When we talk about electronic commerce, there are many terms that may come to mind, starting with the word “marketplace”. Let us remember that a marketplace is an electronic commerce model that proposes a platform where different stores can market their products.
In this way, consumers are offered a very wide catalog of products, thus increasing the possibilities of purchasing within the marketplace. On the other hand, for merchants or merchants it is also a beneficial business medium, as it helps them gain visibility without a great investment, while helping to drive conversions thanks to the variety of resources to stay in touch with the audience.
There are multi-category marketplaces that operate globally, such as Amazon or AliExpress, but new independent marketplace models are emerging every day, bringing together specialized sellers by category, territory or brand values such as sustainability.
Steps to follow when setting up a marketplace
Due to the wide acceptance that the marketplace model has had in the digital sphere, many companies have chosen to implement this type of platform. Even for well-known brands, it can be a useful strategy, since they add value to their category within the marketplace, being part of it together with other brands in the sector. In any case, when setting up a marketplace platform there are several aspects to take into account.
1. Define brand values
This is a fundamental part of building the business, as it will be key to attracting and retaining customers. In this way, when a marketplace is opened, it is necessary to consider what will be the added value that will allow our marketplace to stand out from others in the market. Executing an extensive market study will help us define the positioning of our platform, before addressing the rest of the aspects. More interesting articles to be posted on daily basis.
2. Choose the brands, products or services
Another factor of great importance, and in relation to the previous one, is choosing which brands, category of products or services will be part of the marketplace. It is important to offer a wide variety of products in each category in order to achieve an optimal shopping experience. In this aspect, you could also consider looking at merchants for brand values that align with those of our store.
3. Meet buyers and create a community
Of course, one of the pillars of any store and digital sales platform is the consumer. For this reason, it is necessary to know the target audience, in order to also be able to create an experience more in line with their needs and expectations. And, once the public has been defined, take charge of building a faithful community that helps it grow.
Apart from these factors that we have mentioned, it is also necessary to take into account aspects such as infrastructure and its maintenance, marketing or logistics. As well as the scope that you want to achieve from the start-up. All this will help determine the approximate total cost of the project.
4. Comprehensive payment gateway, the key to taking your marketplace to the next level
The management of online payments in the marketplace model is critical and more complex than in a traditional ecommerce, since the flow is not unidirectional, from the buyer to the seller, but there may be different flows depending on the business model. For this reason, it is important to have a flexible payment platform capable of processing this complexity, always complying with the applicable regulations.
In response to this, we found the marketplace-specific payment solution offered by Payment . This payment platform has a Payment Entity License for the entire European Union, a relevant point to comply with the PSD2 regulations regarding the management of third-party funds.
Its payment solution for the marketplace incorporates a complete collection and payment service that helps simplify the management and onboarding of the different merchants, through a single platform. Through the control panel you can simplify your operations, scheduling payments and accessing complete reports in real time.
Additionally, it has tools for card tokenization and fraud control, which boost security and trust in the store. We can also find subscription solutions to help in the loyalty process through recurring payments.
In short, a complete payment solution that allows access, not only to a wide variety of payment methods (by card, mobile payments, wallet or electronic banking), but also to multiple tools to increase sales and thus guarantee security in the payments.