5 Types of E-Marketplaces – Decide Which One Best Suits Your Business Needs

Marketplace software solutions have been made to manage the e-commerce platform necessities of both, the marketplace proprietor as well as the users. Marketplace software are usually open-source and have the potential of offering personalization with no boundaries. An all-inclusivee-commerce best marketplace software package generally offers a totally integrated functionality that spreads across the whole range of the transaction—right from browsing through delivery, while also comprising inventory management, monetary reporting, and analytics.

Types of E-Marketplaces

Product Online Marketplace

This kind of marketplace is typically also referred to as an e-commerce marketplace, where people can buy and sell products. This platform collaborates all kinds of sellers into a one-stop-shop that also proves to be helpful for customers who want to explore various brands on a single platform. Also, with features like auction and fixed price sale, the seller can list a particular product and set a deadline; and the buyer with the best bid gets the item. Typically, this type of marketplace is owned by an individual who allows third-party sellers to sell products together with the marketplace owner’s usual offerings—examples include Amazon, Alibaba, and eBay.In this setup, the vendor business model plays a critical role that defines the profit for marketplace proprietors. Therefore, it is better to choose the correct multi-vendor marketplace platform that offers a flexible model and suits all user requirements.

Online Service Marketplace

The online marketplace is not only limited to simply selling products. Users can even sell services if they operate in the service industry. In the case of a startup business that wants to use a marketplace with negligible effort, it is always better for the company to provide diverse services that people search for. In a services marketplace, the finding of services becomes the foundation of its offering to customers, and chances for paid work form the foundation of its offering to freelancers. In order to successfully run a service business, the owners should be able to offer a robust and dependable online service marketplace that helps in connecting service searchers with service providers. This platform acts like a bridge that connects both the parties and allows marketplace owners to earn a commission on every successful transaction.

Online Rental Marketplace

When it comes to doing business in an online rental marketplace, the transport and fashion companies are prevalent among the stakeholders and ambitious businesspersons. But for the last couple of years, the online rental marketplace is picking up pace and is being increasingly used by businesses that offer home appliances, electronic accessories, and gears. Mobile applications such as Uber and Ola are great examples of this model. It is because of brands like these that there has been tremendous growth in peer-to-peer marketplaces that are leasing through online mediums. As ambitious businesspersons, individuals can even focus on niche online rental marketplaces like holiday rentals, car and bike rentals, and equipment rentals by making use of a rental e-commerce platform.

Hybrid Model in E-commerce

There are two categories of hybrid online marketplaces:one, where people want to sell and buy both, services and products through the same platform;and the other, where people want to get the joint benefits of purchasing from online as well as offline stores. In the latter, the buyer initially books the products online, after which he/she reaches down to the selected physical store in order to purchase those products. Presently, ticket reservation websites such as-BookMyShow operate based on this model. Large retailers like Reliance Trends and Myntra have also ventured into the e-commerce sector by using a hybrid online-offline model. This model creates mutual effectiveness by assimilating offline stores through the online platform.

Hyperlocal Marketplace

The idea of hyperlocal came into reality when people began looking for close-by options when looking for shops, eateries, and other similar locations via search engines. In this marketplace model, the intention of the platform provider is to offer amenities and services in the shortest possible time from native vendors.The hyperlocal e-commerce marketplace is pretty comparable to marketplaces such as Amazon; however, the key difference is that the consumers will be able to purchase products from sellers who can guarantee delivery inside of 24 hours. Examples of this type of marketplace model include Urbanclapand Bigbasket. Similarly, food delivery marketplaces like Zomato and Swiggy can be classified under this group with little bit nips in their workflow.