Last Updated: January 11, 2024
Digital commerce is continually growing, making businesses look for unique and enticing ways to meet changing customer needs and generate constant revenue. The pivotal driver of this trend i.e. eCommerce marketplaces continues to grow in popularity. A report by Digital Commerce 360 shows that the revenue of online marketplaces is projected to grow by $27.1 trillion by the year 2027. There are many examples of successful eCommerce marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, Etsy, and others that have proven the potential of such a business model. Hence if you build a B2C marketplace now, you can cash in on this growth trajectory.
In this blog, we’ll guide you on how to create an eCommerce marketplace that can become a flourishing business with time.
Table of Contents:
What is an eCommerce Marketplace?
The eCommerce marketplace is a platform that facilitates the buying and selling of goods while providing something for everyone. Multiple sellers can collectively showcase their product catalog and buyers can shop from a wide range of goods choices. These goods can be anything from clothing and footwear to digital downloads and more. A few successful online marketplaces are Amazon, eBay, and Walmart.
Why Build an eCommerce Marketplace?
Let’s Explore! Why should entrepreneurs spend their resources creating a marketplace?
1. Ease of Set Up
The significant benefit of building an eCommerce marketplace is that owners don’t need to invest heavily in stock acquisition and its management because it is all held by the sellers.
The main focus is to customize the marketplace according to the customer demands and improve their overall shopping experience.
2. Low Operational Cost
Another benefit of eCommerce marketplace development is that you don’t have to establish a physical store for the sale of goods. An eCommerce marketplace can help you with this. For instance, if you build B2C marketplace, the customers can use the website, and there will be no need for a brick and mortar storefront.
Additionally, managing inventory is not something you have to spend time and money on when developing a multi-vendor marketplace. The sellers on the marketplace are responsible for all of these duties.
In this way, the admin(s) can devote their efforts to starting and promoting the business on social media and other digital channels. Also, the need for additional resources is gradually reduced, which further lowers the management and operational costs.
Steps to Build an eCommerce Marketplace
Here are some vital steps to keep in mind before building a successful eCommerce marketplace.
Execute a Through Research
There are some more methods that help you to build a successful marketplace business.
Competitor Analysis
Doing some research on the top-rated competitors of your industry can help you in so many ways. You can get many ideas by exploring their products, history, as well as their business models. Learn what people are looking for in your niche and try to deliver it in your unique style.
Choose Your Niche
Finding the right niche is important before building a successful e-commerce marketplace. Start by doing market research once you’ve decided what kind of business you’ll be running.
As the eCommerce industry has experienced such rapid growth, it’s also important to have as many ideas as you can before starting a business in this competitive world. To do this, entrepreneurs should find a specific niche where they can focus their business strategy on a well-defined audience.
Assess Your Target Audience
Having an in-depth knowledge of the target market is essential to build eCommerce marketplace. Gather insights like customer demographics, buying behavior, age, occupation, and so on. All this will further help implement the next steps like marketing and more in the right direction, meeting the customer needs.
An eCommerce marketplace is more successful when it focuses on a specific niche because it gives buyers a personalized experience and offerings that resonate exactly with their requirements. For instance, if you build a B2C marketplace, your considerations will revolve more around creating an experience around your brand unlike a marketplace for B2B audiences.
Pick a Name for Your Business
One of the most difficult aspects of starting an eCommerce business is naming your store. You’ll need to think of something that stands out accurately, defines your brand, and hasn’t been used by someone else. The theme of your business will be set right away by a smart business name.
Keep these points in mind when it comes to naming your business
- Try to keep it simple
- Differentiate yourself
- Be creative
- Be unique
Choose the Right eCommerce Business Model
When building an eCommerce marketplace, it is evident that it will fall under the below-given categorization. Each of these business models has its advantages and drawbacks. You simply understand the model that would align with your business concept. Let’s discuss.
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Business-to-Consumer (B2C)
The business-to-consumer eCommerce marketplace allows businesses to sell their services or goods directly to end-consumers. The buying journey is short when you build B2C marketplace. The customers clearly know what they want, browse the options, and make the purchase. Amazon and Walmart are some great examples of B2C eCommerce marketplaces.
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Business-to-Business (B2B)
The business-to-business eCommerce marketplace includes transactions between two businesses in bulk. It can be between a wholesaler and manufacturer, a manufacturer and retailer, and so on. The sales cycle is longer than B2C but benefits from increased and repeated sales. One ideal example of a B2B marketplace is Alibaba.
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Customer-to-Customer (C2C)
The eCommerce marketplace built on a C2C model facilitates the buying and selling of goods from one customer to another customer directly. The customers can upload the items to be sold and other customers can browse the items and choose those they are interested in buying. The best example of a C2C marketplaces is Etsy.
Decide on Ideal Revenue Streams
eCommerce marketplaces open the door to numerous business opportunities as there are multiple monetization strategies to leverage. A few of them include:
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Subscription: Nowadays, subscriptions have become one of the most popular business models in terms of generating revenue. It is the amount that the seller pays on a regular basis. You need to make sure that your supplier receives greater value from your marketplace than it costs to be the subscriber in this business.
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Commission: You charge sellers a certain percentage of every transaction that takes place on their platform. In this way, you allow them to use your marketplace and in return, you’ll earn a commission on every sale.
Choose the eCommerce Marketplace Development Approach
For creating a multi-vendor marketplace, there are two effective approaches: whether you can get the marketplace custom-built or leverage a readymade eCommerce software. Let’s discuss these!
This approach involves eCommerce marketplace development from scratch, giving you complete control over the design, features & functionalities, and other aspects. Besides, you may need the assistance of expert developers or coding experts to build your marketplace from the ground up.
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Leverage Readymade Software
Entrepreneurs can also take advantage of readymade eCommerce software which is easy to set up, affordable, and equipped with essential features. Furthermore, it reduces the product’s time-to-market and saves the time and resources involved in building it from scratch.
Build a B2C Marketplace With a Leading Readymade Solution
Solutions Provided by FATbit Technologies
FATbit is a software development company that developed expertise in understanding eCommerce success through the use of Agile methods not only in product knowledge but also in the creation and enhancement of reliable software for customers.
FATbit can assist you in building your website with their affordable inclusive eCommerce solutions. For instance, to build B2C marketplace, the company offers their readymade solution – YoKart. Having powered 5000+ eCommerce marketplaces, YoKart allows businesses of all sizes to get started with a modern marketplace right off the bat. Additionally, the firm provides customized services and post-purchase technical support. FATbit’s professionals are specialized in creating customized eCommerce stores that are specially designed according to your needs. All the products are created with cutting-edge technologies and are feature-rich.
All the pre-packaged software solutions offered by FATbit are ready-to-implement, highly adaptable, customer-centric solutions to speed up the time to value for all kinds of businesses.
The software solutions offered by FATbit Technologies include Yo!Kart, Yo!Kart B2B, Yo!Gigs, and more.
Purpose-Built Readymade eCommerce Software for Diverse Niches
Final Thoughts
We have provided you with general steps on how to build a successful eCommerce marketplace. Creating a marketplace is a difficult yet manageable process that might take a lot of time. Careful research related to the niche, a trading platform plan, and a perfect revenue plan are very important before starting the eCommerce marketplace development. Besides, choosing a trustworthy team is one of the crucial aspects. If you want consultation regarding eCommerce marketplace development, feel free to contact FATbit Technologies.
