Since the introduction of the e-Commerce trade, many industries have taken their business over to the online platform. Online shopping has also been highly accepted by the audience. Many have even gone on to prefer online shopping over going out to the market. This is where an online Marketplace like Gilt makes quite the impression.
It is to be noted that a marketplace has different suppliers, vendors, retailers, store managers manufacturers, and other businesses tied up with the marketplace to sell their products. While on the other hand, buyers visit the online marketplace and search for the product they are looking for and are instantly connected with the best sellers that match your search.
Online shopping platforms have multiplied in the last decade and there are several marketplaces that have millions of visitors. This is why building a Marketplace like Gilt gets so much priority. Let us see how a Marketplace like Gilt can actually make an impact on a business.
Sales Boost
Marketplaces naturally boost more customers, and sellers can bank on the number. For an online platform, the number is pretty big and a business with the right tactics can earn good revenue. Marketplaces automatically market various products on their website, which increases the chance of buyers landing upon one of these posts.
No Inventory Stock
A Marketplace like Glit may not have a personal inventory in order to meet the demand of its audiences. This is possible because marketplaces deal with multiple vendors, suppliers, retailers, and other businesses that cover the increasing demand of clients. This way an online marketplace is able to manage the supply without having to have an actual inventory to meet the demand directly.
Customer Involvement
In today’s digital marketing, it is important to get in touch with the client personally. Apart from analyzing customer behavior from a distance try to create more conversation. Social media posts are a great opportunity to start a conversation. Any comment, review, discussion on a product or the brand over the marketplace can really intrigue audiences to connect with the company. Customer support services are another important inclusion in the matter for addressing issues faced by customers.
Organic Traffic & Conversion
Much of digital marketing works on understanding the audience’s behavior and providing service accordingly. For example, online marketplaces will allow more exposure and brand awareness which can be utilized to gain profit. With an increasing online presence o a brand, they will have to focus on organic traffic. A Marketplace like Gilt will have to put special emphasis on SEO, backlinking, backend operations for the conversion of the organic traffic.
Improved Growth
A marketplace is the best for sellers to place their bids while buyers find the bid that is most suitable for themselves. There can be almost no chance of a shortage of supply if the marketplace can manage the cycle. This is why buyers come to marketplaces in hue numbers. An online marketplace has a huge prospect of growth along with the business ventures associated with it.
All these reasons aside, an online Marketplace like Gilt that deals in fashion and accessories has an enormous reach. Online shopping for clothing and accessories can make quite an impact with the right marketing strategy.
Key Features For Building A Marketplace Like Gilt
As an online platform, the user interface of the website or application needs to be very user-friendly. Putting stress over user experiences, there are several features included that make a Marketplace like Gilt stand out from the rest. In general, an online marketplace consists of two functional business models, one for vendors and the other for consumers.
Features Designed For Vendors
The following features are developed for the vendors to use.
Signup & Registration
As an e-Commerce marketplace vendor, it is important to sign-up and registers under an authorized online marketplace platform. This way the business gets a pass of approval from the marketplace owner, and the buyer can also be assured of his or her purchase from the marketplace. The e-Commerce platform must have an authorization panel in order to filter the quality of sellers doing business on their platform.
Inventory
Most marketplaces do not require a personal inventory of their own as they can get the supply from their vendors. To be truthful, reliable vendors and suppliers are the inventory of an online marketplace. However, in order to build a Marketplace like Gilt, uses technological help to manage their inventory and never fail at meeting the demands of its customers.
Managing Orders
An online marketplace offers a pool of visitors. With the right digital marketing strategy, it can also increase its customer base on a regular basis. To balance with the growing demand vendors will require something to manage their orders. The e-Commerce platform must allow an order management feature for vendors where they can accept or cancel orders, receive bills, skim through the order history and other details associated with each order.
Data Analytics
Data analytics in digital marketing is an important aspect. For an online platform data analytics reveals most of the calculations and measurements required to understand the market and customer behavior. For example, using personal data of customers, marketing products to them on special occasions such as birthdays and anniversaries.
Admin Panel
Any online Marketplace like Gilt must have an admin panel for its vendors to keep track of their business. Though the admin panel vendors can post detailed content about their products, images, videos, and communicate with customers directly through comments and other options.
Features Designed For Consumers
Apart from the features included for vendors, there should be some other features ascertained just for the consumers. As it is a marketplace, buyers and sellers both panels must be provided with separate functions.
Singup And Registration
Similar to the vendor features, there should also be signup and registration features included for consumers to take an active part in the marketplace. One-time buyers may not be intimidated by this feature but it is quite essential for regular buyers or long-time users.
User Profile
For the user profile of consumers, it is filled with personal information. A profile discreetly features the name of the customer, age, gender, address, phone number, orders, billing, and payment. Other than that the profile may also have a supporting algorithm that may also save prior searches, favorites, and other individual information.
Goods Catalog
A Marketplace like Gilt must come with a catalog featuring all its products. A category or catalog section allows an organized look into the marketplace. The buyer can easily use the catalog to find the type of product they are looking for.
Search Bar & Filters
The search bar is one of the most crucial inclusion to keep in mind while building an online marketplace. Using the search bar buyers can easily search precisely what they want to buy. Some marketplaces may also have search filters based on popular searches by customers and popular trends such as price brackets.
Wishlist & Shopping Cart
Customers browsing through different products available on your marketplace may want to save some of their searches for buying later. This is why the favorite or wishlist feature is essential. Another important feature may be the shopping cart. When a buyer wishes to buy a product and they can add the item to the shopping cart and then only proceed for checkout.
Reviews & Ratings
Any online Marketplace like Gilt will have to add a review, comment, or rating section that allows other buyers to visit the marketplace based on the reviews and ratings. This also creates an authentic atmosphere.
Checkout & Payment Gateway
The checkout page on an online marketplace allows the user to recheck the items they have selected for buying. After you proceed from the checkout page you will be directed to the payment gateway. The payment gateway for an online marketplace should be easy to access for the user and it must be a safe and secure option for financial transactions.
There are other features, such as one-click order which can also be included to bring in more clients. To be truthful, you can add any number of features to your online platform to make it more interesting for users.
How To Monetize An Online Marketplace
From developing the marketplace to adding features to the online platform everything has a price. Thus, there must be another way to earn profit for the marketplace. Here are a few ways the marketplace can monetize its platform for profit earning.
- One way a Marketplace like Gilt can earn revenue is through the selling fees. It can be gained from each item, referral, shipping, and closing fees.
- The marketplace can also earn from listing items from its vendors under its platform.
- Advertisement is probably the most viable option for marketplaces to earn direct profit.
- The last option is to ask customers to subscribe to your platform and provide additional features and advantages to subscribers.
A Marketplace like Gilt can monetize its platform in quite a few ways. And it is severely important for the platform to survive on its own along with the business ventures associated with the marketplace.
Conclusion
This article was about building an e-Commerce marketplace and how it impacts the business ventures involved in the process. Building a Marketplace like Gilt is no easy feat, however, the success of such platforms can be quite dynamic.