By the time companies make next forecasts and write their 20XX trends posts, people will probably forget that they have even had to visit hypermarkets and shops or pay cash. You still have to make small talks with delivery guy, aren’t you? — It is also a matter of time. In December, 2016, Amazon claimed its first successful Prime Air drone delivery.
Online marketplace software: what to expect?
Online shopping marketplace solutions are constantly enhanced and updated in terms of technologies, logistics, delivery, offering and other cool stuff. Need help while booking or shopping? — Twitter, WhatsApp, Facebook and others are actively integrating chatbots and so getting customers familiar with human-machine interaction. For instance, Facebook already has over 11,000 bots available, while multi vendor clothing startup Spring is among their early adopters. We shouldn’t forget about personal digital assistants like Apple’s Siri, Microsoft’s Cortana, and Amazon’s Alexa, as other examples of human-computer interaction.
Currently e-commerce is a superior force in retail business field. Statista claims that in 2015 global retail sales footed up to $1.55 trillion and they are expected to increase to $3.4 trillion in 2019 and to $4.058 trillion in 2020. In the 2015–2016 timeframe the number of online buyers has grown by approximately 20 million.
BI Intelligence, Business Insider’s premium research service, anticipates that 2.8 million robots will be shipped until 2021. There will be industrial robots to be employed in manufacturing, as well as in-store machines to take inventory or fill up the shelves. Such retail giants as Target, Best Buy, Amazon, Orchard Supply Hardware (Lowe’s subsidiary) already test robots in their stores. Even some restaurants in China have already practiced the idea and replaced waiters with robots.
Web based marketplace for shopping: where to start?
E-commerce popularity is growing every year and there are no marks of slowing down. Online retail ecosystem is consistently evolving by virtue of advances in online payment technologies and willingness of traders to accept payments by credit cards.
To build a two sided online marketplace for startup you should start with:
- Filling the void
Focusing on a particular niche and offering products that can hit the spot of audience in that niche are the basic rules at an earlier stage of creating cloud based ecommerce marketplace software. If you appeal to everyone, at long last you may arrive at appealing to no one.
Choosing a niche that you already have experience in is the best option. Doing so you will have a better understanding of your audience needs and potential problems, so you will be able to sell and deliver solutions buyers can’t reject and, as a result, your offering is never wasted.
DA-14 real case example: Our developers have worked on a custom marketplace solution for college students. The idea is based on “Free & For Sale” online communities that do away with the need for search and make buy-sell process prompt and safe. This peer-to-peer platform includes inboard payment gateway, reviews and ratings, product and request feeds, and other useful options.
Flypd — socially-driven marketplace platform developed by DA-14 team
- Nailing user experience
The decision to develop a two sided marketplace platform shouldn’t be treated lightly. It is the very background for turning strategies and ideas into a successful business. If you still wonder on how to build a marketplace website and make it thriving, then you should definitely strive to make it handy, reliable and personalized for both traders and buyers.
You can make your e-commerce site feel like a community and so engage your potential customers. Large number of web based retail platforms is still business-oriented, while Etsy is a perfect example of different approach for startups and potential customers. They’ve built whole community around a niche marketplace, in this fashion they offer Etsy members to join teams, attend events, watch workshops, etc.
- Getting high roller in
Big vendors can handle large orders, possess necessary knowledge in handling transactions, and they’ve already gained customers’ confidence. Collaboration with such merchants can be especially helpful during the initial stages. Such approach can help cover a supply-demand gap, better known as chicken-and-egg problem.
Another solution on how to start an online marketplace is to focus on a particular group that includes both potential vendors and consumers. One of the examples is Etsy: their research has shown that people, who do crafts, prefer to buy from other craftspeople, while both groups are typically involved in the same community.
Photo by: Etsy
When it comes to others tools of balancing demand and supply relation, there are several popular case studies. When Uber came into operation, it was limited to San Francisco and as soon, as it made major gains, it was introduced to other cities. Such strategy as “starting small” was also employed by Flipkart that began with books selling and in course of time started to cover other e-commerce areas.
During its launch in Seattle, Uber started with paying drivers even for idling, which in turn brought high-value producers and attracted consumers. Dating agencies state that the number of male members tips the scales and that’s why they mainly invite women to join at no charge.
To make a two sided marketplace website is a complex and ongoing task and to give your company a thriving start you should first pitch upon a method to overcome the potential problems. The last but not the least is to listen to end users and optimize the open source platform. Community is a part of your business, so it is of crucial importance to design and build retail sites with people in mind.
To create a two sided marketplace & what’s next?
These days, e-commerce business model is applied within such niches as consumer goods, fashion, education, transportation, tourism, real estate and so forth. But online marketplace platform development cost should include not only custom software development, but also marketing and advertising, further enhancements and support, SEO, promotion, and media content creation.
Start with launch promotion. Create and print out attractive postcards with link to soon-to-open website. You can also distribute cards for small discounts with light insights into future shop. Promote your pet project through social networks and email.
Work on your own offering. Udemy invested in its own courses. Reddit founders used to produce their own content. Airbnb founders visited listed apartments in New York area to take quality photos for the website and now they have a team of professional photographers to provide film service to hosts.
Invest in customer service. Turn first time clients into loyal customers making them feel valuable and special. If you pack and deliver your products to a door, include hand-written thank you notes and nice free gifts. Send follow-up emails and ask for feedbacks. Be responsive and make returns easily.
Use online the whole nine yards. Build close relation with your customers through various online channels. Engage email marketing to welcome new site members, notify about new arrivals and discounts, remind about abandoned carts or ask for feedbacks and reviews. Add short hints like “Usual bought with” or “Add the final flourish”.
Work out the kinks of mobile version. Mobile commerce is well on the way and to stay competitive it is essential to give pride of place to mobile site. Include real-time notifications, shipping status, product info, share/purchase buttons to increase user engagement and usability.
For more recommendations on building a thriving peer-to-peer marketplace don’t hesitate to contact our team today.