Multi-vendor marketplaces have become a common practice for D2C brands to grow their businesses and establish a central touchpoint for their customers. As ecommerce websites become more accessible, the technology associated with running a marketplace like Amazon has also grown substantially. Every successful multi-vendor marketplace today is equipped to ensure the highest standards of customer experience while making sure that all operations on the backend are running smoothly.
Shipturtle brings you a comprehensive guide on the must-have features for your multi-vendor online marketplace so that you don’t leave a stone unturned to satisfy your customers.
This guide has been divided into seven important aspects for creating a multi-vendor marketplace website on Shopify:
Go live on Shopify in less than 48 hours using Shipturtle's out-of-box multivendor functionalities. Our solution offers 400+ pre-built workflows, including vendor management, product listings, order processing, and payment management. The app is configurable, has no code & boasts 1000+ integrations!
Here's our exhaustive list of all the features that you will require in your journey to build the next successful marketplace:
I. Website Design
1. Carts
2. Marketplace-friendly theme
3. Custom fields and pages
4. Checkout
5. Pin code restriction
6. Ratings and reviews
7. Whitelabel
8. Type of multi-vendor marketplace
9. Seller profile
10. SEO for multi-vendor online marketplace
II. Vendor Management
11. Vendor registration & onboarding
13. Vendor website sync
16. Vendor catalog
17. Analytics
18. Mobile support
III. Payments, Commissions, and Reconciliations
IV. Order Management
24. Shipment tracking
25. Invoicing
26. NDR
27. Returns
V. Security Features
32. Traceability and change logs
VI. Compatible Apps
33. Tax compliance
34. Subscriptions
35. Upsell and cross-sell
36. CRM
VII. Support
37. Documentation
38. Customization
39. Live chat support
40. Open API’s
Shipturtle lets you connect vendor websites, and automate listings, orders, shipping, payouts & much more. You can scale unlimited with open APIs for custom development.
In creating a multi vendor website from scratch that captivates customers and guarantees prompt and effective delivery, it is imperative to incorporate the following essential features. These features are carefully selected with a focus on multivendor website design, ensuring that your marketplace on Shopify is equipped with the necessary elements for optimal functionality.
A D2C brand would create a heightened emphasis on user experience, with features like smooth checkout processes, intuitive site navigation, and overall shopping convenience.
Websites selling thousands of products have a very different layout vs D2C brands focussing on less than hundred products.
Niharika Joshi, FREELANCE DESIGNER
In contrast, multi-vendor marketplaces often opt for a product-focused theme that not only showcases the available products but also facilitates users in exploring various aspects of the product range.
Achieving a one-click checkout is contingent upon addressing consumer queries before the checkout phase through website design integrations. Therefore, anticipating whether a product can be delivered to a specific location beforehand can significantly reduce the number of dropouts during the checkout process on a website.
Saumitra Kabra, MYBAGEECHA.COM
Earning and sustaining consumer trust and loyalty pose significant challenges. To enhance brand trust with each user visit:
White labeling is widely recognized for its significance in building trust with both vendors and consumers.
Every marketplace website operates on a distinct business model, whether it’s a B2B, B2C, and C2C platform, or product, rental, and service marketplace, necessitating a website design that aligns with the specific requirements of each model.
SEO plays a pivotal role in amplifying visibility and driving conversions on e-commerce platforms. SEO approach designed specifically for multi-vendor marketplaces requires a distinctive fusion of conventional SEO practices and tailored strategies. Key tactics involve:
Mastery of these techniques can significantly elevate organic traffic and boost sales, distinguishing your listings in the competitive digital marketplace.
In contrast to standard practice, SEO for multi-vendor marketplace strategically targets customers with commercial intent, aiming at those poised to make a purchase. Challenges encompass managing extensive product listings and maintaining consistency across third-party vendor submissions.
Protim Bhaumik, FRACTIONAL CMO
At Shipturtle, we comprehend the challenges faced by marketplace entrepreneurs in their growth journey. That’s why our offerings extend beyond mere marketplace technology.
We provide a comprehensive package for creating a marketplace website and its growth:
The second most crucial element for any multi-vendor marketplace on Shopify or WooCommerce lies in the effective management of sellers. It is possible through a user-friendly vendor management module, ensuring safety and security for vendors and stores.
A straightforward onboarding procedure and dashboard prove instrumental in attracting more sellers to your website within a shorter timeframe.
The time required for market entry can be a distinguishing factor in the competitive landscape. Deploying a dependable vendor management module is thus essential to your success.
SAUMITRA KABRA, MYBAGEECHA.COM
In the intricate network of multi-vendor marketplaces, where numerous sellers are interconnected through a central website, managing multiple entities while preserving their independent identities necessitates a unique dashboard solution.
Therefore, Unified vendor dashboards are a key feature in building your multi-vendor marketplace.
This centralized tool can execute various processes with a simple click, offering a streamlined approach to complex procedures within the marketplace. This simplification not only saves time and enhances efficiency but also opens up possibilities for new revenue streams for both the marketplace merchants and the individual sellers.
Automating inventories and products directly through your sellers' websites can save time and help you focus on the things that matter most - Building customer relationships!
Some of the notable features that a vendor website sync feature must have in itself are:
Marketplace owners usually complain about uploading products manually.
Bulk uploads can enhance efficiency.
In marketplaces where products frequently change, this feature provides a massive boost in productivity. It enables you or any seller on your platform to upload and manage a large catalog of products that keep changing according to trends or seasons.
Reputed marketplace software like Shipturtle ensures the safety and security of all transactions. You must incorporate the following three essential features on your multivendor website to secure your business growth:
Reconciliation has been a major challenge for any multi vendor marketplace on Shopify or WooCommerce, and automating these processes/managing accounts can help brands tide over liquidity shortages and compliance filings.
Automation of your accounts helps marketplaces make vital decisions regarding their spending, especially during times of high demand and quick deadlines. Factoring in expenses, sales, and revenue can lead to profitability in a shorter time.
To ensure the smooth management of any multi-vendor marketplace, order management, and operations should be easy, automated, and accurate. Minimizing errors in processing orders can reduce revenue leakages and open new revenue streams for the online marketplace.
We are living in an era where consumers are increasingly becoming impatient and often require an update on their shipment. Shipment tracking is one of the hygiene features without which a marketplace is unable to function and grow.
Rashmi Chouhan, Journalist
Every marketplace has different invoicing requirements.
A quick video showcasing Shipturtle's prime feature - Vendor Website Sync. Not only sync across vendor stores on Shopify, Woocommerce, Magento, Squarespace but also offline stores!
A quick video showcasing Shipturtle's C2C feature. You can enable users to buy and sell at the same time. Add reverse bidding options like include "Make an offer" button and so much more.
99.9%
Our Vendor Sync feature works via Webhooks and not APIs. This eliminates overselling and underselling completely, promising upto a 5% boost in revenue. Moreover, Shipturtle's super strong reconciliation mechanism and change log ensures accurate inventory almost all the time!
Security is often a neglected aspect of any website or multi-vendor marketplace. Having a scalable, secure, and immutable security framework for your multi-vendor marketplaces is essential for doing business with your users and partners.
A multi-vendor marketplace plugin often has a range of features that cater to the website. Several features often require an extended ecosystem or affiliate program. Having compatible apps that have expertise in crucial aspects can reduce the burden of responsibility on a single application while providing the users with the safety of choosing from several affiliate applications.
Taxes are one of the major instruments in maintaining cordial relations with government authorities. Building these features within the various applications utilized can save on SME costs to deal with matters on the same.
Rashmi Chouhan, journalist
Upselling and cross-selling are slowly gaining traction as alternative models of selling in the e-commerce world. Having applications that can enable both can be a game changer for any marketplace.
Finally, the last set of features deals with the consumer's requirement to understand how to utilize your plugin. The best practice for any multi-vendor marketplace website is to provide your vendors and customers with a clear picture of how to use the plugin, which has the option of customization and other support features.
A comprehensive knowledge base and learning materials can help decrease the time to install and utilize your plugin. This can also increase the potential to upsell features and add-ons by having a central repository to address any questions related to the plugin.
Technology is often hard to understand for those who actually use it. Documentation plays a vital role in spoon-feeding the users on how to use the platform. A quicker time to market and stable operations are byproducts of efficient documentation. Creating a deep-seated understanding and the possibility of building a long-term relationship with the marketplace is the direct benefit.
The article is an exhaustive list of all the features that you will require in your journey to build the next successful marketplace.
You can download a summary table by signing up here so that you can always be aware of the features that will be essential in making sure that your marketplace reaches new heights.
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Sharad Kabra is an accomplished entrepreneur and the founder of Shipturtle, a global SaaS platform that enables seamless partnerships between direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands and e-commerce marketplaces. Before founding Shipturtle, he co-founded myBageecha.com, a popular gardening marketplace, and GabbarFarms.com, which focuses on sustainable farming.