list, buy in one click
- Receive notifications about discounts and loyalty program
- Support of multiple localizations
For sellers
- Vendors join the marketplace with an authentication system
- Independent management of all services or products by vendors
- Complete management panel for each vendor
- Accurate reporting of each store individually and in groups
- Add unlimited products
- Managed by multiple managers
- Detailed reports
- Stock management
- Single and wholesale sales
- Add required features for the products
- Ability to specify a variety of shipping methods
- Determine the geographical area for delivery through the map
For multi-vendor marketplace managers
- Management of commissions for vendors
- Record the orders that were delivered by the sellers at different times
- Discount coupons for customers
- Send instant SMS and personalized push notifications
- Ability to define different couriers and different shipping methods for each store
- Ability to automatically settle accounts for stores
Step 3: Decide about the database and Graphic (UI/UX) design
After designing the general plan of the application, it is time to decide about the UI/UX design of your Marketplace app following the new trends. In this stage, the application database will be designed at the same time. The designed graphics will be sent to you so that you can make suggestions to modify and change them if necessary.
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Choose the best technologies for the developing multi-vendor app or web marketplace
Once you approve the UI/UX design, the developers will start programming the application on different platforms. Every application needs a database to store its information and display it to the customers. Also, for the database information to be processed and the required operations to be performed on it, a framework is needed.
There are many technologies designed for this, one of which is chosen by the designer depending on the needs of the Marketplace and your budget.
Here are the best technologies our developers use to develop your multi-vendor marketplace with the best quality:
Recommended technologies to build a Web Marketplace
The best technologies we recommend for building a Web Marketplace are “node.js”, “react”, and “MySQL”. These technologies are one of the safest, most user-friendly, and cost-effective ways for entrepreneurs. With this software, any entrepreneur can easily build a multi-vendor web-based marketplace.
Recommended technologies to build a Marketplace for Medium and Large Businesses
Kotlin and Swift are mostly used in larger projects to develop various applications for Android and iOS, as most of its parts require specific coding. By offering higher speed and security compared to the others, Kotlin and Swift are the best options to be used in developing big multi-vendor marketplaces.
Build a cost-effective Marketplace app for small businesses
Flutter is one of the most attractive, low cost and safest technologies for developing small marketplace apps. Android and iOS applications can be built with this language while reducing the cost of building the Marketplace app by up to 30% compared to the other technologies.
Building some parts of a Marketplace like UI/UX design and programming can be difficult, and it is best to leave it to a web developer from the beginning to build a multi-vendor app or web Marketplace faster and with higher quality.
By setting up a Marketplace built with a professional developer, you can easily and efficiently manage everything. Once your app has been developed, you are ready to go through the final step.
Step 4: Marketing to attract more customers
After the final tests by the customer and fixing all possible problems, applications can be published in various stores, including Google Play, AppStore, and local stores. Naturally, when your application is published in different stores, you need to work on some techniques to attract the initial customers and start making money.
How to make money from the Marketplace?
Shopping from Marketplaces is like shopping from multiple online stores at the same time. The amazing feature for buyers is that they can pay for all products to different sellers with just one click.
In the Marketplace app, your revenue must come from those to whom you offer goods and services. So, you need to consider how buyers can generate revenue for you.
As a popular method, for every payment made in your Marketplace, a fee will be credited to your account. This will make it easier for you to make money.
It does not matter how many people register in your store. You need to pay more attention to the number of transactions that take place in your multi-vendor marketplace app. Your Marketplace is responsible for facilitating transactions to help you earn more money.
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Creative ideas to set up a successful Marketplace
To succeed in today's competitive marketplace, where the number of websites and apps has grown significantly, you need to come up with some creative ideas to outperform your competitors and get your target customers' attention to your app. Achieving attractive ideas is possible only by carefully examining competing applications and the requirements of your customers. However, you can use the following ideas as an inspiration:
Offer fewer but more qualified products
When you want to set up your multi-vendor Marketplace, it is best to provide limited but quality products at first. By providing quality products in small numbers, you can implement your ideas and achieve the ideal result. In this way, you can pave the way for your progress by attracting people who are interested in buying from you and using your app.
Use a search function
Build your Marketplace in a way that is easy to search. Some buyers know what they are looking for but some may not be sure. Buyers who are looking for what they want should be able to easily search through your Marketplace. So, design it in a way that is suitable for search. You can make it easier for shoppers to search the Marketplace by categorizing, using filters, or creating menus.
Use widgets
You can use different widgets to make your multivendor Marketplace app or web environment more attractive. Some of these widgets are available in the form of calendars, scheduling systems, maps, etc., which play an important role in improving the customer experience.
Design a simple interface for sellers and buyers
Sellers and buyers must have an account in your Marketplace to be able to sell or order their products, access their purchase history, manage their orders, and so on. Therefore, your Marketplace should be equipped with a simple user interface so that everyone with any level of experience in using a computer or mobile phone can manage his/her account and work with your Marketplace.
Display complete seller information to build trust with buyers
It is better to force the sellers to enter the information. Because when sellers are required to enter some information, this information is shown to buyers as well and helps them to make better decisions when shopping from your multi-vendor marketplace. This will greatly enhance the buyers' shopping experience and increase their confidence.
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How much does it cost to build a multi-vendor Marketplace app?
The good news is that you do not need to buy products or create a warehouse to set up a multi-vendor Marketplace. This will save you money. Although you do not need capital to build a warehouse, other parts of setting up a Marketplace require capital. These sections are:
The cost of hiring developers
To build a multi-vendor marketplace, you need to hire professional developers to develop your app or design your website. The cost of hiring developers depends on their expertise and the requirements of your project.
Advertising costs for sellers
If you do not provide any goods, someone else will. So, you have to spend money on advertising to attract sellers to sell their products in your store. Advertising can take place on Facebook, Google, or any other platform related to your field of activity.
Advertising cost for buyers
Buying a Marketplace will not simply attract buyers to your site. You need to pay for advertising to get buyers to buy from your multi-vendor marketplace.
Conclusion
The goal of any marketplace is to connect sellers and buyers in one area so that sellers can sell their products to buyers. Contact us to make your own unique multi-vendor marketplace.
