By seeing the popularity and growth of the buy sell marketplace platform, every aspiring entrepreneur has started thinking about how to build an app like letgo or Esty. As these leading buy and sell marketplace platforms have proven themselves with their extraordinary features anyone would look up to them and would like to be successful as them.
Before we start creating an online marketplace like Etsy we need to know more about what are the types of marketplace platforms, its scope and future, its benefits, its must-have features, costing and many more.
Types of marketplace platforms.
Vertical – this marketplace will focus only on one particular product type and will have many sources or sellers for that product. Eg. Marketplace that sells furniture alone is an example for vertical marketplace.
Horizontal – in this marketplace you can find a wide range of products under a single platform and can cover a major audience.
Global – multiple products with multiple sellers are supported without any geographical restriction is the global marketplace.
Scope of buy sell marketplace platforms
- Globally around 1.8 billion people were using online marketplace platforms in 2020.
- The retail sales have increased 2.8 trillion USD to 4.8 trillion USD globally by the end 2020.
- Canada is getting higher reach in using the buy sell marketplace platform and has gained 55 billion Canadian dollars in 2019.
- 78% of online buyers use their smartphone to buy products online.
- 65% of retail stores have transformed their business to digital platforms.
Essential aspects to consider before creating a buy sell marketplace platform like Etsy
Certain prerequisites need to be followed when you think about how to create an online marketplace like Etsy. Let us check out the factors in detail.
Define your niche – figuring out the market and who your target audiences are is the basic aspect that one needs to do before starting to develop an online marketplace platform. You need to identify the product and the platform you are going to use to deliver your products. This needs more attention and proper analysis.
Be clear with the platform – choosing the right platform determines your success rate. You need to be more specific about what front-end and back-end you are going to use. You may not be technically strong. You can hire any reputed software development company that can guide you in developing an online marketplace platform like Etsy.
Choose the business model – every business should follow some business model that will determine the revenue channels and will efficiently handle all business operations. While planning to create an online marketplace platform like Etsy you need to fix your business model so that you can easily frame the features accordingly.
Have a marketing strategy – before you launch your online marketplace you need to have a detailed marketing plan on how you are going to promote your brand and how you will reach your target audience. Without proper planning in the promotion and marketing sector you may face major expenses.
Advanced features of marketplace platform like Etsy
Social media login – every user will definitely be available in any of the social media channels. You should make them comfortable in letting them sign into your platform with their social media credentials.
Personalization – customization is a highly expected feature in any marketplace platform. People would like to change the way the platform works and want to suit their business theme and operation.
Manage inventory – handling inventory is the toughest part and this needs more automation and proper scheduling. Make sure your buy-sell marketplace platform has a perfect inventory system that will efficiently handle all stock oriented issues.
Analytics and reporting – know about your platform performance with reliable analytics and reporting features. You will get to know about your sales, revenue, expenses, stock in hand, and many more through proper reporting.
Multiple communication channels – letting your customers to be in touch with the sellers is the best way to gain their trust. Your platform should be integrated with multiple communication channels like live chat, whatsapp, messenger, email and many more. This will enhance the understanding and will reduce returns and refunds.
Reliable payment gateways – the most crucial part is integrating payment gateways with the platform. Most buyers will use these payment gateways to pay money online and buy products. To make them use these gateways, you need to integrate only familiar and reputed payment gateways. Only then customers will use them without hesitation.
Shipping and logistics – the buy-sell marketplace platform needs to have proper shipping policy that will ensure on-time delivery to customers. Check with many shipping agencies, compare their prices and analyze their reviews and finalize the one that can meet the quality of work.
Reviews and ratings – allowing customers to share their feedback will ultimately increase the reputation of the buy sell marketplace platform. Any user will check reviews before they buy any product from any platform. If your platform has gained more positive reviews then you can easily get more audience. For this you need to satisfy your customers with quality of service.
What is the cost for creating an online marketplace platform like Etsy?
There are multiple aspects that will determine the costing for the development process. It is quite difficult to estimate a costing without analyzing the below mentioned aspects.
- Features that are to be implemented is one important aspect. Many startups can have minimum features and enterprise needs to have advanced features that use advanced technologies. There will be variation in the price according to the features involved.
- You need to specify the number of users for your platform. With this you need to develop separate panels and dashboards that will support users to have their core features in their panel zone.
- Your platform may need third-party API integration that is quite difficult and will take time to give a flawless integration.
- You may also need additional plugins and themes to build your buy-sell marketplace platform. Most plugins are available online for free but certain plugins will cost extra.
- You may utilize higher-end technologies like artificial intelligence or machine learning algorithms or many more to simplify the working process of your platform.
All the above mentioned are to be noted if you plan to build an online marketplace platform like Etsy from scratch. Also you need to wait for a long period for the completion of the development process.
There is also another solution that is going for readymade marketplace software. As the name specifies, all features are built-in readymade and they are ready to use. You can launch the platform in minutes and start your business instantly. Also readymade marketplace platforms are very cost-effective when compared to platforms developed from scratch. Think wisely and decide the one that will suit your business and your budget.
Conclusion
Hope your query on how to create an online marketplace like Etsy is cleared. You have gained enough knowledge that will help you to create a perfect buy and sell marketplace platform. Never fail to analyze the market and research more before entering into online business.
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