In the age of the internet, Online marketplaces have revolutionized the way we buy and sell products. Gone are the days when both parties had to be physically present in a specific location to engage in a transaction. People can now search, explore, purchase, and sell a wide array of items from the comfort of their own homes, irrespective of their geographical location making us thankful for the rise of online marketplaces. This shift has revolutionized the way trade operates, opening up endless opportunities and convenience for both buyers and sellers.
Etsy differentiates itself among top online marketplaces, including Amazon and eBay, by successfully establishing a strong presence in the minds of buyers and sellers. While other platforms focus on serving buyers only, Etsy goes a step further by providing a distinct platform that empowers sellers.
Etsy was launched in 2005, soon it become a global sensation and well-known to connect buyers with sellers who offer handmade or vintage goods. It has created a remarkable space where creators showcase their craft to audiences from all over the world, all within a vibrant online community.
So, if you have wondered about the magic behind Etsy’s global empire and dreamt of developing your marketplace with the help of a reliable website development company, then join us for this exciting adventure.
Let’s delve into this guide to create an online marketplace like Etsy that will help you in gaining a complete understanding to build a platform that stands out in the vast digital landscape. Let the exploration begins.
Table of Contents
What is An Online Marketplace?
The growing popularity of shopping has led to an increased demand for such apps that enhance people’s lives with ease. Thereby, giving rise to the blooming existence of an online marketplace. These platforms are virtual platforms where buyers and sellers come together to engage in commercial transactions. It serves as an intermediary that connects individuals or businesses looking to sell products or services with potential customers who are interested in purchasing them. These marketplaces facilitate transactions by providing a digital space for sellers to showcase their offerings and for buyers to browse, compare and purchase. The online marketplace can vary in terms of its focus and scope.
An online marketplace is like a hypermarket with lots of variety a user can choose from. Some platforms cater to specific product categories like electronics, fashion, or home goods while offering a wide range of products across multiple industries. Soon, the craze of online marketplaces led to increasing demand for eCommerce website development and application development.
Having advanced technical skills and a creative mindset is the need of the hour to build an online marketplace like Etsy, Amazon, or any other. Therefore, it is essential to collaborate with a top eCommerce development company like SemiDot Infotech. Such a partnership will enable the utilization of cutting-edge technologies, best web design software, and development tools all of which play an essential role in shaping a rich future for your marketplace.
Key Stats of Online Marketplace
The surge in the online marketplace has been remarkable for the last few years. With the present circumstances suggesting that they may serve as a craze among people increasing, the below stats surely suggest a promising future for the growth of marketplaces in upcoming years.
- 39% of men and 18% of women shop online for technology.
- 46% of women and 40% of men engage in clothes/sports goods.
- Etsy, Amazon, Walmart, eBay, and Wish are some of the famous marketplaces.
- 79% of Americans digital purchases.
- Global spending on the top 100 online marketplaces reached a staggering $3.23 trillion in the year 2021.
What is Etsy?
Etsy was launched back in 2005 and is a well-known marketplace like Amazon connecting buyers and sellers for beautiful handmade, vintage, and craft supplies. It provides a marketplace for independent artisans, designers, and vintage collectors to showcase their creations and reach a global audience. Within two years of release, Etsy garnered so much attention and successfully registered 4,50,000 sellers making $26 million in sales.
Etsy emerged as a beacon of hope for numerous individuals, enabling them to transform their dreams into success stories. Earlier there were so many artisans taking to the internet to promote their products.
But the struggle was real as they encounter the challenge of standing out in the saturated market, even though they have valuable, top-notch, and occasionally specialized products to offer.
The most daunting task was to compete against major brands like Amazon to attract customers. This is why people started turning to Etsy as a viable option and it became such a huge success within a short period of time. For the complete journey, just have a look at the below picture-
How Etsy Works?
To create a marketplace like Etsy, it is necessary to understand how Etsy works as this helps you grasp key features, and functionalities, and understand user experience to become a successful online marketplace.
This can be ensured by taking the eCommerce development services of an experienced company, you can deliver a comparable platform that caters to the needs of sellers and customers effectively.
- Setting up a shop– Sellers can create their online shops on Etsy that includes store partialities and its name.
- Product Listings– The next step will be adding products to sell to your Etsy shop and filling in complete details about them including images, videos, prices, shipping options, and any other.
- Discovering and shopping– Buyers can browse through Etsy’s extensive catalog using search filters, categories, and curated collections. They can explore various product listings, read reviews and view photos to make more informed purchasing options.
- Set up payments– Once as a seller you have listed your product, Etsy will like to know about the accepting mode of payment including bank account details.
- Purchase and Feedback– Once the buyer like a product, they can add it to the cart and proceed to checkout. Etsy provides several safe payment methods such as credit cards, PayPal, and more. The order once is delivered to the buyer, they can provide feedback on the seller’s products and customer service that will help others.
- Seller Tools and Support – There are various ranges of tools and resources to help sellers manage their shops effectively. This includes analytics to track shop performance, customization options, marketing options, and seller support for any question.
Market Popularity of Etsy
As they say, facts command more attention. Let’s explore Etsy’s market popularity which can serve as a strong tip for your startup success or established business growth. Let’s dive in-
According to Statista, Etsy has sellers from around 234 countries among which most of them are from the United States. In the most recent documented year, it was found that 71 percent of Etsy sellers consider Etsy shop as their business. Furthermore, 82% of Etsy sellers expressed their aspirations to increase their sales in the upcoming time. One thing that makes Etsy stand out is, it is a women-dominated platform as the majority of sellers are identified as women as of 2021.
How Much Does It Cost To Develop An Online Marketplace Like Etsy?
Cost is an important factor to consider for eCommerce marketplace Development or marketplace application. Every small aspect requires investment right from market research to designing your application, development, or taking full stack development services and more, nothing comes for free.
The key factors that influence ecommerce website development cost include the complexity of the features, platform selection (Android, iOS or Cross-platform), design requirements, development team size, and location. Typically, the development of a robust and user-friendly marketplace like Etsy requires a significant investment. A rough estimate to develop a marketplace like Etsy will range from $40,000 to $1,50,000 or more, taking into account design, development, testing, and deployment expenses.
Here is a breakdown of the cost to develop online marketplace like Etsy–
| Small-size Business | Profile, search filter, category, payment management, customer review, and further. | $40,000-$60,000 |
| Medium-size Business | Admin panel, search filter, payment system, checkout process, Invoice management, and others | $60,000-$1,00,000 |
| Large-scale Business | Basic features, Real-time updates dashboard, tax management, stock management, order management, and others | $1,00,000-$1,50,000 |
It’s essential to engage with a professional development team or marketplace website development company like SemiDot Infotech to get an accurate cost estimate based on your specific requirements and desired functionality. The below table offers great insights into the cost of developing an online marketplace website or app on a country-on-country basis, with the hourly rates. This information can even extend help in gaining thoughtful consideration about potential expenses involved in outsourcing your web development project.
| Country | Hourly Rate |
| USA | $150/hr-$180/hr |
| Australia | $110/hr -$130/hr |
| UAE | $65/hr-$100/hr |
| Singapore | $75/hr-$120/hr |
| Western Europe | $90/hr- $100/hr |
| Northern Europe | $100/hr- $120/hr |
| India | $15/hr-$45/hr |
How to Build An Online Marketplace Like Etsy?
If you’re ready to embark on the journey of creating your online marketplace like Etsy, then it is important to know the marketplace development process. Below we have given step-by-step process on building a successful online marketplace like Etsy from scratch:
Let’s Dive into the detailed process to build the online marketplace like Etsy-
- Research and Analysis
- UI/UX Design
- Marketplace Development
- Testing
- Marketplace Launching
- Maintenance
Step 1: Research and Analysis
This involves studying user-requirement and analysis of successful marketplaces like Etsy to understand those features, functionalities, and models that helped them to win their user’s hearts. But what should your research focus on? Analyze their strengths, weaknesses, and unique selling point. Get to know the target market and potential market within your desired marketplace domain.
Conducting thorough research for your marketplace is of utmost importance before engaging with online marketplace development company in the USA. It enables you to have informed discussions about your requirement and set the foundation for a promising future for your marketplace.
Step 2: UI/UX Design
Creating a marketplace like Etsy that provides to the needs of buyers and sellers can be quite complicated. UI/UX is an integral part of your marketplace success. You can understand web design’s importance as it is the visual appearance of your marketplace that can make a user stay or leave the marketplace.
The UI design involves crafting consistent elements such as layout, typography, colors, and icons that align with your marketplace branding. The UX focuses on understanding user behavior and creating an experience that fulfills their needs and expectation. So, it is advised to use your project requirement as a guide to hiring a web designer who can develop an interactive and user-friendly marketplace that benefits your project.
Step 3: Marketplace Development
When considering how to make an online marketplace like Etsy, it is advisable to start by building a minimum-viable product. Once you develop an MVP and get user feedback, it will surely tell you areas for improvement. Then your developers can go for developing the final draft by adding the best features and functionalities, frameworks, and technologies to bring the marketplace to life. They work on implementing core features using the best web development tools, integrating payment gateways, establishing a secure user authentication system, and building a robust infrastructure that can handle traffic and scalability.
Step 4: Testing
Following the development of the marketplace, the next important part is to test your product. Testing is essential to ensure that the marketplace is free of errors and encompasses all the intended features. Before presenting it to the users, it is necessary to conduct rigorous testing to guarantee its quality and functionality. In simple words, testing your solution means running a system check to discover any areas of improvement or errors that can diverge from getting desired results.
Step 5: Marketplace Launching
The launching phase is an important step in “how to create an online marketplace like Etsy?”. It involves preparing the platform for public access and introducing it to the target audience. During this phase, the marketplace undergoes different testing such as functionality, usability, and performance.
The journey doesn’t end here but it surely marks the point where your marketplace become live and available for users to engage and transact on. Simultaneously, marketing and promotional strategies are also developed to spread awareness about the marketplace and attract customers.
Step 6: Maintenance
Once you launch your marketplace, the work is far from over. Review and improvement in development are paramount to building a marketplace like Etsy or developing an application. The constantly changing dynamics of the market will require you to update your marketplace according to the world. Whether it’s refining the user interface, enhancing user experience, or optimizing the backend code, continuous improvement is necessary for your e-commerce industry solutions to thrive in the market.
Features of Etsy Marketplace
Features are the backbone to make any app successful. To do so, it is really important to include some salient features according to industry standard that has been gaining attention from your customers. To help with that, here are some features that will assist you in making an impression on your users and conquer success for your marketplace in this dynamic environment.
User Panel
Customer satisfaction is an important key to the success of any online marketplace. To achieve this, it is necessary to maintain user-centric features that are easily navigable and engaging, encouraging enough for customers to frequently visit the marketplace and develop loyalty.
Here are some basic yet attractive features that are essential in this regard. It is the responsibility of your software development company to take care of it.
Manage user profile
The feature of “manage personal profiles” is crucial in E-commerce marketplace development. It refers to the ability of creating and managing individual profiles. This gives users control over their personal information and helps them to customize their settings and preferences.
Search functionality
The search functionality is another crucial step to get from experienced online marketplace developers that provides a convenient way for users to find relevant content quickly. Users can enter keywords, phrases, and specific terms to search specific criteria related to their desired search. Overall, this provides an efficient way to navigate through a large volume of content, improving the chances of finding desired information easily.
Browse products
The “Browse Products” feature in an app like Etsy is an essential component that allows users to explore and discover wide-ranging products that are available on the platform. You can hire eCommerce developers for easy navigation to facilitate product discovery enhancing user experience.
Direct messaging with sellers
To make your application even more interesting, feature plays an important role. So, keeping the “Direct messaging with sellers” feature will be a good move. This enables users of the platform to communicate directly with sellers, easing discussions about product details, customization options, pricing, shipping, and any other requirements. This will make your website more engaging for users.
Checkout Process
Another significant feature to create a marketplace website or app like Etsy is add to cart and checkout process. This “Add to cart” product is associated with each product listing through which you can add multiple products for checkout. The ‘’checkout” is where users have decided to navigate the cart, review selected items and proceed to checkout. It should be smooth and easy as stats say more than 50% of people will abandon the cart if it takes more than 30 seconds to checkout.
Payment settings
The payment settings feature in an online marketplace website like Etsy provide users with the ability to manage their payment methods. Buyers can set up their preferred payment methods, such as credit cards, digital wallets or to make purchases. In such cases, ensuring that your marketplace has secure payment settings is essential to protect user financial information from any fraud. As well as, it is crucial to prioritize implementing robust security measures and employing additional layers of security to safeguard user funds and improve overall security of the platform.
Ratings and Reviews
Ratings and Reviews are crucial aspects of running an eCommerce website when you are aiming to start an eCommerce business that prospers in this dynamic market. As 49% of shoppers say they trust reviews as much as a personal recommendation. Ratings and reviews can provide valuable insights to prospective buyers, helping them know the quality, reliability, and suitability of the product. This can improve marketplace engagement and user experience.
Seller Panel
A seller panel when implemented effectively by a web development company can greatly contribute to your company’s growth.
Here are some features that are necessary for your marketplace growth-
Create Profile with Store URL
Creating a profile in the seller panel refers to establishing a digital shop with the platform, building your URL to make it easy for users to find you, and using designs and catalogs to showcase your products and services. Sellers can even customize the designs and content of their pages according to given guidelines to create a better user experience. This way ventures can provide information about their business, share reviews and ratings, and even include promotional offers to make sure their customers are receiving all the information timely.
Order Management
Order Management is an important feature for your marketplace that refers to the efficient handling of orders placed by buyers and managing their order fulfillment process. Utilizing eCommerce development services and getting order management in your marketplace will be a viable option that will help in dedicating to positive customer experience, and nurtures trust and satisfaction for your marketplace.
Stock Management
Stock management for sellers in an online marketplace like Etsy involves effective management of inventory that includes processes like trailing stock levels, restocking inventory, and observing product performance. This will help sellers to regularly update stock levels to avoid disappointing customers with out-of-stock items and maximize sales.
Chat System
The chat system in an online marketplace like Etsy enables sellers to discuss directly with buyers. This feature facilitates seamless and convenient communication, addresses buyer inquiries, and offers customized assistance for the purchasing process.
Transaction Management
The transaction management feature in a marketplace like Etsy involves the handling and tracking of all financial transactions that occur between buyers and sellers. This feature helps smooth and secure payment processing and transparency throughout the transaction cycle.
Reports and Analytics
Comprehensive detailed reporting and analytics tools help to provide detailed insights into sales, revenue, customer behavior, and other key performance indicators, assisting in better decision-making and business growth.
Admin Panel
To build an online marketplace like Etsy, the admin panel serves as a powerful panel for admins to manage different aspects of marketplace operations. Your eCommerce marketplace development company can help to develop an admin panel that effectively monitors and control the marketplace activities.
Here are some features given below to help you-
Real-time Updates Dashboard
Access to a dynamic dashboard is important to build an app like Etsy that assist administrators to receive real-time updates and insights. With this dashboard, administrators can access and monitor live data, providing immediate insights into various aspects of the system. This feature can allow quick decision-making, enhance efficiency and allow the admin to respond to any issue or changes.
Commission Setting Capability
The inclusion of commission-setting capability within an admin panel offers valuable benefits. It allows admins to define and adjust commission rates for sellers or service providers. This function enables administrators to establish flexible and customizable commission structures that align with business objectives.
Tax Management
In order to understand “how to make an online marketplace like Etsy” that becomes successful in the market. One such feature in online marketplaces like Etsy is tax management. With this functionality, administrators can accurately calculate, track, and manage taxes reducing errors and avoiding penalties. Overall, it streamlines tax-related tasks, enhances financial management, and contributes to the smooth functioning of the panel.
Category Management
Category management is the management of product strategies within an online marketplace or e-commerce platform. It includes categorizing products into relevant and logical categories to enhance user experience and drive sales. Many top software development companies in the USA can help you to integrate category management that will help shoppers easily navigate and find desired products in the appropriate section.
Invoice Management
An essential feature that made it to the list is “Invoice management” without which the process of how to create a marketplace like Etsy would be incomplete. It includes creating, handling, and tracking invoices for customer purchases and transactions. It allows administrators to make invoices automatically and maintain a repository of all invoices.
Customer Management
Another strong feature to get from a mobile app development company is customer management which enables administrators to keep customer data systematic and organized within the platform. The admin panel provides tools and features to manage customer profiles, track orders and handle their inquiries. Administrators can access and update customer details such as their order history, transaction history, and other details.
How Online Marketplace Like Etsy Earns Money?
If you’re looking to turn your eCommerce marketplace into a profitable venture, which you surely do, it is necessary to understand how to monetize your marketplace like Etsy. By integrating the right monetization model, you can not only cover the cost to create an online marketplace like Etsy but also create a sustainable business.
The below write-up will help you in understanding different approaches and how top web development companies in the USA can dedicate themselves to making your eCommerce marketplace successful.
1. Listing Fees
Listing fees means charging sellers a fee to list their products and services. Well, Etsy charges $0.20 for an item seller list on the platform. You can also implement a listing fees subscription model with the help of an experienced ecommerce website development company.
2. Sales Fees
The sales fees are another well-known method of effective monetization model where sellers pay a small percentage of the fee based on the value of each transaction they make through your platform. This fee can be charged as a percentage of the total transaction amount or as a fixed fee per sale.
3. Pattern Tools Fees
If you are wondering about “how to build a marketplace like Etsy” that generates revenue, it’s worth noting that Etsy offers a renowned website builder called Pattern. Pattern enables sellers to establish their customized online shops, display their products, and manage their inventory.
The first month is free and then a subscription fee of $15 which helps the platform to enjoy revenue and seller to enjoy a digital store. You can also get such a feature that adds flavor to your marketplace.
4. Advertising Fees
Typically, how to make an online marketplace like Etsy offers different variety of promotional services to help vendors in boosting their sales. These services involve advertising options that are billed using a cost-per-click (CPC) approach. With various advertisement approaches available such as banner ads, sponsored listings, or featured products to target large audiences on the platform and the platform can make some money as well as cover the cost to build an online marketplace like Etsy.
5. Subscription Fees
On a website like Etsy, sellers have the option to enroll in packages that provide them with a range of different tools that aims to boost their sales. For these sellers can opt for Etsy Plus Package and pay a monthly subscription plan at $10. By subscribing to such a package sellers can sell more and improve their revenue.
6. Payment Processing Fees
While building a marketplace like Etsy, one potential revenue stream can come from charging a nominal fee for payment processing. For instance, Etsy applies a 5% transaction fee on every successful sale.
Following this approach allow you to earn additional revenue for your venture. However, it’s important to carefully choose a web development company that can help you set up a secure payment processing system.
How SemiDot Infotech will be Right Partner for Online Marketplace Development?
When it comes to developing a marketplace like Etsy, it is important to partner with a professional IT consulting company which is why you need to pick SemiDot infotech. They have worked with global clientele to provide comprehensive solutions tailored to your specific requirements.
With their skilled team of dedicated developers, they can create a robust and scalable platform that accommodates multiple vendors and a range of products without compromising functionality and quality.
At SemiDot Infotech, we specialize in creating custom marketplaces tailored to our client’s specific requirements. Our approach involves close collaboration with clients to fully specific requirements.
Once the planning phase is complete, we meticulously design and develop the marketplace using the best web design software and web development tools. Our dedicated team works tirelessly and coordinates efforts to create ecommerce platforms like Joom, Picnic, MADNESS Online Store, and So Worth Loving.
Within a matter of weeks, our clients have witnessed remarkable growth and increased productivity. If you’re looking to introduce something new and innovative, you can consider partnering with SemiDot Infotech and hire their best website developers to drive your project forward.
Conclusion
In conclusion, building an online marketplace requires careful planning, strategic implementation, and a dedicated team of experts. In the above article, we have covered points that you should consider before jumping on the bandwagon of developing marketplace websites or apps. To assist you, we have shared Etsy, its origin story, working, features, development process as well as cost too to give you a small overview of “how to create a marketplace like Etsy”.
By following the key steps given, you can create your dream project that fosters creativity, and drive growth and innovation for your business. Remember to conduct Extensive research, define your niche, and partner with the best eCommerce mobile app development company like SemiDot Infotech to get their invaluable support and expertise throughout the process. Contact us to get a top-notch solution that brings life to your vision and helps you to establish yourself in the thriving market.
FAQs
Are you curious to know more about Etsy like marketplace development? Here are some FAQs to help you to grasp further about this exciting field:
How to create an Online Marketplace like Etsy?
To create an online marketplace like Etsy, define your niche and set up a website with e-commerce functionality, enable prominent features of Etsy like user registration and product listing, integrate secure payment options, and focus on promoting the platform to attract sellers and buyers.
What type of marketplace is Etsy?
Etsy is an eCommerce marketplace that primarily focuses on handmade, vintage, and craft supplies. It is known for providing a platform where artisans, artists, and crafters can their unique products directly to customers.
How much time does it take to create an online marketplace like Etsy?
The timeline breaks down for creating an online marketplace from scratch can vary depending on factors including the type of marketplace, chosen business model, and desired features. Typically, it can take somewhere from 3 to 6 months to develop a marketplace platform. However, for more complex marketplace projects the web development process may extend to 9 months or even longer. The duration will depend on the complexity of the features, customization requirements, and resources dedicated to the project.
How much does it cost to create an online marketplace like Etsy?
The overall cost depends on various factors such as features and functionalities, the experience of the team, the complexity of the project, and many more. But on average the cost to create an online marketplace like Etsy can be from $50,000 to $1,50,000, which can vary according to your requirements. By discussing with a reliable eCommerce development company, you can discuss and get an estimate for your project.
What’s the development process to build an online marketplace like Etsy?
It is very important to study the target audience and your competitors and then discuss your requirement with the chosen company. The developers and designers will collaborate and use different designing software and tools, adding e-commerce functionality, user registration, product listing, and search features. After development, it will go through testing to check for bugs or any other issues and then deployment. Continuously improve the user experience based on feedback and insights to ensure a positive experience for all users.
