E-commerce is a trend that has been through tremendous growth and has no option of backing down ever. With the pandemic wave worldwide, people prefer shopping online instead of stepping out to get their products. This has been a significant relief to the E-commerce setups as the demand does not die down and suppliers distribute their services. However, buyers don’t feel like surfing through all the different catalogues for one particular product and prefer getting everything in one place. An easy solution to find all your products in one store is having a Multi-Vendor Marketplace set up; they provide an easy push to stores to upgrade their store to the next level and make the customer experience more manageable. Let’s explore the platforms for Multi Vendors, their benefits and their services.
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What is a Multi Vendor Marketplace?
As the name suggests, multiple vendors can sell their products together on an e-commerce platform. Each vendor will have their store on the forum, aligned with other vendors. To explain in a literal way, it would be the Sarojini market, in Delhi, where each vendor has their products all next to each other, or a mall where there are different food outlets and grocery stores, their responsibility is their product sales, and as the host, the e-commerce platform takes care of the logistics.
Elements of the Multi-Vendor Market
1. The Admin
Once you create or buy an online platform, you are the store’s admin. You can allow people to set up their stores on your platform and charge them for their sales. An admin’s responsibility is to increase their site’s visibility and inventory organization based on the vendor’s customization. The complete customization and outreach depend on the admin’s marketing ability to attract customer sales.
2. The Vendor
As a vendor, if you want to expand your business outside of the retail barriers too, you can look up multi-vendor marketplaces like Amazon, Flipkart, Bikayi, etc. who offer this feature to set up your store. Its responsibility is to list the products and sectors into categories and maintain customer analytics. Website themes and approach needs can be placed to the admin for further outreach.
3. The Customer
Customer is king and rightly said so, as the customer’s role is to shop without limit and get their product. In a multi-vendor market, the customer is taken to many sites for various options. Some of these stores even provide discounts and referral codes for shopping with them, making it a pleasant shopping experience for the users.
Types of Multivendor eCommerce
Online Product Marketplace
This involves the traditional buying practice where all the customers and vendors are under one roof and looking for the best discounts to sell directly to the customers.
For example, Bikayi is an online marketplace where the platform lends its space to third party vendors. Here , if the vendors make profits , even the marketplace gets its profits. A win situation for both parties.
Online Service Marketplace
This platform provides service to the sellers seeking it. This platform is not restricted to selling products; if a new startup needs a freelance service, these platforms connect them to service providers.
For example , Fiverr is an online platform which connects businesses in need of service providers with minimal input. If a startup cannot afford a full time writer , they can approach fiverr with this service and Fiverr would connect them to a freelancer.
Online Rental Marketplace
This niche-based platform allows for business transactions on a rental basis and much higher cost products. The fashion industry and transportation have carved their marketplace where vacation and equipment rental occurs. Brands like Ola, Zoom cars rent out their vehicles for the customers at a fixed time and price. In the case of Zoom cars or co-working spaces , these are marketplaces who rent their space or vehicles for a specific period of time and earn through rent.
Hybrid Marketplace
People can buy and sell products on this platform, such as OLX, where people sell their second-hand items for others to buy. This method also works when you reserve a product on an online marketplace and collect it offline in the retail shop, like BookMyShow, where we book tickets online and show it offline for entry.
For example Bikayi sets up a channel for offline stores to begin their business online , thereby having a multi channel source. Here , customers can book their products online like reservation and collect it offline.
Hyperlocal Marketplace
This marketplace ensures your product delivery based on your nearby locations. This provides the fastest delivery through apps such as Swiggy, Zomato where food is delivered through the nearest branch.
In the case of UrbanClap, Bigbasket , all these brands spot the nearest location for your needs and ensures the delivery within 24 hours
Multi-Vendor Marketplace Features
Traffic Engagement
The best part of a multi-vendor platform is that people tend to browse through various sellers before settling on one store. When the host platform optimizes the site, there’s a good chance of the seller browsing through your site through multiple sources, and the traffic increases through connecting stores search.
No Inventory Management
With a multi-vendor store, the logistics of shipment, packing, storing, and stocks are not your responsibility. This will be the seller’s responsibility as they sell on your platform. This saves time, money and additional space cost.
Budget-Friendly
Setting up an online store is much more cost-effective than setting up an actual retail store. Since inventory management is not your responsibility, the shipping resource cost remains, making it much easier to maintain expenses.
Unlimited Choices
Online stores have no limits on themes or space to add and remove products. This ensures a wide variety of products for all your customers; this wouldn’t be an issue as there is no stock room for extra supplies.
Sale Margins
Since the E-commerce platform is on a lease to the sellers, you can obtain a profit from them for selling on your site and set terms and conditions for your percentage.
To sum it up, Multi-Vendor Marketplaces are a great start with additional benefits for up-and-coming businesses. Since there are many options to both buy and sell, and E-commerce is the future, get in touch with some of these companies to set up your store as soon as possible.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, there are many online marketplaces available according to any local business needs and budget. All the platforms of Amazon, Ali Baba, Ebay have generated revenue of over 16 ,639 crore . These platforms provide exposure to local businesses and access to instant delivery of unlimited products and services. This is an elevated platform for businesses looking for growth.
To create your own platform , one must first identify their business requirements and identify a platform where they can host multi vendors. This can take a lot of time and money , setting up an online store with a platform like Bikayi would provide you with the necessary boost to your business.
The essential elements of a marketplace are the Admin, buyer and customer for Inventory Management, Catalogues listing and Optimization of the site for marketing. The Platform must have advanced features for order and shipping directory and payment gateways.
Mobile phones are the virtual shopping mall for all digital users and people will be attracted by referral and discount offers through the app. Hence , apps are a huge plus to a platform.
