How to Build a Multi-Vendor Marketplace in 2022: 5 Things to Focus On

Online commerce has turned shopping trends against all odds. With more and more purchases being taken online, big-name venues like Amazon, eBay, etc., have hit the 100 bn. of revenues. 

In view of the overall e-commerce success, this sector appears very appealing not only to sellers operating in online stores but also to those who ponder on completing their marketplace. 

We realize you are likely driven here by the question of how to build a multi-vendor marketplace. So, this write-up will endeavor to answer it. 

What differs Single-Vendor and Multi-Vendor Marketplaces

The multi-vendor marketplace is an e-Commerce platform where a bulk of salespeople offer values. The quantity of vendors is a core dissimilarity between Single-Vendor and Multi-Vendor marketplaces. On Single-vendor marketplaces, a single salesperson or entity trades their goods or services. 

To put it simply, if you do online shopping on a platform where you can buy products or services from a number of sellers. At the same time, if you are going for shopping on a platform focused on a single seller good, then you’re on a single-vendor marketplace. 

Amazon, eBay, and ASOS are commonly referred multi-vendor eCommerce platforms. Brand’s web stores are single-vendors.

Besides the number of vendors, Multi-vendor marketplaces counter from single-vendor ones with a quantity of user roles.

Multi-vendor platforms hold three: sellers to propose values, buyers to purchase values, and admins to monitor and administer the venue. 

For single-vendor ones, a trader performs admin’s duties, too. Hence, we can distinguish two user types: consumers and retailers.

Multi-Vendor Marketplace Variations

Marketplaces arrive in various types. What class a marketplace belongs to is determined resting on multiple criteria. 

Target Audience-Based

It goes clear from the title that this criterion demarcates the target market that is in the area of a marketplace operation.  The criterion is subdivided into two – vertical and horizontal types. 

Vertical Multi-Vendor Marketplaces

A vertical marketplace features particular types of values aimed at a limited stake of shoppers. For better understanding, let’s take Uber. Rides are specific values that the Multi-driver marketplace is concentrated on in this case.

Horizontal Multi-Vendor Marketplaces

In contrary to vertical marketplaces, This type brings a miscellany of values to an exhaustive market. The horizontal marketplace is to be designated when the objective is to build a multi-vendor marketplace like eBay, ASOS, AliExpress, etc. 

Value-Based

Another practiceof discerning marketplace classifications is hinged on goods and/or services presented within a platform. This kind of marketplace comes in two:

Tangible Value

Material goods are offered over such marketplaces. Amazon, Aliexpress, ASOS, eBay, etc. are the marketplaces selling tangible values. We bet you’ve used it at least once!

Digital Value/ Services

It’s easy to guess that this type of multi-vendor marketplace pursues trading non-physical value, e.g., digital goods or services. App Store, Upwork, Airbnb, and multiple other marketplaces to add as examples. 

Relationships-Based

To distinguish the relationship-based type of multi-vendor marketplace, we need to determine who stands behind one or another user role.

• Customer-to-customer marketplaces bridge people to one venue and assist in establishing trading connections with one and all. These marketplaces provide an environment where the merchant places a value(s) and consumers browse and shop for them.  Marketplace examples include Uber and eBay.
• Business-to-customer marketplaces rely on enterprises as shopkeepers and individuals as consumers. Go for the B2C if you like to create a multi-vendor marketplace website like Amazon, AliExpress, Shopify, or Netflix.
• Business-to-business marketplaces are devised to entitle enterprises to sell and buy values from other enterprises. As an example, we can cite Alibaba, where entrepreneurs trade their goods with other entrepreneurs.

Goal-Based

Auction Marketplaces

Auction Marketplaces where potential buyers make bids with every next one to be higher than the previous one. When an auction is over, a bidder offered the highest price, wins. In addition to traditional sales, the auction has survived on eBay. Actually, auctions are where this trading platform began.  

Crowdfunding Marketplaces

It stands to reason that trading platforms serve not only to buy and sell goods and services. Crowdfunding platforms are also related to marketplaces. Platforms such as Kickstarter, for example, give people the means to fundraise and pursue their business or other ideas.

Steps to Build a Multi-Vendor Marketplace

Rule out the MVP feature set

At Celadon when our clients request us to build a multi-vendor marketplace, we always advise setting off with MVP. We believe this is a pull-ahead move for several reasons:

• Lets you determine if the initial concept is commercially attainable;
• Affirms market uptake;
• Selecting a business model that will work the most satisfactory
• Testing UX/UI function and usability 
• Receiving feedback from initial users

Yet, when developing a marketplace MVP, one should think feature set thoroughly. MVPs are fitted with a basic feature package and gradually scaled into full-fledged products. Even though, MVP features and functionality must satisfy the need of all – vendors, customers, and admins. Let’s get a brief overview of each. 

Vendor’s Features

Sign-up is first and foremost about security. You can invite vendors to list not only their company names, but their registrations, licenses, and other documents to make certain that all sellers are legitimate.

Accounts. Let vendors furnish info about their entity and business. Knowing this information increases buyers’ trust. 

The vendor’s panel is all-important for directing a business. When building a multi-vendor marketplace platform, integrate a convenient panel so that vendors could track and manage all the necessary processes. As more comfortable it is for vendors to operate on the platform, the more luring it will be for them.  

Analytics. Another pivotal feature for vendors to ease their work on the platform is analytics. They are of need when it comes to watching out the progress.

Customer’s Features

Sign up and accounts. Signing up is designed for shoppers to create their accounts. Registered users can be offered special deals and subscribe to newsletters. 

Order forms. An urgent point here is to not overwhelm forms and avoid requiring excessive data. 

Search tools for easy navigation and quick finding of goods and services. Add search filters to make it even easier and quicker. 

Payments are crucial when it comes to developing a multi-vendor marketplace. We recommend introducing multiple payment options that are most popular at your place of business.

Feedbacks are contribute to trust level and decision making. It’s rather harder to make up your mind about purchasing value that you can’t see or touch. In such circumstances, people are prone to trust others’ experiences.  

Admin’s Features

How to develop multi-vendor marketplace to be easily administrated? Construct an admin dashboard. 

The admin panel is a feature that brings discrepancies between a multi-vendor and a single-vendor. In a multi-vendor marketplace, the admin panel puts your staff in control of all vital processes related to selling-buying, content, and its entire functioning. Thanks to this panel, you will be able to pinpoint and supervise the ilks of products marketed at your venue.

Select a Development Approach

The next phase in developing a multi-vendor eCommerce platform is settling on a development approach that will toil the best. There are multiple alternatives available nowadays.

Open Source. A low-cost approach to develop a multi-vendor marketplace. The approach doesn’t mandate you to possess any technical background. You ought to pick plugins and templates, and an open-source solution will get you covered for the rest of the procedure. 

But using this solution, one should understand that building a multi-vendor marketplace won’t be unique as such due to the implementation of off-the-shelf templates. 

Another pitfall is an inability to take measures in case of a plugin fails. You will not own the code, hence the only thing possible is to wait for an uncertain period of time for a plugin to be fixed. 

A SaaS solution is usually full-grown software fitted with a large set of features that can be a seed of immense advantages. The solution permits you to get going quickly by signing and subscribing. As simple as that.

The subscription price includes all available features. While that sounds cool in one sense, it’s very unlikely to use the functionality in full, but you’re still obliged to pay for it anyway.

When developing a multivendor marketplace using SaaS, consider the lack of ability to swap to another platform in a hassle-free way. Choose a platform with functionality that fully fulfills the business essentials.

A white-label solution refers to software with product-specific features. By paying for a white-label solution, you receive the source code that you can handle it as you see fit.

Creating a multi-vendor marketplace employing a white label bears numerous benefits:

• You purchase features exclusively you intend to utilize. A bulk of the features are off the rack, so you need just a couple of months to build a multi-vendor marketplace platform.
• A distinctive, clever interface
• The solution entitles you to modify the product by introducing or dismissing certain multi-vendor marketplace development features.
• Your product founded on the white label can be further developed and scaled to meet evolving and varying demands or goals.

Plump for a Monetization Plan

How to develop a multi-vendor eCommerce marketplace that will pay off? Technically sound platform is the answer, but there’s more to it. A platform that will generate revenue demands picking a business model that fits both you and users. 

Currently, several business models are widely accepted for multi-vendor marketplaces:

Subscription grant tickets to a broader functionality to be used. It’s also a regular revenue stream.

A fee per transaction is a share cut from every purchase made over the marketplace.

A listing fee isbilled once a seller lists their products or services.

Ads/Promotions make items advertised or promoted visibly to all platform visitors.

A detailed breakdown of marketplace business models is touched on in one of the previous articles: Online Marketplace Business Model: How to Choose and Win?

Win Trust

Trust has been touched on more than once in this article. It's one of the main factors determining their success. Trust is achieved in different ways: by introducing different features and presenting additional checks, guarantees, insurance, and refund policies.  

For instance, Amazon is relied thanks to a refund guarantee. So, let it be a hint to build a multi-vendor marketplace platform like Amazon.

How to gain trust specifically for your platform is determined pivoted on the marketplace characteristics and audience. When developing multi-vendor marketplaces, at Celadon we work through this point in partnership with the team and the client.

Puzzle out the chicken and egg question

Any marketplace needs supply to attract demand and it is that as it may, an eCommerce platform needs demand to attract supply. There are three ways out here:

• Gain sellers foremost
• Gain buyers foremost
• Gain both simultaneously 

Which variant to prefer is also a subject of consideration between your development team and you. Each of the variants performs differently for various platforms and business requirements. 

Possible solutions are described in another article dedicated to marketplace challenges: 5 Marketplace Problems Faced by Online Business and Their Solutions.

Weigh Multi-Vendor Marketplace Development with Celadon Developers

As you may understand, the question of how to develop a multi-vendor marketplace requires a complex and long answer. So is the development itself. If an idea to create a multi-vendor marketplace is up in the air, our team is hot to trot. 

Celadon is the leading light in the field. Our techs comprehend how to build a marketplace website with multi-vendor functions in terms of technology. In parallel, marketers have a pure understanding of how to make it work and bring revenue. 

Our portfolio showcases several marketplaces. We worked on jewelry marketplace development that bridges jewelry sellers and buyers. The web & mobile apps are filled with all must-haves: account creation, wishlist, search filters, etc.  

Also, we developed a construction services marketplace. It’s a quite complex multi-vendor marketplace that is rich in its features and functionalities. 

We’re opted to take your, idea and lead the whole way through to a scalable and thriving marketplace. Initiate a new venture by contacting multi-vendor eCommerce marketplace website developers. 

Final Thoughts on How to Create a Multi-Vendor Website

Setting up a multi-vendor marketplace necessitates the ability to devise the proper strategy. After all, the marketplace's crowning success leans on a multitude of factors: functionality, development approach, monetization strategy, etc. 

However, once you rely on a dedicated team of professionals, you stand to gain the most out of your business vision by depriving yourself of all the headaches.