The global retail landscape went through a metamorphosis with the advent of eCommerce. Online shopping transfigured consumer behavior. Detailed information, personalized experience, and convenience of digital shopping, all facilitated by online marketplaces remodeled buying methods.
This online renaissance has been set forth by disruptive online marketplaces over the years. Amazon, eBay popularized eCommerce in the ’90s. Alibaba explored the B2B business model. Furthermore, the 2000s saw the rise of Etsy, Airbnb, Uber, and others that carved a niche for themselves by specializing their services and extending the eCommerce benefit to newer business verticals.
– The trend set by these online marketplaces, along with accelerated digitization, and dramatic growth of the eCommerce sector in the pandemic have set the stage for startups to push innovative business plans and seize the eCommerce opportunity.
– Another factor is the multitude of challenges posed by the pandemic to offline business models, which makes the eCommerce space a focal point for entrepreneurs to strategize and launch their online business to emulate the success achieved by established players such as Amazon.
But, in all scenarios, the progressive sector demands a robust and seamless platform enriched with contemporary functionalities right from the word go. An uphill task, made easy by modern & turnkey ecommerce software solutions, that facilitates aspiring entrepreneurs to build or start an online marketplace faster and with lesser investment capital.
In this blog read more about the anatomy of disruptive business ideas and how turnkey ecommerce marketplace software can help in implementing such business plans. Based on that we have listed the 7 best multi-vendor marketplace software solutions in 2022.
What Makes Online Marketplaces a Disruptive Business Idea?
“Almost every disruption starts at the perceived fringes of today’s market” – Scott D Anthony
Disruptive marketplaces have been built upon an idea to create business out of unexplored sources, by creating new transactions between a group of sellers and their customers, connecting them with an exclusive ecosystem, curated specifically with functionalities to cater to their needs.
This has been the modus operandi for established disruptive marketplaces. For instance, Etsy is a P2P marketplace for makers of handicrafts and unique goods and their buyers. Before it, these sellers faced hurdles conducting business, the marketplace identified these pain points and offered a solution via their multi-seller platform, disrupting the market, and in the process carving out a niche for themselves in the eCommerce ecosystem.
On similar lines, Uber identified a need for a digital solution to make taxi services more streamlined and efficient. By doing so they created transactions on an online platform that otherwise took place offline, and in the process, forged a disruptive marketplace.
Airbnb created rental opportunities on its marketplace platform for landlords that didn’t exist before.
All disruptive marketplaces have an identical narrative, recognizing a business opportunity, encashing it with a well-timed, marketplace platform with relevant functionalities.
Accomplishing the same in the intensely competitive eCommerce space would entail 一
– Research that identifies an opportunity of an untapped market.
– A comprehensive business plan.
– Ability to get up and running expeditiously to seize the opportunity while it presents itself.
– A flexible and scalable marketplace software solution that decreases go-to-market time. .
– Proficient tech support for the platform for seamless business operations
– Marketing opportunities within the online website to reach out to the target audience.
– Partner with third-party service providers to maximize the possibilities of the online business.
Considering the above stated pointers, once the business plan is finalized, timing the launch of the business with precision and tailoring the platform to offer the functionalities you want are critical to the success of your project. And this is where multi-vendor marketplace software comes in.
Let’s understand how choosing the right marketplace software can give you a competitive edge in successfully implementing your business plan.
Marketplace Software 一 A hack to assist in successful disruptive Online Business
Developing an online marketplace from scratch needs both time and resources. Today’s multi-vendor marketplaces business models are complex, with a host of requisite functionalities. Engineering them needs a proficient team with eCommerce expertise. Time is of essence in the eCommerce space, competitive businesses keep gaining market share, diluting the opportunity.
As mentioned before, the way around it is using a turnkey online marketplace software to quickly start. As the turnkey marketplace software has been developed by analyzing successful eCommerce marketplace portals such as Amazon, taking all the functionalities that underpin their platforms, and integrating them in a way that entrepreneurs starting with a new business can offer a platform that can compete with all the leading names of the industry. The marketplace software lets a business expedite the online business launch, building future-proof online stores, saving resources, and most importantly, time required in the development stage.
Investment capital saved can be allocated to other eCommerce imperatives like marketing your online business.
Time saved will shorten the go-to-market time and make it possible to precisely time the business, seizing the identified opportunity, crucial to the success of the project.
7 Best Online Marketplace Software for Your Multi-vendor Business in 2022:
1. Yo!Kart Marketplace Software
An award-winning multi-vendor marketplace software, Yo!Kart is scalable, secure, and customizable. It is a standalone solution built using the stable LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySql, PHP) software stack. Yo!Kart comes with an impressive list of eCommerce features. Even in the most affordable of its packages, that can give entrepreneurs all the necessary and advanced features & functionalities to implement a disruptive business idea.
Key highlights of Yo!Kart:
Pricing: Yo!Kart is a license-based, self-hosted marketplace solution, which means owning the software incurs a one-time payment with no recurring charges. It offers multiple pricing packages. GoQuick for $999, Go Quick Boost for $1999, and GoCustom for $7500. All the packages are inclusive of eCommerce-specific services, discussed below. Additionally, GoCustom comes with a fully custom design..
Mobile Apps: Native Mobile apps for both Android and iOS are offered with Yo!Kart.
Technical Support: Yo!Kart is backed by free 1-year of tech support from an experienced team with eCommerce expertise, covering installation of the software.
Source code ownership: Yo!Kart comes with lifetime ownership of source code along with every package.
Scope of customization: As written on Yo!Kart website, the multi-vendor ecommerce platform is based on the flexible LAMP stack, which makes it fully customizable, scalable, and compatible with multiple third-party APIs. Lifetime source code ownership further enhances the scope of customizations, giving the freedom to choose the partner company to customize the software.
Additional features: Multiple Pre-integrated APIs such as Stripe Connect, Shipstation, TaxJar, etc. makes it easy to tailor the software according to the intended business plan.
Rating & Reviews: The multi-vendor platform has received applaudable reviews on top business publications like INC, Forbes, The Telegraph, and others. It has received good customer reviews with rating of 5.0/5 on Goodfirms, 4.7 on G2.com, and 4.2/5 on Capterra testifying customer satisfaction.
Cons of Yo!Kart: Limited support for themes and paid updates are the two major drawbacks in Yo!Kart marketplace software.
Magento : (With Webkul Marketplace Extension)
Magento is a popular open-source online store software that can be used as a marketplace solution by using plugins from various third-party developers. Magento can be downloaded for free, but the plugin might have charges. One of the most popular multi-vendor extension for Magento has been developed by Webkul, which costs $199
Key highlights of Magento
Pricing: Magento open-source is free to download but the plugin will cost an additional $199. Moreover, any customizations required will cost extra. If the business is required to scale quickly, then Magento commerce can be purchased, which is available for $1998/ per month
Mobile Apps: Mobile apps are available for both android and iOS
Technical Support: Magento does not come with any technical support. Webkul marketplace extension is provided with three months of support.
Source code ownership: Magento comes with lifetime ownership of source code
Scope of customization: Being open-source, Magento has the support of a big community making customizations easier. But due to the technical complexities of Magento’s code, customization requires time, resources, and identifying the right company to partner with.
Rating & Reviews: Magento has been rated a good 8.0/10 on TrustRadius
Cons of Magento: The source code of Magento is complex and needs an expert development team, which comes at a price. The learning curve of the marketplace software is also steep. The online store solution is offered with no technical support and you have to avail technical support of the marketplace extension from the company that developed it.
Growcer Marketplace Software
Growcer is a scalable & customizable multi-vendor marketplace software to start ordering & delivery marketplaces. It is a license based standalone solution that comes with a rich-featured admin panel dashboard. .
Key highlights of Growcer:
Growcer houses all features necessary to start an online grocery, liquor or other businesses. The marketplace software allows hyperlocal business models and comes with multiple payment gateways
Pricing: Prices for Growcer are according to custom quote as per business requirements.
Mobile apps: It has readymade ordering and delivery staff Mobile apps for both Android and iOS.
Technical Support: Growcer is backed by free 1-year of tech support.
Rating & Reviews: Growcer has a good rating of 4.4 on G2.com
Scope of customization: The software is completely customizable and can be customized as per specific needs of a hyperlocal delivery marketplace.
Cons of Growcer: Updates are paid and compared to other multi-vendor software, pricing is high.
Cs-Cart Marketplace Software
A product of Simtech Technologies (based in Russia), Cs-Cart has gained significant popularity in the market since its early launch.
The marketplace software has customizable themes and offers a good amount of features but is priced higher when compared to its competitors.
Key highlights of Cs-Cart
Pricing: Lifetime license for Cs-Cart is available in 3 inclusive packages Multi-vendor $1450 Multi-Vendor Plus $3,500 and Multi-Vendor Ultimate $7,500
Mobile apps: Cs-Cart comes with mobile apps for both android and iOS. However, there is a monthly fee for mobile apps.
Technical Support: Unlike its competitor Yo!Kart, Cs-Cart comes with limited support i.e. 45 days of free technical support with multi-vendor package, 90 days with Multi-vendor plus, and 1 year with multi-vendor ultimate license. The installation though is not covered under this support.
Additional Features: You can buy addons for features like vendor payout system, bulk product editing, marketing features such as the option of sending newsletters and mass notifications, Tax-Management, import/export tool, data feeds, and others.
Rating & Reviews: Cs-Cart has the rating of 4.7 on Capterra and 4.8 on G2.com
Scope of customization: Cs-Cart is customizable with multiple API integration possibilities. However, you have to hire Cs-Cart third-party developers for customization.
Cons: As written by some users on Capterra & other review sites, Cs-Cart is not optimized for high load and you will have to get it optimized once the number of products listed on the software increases. Customization services are offered by certified third-party developers but Cs-Cart offers no warranty for the same. Also, mobile apps are available only with a subscription-based pricing model and higher pricing packages.
X-Cart Multi-vendor
A shopping cart-based software that is offered with both cloud hosting and access to source code by downloading it, X-cart is flexible and is offered with a free trial.
Key highlights of X-Cart
Pricing model: X-Cart is License based and is offered with various pricing models. Single-seller store software just like Magento comes with two pricing models 一 There is a free edition with basic eCommerce features, $495 for business edition that adds some critical features such as 2-point authentication security, bulk editing, and more. Multi-vendor store software also comes with 2 pricing models 一 Multivendor for $1,495 and Ultimate special edition for $5,995
Mobile Apps: X-Cart comes with mobile apps for both android and iOS
Technical Support: Technical support for X-Cart comes with flexible payment options, $99 for one time and $165 – $250 per month if billed annually
Scope of customization: X-Cart is customizable with multiple API integration possibilities
Source code ownership: X-Cart is offered with source code ownership.
Rating & Reviews: X-Cart is rated 4.3/5 on Capterra.
Cons of X-Cart: Updates are paid for all X-Cart Licenses except the free edition that comes with basic eCommerce functionality and is single-seller store software. Technical support is expensive
Yo!Rent Marketplace Software
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Yo!Rent is a rent-centric multi-vendor marketplace software dedicated to resolve the various challenges in the digital transition of rental businesses. It has the functionality, features and industry-specific designs to smoothly facilitate online rental businesses.
With advanced features like rental security management, custom cancellation policies, product comparison, agreement management and eSign, Yo!Rent’s new version, i.e., Yo!Rent V3, is the next-gen marketplace software to launch various types of equipment, automobile and dress rental businesses.
Key highlights of Yo!Rent:
Pricing: Yo!Rent is available on a quotation basis. To get a price quote, interested entrepreneurs can share their project requirements with the Yo!Rent’s official team.
Mobile apps: Yo!Rent mobile apps are available via Made-to-Order (MTO) process. They are developed from scratch as per the business owner’s custom specifications.
Technical Support: The company provides one year of free technical support with Yo!Rent, which is liable to the company’s terms and conditions.
Rating & Reviews: Yo!Rent has received an overall rating of 5.0 on Sourceforge and 4.5 on G2.com
Scope of customization: As Yo!Rent is developed keeping in mind the key requirements of all rental niches, it can be customized to launch diverse online rental marketplaces. As mentioned on Yo!Rent website, the three base niches that entrepreneurs can customize to support their rental business ideas are equipment rental, fashion rental and automobile rental.
Cons of YoRent: Any additional updates and third-party plugins are needed to be added manually. No Over-The-Cloud (OTC) updates are available.
Mirakl Marketplace Software
Mirakl is SaaS-based marketplace software by a French startup by the same name. It is a platform renowned for the intuitive UI/UX. Mirakl is best suited for large enterprises.
Key highlights of Mirakl
Pricing model: Prices for Mirakl haven’t been listed on the official website of the marketplace but when researched, the prices were reported to be $493,000 per annum by its users.
Mobile Apps: No information is available on the official website of Mirakl regarding mobile apps.
Technical Support: No information is available on the official website of Mirakl regarding the price of customer support.
Scope of customization: Mirakl is customizable, but being SaaS-based, you are bounded by asking the parent company only for the customizations.
Source code ownership: Mirakl is a SaaS-based hosted platform which means you don’t get source code ownership.
Rating & Reviews: Mirakl is rated 4.4/5 on Capterra.
Cons of Mirakl: Mirakl is SaaS-based, limiting its flexibility. It is costly making it viable only for large enterprises. There is no test platform and the information regarding the website is not transparent.
Key factors that differentiate the marketplace software
Each multi-vendor software mentioned in this blog is an excellent solution. But despite that, they have unique USPs, setting themselves apart in a class of their own. Pivotal differences between marketplace software are discussed hereunder
– Overall cost to use marketplace software varies. Some marketplace software like Mirakl or Sharetribe are hosted solutions and come with recurring subscription charges. Whereas, license-based marketplace software, like Yo!Kart, Growcer, and Cs-Cart offer source code ownership at a one-time cost. Moreover, these solutions are also self-hosted, giving you the freedom to choose a hosting provider of your choice.
– All multi-vendor marketplace solutions listed above offer rich UI/UX, but Mirakl leads the way with the most intuitive UI/UX followed by Yo!Kart, X-Cart, and Cs-Cart, in that order.
– Open-source software like Magento is backed by a huge online community. Moreover, it can be downloaded for free, giving users control over their online platform.
– Cs-Cart offers 9 design themes out of the box, the maximum amongst self-hosted solutions listed above.
– While all marketplace software mentioned above are scalable, some come with a capping of product listing, and while some may require additional customization for scalability. Yo!Kart is leading the chart when it comes to choosing a scalable multi-vendor software, since it allows all kinds of customization and its basic package allows you to upload 1 million products.
Conclusion:
Disruptive marketplaces have played pied piper’s role to perfection, leading customers to experience the revolutionary world of eCommerce. Innovative and research-driven business models have offered new avenues for sellers and buyers alike, tapping into unexplored transactions.
But, with rising competition in the eCommerce space, market disruption is becoming increasingly difficult but necessary to win in this industry. Successful implementation of innovative ideas harbors on well-timed, rich-featured marketplaces.
Top Multi-vendor marketplace software helps expedite the launch of a customized, yet rich-featured platform, giving businesses the tools to become the Amazon and Etsy of tomorrow.
Disclosure: Insider Monkey received compensation to publish this article.
