Rushabh PatelWhich names come to your mind when you think of marketplace applications? While Airbnb and Uber are service-focused digital marketplaces, Amazon lets you buy products. But the market is ripe, and you can take advantage of it. Online sales rates are growing rapidly. So, why don’t you invest in a marketplace app? Build a marketplace app by hiring a team of qualified developers and designers.
Know the basic definition before you build a marketplace app
A marketplace refers to a platform you can buy stuff. It brings sellers and buyers together to facilitate transactions. It is related to any niche ranging from product-selling and services to rentals. Airbnb, Etsy, Upwork, and Uber are some successful online marketplaces.
A marketplace app development company will create an MVP and go on developing the application with custom features.
ÂHow do you build a marketplace app? Check the steps for your project.
Identify the app features for online sellers
By developing an on-demand marketplace application, you must accommodate buyers and sellers. Thus, choosing the major features intended for sellers is important before creating a marketplace app.
- Order arrangement
- Stock management
- Communication with a built-in chat
- Discounts and offers for customers
- Transaction control
- Analytical tools
- Connection to different social networking platforms
App’s elements, best for buyers
The separate panel for buyers needs to have an intuitive interface. The best UI design will enable you to gain their trust and ensure the security of their transactions.
- An advanced search engine with several filters- Buyers can filter products and services by popularity, price, category, and location.
- Wishlist
- Review system
- Shopping cart
- An order tracker
- Multiple payment systems
- Return policies
Pay attention to the UI and UX
Like other apps, your marketplace application needs the best and most easily comprehensible interface. Besides, reliable developers always prefer an MVP development for your app. Of course, a stylish and contemporary UI will encourage users to give positive feedback.
Decide on the tech tools for marketplace app development
The use of the right tools ensures an easy solution for your app development issues. Moreover, certified developers have learned about the latest tech solutions for your project. However, most commonly, they use
- React Native to create cross-platform mobile apps
- Next.js and Nest.js for web app development
- MongoDB and PostgreSQL for databases
Design an MVP-
Developing an MVP is the smartest approach to app development. As you like to launch a marketplace application, it is advantageous to make an MVP in different ways.
- Your developers can identify challenges in the product development process.
- MVP also ensures that the proposed product will suit customers’ needs.
- Feedback from users will be helpful for the app development project.
- Besides, developers will find it easy to make complicated apps with a range of features.
After creating the MVP, developers will design the final product, test it thoroughly, and launch it for users.
Digital marketplaces- Know about the available categories
Online marketplaces are of different types. So, before deciding on the marketplace development model. Based on your chosen model, you need to add features to your infrastructure. Therefore, it is essential to understand the classification and identify the target audience.
Peer-to-Peer
The P2P model is also known as the customer-to-customer model, and its major focus is to let users manage and sell products and services.
For instance, Etsy is a digital platform to sell handcrafted items designed by groups of sellers. Bigger brands do not like to take part in it. However, it is the perfect platform for those having artistic skills. Anyone may purchase items, and sellers set the fixed price rates. Similarly, Uber has developed a P2P ridesharing model.
B2C model
The Business-to-customer model is intended for those who like to sell services and products to customers. Besides, there is no involvement of third parties. In fact, B2C marketplaces provide customers with a range of products. Moreover, AliExpress has gained attention with this business model.
B2B model
A business-to-business platform ensures that it is easy to find business partners and distribute products. One of the biggest B2-B applications is Alibaba, which covers C2C and B2C.
An online marketplace can also be categorized into- vertical and horizontal.
Vertical marketplace It targets a particular industry, niche, and demographic. One of the advantages is that sellers will save money on your promotional campaign. Although there is a limited number of customers, they will earn higher revenues. But, due to the narrower approach, the number of regular transactions is very low. It is important to choose the niche carefully.
Horizontal marketplace This platform covers items of several categories. The best fact is that the operational cost of this platform is very low. Besides, you can appeal to the target audience of different types. Nevertheless, it is challenging to make your marketing strategy more precise, as there are different types of customers.
What financial model will you choose?
Build the marketplace application by choosing the best financial model
- Listing fee model- The seller needs to pay an amount for listing his services and products.
- Subscription model- Every registered user will pay you a monthly amount.
- Commission model- As the application owner, you will receive a commission for every transaction.
Choose any of these models for the monetization of your app.
Basic features that you must add to your marketplace app-
Login Process
A signup process is a must for every application. But do not make users bored with a long registration process to create their accounts. Today, the best application enables potential users to sign up using their social media profiles. So, you cannot overlook this feature while developing this app.
Buyer’s page
A highly functional and intuitive buyer’s page is one of the major aspects of a marketplace application. Moreover, the effective cart page design ensures that buyers will not waste time placing an order. The payment methods, delivery styles, and price details must be visible to customers.
Easy-to-customize vendor page
To attract more vendors to your platform, you can create a dedicated panel for them. Also, they can update their product lists, fonts, payment options, colors, and company information.
Payment gateways
Several shoppers like to make online transactions to buy products. But they are also concerned about security risks. Thus, your professional developers will choose a highly secure payment gateway and integrate it into the digital marketplace.
In fact, they design the platform and make it PCI compliant. With SSL certificates, make the application secure and prevent the risk of hacking.
Transparent reviews and ratings
These factors are major sales-driving factors for modern marketplaces. Let buyers make their decision by checking the ratings and reviews of products and services. Surely, these features will benefit both customers and vendors.
Personal Notifications
Potential buyers like to receive notifications about relevant products and services. Besides, when any vendors offer seasonal discounts and free shipping opportunities, the app will automatically notify buyers.
24-hour assistance
With a built-in chat system, your application will become more useful. It will also ensure a positive customer experience, and you will gain users’ trust. You may also implement an AI-powered chat system for your app.
In conclusion, building a marketplace app is a good decision. Although there are other similar apps, you can compete with them by launching a better app.
