Marketplace App Ideas To Stand Out From the Crowd

Marketplace applications are becoming a common choice for companies due to the convenience of buying products and services online. With popular brands like Uber, Amazon, and Airbnb getting stable revenue even in times of pandemia, the option to build your own marketplace is undoubtedly going to rise further.

More and more users are turning to simple and convenient products. In this highly digital world where everyone tends to be convenient, making purchases online is the best way to gain revenue. In addition, both COVID-19 and the increase in smartphone use drive the popularity of online marketplace apps. 

According to the latest data published by Allied Market Research, the mobile app market by marketplace category was valued at $106.27 billion in 2018 and is projected to reach $407.31 billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 18.4% from 2019 to 2026.  

To put it simply, it is an application allowing users to buy products and services online. It also helps independent sellers to offer their products and services to a large targeted audience. Even though the working process is quite common, there are many types of marketplaces of various sizes.

Sellers usually choose the one that suits best their marketing strategy as well as the types of products they offer. The technology used in such platforms and pricing hugely depend on the location and concept of the product. Some businesses that have had web marketplaces started turning these products into mobile apps to reach their customers directly and cut down the daily operational costs. 

Additionally, the demand for marketplace platforms is expected to grow as more and more industries can adopt this idea into their services. We carefully curated this article to help you understand why you can consider marketplace app development, what spheres can apply this idea, and the top marketplace apps you may take inspiration from.

Types of Marketplace Apps

To start learning more about android marketplace best apps, first, you have to know what type of marketplace app you are going to build according to business needs. While there are several industries you may consider, these products are divided into several categories depending on the type of customers, sectors, and more. 

1. Type of Customers

Business to Business (B2B): This is an option that allows companies to use your app for bringing more clients to the sellers. It usually boosts the area of targeting while also promoting the key goal – the distribution of the product to a wider target audience.

Business to Customer (B2C): This model combines products and services that are sold directly from business to customers. They are an all-in-one place for customers looking for various goods.

Customer to Customer (C2C): This is a less popular model which is used by customers to allow other customers to sell products & services while also managing their strategies. These apps allow customers to connect with other clients directly.

2. Products & Services Based

Today the two most popular marketplaces providing a wide range of products are Amazon and eBay. There are also platforms that offer different services like transportation, beauty services, healthcare, IT services, and more.

3. Areas of Focus

Marketplaces are divided into two types depending on the focus area called the vertical model and the horizontal model. In a vertical model, clients are looking for a specific business niche. Therefore, the number of customers will be less, but improved targeting so promotions will be more efficient. In a horizontal model, clients are looking for a wide range of products and services. This is why they can choose from a wide range as per their choice and area of interests.

Top Industries for Marketplace Apps

E-Commerce

This is the most common industry for marketplace apps. Such platforms primarily offer clothes and other products for those who don’t want or are unable to go to a physical store. These products are gaining higher popularity since most people prefer to shop online with the ability to get the delivery worldwide. 

Healthcare 

Even though it is not a popular option, there are only small such platforms that are popular enough within the medical community. They require more expertise than the first one and should always be HIPAA-compliant to make sure the user’s data is safe and protected. They differ from company to company, but most are developed using blockchain and offer a wide range of medical records (from patients willing) to help healthcare organizations provide better services and learn from existing data. 

Retail

The overall retail industry is also growing by itself. This is why retail companies want to make it easier for clients to choose the best property for them and book a meeting with the consulting agency. They offer companies to show what they have and users to find the property using a smart search for ultimate convenience. Learn more about how to create a marketplace app. 

NFT

NFT is one of the most popular spheres you can enter with the future marketplace app. This is because non-fungible tokens are gaining immense popularity, allowing users to gain stable income regardless of the sphere. The NFT industry is highly popular and provides numerous opportunities for companies and organizations to either turn their product into tokens or create their own platforms. 

According to a recent report, the global NFT market size reached USD 50.10 billion last year and is expected to reach a revenue CAGR of 10.7% during the forecast period. However, if you want to make your own NFT marketplace, it is best to hire a high-skilled team to ensure compliance with requirements. Learn more about our NFT marketplace app development. 

How to Make Your Marketplace Stand Out From the Crowd?

Dive Deep Into a More Specialized Niche

Each product already represents a specific niche itself. Whether you sell food, sunglasses, or NFT, you have already applied some sort of marketing for the target audience. Even though this might work by itself, you will achieve higher success when digging down into more specialized sub-niches in your android marketplace apps.

Imagine that you sell backpacks for kids and for hiking enthusiasts. These are absolutely different people and, therefore, different audiences and approaches. While it can be called a “backpack” for everyone, considering focusing on a highly targeted market group may boost the customer base. In addition, it also makes it easier to reach and buy for those who are looking for your products. 

Provide Value-Added Features

One of the best ways to add value to your services is to pack your app with useful features that your competitors may not provide. This can be done through various things, like adding more value to the design and making it more user-friendly in contrast to the most marketplace. You can also add a smart search according to smaller target audience needs. The main goal was to reduce time spent on looking for a particular product and make it easier for users to find what they came for with no stress and hassle.

Ensure Consistent Customer Service

The products and the app you have are the only half of your business success. Efficient and consistent customer support also significantly impacts future app success. If you help customers with any questions coming their way and resolve issues at high speed, you will ultimately get a better retention rate.

As a real-life case, a recent survey revealed that 45 percent of customers usually exclude products that have an additional shipping fee that is shown in an initial product search. Other points you should consider are warranty coverage, worldwide shipping, and a money-back guarantee. You should also add a FAQs section with the most common questions users have when shopping within your marketplace.

Differentiate Your Brand

One of the greatest ways to make sure your brand stands out from the crowd is to have a trusted and driven team behind your products. Therefore, when every employee understands what they should do, in what way the company operates, what are the best ways to perform their job and what differs your brand from others, you will have a stronger brand identity and allow teams to work more efficiently towards the company’s success.

It is also a great idea to find what points differ between your products and services from the rest available on different platforms. Since there are many marketplace apps today, you are highly likely to face strong competition. To learn what can differ from your platform, whether it be door-to-door shipping or lower prices on most popular products. Make sure that there is something that only you bring to the target audience.

Create a User Journey

The next way to stand out from the crowd with your app is to find the key features of your platform. One of the best methods is to use the User Story Mapping, which allows you to recreate and create a customer journey. This, in turn, helps to identify what users need most while performing each step. Let’s take as an example that your marketplace works like Booking, where you provide peer-to-peer housing worldwide. Put yourself in the customer’s shoes and imagine what they want to see when downloading the app and going through the registration phase. This is how it may look:

Step 1: You will first need to set the location, date, and type of the housing (for how long you are going to rent, do you need an apartment with dogs or cats, etc.). Once you see the list of available apartments, you will probably filter them or make this in advance.

Step 2: Some platforms allow users to book the available house right after seeing the catalog, but some require to have a messaging chat to find out some minor details, like arrival time or parking. So messaging functionality is a must.

Step 3: When you choose the right option for you, it is time to pay. Try to provide as many payment methods as possible, like credit/debit cards, GooglePay, Apple Pay, PayPal, WebMoney, or something else you have in your country. And if it’s your first time using the marketplace, you will love to get a welcome bonus or promo code. 

Step 4: Finally, everything is done. But if you are worried about forgetting details or if something happens, make sure the user profile contains all the necessary information regarding the booking and provide push notifications for updates.

Invest in UI/UX Design

While most companies still believe that development is the primary thing they have to invest in, Ux/UI design will later play a significant role in your success. Since the design is the first thing customers will see, make sure you hire an experienced team with the needed skills to make sure customers get high satisfaction both visually and when using. 

First thing first, we advise you to think about the navigation through the website and check how many steps users have to perform to achieve what they came for. The second vital point is not to overflow the app with unnecessary elements and provide only valuable information on each screen. Lastly, make sure all essential pages can be easily found and opened regardless of the user’s experience level – you never know who will sit on the other side of the app, so try to make it as beginner-friendly as possible.

How to Create a Marketplace App with Interexy

Interexy has always been a mobile and web app development company with a focus on a unique approach, and we owe it to our clientele to strive for the best and higher quality. Our development process is methodical and ensures that your product will be done on time according to specification. Due to a well-thought-out hiring process, we also always make sure that each team member has relevant experience and needed skills to guarantee the industry’s requirements at each step of the development.

Since we have deep expertise in marketplace app development services in various spheres, including healthcare, NFT and blockchain, retail, e-commerce, and more, we are sure to cover all your needs. With only a custom approach, our Project Managers and Business Analysts are able to keep you involved in every aspect of the process, while the marketing team will be happy to ensure your app stands out from the crowd. Do you have an idea? We cover all the rest!

Final Thoughts

With the demand for convenient digital solutions, people are now turning to mobile apps and marketplaces that allow them to perform any task right from home. But it is also worth noting that the market is vast, and competition is strong. This is why we crafted this article on marketplace apps for android and iOS that show you the exact and most efficient ways to differentiate your product from the rest. Let’s book a free consultation and discuss your project in more detail!

FAQs

What is a marketplace app?

An application marketplace usually represents an online store where clients can find and purchase some sort of product or service.

What are the best marketplace apps?

One of the best marketplace apps exciting today include eBay, Meta Marketplace, Nextdoor, Airbnb, and Poshmark.

How to grow your marketplace app?

Once you launch your app, you should consider marketing strategies to help you grow. They usually include a presence on social media, providing discounts and bonuses, referral programs, customer service, improving customer feedback, and more.