So you want to start your own marketplace business but are afraid of people will use your app or not? And you want to know how to build a Marketplace app. Or you are confused between an eCommerce business or Marketplace business. Or you are just looking for information on how to create a marketplace app. Well, this blog is going to be your guide.
We have covered everything you need to know about marketplace app development and eCommerce app development. Keep reading till the end to understand how exactly you can win the competition and grab the attention of your target audience. Happy reading!
Let’s start with a quick introduction to the difference between a marketplace app and an eCommerce app.
Most business owners have no idea about the huge differences between the marketplace business and the eCommerce market. And most of them believe that it is the same; an online buying and selling platform.
A marketplace business is basically an online platform where different vendors can sell the same range of products. And buyers get the option to select from the different vendors.
A marketplace business owner just acts as a mediator and does not own the services and products provided. All the prices are fixed by the vendors and the marketplace platform owner gets their commission in it for example- Amazon, Flipkart, etc.
There are several other ways by which a business owner can monetize a marketplace app.
On the other hand, in the E-commerce market, the platform is a virtual store of a specific brand. Products and services provided here belong only to the company that owns the application. And the prices are fixed by the brand itself for example Zara, H&M, Pepperfry, etc./
The pricing model is simple here; they earn the profit from selling their products and even earn more from delivery charges.
So now that you are clear what exactly is the difference between a marketplace business and an eCommerce business. Let’s have a look at how marketplace business is taking over the eCommerce business.
The main advantage with marketplace business is that; it has everything under one platform. The buyers can get options to select from different vendors and product types. This allows the buyers to select products or services as per their requirements and budget.
With eCommerce apps, the buyers have limited options and have to adjust as per their budget. Moreover; as the best shopping apps are limited you can not ask your users to pay for membership. You can not even try a freemium version because your users will not pay for premium purchases.
As a result; eCommerce apps are dependent majorly on one business model that is to earn profit from their products.
On the other hand, marketplace businesses can try freemium business models. Where the free version will provide limited options and a paid version will have free and fast delivery, extra discounts, and premium brands.
Now comes the most important part; how you can develop a marketplace business model that is strong enough to compete. Here are five simple steps to follow to building an online marketplace app:
- Market Research for Marketplace Business
- Talk to Marketplace Business experts
- Prototype Marketplace
- Marketplace App Development & Design
- Launching Your Marketplace App
The first step to start any business is to do your market research. Deep research will help you to understand who exactly can be your target audience. Moreover, you will get some data to understand the problems your target audience is facing with online shopping. You can later use this data to create your own unique selling point. A USP or unique selling point will help you to stand out from the competition and build your marketing campaigns.
Now that you have a clear idea of your app, your target audience, and your USP. you need an expert to validate this idea. You need someone who can study the market and validate if the idea or app will make good money or not. No one wants to waste their hard-earned money on ideas that are not feasible. Hence an expert will help you to understand what you can expect from the ROI and how much you should invest.
A prototype will save a lot of your time and money. Consider this scenario; your development team has built the app and now you are not satisfied with a lot of things. You will have to explain it to the developers. Then the developer and designer will work together to address all the changes and then again they will develop the app. This will take a lot of time and hence your extra money. It is always better to have a prototype first. You can explain all the changes you need in the prototype and this will help the designer and developer to understand your expectations.
Now that you and the development team are on the same page, the team can start the work quickly. The designer will start the work on the user interface and experience while the developer will work on the features and elements of the app. Together they will develop the best marketplace business app for your idea. And then the quality analyst team will start the testing process. Once the app is qualified by the analyst’s team then only you can launch your application.
To launch your app you need the help of a well-experienced team of marketing experts. Your marketplace business app is based on an amazing idea, design, and features. But what is the point of all of this if your target audience didn’t even know about the existence of your app? So you need a team that can create hype about the app before it’s launching. As a result; you will get a good number of app downloads and users on the day of launch. Otherwise, you will have to wait the next few months to get a good number of app users.
So now we hope that we have covered everything you need to know about how to create a marketplace business app. Follow these simple steps and launch an amazing application for your target audience.
Still, have any doubts? Want to know how much it costs to build an app? You can use our app cost calculator to check the rates. Moreover; our marketplace app developer is always here to support you. Get in touch with us to kick start the success journey of your marketplace business idea.
FAQs Of Marketplace Business
How to build a marketplace platform?
To build a marketplace platform it is important to do a deep market research and understand the scope of the business. Then you can hire a marketplace app development company to build your app.
How do online marketplaces make money
Online marketplaces can make money in many ways like Freemium model, Commission based earning, Subscription fees and much more.
What is an online marketplace?
The online marketplace is a platform where different vendors can create their accounts and sell products like Amazon.
