Due to the high internet penetration all over the world, the e-commerce industry has emerged phenomenally across the globe. In the USA, retail e-commerce sales are expected to be $548 Million in 2019. An interesting fact here is that popular multi-seller e-commerce companies Amazon, eBay have nearly captured the 60% of the US e-commerce market. Similarly, in other countries the market share of Amazon, eBay, Etsy, etc. is very high.
What is meant by Multivendor or Multi seller marketplaces?
A multi-vendor marketplace is that where different sellers can sell their products by creating a unique storefront. The vendors manage inventory, logistics, products additions, etc. things at their own end. The owner of the marketplace can earn commission on the sale of every product or by the other revenue generation methods as given below.
Types of Multi-vendor businesses:
There are 2 types of multi-vendor businesses:
B2B Multi-vendor business:
For bringing transparency and remaining competitive, many B2B commerce companies are investing in online marketplaces. Alibaba & Walmart are the popular names in the B2B e-commerce industry.
B2C Multi-vendor Business:
Similarly, these days many aspiring entrepreneurs prefer to invest in B2C multi-selling websites. The best examples are Amazon, Airbnb, Flipkart, etc.
Business Models:
Business Model of B2C Multi-vendor E-commerce Marketplace:
Business Model of B2B Multi vendor E-commerce Marketplace:
Source: https://www.unilogcorp.com/b2b-business-model/
Revenue generation Channels on a Multi-seller Website & Mobile App:
Here are top revenue generation methods of a multi-vendor e-commerce website & app:
- Commission on every sale
- Monthly and yearly subscription fee from sellers
- Promoted and features products on the homepage
- Affiliate partnerships
- Side banner ads
- Google Adsense Ads
Must have Features of a Multi-seller Website & Mobile App:
Here is the list of features that yours’ B2B or B2C multi-vendor e-commerce website or mobile app must have:
Multivendor Website & Mobile App Features from Buyers’ Perspective
- High website speed
- Mobile optimized
- Easy order processing
- Multi-step checkout pages on a mobile app
- Seller’s reviews and ratings
- Coupon codes and rewards points
- Advance search features on website and app
- 3-dimensional images and well written product description
- Customers’ testimonials
- Login and signup with Social media profiles
- Digital wallet and multiple payment gateways
- Multi-lingual and multi-currency
- Bulk order feature for B2B marketplaces
Multivendor Website & Mobile App Features from Sellers’ Perspective:
- Powerful vendor dashboard
- Product import/export
- Rating and review system
- Features products option
- Shipment of products by vendors
- Direct communication with the customer
- Push notification for vendors
- Automated payment withdraw
- Products listing and management through mobile app
Multivendor Website & Mobile App Features from Admins’ Perspective
- Upload an unlimited number of products
- Multiple revenue generation methods
- Customizations and scalability
- Automated task processing
- Reporting and data analytics
- Integration with third party tools
- Registration pages for customers and sellers
- Detailed product listing pages
- Product review management
- Search engine friendly
- Content management system for easy website management
- Fully native IOS and Android apps
How to Launch a Multi vendor website & Mobile App:
As I’ve written in the 1st paragraph, the multi-vendor e-commerce marketplaces such as Amazon, Alibaba, Flipkart, etc. have already grabbed the 60% of the market and it becomes tough for an e-commerce startup to make their presence. To excel in such a competitive industry, you need to develop an e-commerce multi-vendor website/app by targeting the hyper-local market. Initially, you can start an online multi-vendor marketplace like Amazon, Etsy, Flipkart, etc. in our local city or state by understanding the audience needs and once your startups click well, you can expand it in different regions.
To build a multi-vendor website or a marketplace, you can choose a turnkey solution like YoKart. It is an award-winning & specialize multivendor e-commerce platform for starting any kind of multi-seller website.