Tips To Create A Successful Online Marketplace App

• By Simran Kaur
• 03-10-2023
• E-commerce

Ever wondered why, even after making a good website some people cannot get enough traffic or sales. Does this mean that having a good website is not important? Well, that is not the case. Having a great website is not the only important thing. When selling online you must be aware of different tools and practices that are used to promote your brand and bring traffic to your website.

With the growth of the internet, the number of online buyers has increased immensely. Same is the case with online sellers too. Many retailers are also switching to an online marketplace app for selling their products.

An online marketplace app is a digital store that has a huge range of products. It connects the buyer to the seller and takes care of the transaction regarding the product. Buyers also prefer to buy from these marketplace apps because they get a lot of options to choose from. However, every marketplace app does not attract customers.

This means that there are some requirements that need to be fulfilled for a successful online marketplace app. There is no secret formula that anyone could use but there is a structure that can help you build a successful online marketplace app.

Creation of a successful online marketplace app

To develop successful online marketplace app you must take care of the necessities of both the buyer and the seller. These factors might change depending on how big the marketplace app is and under what niche your online store operates.

Now, let's take a look at some key features that can be helpful for making a great online marketplace app.

• Simple Signup Process:

The signup process is the first step for any new customer. If it is a lengthy process, there are chances that the customer might get irritated and switch tabs. People are very busy now a days and they do not have time to fill in a lot of information. So, you must ask for only the most relevant information.

Giving them access through their other social media accounts or Gmail account is a very great
step to enroll customers with just one click.

• Create a good Vendor Dashboard

In an online marketplace app, vendors are the most important part because they are the original sellers. There should be a dedicated dashboard having all the required access for every individual vendor. Tracking their products must be made easy for them for a smooth experience. They should find it easy to edit the product description, customer information and shipping process. The vendors should be able to manage and understand everything seamlessly.

• Simple Cart & Checkout Process

The efficiency of your platform's checkout process has a direct impact on both conversion rates and customer satisfaction, making it a crucial element for the success of your marketplace app. A streamlined checkout process comprises two key aspects: functionality and user experience.

From a functionality standpoint, it is essential to ensure that the payment gateways and shipping methods you provide align with the preferences of your target market. Features such as cash on delivery, combined shipping, or cryptocurrency payments may hold significant importance for one industry but may hold no relevance for another. It's important to remember that various regions, industries, and market segments may exhibit distinct preferences when it comes to the payment and shipping procedures.

Looking at the user experience (UX) perspective, your goal should be to offer a seamless purchasing experience that caters to your target market's needs. An intuitive and user-friendly interface simplifies the checkout process, reduces cart abandonment rates, and facilitates smoother transactions for your customers. This, in turn, leads to increased sales and fosters customer loyalty.

• Search and navigation

Search and navigation within a marketplace app are akin to providing a smooth and efficient shopping experience within a large store that offers a diverse range of products. The key to enhancing this experience lies in effective categorization and easy discoverability of products.

Proper categorization ensures that products are neatly organized into relevant sections or genres, making it straightforward for customers to locate what they are looking for. Furthermore, implementing additional filters based on attributes like brand, price, color, and other relevant criteria adds another layer of convenience. These filters allow customers to refine their search and narrow down their choices, resulting in a more tailored and efficient shopping process.

• Mobile-friendly site or app

In the digital world, everyone has a smartphone. Most of the day people use their smartphone as their primary device. If your website is not mobile friendly people might feel discomfort while accessing your website. Your site must be compatible with all the screen sizes. Navigating through the products should be easy. All the buttons should be placed in a manner that there are minimal chances of accidental touch. This enhances the customer experience and knowing the fact that they can track the order in their hands increases the trust and reputation of your website.

• Payment gateways

If someone is buying a product online, there are very high chance that they would want to pay through an online medium. Your marketplace app should allow payments from maximum, if not all payment gateways. You should go for online payment methods that are compatible with e-commerce websites. These gateways might change according to the locations, so you need to keep multiple options available at all times. It is also very helpful in the scenario where one payment gateway might be facing some issues. It makes the life of the customer easier, and they can transact with their preferred gateway. However, you should also consider the preferences of the vendor.

• Analytics Dashboard

An advanced analytics dashboard is a great tool for the vendors as well as the admin of the website. It provides you with an idea of the customer’s behavior pattern. You can see how long the customer was scrolling your website, and what were products they seemed interested in. You can also make precise assumptions about why the customer abandoned a product. All this information can be used to further improve the website and the product quality. You can also design your marketing strategy accordingly.

• Easy digital downloads

If there are some digital products like eBooks that are offered by your website, then only after the payment should the customer be allowed to download it. If you provide an external link for downloading the product, it will just add to the inconvenience. Depending on the niche of your website you should provide some extraordinary features like, sample of a digital product that will attract engagement from the customers. It will give them a sense of belonging to the product and the chances of them buying it increases drastically.

• Product Catalog Management

The effectiveness of your platform's checkout process directly impacts both conversion rates and customer satisfaction, making it an important factor in the success of your marketplace app.

When considering functionality, it is crucial to ensure that the payment methods and shipping options you offer align with the preferences of your specific target audience. Features like cash on delivery, combined shipping, or cryptocurrency payments may hold great significance for one industry while being entirely irrelevant to another. Keep in mind that different regions, industries, and market segments often have diverse preferences regarding payment and shipping procedures.

From a user experience (UX) perspective, your objective should be to provide a seamless purchasing journey tailored to your target market's requirements. An intuitive and user-friendly interface simplifies the checkout process, reduces cart abandonment rates, and facilitates smoother transactions for your customers. Consequently, this results in increased sales and nurtures customer loyalty.

• Enhancing Growth with Sales and Marketing Tools

The prosperity of your marketplace app business hinges on the volume of traffic, leads, and sales generated by your sellers. Therefore, it's imperative to have a robust arsenal of tools at your disposal for crafting and executing impactful campaigns, optimizing conversion rates, and gauging outcomes.

These resources encompass several key categories:

Firstly, there are tools designed for creating marketplace app-wide or seller-specific promotional campaigns. These campaigns, which may include offerings such as discounts, coupons, bundles, and flash sales, serve as powerful magnets for attracting new customers to your platform. Secondly, advertising tools provide sellers with the means to enhance their visibility on the platform. They can feature their products prominently, secure sponsored listings, or utilize eye-catching banner ads to capture the attention of potential customers.

Lastly, analytics and reporting tools play a pivotal role in simplifying the tracking and measurement of performance across your platform, sellers, and customer base. By providing valuable insights, these tools offer a comprehensive view of the effectiveness of your marketing initiatives and the overall health of your marketplace app.

• Order Management and Logistics

To ensure a delightful customer experience on your platform, it's essential to empower your sellers with the tools they need to swiftly manage and fulfill orders while efficiently addressing any potential issues.

This entails equipping sellers with features like order tracking, inventory management, fulfillment integration, and returns management. These functionalities enable sellers to monitor the progress of their orders, promptly detect fulfillment errors, effectively oversee their inventory across multiple channels, establish connections with third-party fulfillment partners, and seamlessly handle customer returns and exchanges.

• Rating and Reviews

This section is one of the most important parts of your website. It contains actual reviews from your old customers which makes it the deciding factor while purchasing online. Everyone looks for reviews before buying any product. The ratings given by the customers give you an overview of how the vendor is performing. What is the quality of their product and is there any need to change the vendor. It symbolizes that you take customer satisfaction seriously and are willing to make the necessary changes if and when required.

• Messaging and Communication Tools

Simplifying interactions and fostering exchanges among the marketplace app operator, sellers, and customers serves to enhance the overall experience by offering assistance, feedback, and guidance to all stakeholders. These tools not only facilitate communication between sellers and customers concerning specific orders, products, or services but also provide a means for sellers and customers to engage directly.

The scope of these tools can vary based on your business size. For smaller operations, you might opt for internal features like basic private messaging. In contrast, for more extensive enterprises, it could be advantageous to explore integrations with third-party tools such as CRMs and social media communication platforms to access more advanced communication capabilities.

• Seller Portal Designed for Ease of Use

An effective strategy for drawing in new sellers revolves around creating a user-friendly experience for constructing new catalogs, adding products, and managing orders effortlessly. This entails incorporating features such as a robust order management system that enables clients to conveniently track their product statuses, sales volumes, and more.

• Easy social media sharing

In the digital age everyone uses one or the other social media platforms. Many vendors would like to share their products on their social media handles. It should be easy and convenient for them to showcase their product on platforms of their choice. You should add share buttons of all the popular social media platforms. It is not only beneficial for the vendors but even for customers if they want to share their opinion about any certain product online.

• Ensuring Secured Transaction

The most important aspect of any online marketplace app is securing the transactions that are done through the website. The first step towards a secure environment is to get a SSL certificate for your website. This will ensure a secure connection between the browser and the server. Your website should also go through proper audits so that there are no vulnerabilities that could be harmful for the security of your website. Always keep in mind that many people would like to save their credentials and sensitive information on your website. It is your responsibility to keep it safe.

Conclusion

These are some key elements that should be kept in mind while creating your own marketplace app. You will have to take care of security and convenience of both the seller and the customer. However, if you face any issues, you can seek professional help. And for that choosing a good mobile app development company is the best option.