Today, the marketplace is changing due to technology, globalization, social responsibility, and other forces that further escalate the competition. Hence, it is crucial to walk with the ongoing trends.
Creating a marketplace website may sound financially rewarding because today consumers' shopping habits are shifted towards digital purchases. At the same time, you cannot deny the fact that the presence of market goliaths like Flipkart, Amazon, and eBay has made the journey to enter this sector difficult. Right? This is the time when companies need to understand the different market forces, acknowledge them and further modify their marketing strategies to achieve business excellence and grab more consumers’ interest in their brand. There is always a better way to achieve success and new possibilities to leverage. All you need to do is to hunt it.
So, if you want to rule the market with an all-new marketplace website, this guide is for you. This guide has covered in-depth information about why creating your first marketplace website is a good business move along with some most popular market trends, development expenses, and more.
Before we look at them, let's start with some basics, discussing what marketplace platforms are.
What is a Marketplace Platform?
A marketplace platform refers to an online platform where numerous sellers can easily display their products and services. It is a completely different platform from the traditional online store and other types of the online platform. The marketplace platform welcomes consumers and allows them to select goods from distinct business owners’ offerings.
A consumer can easily purchase anything from a seller. Once the order is placed, and the amount is paid, the seller who made the offer will provide the complete information about the sale. Not only this, but the seller will also be responsible for generating the bill and sending the merchandise.
Marketplace websites or apps also offer a more convenient way for consumers to add desired items from multiple vendors to the shopping cart, confirming the transaction and making payments all under one roof rather than shopping on a different platform or making multiple transfers. The marketplace website has already won many consumers’ hearts.
Types of Marketplaces
Do you know the types of marketplaces for eCommerce? Well, it falls inot three major categories listed as follows:
Business-2-business (B2B)
Business-2-consumer (B2C)
Consumer-2-consumer (C2C), sometimes called peer-to-peer (P2P)
Every eCommerce platform has a different target audience, focus point, perks, and drawbacks. Building a website in one of the following marketplaces can be your best bet to succeed in the digital world. If you’re still confused about your decision, let’s discuss it more.
Why Should You Build Your Own Marketplace Website?
Many minds must be looking for the answer to their common question- why should they go for the idea of building a marketplace platform? Well, there are many strong reasons.
1. Financial Advantage
Marketplace websites open new revenue streams, which determine the success of marketplace owners. Although you’re provided with a number of revenue systems to select from, we suggest you choose only one way, especially when you are new in the marketplace world. Well, the common ways to generate money on such websites are fees, subscriptions, commissions, and many more additional services.
2. Efficiency
The cost of developing a marketplace website is the same as building an eCommerce website. Sometimes eCommerce websites might cost a little bit higher, depending on the project complexity and logic, and take more time to develop. But this doesn’t happen in the case of marketplace websites.
3. Automation
The whole process of generating revenue from receiving commission from the product’s sales is automatic. No paperwork is involved in this process, which gives one more reason to say yes to marketplace websites.
4. Value Proposition
If you’re looking for a better way to start your business at a low investment, marketplaces would be the right opportunity to go for. There is no need for physical space to store your products safely, which further cuts down the rent cost and makes it business-friendly.
5. Customers Interest
Another reason why you should say a big YES to marketplace websites is that it brings together various offers from different vendors in one place that heightens the consumer’s interest to buy the product or services.
6. Analysis
The marketplace owners perform market analysis and can track the growth or change of strategies they follow to stay ahead of the competition. They can also analyze what products or services are high in demand and what vendors are looking for. Above all, such websites also provide the ease of promoting audience-loving products or services.
Stats Highlighting the Demand for Marketplace Websites
Here are some statistics highlighting the consistently escalating demand for marketplace websites.
The pandemic has raised the eCommerce figures from 16 percent of all worldwide retail sales in 2020 to 19 percent. This stat clearly shows the major inclination of customers from physical stores to other types of eCommerce marketplaces.
Not only this, but another report by Oberlo shows 48% of online shoppers directly prefer to make a purchase from a large eCommerce marketplace platform.
Main Factors Contributed to the Rise of the marketplace Worldwide
Do you know what factors boost the trends of the marketplace worldwide? Well, there are many, and some of them we have listed below. Check it out for a better understanding-
Increased Amount of Digital Buyers
Stats are evident in a huge shift of consumers from traditional physical stores to online marketplaces. The covid-19 pandemic has totally changed the way consumers shop and somehow increased the number of digital buyers. These buyers now demand more and more incredible marketplace platforms that can enhance their shopping experience, providing variety in offerings and helping them save a lot simultaneously.
Ease of Shopping Online in a Few Clicks
Who doesn’t want to shop for their favorite product online sitting on a couch from the comfort of home? Everyone welcomes this level of convenience, and marketplace websites and applications offer the same ease consumers expect today. You can now order any products or services from different vendors on the same platform in a few clicks without moving out of your comfort zone.
Major Shift in Consumer Shopping Habits
The pandemic has led a major part of the global population to choose a marketplace to make several purchases. Today, 48 percent prefer to buy products or services from large marketplace platforms. This major shift in consumer shopping habits gave a new birth to the new-shopping era.
The Future of Marketplace Websites in 2023 & Beyond
2023 will be a year of incredible technological innovation, and it will surely make a lasting impact on the business world. According to an eCommerce statistic, the online marketplace will touch 6.5 Trillion dollars by 2023. Marketplace websites are the future of the global economy, and we will soon discover some incredible tech changes in the coming year. Let’s discuss what they are-
1. Voice Command Searching
Technological advancements are making marketplace websites a better place to shop online. One of the latest technologies we are now experiencing in such websites is voice command searching. Around 72 percent of people search for their desired products or services using voice command features. This is the reason why websites nowadays are stressing this feature and making it more accessible for consumers. This voice command feature also takes less space than the usual search box and, at the same time, enhances the website speed.
2. More Focus on Niche-based Platforms
Niche-based platforms are the latest trend. Minor genres find it difficult to gain the consumer’s attention on giant online platforms. Therefore, they prefer to start their own. The marketplace websites help these smaller niches to shine and enjoy more possible opportunities at the same time.
3. The Rise of Brick and Click Policy
Brick and click policy helps regular physical stores continue selling online and offline markets. This policy is also known as Click and Mortar policy. While shopping in a virtual market, you can’t touch or feel the product. This is the reason why buyers leave their product feedback or reviews and real-time pictures that help others learn more about the products better.
4. AI Technology to Ensure Constant Service
AI is the future, and its impact would be seen in several sectors of the economy, including the website marketplace. The whole revenue generation on such marketplace websites is now automated. Chatbots are also a perfect example of how AI is taking control of everything. AI involvement in the marketplace improves the overall customer experience. Not only this, but retailers are nowadays showing more interest in investing millions of dollars in AI to make their business more customer-friendly and reachable.
Final Words
So, this is all about the marketplace websites. We have rounded up everything you need to know about this trending topic. If you’re interested in building a successful marketplace website in 2023, reaching out to an expert like 75way would be a great idea. 75way is a leading web development company you can choose for your upcoming projects.
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