The online world is increasingly becoming competitive, with users demanding more and more from eCommerce businesses and startups. With increased buyer maturity and demand for more choices, users seek a holistic online shopping experience that can offer more options than a standalone store.
Niche-specific eCommerce platforms are excellent, but developing a marketplace app that connects buyers with sellers offers more choices, flexibility, and greater convenience. The advantages offered by an online marketplace have made them extremely popular among online shoppers.
In this blog, let’s see why developing a marketplace app has become quite popular and what will be the cost of developing a marketplace app. But before you move ahead, let’s look at some fundamentals associated with online marketplaces and why you should think of starting your own marketplace. Let’s dig deeper.
What does Online Marketplace mean?
An online marketplace works quite similarly to an online store but solves several pain points online shoppers face. Instead of listing products by a brand/business, the marketplace app allows multiple independent sellers to list services/products.
Online stores are brand-specific, while marketplaces are brand-neutral, giving end-customers the freedom to choose the best product that suits their budget and aspirations.
Marketplace apps sometimes have multiple listings of the same product/service offering much-needed flexibility and liberty to choose a seller that offers the lowest rate.
Developing a marketplace app solves several issues faced by a traditional online store. For example, it protects consumers from monopolistic business practices, saves dependency on a marketing budget for brands, and offers several other advantages.
What are the types of marketplace classifications?
There are three types of e-marketplaces:
1. Vertical
This marketplace type focuses on only a specific area or niche to serve some particular category of products to targeted audiences.
Example:
Zillow
Chegg
StockX
ThredUp
2. Horizontal
The horizontal marketplace focuses on a wide variety of goods and services and sells many products with similar characteristics to a particular market.
Horizontal marketplace is a perfect choice to attract a large number of vendors of different industries.
Example:
Etsy
Poshmark
Dote
Dogvacay
3. Global
The global marketplace is a top-rated marketplace platform. This marketplace platform offers services to different customers at different locations where buyers and sellers are spread across long distances.
Example:
Amazon
Airbnb
eBay
AliExpress
Upwork
What Technologies are Required to Build a Marketplace Website?
Tech Stack To Build Marketplaces:
Frontend
HTML 5
CSS/Sass
Angular/ React/ Vue
Backend
Node.js
PHP/Laravel
Java
MySql/ PostgreSQL/ MariaDB
Payments
Stripe
Paypal
Braintree
MANGOPAY
What are the different types of Marketplace Monetization Models?
Commission Based Model
The commission model is the most popular and profitable revenue model for modern marketplaces. This is a type of earning model where the marketplace website charges a commission ( percentage or fixed price ) fee on every transaction.
Example: eBay, Etsy, Uber, Airbnb, Booking.com
Subscription Fee Model
This is a membership fee model where the user is charged a one-time, recurring fee to access the marketplace platform. The user has to pay a certain amount of money at fixed time intervals to access the company's product or service.
Example: eBay
Listing Fee Model
This is a type of revenue model where the marketplaces charge the seller a fee for listing their products/services on the platform. This model ensures that high-quality products are being displayed on the marketplace.
Example: eBay, Etsy
Lead Fee Model
In this revenue model, customers post requests on the site, and suppliers pay in order to make a bid for these customers.
This model is considered better than the listing fee model because here you only pay when you are consigned to a potential customer.
Example: UpWork
Featured Ads and Listings Model
In this model, the seller pays an additional fee to have more visibility of their offerings to be displayed before others. This marketplace model is somewhat similar to the advertising models, where certain ads are displayed to the user.
Example: eBay
Key Features to include in the marketplace app
You’ve seen how building an online marketplace platform can be highly beneficial for you as an entrepreneur. But before you take an impulse decision to develop a marketplace, you need to perform a dynamic analysis of the must-have features for a modern marketplace app.
A marketplace should be user-friendly, interactive, and capable of addressing the pain points of both sellers and buyers. But, at the same time, it should also empower you to exercise complete control over the operations.
Here is a detailed list of features you should incorporate in your online marketplace platform.
End-users
Vendor-seller
Admin-owners
Simple Registration Process
Simplified Onboarding- Signup & Login
User Management
Multiple Payment Options
Insightful Report & Analytics
Seller Management
Real-time Push Notifications
Easy Product Management
Logistics Management
Social Media Integration
Intuitive Inventory Management
Category Management
Detailed Ratings & Reviews
End-to-end Order Management
Payment & Refund Management
Interactive Product Pages
Inclusive Returns Management
% Offer & Discounts
Filter-based Product Listing
Automated Payments & Settlement Module
Reports & Analytics
Detailed Order History
Real-time Notifications
Order Tracking
Automated Follow-up Emails
Recently Viewed Products
How much will it cost to build an Online Marketplace?
Now that you know almost everything about building a marketplace, let’s get down to the cost of developing a marketplace app.
There are many factors to take into account that form the overall marketplace development cost. First, just like any other app, to create an online marketplace you will have to hire a dedicated development team or a software development company comprising project managers, analysts, UI/UX designers, and developers.
Let's take a look at the cost of features and the development rates of outsourcing companies.
- Cost based on functions
Feature for User
features
hours
cost, $18/hr
UI/UX Development
60 hours
$1,080
Signup
16 hours
$288
Login
12 hours
$216
Business Logic Development (Product/service display, Category,Filter, book/order etc.)
200 hours
$3,600
Rating & Review
24hours
$432
Order History
24 hours
$432
Favirote/UnFavirote
16 hours
$288
Change & Forgot Password
12 hours
$216
Total Cost
364 hours
$6,552
Features for Seller/Vendor
features
hours
cost, $18/hr
UI/UX Development
60 hours
$1,080
Dashboard with Graph
32 hours
$576
Service/Product Management with Price
40 hours
$720
Order Management
40 hours
$720
Offer, Discount & Coupon Management
40hours
$720
Manage Category & Sub-Category
16 hours
$288
Review Replied
24 hours
$432
Calender for the Service Booking
24 hours
$432
Profile
16 hours
$288
Settings
16 hours
$288
Total Cost
308 hours
$5,544
Feature for Admin/Owner
features
hours
cost, $18/hr
Login
4 hours
$72
Manage Vendors
24 hours
$432
Manage Customers
24 hours
$432
Manage Sub-admin user & permission
32 hours
$576
Order history
32 hours
$576
Report
40 hours
$720
Total Cost
156 hours
$2,808
- Country-wise hourly development rates
Average Web Development Rates
Location
Hourly Rates
United States
$80 - $150/hr
Europe
$66 - $150/hr
India
$18 - $40/hr
Solutions we have provided for various marketplaces.
1. On-demand Handyman Marketplace:
MyServiceMenu
My Service menu is an online marketplace for Cleaner, Gardener, Handyman, and Pet Care services. It is a handyman app like Uber that helps to connect experienced and skilled professionals with the users looking for specific services.
Service providers can easily find jobs on the platform, and Users can also book the services instantly when needed.
Key Features of My Service Menu :
- Easy Sign-up and well-managed profile
- Service tracker until final delivery
- Easy manage appointments
- Direct payment option
- Refund facility available
Cost to build a Handyman Marketplace like MyServiceMenu :
Developing a Handyman Marketplace depends on your business and the features you include in the marketplace application. Hence, taking into consideration, it will cost you around $5,000 - $25,000 depending on the selected approach.
TrendMe is an influencer marketplace platform that allows influencers to promote different products and get amazing cash prizes based on the number of likes on the posts they promote before the given timeline.
This application is an excellent solution for clients to promote their brands via an Influencer marketing approach and get more brand endorsements.
Key Features of TrendMe :
- Helps clients to promote products globally with the specified target location.
- Offers easy methods for clients to create endorsement posts called Bounty.
- Clients can chat with influencers
- Payment wallet is managed with Stripe
- Easy withdrawal payment using Paypal
- Transaction History
Cost to build an Influencer Marketplace like TrendMe :
If you're thinking of building a marketplace platform for influencers, it would cost you anywhere from $5,000 - $20,000, depending on the complexities you add within the application.
3. Freelancer Marketplace:
Xposure
Xposure is a two-sided marketplace platform that connects potential freelancers and clients at a single destination. Clients post jobs on the marketplace portal and easily connect with freelancers by peeping into their accounts and checking their work history before selecting them.
Key Features of Xposure :
- Registration and user profile
- Easily find skilled freelancers for required services
- Access to a list of jobs available
- Project management tools
- Connect and chat option
Cost to build a Freelancer Marketplace like Xposure :
Taking a rough estimation considering all the basic features and factors, the cost of developing a site like Xposure can vary from $5,000 - $35,000
4. Marketplace for Beauty Services
Hita Salong
HitaSalong is a marketplace website that helps users search for their favorite salon, book appointments in real-time, and receive an immediate booking confirmation.
It is a national-level online directory website that allows users to search directories according to user preferences. Salon owners can also list their salons on the website and get referral benefits.
Key Features of Hita Salong :
- Search functionality (name, city, postal code)
- Check salon services with price list
- Booking confirmation through email and text message
- Salon owners can list their salon
- Well organized dashboard for salon owners
Cost to build a Beauty Service Marketplace like Hita Salong :
A basic beauty marketplace app development cost will be around $5,000 - $15,000. The price will vary depending upon the cost of developers, number of features, and the selected technology.
5. Limousine Rental Marketplace
RideHire
Ridehire is a marketplace platform for taxi and Limo rental services that connect the passenger's transportation with customers seeking to book their services.
From party buses to Limos and Charter buses to Antique cars, Ridehire is a one-stop-shop for vehicles to hire.
Key Features of RideHire:
- Users can search vehicle based on requirement
- Users can create quote inquiry and booking
- Manychat Integration for orders and quote
- Elasticsearch for quick results
- Vehicle owners can create their own promo codes
- Notifications for vehicle sharing
Cost to build a Limo Service Marketplace like Ridehire:
The development cost of the Limo service marketplace totally depends on the platform, features, and number of complexities included in the development. How-ever, you can expect the price somewhere between $8,000 - $30,000.
It would not be wrong to say that marketplaces are the future of eCommerce & On-Demand Service in the present context. With more and more consumers looking for a wide range of options, there cannot be a right time to launch a marketplace. However, before you plan to build a marketplace website, it's better to consult the experts about your development and launch plans.
WebsOptimization is a leading app development company with massive experience in developing intuitive marketplaces for Handy Service, wooden, sports, furniture, healthcare, and retail businesses. Get in touch with the experts at WebsOptimization to explore the feasibility of your idea and realize your dream of owning a digital marketplace today.
