The online shopping forums are at a stage where their growth seems inevitable. eCommerce websites and applications are booming steadily, and the shift to digitalisation has become unnecessary. The development of an Etsy Clone only aligns with the tides and times of the world around, especially the world of the Internet.
Etsy is like any of the modern age shopping sites of the time. It hosts a massive variety of sellers offering various products at its disposal. Similarly, this online marketplace has quite the number for a customer base. The app itself thrives on the services and the commission earned from it. As most companies are going digital or partnering with online marketplaces, the demand for unique marketplace platform ideas is being rolled out now and then.
The Working Process For An Etsy Clone
The Etsy Clone development has different layers of work, and at the of it is the workflow or process through which the users will access the platform and its services. Everything depends on the users, i.e., both the seller and buyer and how they perceive the platform and use its services. The workflow of an online shopping platform is broken down in the steps inscribed below.
- Both the seller and buyer have to enroll on the platform by registering. This registration process prompts the user to enter their credential, which will get verified with an OTP or other security method. In addition, email, phone numbers, and social media credentials are usually asked from the user.
- Log in from the next time onwards. The seller on an Etsy Clone will be required to add products with authenticable details. The products will be approved and featured on the platform in a short time. After the products are posted, they will be available for public viewing.
- On the other hand, the buyer will be allowed to search the platform for different products posted by different sellers. The app and website on both platforms will have a search panel, where the user can type or use the voice search feature to look for items or stores that they know. They can also use the search filters on the Etsy Clone.
- On spotting a product that the buyer wishes to purchase, they can click on it and know more about it, for starters. The buyer can learn most of the details they need to know to buy an item online. From here on, they can either save it on their wishlist for later purchase. Or, they can add the product to their cart for instant purchase.
- They can proceed to checkout from the cart, which will lead the buyer to the payment process. While the buyer finalises the payment, the seller gets notified about the order. An order request gets automatically sent to the seller. They will have approved the request, or they can also decline it, however, they please. In each case, the buyer will be notified on all accounts.
- The seller will dispatch the item on the due date of the delivery. A delivery person from the Etsy Clone fleet will receive the package and drop it out at the registered delivery address. If the buyer has not already paid for the item, they can make the payment once they receive it. Soon after, the seller, the delivery executive, and the app get their commission transferred to their accounts.
- The buyer will finally be asked to rate and review different parts of their whole experience with the platform. They can rate the product, review the delivery and even place a complaint if their demands are not met. The app will be responsible for answering all queries and questions that each user has.
Extended List Of Features On A Etsy Clone
The workflow of the Etsy Clone is only valuable with a proper choice of features and a User Interface to make it all align. While app developers can be hired to help you out with the last bit entirely, you will still have to be very much involved in the feature list selection.
An exhaustive list of features can be found for such platforms, and they are quite attractive. However, you will only need a chosen few that will do the work just fine. Nevertheless, there are a few staple options for an eCommerce marketplace platform, and we will discuss those in the section below.
Social Media Log In
Initially, both the seller and the buyer must register to the platform. Then, they are supposed to provide their email i.d or other credentials like social media account handle. After that, the app will send an OTP for verification purposes; once this gets done, the buyer becomes part of the Etsy Clone community.
Smart Search
After the buyer has into their account, their first instinct is to look for items they have thought of purchasing. Then, they can type the product’s name or the seller’s name on the search bar included within the app or the website. As a modern-day eCommerce platform, you could also include a voice search option. Other than that, the platform also has several filters to make the searches even more accurate.
Multi-Level Category
The search panel is quite useful, but the Etsy Clone should also contain a multi-level category. For example, the product list or category includes all items featured for sale. As the platform has various sellers with various products, the platform requires a multi-level category to build an organized product list.
Daily Deals
The app or website home page will feature different items specially catered for the buyer. These features are either promotional products, bestsellers, matches with the buyer’s search algorithm, and lastly, the deal and offers provided daily.
Purchase History
A frequent buyer or a long-time user will have multiple orders made in their association with the platform. Hence, the Etsy Clone needs to have a purchase history present for each buyer. The platform will have its records stored automatically and keep it saved. Therefore, the individual purchase history is allowed to buyers whenever they ask for it among these vast data.
Multiple Themes
The platform could have multiple themes that make it look even more appealing to the audience. Some themes could also be present at the user’s disposal to have a personalised experience. They can also integrate special themes for special occasions.
Shopping Cart
As soon as the buyer decides to buy any product, they can directly add it to the shopping cart. This cart section can contain multiple items, obviously upto a certain limit. The buyer can see the total amount they have to pay from the cart, including delivery and taxes. The cart can only hold on to an item until the product is completely sold out. The user will be notified in that case, and changes in prices will also be updated immediately.
Quick Checkout
Once the buyer has gone through the cart and finalised buying the product, they can proceed to checkout. This action will directly lead the buyer to the payment page. The buyer can add their bank account or connect their debit/credit cards to pay online. The Etsy Clone can also include other online methods and cash on delivery methods, which have been in high demand.
Nearby Store Pick-Up
As soon as the seller approves the order, the order is packed and dispatched off to the nearest pick-up store to the delivery location. On the day of the delivery, a delivery person is assigned to pick up the package from the store and deliver it to the right address. The users may also be able to track the progress of the delivery person while they are on delivery and may even guide them if they require help.
Abandoned Cart
Often, buyers may go through a product, like it and adds it to the cart but refuse to proceed to checkout. In such cases, the products remain in the cart and get abandoned. The buyer can surely return the item later, but there are rare chances of getting the product or getting the product at the same price.
Wishlist
Instead of adding products to the cart and abandoning them, buyers on an Etsy Clone can save the product under their wishlist. The wishlist or the favourites section stores up items that the user wishes to purchase later.
Blacklist I.P
This is a feature that is specifically added for admins. If an admin’s come across suspicious IPs or reports, users can be blacklisted by the admin. Once blacklisted, these IPs will not be able to access the platform at any cost.
Location-Based Shopping
The entire platform is based upon a GPS track, and everything is connected. When a buyer searches for a product and places an order, their location gets noted for delivery. The search is often based on location, and local trends are usually shown to the buyer.
Multi-Language Integration
As a platform that hosts multiple people, there have to be various languages to support them all. Therefore, Etsy Clone needs to introduce multiple language options into its platform and support panel.
Multi Payment Gateway
Other than multiple languages, the platform also requires multiple payment gateways to process all the payments without any hassle. Therefore, customers need to have at least a few options for making payments instead of having only one option at hand.
Conclusion
Developing an Etsy Clone requires all the things we mentioned in this article. There are multiple eCommerce marketplaces and to stand and blend with them takes patience and hard work. The development process is just the beginning; managing the platform would be more complicated.