Online shopping is breaking all the records and it has become a necessity. Looking at the current status of how people are buying and selling online, investing in eCommerce marketplace development can be a profitable venture.
You will find a lot of e-commerce websites online. So, if you are planning to launch yours, you need to find answers to the questions below :
- How will your e-commerce marketplace platform be different from the rest?
- How will you maximise revenue?
Well, there is just one answer to the above questions striking in everyone’s mind planning to invest in a multi-vendor e-commerce marketplace.
Certainly, you don’t have to handle everything on your own. With the help of e-commerce website design and development services, you can accomplish your goal.
To understand more about the multi-vendor e-commerce marketplace, this guide would help you understand different aspects to consider.
What Is Multi-Vendor Marketplace All About?
It is just like a normal e-commerce website, rather a multi-vendor marketplace that is involved in selling products and services from multiple sellers rather than just a single seller. It connects buyers and 3rd party sellers through a website.
A multi-vendor marketplace helps users access a huge collection of products from different sellers. The users can get multiple sellers for a single product on this platform and select the quality and price that meets their needs.
Looking from investors’ point of view, they can build their multi-vendor marketplace platform to gain profits. They can choose different monetization strategies to generate revenues.
Benefits of Multi-Vendor Marketplace Websites
Developing a multi-vendor eCommerce marketplace comes with plenty of benefits for investors. It not only helps them gain profits but also helps them discover new opportunities in the market.
1. Monetization
A lot of e-commerce marketplaces not only neglect different ways to monetize but also fail to convert traffic into profits. With a multi-vendor marketplace, there are different ways of monetization available like commission, advertising, listing fees, etc.
2. Can Display a Vast Collection of Products & Services
Mostly, users prefer a website where they can get everything they are looking for. With a vast collection of items displayed on an e-commerce website, the chances of helping users find the product/service of their choice will increase. So, the more sellers you have on your portal, the higher the number of visitors browsing through your site. It means higher traffic leads to higher sales and ultimately more revenue for your business.
3. Collaborate With Any Brand
When you create an e-commerce marketplace, you will find countless opportunities to collaborate with new to established brands.
When it comes to startups, they can launch their services or brand on multi-vendor platforms to connect to a wider audience.
4. Help Website Grow By Gathering Customer Data
When you build a large marketplace, it is easy to evaluate the needs of shoppers. It can be done by gathering data about their navigation and behavior. The data fetched on your website can help your website improve to offer and meet the needs of the users
5. Gain Recognition
Certainly, multi-vendor marketplace platforms gain more popularity than single brand websites. The reason being such platforms are designed to offer products/services to a huge audience base. Also, the websites help customers compare products and prices and shop faster.
Different Types of Multi-Vendor eCommerce Marketplace Websites
The three main types of multi-vendor eCommerce marketplace websites are :
1. Vertical
This marketplace comprises of specific niche and targets a specific audience. Well, the products are obtained from different locations, they are different forms of the same product. For instance, a website selling mobiles will have mobiles only but from different brands.
2. Horizontal
These marketplaces manage the selling of a wide variety of products from multiple niches but they are similar for example a grocery store selling products from several brands but grocery category only.
3. Global
This marketplace presents products from all niches. Such marketplaces fulfill all needs and can be delivered worldwide. For instance, Amazon
Business Models To Leverage From For Multi-Vendor Marketplace
The multi-vendor marketplace platform can follow different business models to get started :
Retailer
Here, an investor manages the marketplace by offering a platform for the sellers to sell their products. Sellers showcase their brands on this platform. They can list their products by paying a fee. It helps them reach wider audiences and increase sales without having a website of their own or set up a physical store.
Dropshipping
It is the same as the retailer model except for a single difference that sellers do not need to ship or stock the products. It means the sellers can tie-up with the manufacturer and ask them to deliver the products directly to the customers. This eradicates the need for a storage area.
Franchisee
Here the model relies on the marketing and promotion of sellers from a particular location nearby. It is like local marketing.
Monetization Methods For Multi-Vendor eCommerce Marketplace
If you are planning to invest in eCommerce marketplace development, make sure you spare some time to know how to monetize your platform to get maximum ROI.
Some Monetization Methods Listed Below Can Help Scale Your Website
1. Listing Fees
You can charge a small fee for the sellers to list their brands on your platform. These small amounts will turn into large amounts in the long run.
2. Advertising
Let the sellers portray their products via paid advertisements. This way you can use the free space on your website to make money.
3. Commission Fees
It can be one of the crucial methods to monetize your e-commerce marketplace website development . You can earn a commission fee against every purchase made through your website.
4. Subscriptions
You can integrate some special privileges or features to the sellers to avail themselves of a competitive pricing plan. Such features should be designed to help sellers get the opportunity to sell more products.
5. Featured Listings
It is a promoted listing that helps the sellers list their brand on the top of the product list page. With featured listings, sellers can attract buyers who shop in hurry looking at these featured listings. This makes sellers pay for a featured listing and attract customers.
Roadmap To Building A Multi-vendor eCommerce Marketplace
- Gather required details in one place
- Select a hybrid e-commerce platform to target B2B, B2C & D2C
- Focus on the pricing structure
- Determine which model to go with (retailer, franchise, or drop shipping)
- Build a dashboard for every vendor
- Integrate traffic & conversion analytics
- Monitor inventory
- Facilitate smooth order delivery process
- Embed a robust and easy search feature
- Integrate multiple and secure payment gateways
- Streamline flexible shipping process
- Create localised content
- Offer social media integration and UGC for every vendor
Conclusion
Building a multi-vendor e-commerce marketplace may not come easy for you. Fortunately, you can accomplish your goal with the help of a multi-vendor marketplace platform company to ensure your decisions and integrations fall in the right place.
Want to get assistance to make the right choices and decisions? Connect with WebFox, an expert web design and development firm to help you get a scalable multi-vendor marketplace. Get a free quote to know the eCommerce website development cost for your project.
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Multi-Vendor ECommerce Marketplace Website Development
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