Are you looking to start your own eCommerce business? Do you want to be a popular multi-vendor marketplace like Amazon and Flipkart?
People, nowadays, are drawn towards buying online on these portals that offer hassle-free shopping experiences. In fact, over 50% of global online sales take place on marketplaces. And consequently, eCommerce entrants are looking for solutions that can offer them an easy to use marketplace platform.
But with so many platforms and their diverse features, the sheer number of choices is bound to get overwhelming. This post will tell you the most important features a multi-seller eCommerce platform should have.
But let’s know something more about it!
Table of Contents
Interesting Facts about the Online Marketplace
Let’s discuss the facts about the evolving online marketplace!
- Huge Market Share: Amazon was home to 44% of all online sales made a couple of years ago and the numbers are expected to increase.
- No Middleman: Amazon has now made this “middleman step” even hassle-free for both the retail and consumer.
- You can sell your products 24/7: Now anyone can go online and shop whatever they want and get it delivered right at their doorstep.
Why do You Need to Build a Marketplace Platform?
Here are the reasons;
- Efficiency: The business model of the multi-vendor marketplace divides the workload of managing business and sourcing and selling products between owners and vendors it makes a more efficient business model. The business model of the multivendor marketplace divides the workload of managing the business while catering to vendors’ diverse needs.
- Revenue: Marketplace owners can select a specific revenue stream that suits best their business goals and market niche.
- Automation: Since there’s business process automation, everything can be done automatically without requiring manual intervention.
- A Scalable Business Model: Because there’s no need to invest in inventory, there’s less financial risk involved in a multi-vendor marketplace.
- Customer Interest: Because a marketplace brings offers from multiple suppliers or service providers, customers prefer it over regular online stores.
Must-Have Features of an Easy to Use Marketplace Platform
Here’s the list of 8 features that an easy to use marketplace platform must-have.
1. Easy Sign up
Have you ever seen an eCommerce platform where you took hours in signing up?
Exactly...no!
Because no platform wants their customer to spend so much time to just sign up.
Remember that a user first interacts with the interface of a marketplace platform while signing up. Ensure that the signing up process should be hassle-free and straightforward to adapt so that a user can easily use the platform. The on-boarding process shall include two or three alternatives, as per the industry norm.
2. Hassle-free Payment Gateways
To make your multi-vendor marketplace successful, ensure you equip it with various payment gateways.
Paying via online payment mediums such as PayPal, Paytm, bank transfer, credit/debit cards, etc. is more convenient and secure. Make sure you choose these payment gateways carefully as they should have global compatibility.
3. Review & Ratings
Did you know?
“More than 75% of customers’ buying decisions are based on reviews”.
Previous customers’ reviews and ratings play an important role in making the purchase decision of an existing user. These opinions of other people put a significant impact on decision-making and sales. Ensure that your platform has positive customer reviews with a minimum of 4-5 star ratings.
4. Quick Search & Navigation
If your easy to use marketplace platform has a wide variety of products and items, it needs a quick search option that helps customers seek and discover the desired item in no time. For smooth navigation, the content has to be optimized for the screen size of different screens.
5. High-Quality Product Images
Undeniably, buyers still want that experience so that they can feel comfortable about their purchase. Make sure you provide buyers with as much product information as possible. Try to develop listing templates that can accommodate high-quality images of the product, informative descriptions, and even geolocation.
6. Secure Shopping Experience
Make sure your marketplace platform is 100% secure so that your customers can enjoy safe shopping experience. Whether they are making an online payment or COD, establish a secure connection, and make an impression in the customer’s mind that they are dealing with the most secure platform.
7. Social Media Marketing
Online shoppers love social media! And social media integration is a feature that’s required in a multi-vendor marketplace. It creates online engagement and increases a business’s online presence to build it as a brand.
Be it an Instagram picture, posts Facebook share button, Twitter’s tweet, or Snapchat’s stories or, these social activities create a buzz and would attract customers to make purchases from your platform.
8. Admin Interface
While your buyers and sellers define your marketplace, you need the right tools in the shape of the admin interface to monitor and make necessary adjustments. Your admin interface must approve vendors and products, create outreach materials for customers, track important metrics, run competitions, and change marketplace settings.
Final Thoughts
Choosing the right eCommerce platform, as you could see, for your online marketplace is crucial for your business success. And not to forget, the features that can make your online marketplace an absolute success.
But if you’re an eCommerce entrant or don’t have enough time to do it, StoreHippo can help you out! StoreHippo is designed to help eCommerce businesses to build an easy to use marketplace platform. Our team of professional experts works rigorously to include all the essential features (including listed above) to build your brand identity.
For more information, Book a demo with our exports and explore features needed to build an easy to use marketplace platform.
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