Adobe bought Magento, and with Shopify, WooComerce, and BigCommerce roaring loud, the future of e-commerce has growth written all over it.
Personalized shopping experience, multiple shopping channels, customer service automation, crypto payment methods, in-app mobile commerce, same day delivery, drone delivery, content marketing, etc. are the core practices that are being applied to increase the revenue stream of e-commerce businesses but the catch is - majority of online businesses need a marketplace platform that includes the essential features to operate a business successfully. Below are some of the top features that make a marketplace platform top notch.
Easy Signup
The very first interaction of a user with a marketplace platform is while signing up. Social logins should be on-board for swift login into the platform. The process of signing up should be hassle-free and straightforward to adapt so that a user doesn’t hesitate using the platform. A lengthy signup process not only proves to be tedious but it also cuts down the conversion rate as user experience is the key of every digital product these days. As per the industry norm, the on-boarding process shall include two or three alternatives, and the process should be lucrative enough to chip in users more and more over the time.
Vendor’s dashboard
Vendor management is a vital feature of every successful marketplace platform. Some of the main features of vendor management should include addition and subtraction of payment gateways, account settings, editable company details with complete command on the company’s social media accounts, customizable themes, fonts, notifications, the authority of clearing ratings, testimonials, reviews, activity records, etc.
Buyer’s page
A customer is a king, and the user interface and experience of this page should be of top-class. The focus should be on making the buying experience a treat for the clients. Some salient features of this page include cart management, price details, discounts, charges (If any), payment options, comment box, etc.
Personalized pages of every product niche improve user engagement and help buyers to track their buying interests and products that might be extremely interested in including their previous purchases and items that are abandoned during the purchase. Remember, the more features you offer to the user, lesser are the chances to fizzle out technically.
Payment gateways
Paying via online payment mediums such as bank transfer, Stripe, PayPal, PayMill, Telr Payment, Braintree, GoCardless, etc. is more convenient and secure, but one has to pick these payment gateways wisely as they should have global compatibility. Marketplace and e-commerce platforms have unique requirements, and some of them may require custom payment solutions.
A marketplace solution integrated with various payment gateways is a plus for businesses that eye on raking in money via global clientele. Moreover, it provides multiple payment options for the shoppers resulting in increased conversion and buying ratio.
Review, rating, and testimonial
Reading reviews and testimonials along with keeping eyes on ratings has become a common practice of buyers. People are more than interested in knowing the opinion of other people who availed a service or bought the product previously. The review section is one of the most crucial features of a marketplace as a lot of purchasing behavior depends upon it. These opinions of other people put a significant impact on decision-making and sales.
Integrated analytics
Identifying user experience along with tracking it is essential to analyze the lacks in an online business. Furthermore, with prompt analytics such as user behavior, preferred products, abandoned carts, session time, user actions, etc. One can get to know where to put the focus on improving all errors along with understanding the progress and ethical aspects of an online marketplace. Moreover, gathering data is a great way to go for updates, generating leads, understanding buying patterns and retargeting the consumers in the future.
Social Media Sharing
Undoubtedly, social media integration is a feature that is much needed in a marketplace platform. It creates online engagement about business and increases the online presence of it that is great to build a business as a brand. Be it a Facebook share button, Twitter’s tweet, Snapchat’s stories or Instagrams picture posts, all of these social activities create a buzz for your business that makes an everlasting impact on the online audience.
Security
Security of purchasers' and sellers' information is the primary need, that is the reason "SSL authentications" and "PCI consistence" require exhaustive though. PCI Security Standards involve prerequisites to all site that keep sensitive data. SSL certificates are additionally connected while setting up a safe association among marketplace platform and server.
For present-day online businesses that have the payment information of clients, security has turned into a high point of worry for all online companies, and there is no big surprise why GDPR for EU customers appeared. With individual information being in danger of misuse, clients and merchants won't feel sure about joining a marketplace platform where there is a lack of security.
SSL not only establishes a secure connection but also, makes an impression in the customer’s mind that they are dealing with the most secure website. As a result, the credentials of customers will not be sniffed or hacked by criminals. Eventually, will enjoy hassle-free browsing and pleasant shopping experience. shopping experience.
If you search on the web, you will find different names like AlphaSSL certificate, RapidSSL certificates, Comodo SSL certificate in SSL industry. Different authorities like AlphaSSL, RapidSSL, Comodo, which provides SSL certificates according to business needs.
Rising cybercrime incidents have compelled companies and industries to take care of customers’ data and monetary details and in this respect, SSL is an ideal answer.
Push and smart notification systems
Smart notification is a feature that keeps the existing clientele or buyers engaged on the platform by time to time prompts of different activities. Notifying buyers/merchants about answers, messages, offers or different exercises is very imperative. Fast notifications make a marketplace platform helpful and swift in practical implications. Exceptional offers, updates, upgrades or launch of new products are also covered via this feature that puts a direct impact on the revenue stream of an online business.
While the article has covered only some of the core features of a successful marketplace platform, some e-commerce platforms are destined to disrupt the industry such as Cubix Commerce.
Cubix Commerce is a powerful platform built to provide an end to end ERP solution. Infused with business intelligence and cloud architecture, the platform covers every tiny aspect of e-commerce, marketplace requirements and the features include inventory management, product management, e-commerce integration, packaging management, payment integration, distribution management, etc.
Designed to be adopted by every niche including food, retail, fashion, healthcare, etc. Cubix Commerce is all that you need to sell your products like a hot cake. While its architecture empowers small-business owners and startups to mark their online presence, organizations, retailers and large businesses can leverage this platform by adapting its spot-on approach towards the e-commerce fiasco.
Moreover, the platform is fueled with integrated technologies such as Chatbot, Augmented Reality, and to take all the hassle away from both the ends, user and client, Cubix Commerce has a Content Management System integrated with it. To top it all loud, if you are looking for a one-stop solution for your e-commerce business, Cubix Commerce is bound to run your business in a swift, optimized and managed manner.