Online retail is a phenomenon on an incredible rise today. If there is one sector that never took a hit in the pandemic and on the contrary got a complete booster in revenue then it is online retail. Just when high-speed internet and modern day smart devices were making things very convenient for consumers to shop online, the pandemic locked them all inside their homes.
According to a US Government report, online sales saw a rise of 43% in the pandemic! This trend is pretty much similar everywhere else in the world too. Apart from fast internet, logistical support and safe mediums for online transactions are a few reasons behind this eruption. The strengthening of the latter has enabled all kinds of eCommerce businesses to flourish.
Defining Your Marketplace
There are a few steps that you can follow to set up your own marketplace for online retail. Before you jump on to appointing custom ecommerce website development services, you must address a few essential points. These are a couple of key decisions you have to take before entering the market.
Define Your Trade
There are different kinds of eCommerce platforms. You must decide the purpose you want to serve. The most popular one is the B2C version in which businesses in the form of vendors sell their products to end consumers on a portal. B2B eCommerce web development offers a business to business version in which vendors target only larger businesses to sell their products. This model is heavy on quantity and may have products that do not appeal directly to end consumers.
The C2C model involves individuals selling products on their own to other individuals. You can consider places like eBay where the products can be one off sales or pre-owned stuff.
Define Your Niche
Amidst the presence of giant online retailers, it makes a lot of sense to go for niche segments and products. There are eCommerce marketplaces dealing in only specific products. Having a niche marketplace is recommended to new businesses over having a wider more common marketplace that may attract heavy competition from the category leaders.
Steps to Build Your Own Multi-Vendor eCommerce Marketplace
Once you have defined your segment and the subsequent niche, you can proceed towards following these steps to build a strong eCommerce marketplace. Note that you must partner with a web development firm before you move forward. Partnering with an agency will help you document each step and include all your groundwork in the infrastructure.
Vendor Partnerships
One of the very first few steps you need to take is to partner with as many vendors as possible. You can start with contacting local vendors and enlisting them in your portal. Depending on your niche, you can add vendors and assign codes to them. Ideally you should continue doing this step all throughout your journey as more vendors will help you offer better products.
Building Infrastructure
Once you have enough vendors that offer you their products, it is now time to enlist them in your website and give them distinct codes. You will need product details from them in the form of relevant textual information and images that will form the basic details of the products you have to offer on your website.
Logistics Partnership
A pivotal step in your journey towards building a strong eCommerce platform is to form a partnership with the right kind of logistical service provider. Online retail is heavily driven by the supply chain. Timely pick-ups and deliveries are the key. Having a transparent and informative tracking system is also a must for any delivery partner.
Marketing the Platform
Once you are set with the above steps, the final act is to market your platform. There are many mediums on which you can market your portal. An experienced agency will offer you innovative marketing strategies as well apart from custom ecommerce website development services. Social media is of course the primary source of traffic on any website but regular posting of relevant content can also drive organic traffic.
Final Word
Building a robust online retail store requires a lot of detailing and fine-tuning. Getting the broader steps right helps you fine tune in a better way later. Apart from defining your category, niche and partnering with right vendors, appointing the right ecommerce web development agency from the very beginning helps you form the infrastructure better. Your agency must have all the necessary information about every step you take. Keeping the data-driven age of technology at the core of your business always pays massive dividends.
