How to launch B2C eCommerce Marketplace: Business Model With Examples

An eCommerce marketplace allows every independent seller to sell his product or service through the online platform. A warehouse is not required to run the platform. The B2C eCommerce marketplace will only contain the description and the pictures of the product. The seller will maintain the stock and once the buyer selects the product, a seller will be intimated and will be accounted for prompt product delivery.

Retail eCommerce Sales Worldwide from 2014 to 2023

Have you ever wondered why there is a sudden growth in the eCommerce industry and why all aspiring entrepreneurs show special interest in building an eCommerce store? The below-mentioned facts will give you clear insights into the importance of building an online marketplace store.

• In 2022 the e-retail revenue is projected to reach 5.4 trillion US dollars which was 4.28 trillion US dollars in 2020.
• Around 2.14 billion active users have ordered their products online in 2021, till date and it is expected to reach 3.6 billion users by 2022.
• China is the top most contributor for the ecommerce market with total online sales 2.8 trillion US dollars in 2021.
• Clothing is the most popular shopping category that has gained 57% of purchases on the overall retail sales.
• 65% of positive impact has been gained by any ecommerce platform through social media platforms.

Benefits of B2C Online Ecommerce Marketplace Platform

Before you decide to open your online store, you need to analyze its benefits and should understand how far it is going to benefit your business.

1. Scalability – every business needs to grow and as they grow their data will also grow. Online marketplace is scalable and can handle huge data that can be used in future to analyze customers’ buying behavior.
2. Better Efficiency – with proper hosting services, the marketplace platform will have better loading speed and this will enhance the performance of the platform. By providing remote access to all resources, sellers will be able to sell their products easily.
3. Reach to More Customers – global reach is possible when you run an ecommerce marketplace platform. The platform supports multiple languages and multiple currencies and you can have an audience all over the world. So you can reach your brand to your target audience easily.
4. Automation – most tasks are fully automated and require less human intervention. More productivity can be expected with less time. This will obviously increase the revenue of the platform.
5.  Diverse Customers an B2C ecommerce marketplace can have diversified products with several sellers. This will allow your platform to have diverse customers and you can get better conversion and guaranteed returns.
6. SEO Reinforcement every online marketplace platform will be search engine optimized and will get search engine ranking easily. This will make your platform be listed on the top pages and your marketplace will get more visitors that will lead to better conversion.
7.  Access to marketing data – huge data will be stored in your scalable b2c marketplace software and you can utilize the data and integrate proper marketing strategy that will get you more returns and benefits.
8.  Analytics – understanding the business performance is the crucial aspect for any entrepreneur. With any eCommerce marketplace, you can easily get analytical reports regarding your orders, transaction, stock and many more.
9.  Customer-focused Experience customers will experience more benefits when they use the eCommerce platform. They can compare products and pricing with other sellers and can pay online and can track their order in real-time.
10.  Exceptional Service to Customers – multiple communication channels will be available in marketplace platforms. This will allow smooth communication between the seller and the buyer thus buyers may not need to return products often.

How to Build B2C Ecommerce Marektplace Platform with ZielCommerce

B2C marketplace platform is reaching the next level in its growth. But building a B2C marketplace platform is quite a challenging one and one needs to understand how to confront all challenges and come out with a perfect B2C ecommerce marketplace platform.

• Choose the niche– every entrepreneur should analyze the niche he wants to go with before he starts building his B2C platform. The niche will have a greater impact on your marketplace business model so give more attention in selecting the niche.

• Filter the target audience –target audience depends on the product you choose. It is very essential to pitch your b2c platform to your target audience so that you will get more leads and will get easy conversion.

• Develop the B2C marketplace platform – after identifying your business plan and target audience, you need to start developing your ecommerce store either from scratch or should go for a readymade solution. If you are planning to go for an economical one then it is suggested to select a readymade ecommerce platform.

• Promote and launch the platform – once you are settled with the development process you need to make it reach your audience through proper marketing strategy and launch the platform. Once you start getting more visitors to your marketplace website you can start earning.

Key Features to include While Developing B2C Marketplace Website:

While building a B2C marketplace platform more attention is needed for features that will enhance the platform usage and will grab the attention of buyers and sellers. Let us check out the key features that are very essential and mandatory for any B2C marketplace platform.

• HomePage: This is the first impression the visitor will get when he enters your website. Make it more user-friendly with feature-rich UI & UX. The website should be more device compatible only then you can attract a more mobile audience.
• Product Listing Page– products need to be categorized and listed in a proper way that will make visitors find the product easily without taking a long time to search. Detailed description about the product should be mentioned for better understanding.
• Shopping Cart Page – more attention is needed while developing this part. From here the buyer will be taken to the checkout page so make it more simple and easy to access.
• Login & Register Page – most users will be non-technical people who will be completely new to the online market. So make sure your B2C marketplace platform has easy login and registration procedures.
• Checkout Page – if the checkout page is complicated then the user will definitely abandon the cart page. To get better conversion you need to have a simple checkout page.
• Replacement and Return – make it easy for customers to return and get a refund. Always provide a better communication channel for buyers and sellers to communicate to reduce returns and replacements.

Seller Panel:

Sellers have a crucial role in the success of any ecommerce marketplace platform. But the marketplace should satisfy sellers with beneficiary features that will help them to sell products easily and get more returns. Let us figure out the key features that any seller will expect from your B2C marketplace platform.

• Registration Page for sellers – this is the first process that any seller will get in. so make it simple and easy for sellers to get themselves registered with your platform and start selling their products.
• Vendor Dashboard – allow your sellers to have an individual dashboard that will let them know about their business and how far it is performing well. They should get clear insights through the dashboard.
• Inventory Management – simplified inventory management is needed as it will help sellers not to go out of stock any time and to have uninterrupted product supply to their customers.
• Managing customers – let your sellers handle their customers effectively. They should be able to give offers and discounts that will impress them and will make them buy more and more from them.
• Manage Orders – hassle-free order management is to be provided through your platform that will facilitate sellers to arrange orders properly and ensure prompt delivery. Let your platform check with the stock availability before accepting orders and process accordingly.      
• Manage Transactions – For each order, buyers will pay online and the admin will receive the payment and once the admin deduct the commission value the seller will receive his payment. All transactions should be effectively handled.
• Manage Seller profile page – let t seller access his profile page and do necessary changes like setting profile image, adding descriptions about the seller’s business, and many more.

Admin Panel:

Admin is the key person who is going to handle the whole marketplace operations. Features for admin should be taken with utmost care. If they are not satisfied then there is no point in running eCommerce marketplace software. So make sure you integrate all the below-mentioned features in your multivendor platform.

• Manage Vendors – multiple vendors will join your platform and you need to efficiently handle them and provide enough freedom in handling their own product page. Make them easily list products and sell them through your platform.
• Manage Products – admin should be able to accept or reject any product that the seller wants to add to the platform.
• Generate Payout – admin will handle all payment transactions that are carried out in the platform. Sellers will get their payout once the commission is deducted and will be delivered to their account once the seller sends the withdrawal request.
• Customer Management – the platform will start getting more customers and the admin needs to manage each customer efficiently and should find ways in delighting customers and should retain them for a long time.
• Review & Rating management – review and rating system will allow admin to know how quality is the product and service are delivered through their platform. This will make them work more on products and the reputation of the eCommerce platform.
• Manage Invoice – every order will come with the invoice. Admin should be able to manage invoices also with the tax management system.
• Managing Inventory – although stock will be maintained by sellers, notification regarding stocks will be sent to sellers through a push notification feature that will let sellers have a clear idea about stock in hand.
• Order Management – hassle-free order processing is very essential for any B2C marketplace platform as this has a major impact on the reputation of the platform. To maintain the goodwill of the platform, admin needs to handle orders with a proper order management system.
• Commission management – claiming commission for all orders that are placed through the platform is one form of revenue source. Admin should set the commission percentage or value for each seller and this should be editable whenever needed.
• Affiliate Program – the marketplace platform should run an affiliate program that will support the b2c marketplace to earn more customers and orders through affiliates.

Top 5 B2C eCommerce Marketplaces Examples:

1. Amazon:

Amazon is the world’s leading B2C marketplace platform that has billions of sactive users and operates worldwide in 18 countries. The marketplace supports multiple revenue streams and gains more profit every year. The growth of this B2C marketplace is unstoppable.

Incredible Benefits of this B2C eCommerce Marketplace

• Being a reputed brand, you can get easy branding when you sell your products with amazon.
• Organic traffic can be easily gained with Amazon and your page will be listed at the top of the search engine pages.
• Customer acquisition and customer retention is easy when you brand your store with Amazon.
• Amazon allows you to have a smoother mobile shopping experience.

2. eBay:

eBay is a multinational b2c ecommerce marketplace that allows users to sell and buy used products through the platform. It is a multi-billion dollar marketplace business ideas that operates in more than 32 countries. Sellers will be charged for listing their item with eBay.

Crucial Benefits of this B2C Marketplace Software

• Registering with eBay is completely free.
• Buyers can check the reliability of the seller by going through the previous reviews and ratings.
• Buyers can report an item if they find it to be fake in the report section.
• Social media sharing will be available that will allow buyers to share their products in all social media channels and can get instant feedback from them.

3. Flipkart

Flipkart is an Indian-based B2C ecommerce marketplace platform that initially focused on online bookselling and later has expanded to have a wide range of products. Flipkart holds 39.7% of the share market in the Indian eCommerce industry. Flipkart provides better mobile shopping as it offers discounts only on apps and encourages users to use mobile apps for all their online purchases.

Renowned Benefits of this B2C Ecommerce Marketplace Platform.

• Bookmark options are available with flipkart that facilitates users to bookmark their favorite items.
• Flipkart users can use the wishlist to add all products that they would like to buy in future.
• This marketplace supports easy returns and refunds.

4.    Alibaba

Alibaba is a China-based B2C ecommerce company and it is one of the largest retailers in the ecommerce industry. The company uses all advance and latest technology and has been awarded as the fifth-largest artificial intelligence company in the market.

Salient Benefits of this B2C Ecommerce Marketplace Software

• The platform offers live chat support to customers for better shopping experience.
• Users can have real-time order tracking facility and know about the current status of the product.
• Alibaba provides rich marketing opportunities that will get more audience to your ecommerce store.

Conclusion

Hope you have gained enough knowledge regarding the B2C marketplace platform and how to build a perfect b2c ecommerce marketplace platform and reach the audience. This is the right time to enter the digital market and promote your brand and get more sales and returns in a very short time.