In 2023, a fifth of all retail transactions globally will be through online sales channels, according to Statista. In fact, in the year 2021 alone, the sales via these channels amounted to US $5.2 trillion. It is forecasted that this figure will spiral to US $8.1 trillion by 2026.
These figures are expected, considering the boost given by recent developments in the industry. While advancements in web technologies and internet services, supply chain, and other paraphernalia that supports the online retail ecosystem have evolved. It’s the end consumers that have started to embrace eCommerce. The pandemic crisis gave buyers an insight into the value of online shopping. Since then eCommerce has proliferated across industries and regions.
This rise in online shopping has provided entrepreneurs and existing owners of brick-and-mortar retailers to invest in an eCommerce platform.
In this blog, let’s explore top online business ideas for launching an eCommerce business, and core drivers that you can consider while devising your strategy for the launch.
Benefits Of An eCommerce Multi-Vendor Marketplace
While setting up an online store might seem to be the only viable solution for retailers, investors, and entrepreneurs to survive and stay competitive. It is advisable to launch a multi-vendor eCommerce marketplace that offers distinct benefits over a regular web store. For instance, Amazon, Etsy, and Alibaba – some of the biggest eCommerce brands have benefitted from a multi-vendor eCommerce model.
To illustrate our point, let’s take a look at some of the key reasons fueling the demand for eCommerce marketplace software like Yo!Kart:
- From logistics, inventory management to product additions, sellers with their individual storefront handle these complications, taking half the headache away from the marketplace owner.
- With a larger selection of products listed from several vendors, a multi-vendor eCommerce marketplace is bound to generate traffic and increase sales.
- More focus on scaling and marketing the platform and less on managing individual shops in a marketplace.
Moreover, in an established eCommerce marketplace retailers require minimal setup cost, offer flexible eCommerce solutions, and tremendous sales opportunities. This is why it is favored by merchants and businesses alike. But, before you look to start an online multi-vendor store, it is important to first identify the niche business idea for your marketplace. Below, we have listed the most profitable online multi-vendor business ideas to start your marketplace.
Top Online Multi-Vendor Marketplace Ideas
- Handcrafted Items Marketplace
- Fashion Marketplace
- Digital Products Marketplace
- Jewelry & Ornaments Marketplace
- Furniture Marketplace
- Electronics Marketplace
- Kitchen Utensils and Appliances
- Sports Good Marketplace
- Cosmetics Marketplace
- Automobile Marketplace
- Hardware Marketplace
- Ethical And Sustainable Products Marketplace
1. Handcrafted Items Marketplace
Handmade goods, vintage items, and craft supplies – there’s an endless list of handcrafted items that badly needed a marketplace to thrive. With Etsy, however, the market for custom-made items is flourishing. Learn how to launch an Etsy-like marketplace and thrive amid the global pandemic & beyond.
2. Fashion Marketplace
From lower digital barriers to the emerging worldwide population, several factors are fueling growth of the fashion marketplace. In 2024, the global e-commerce fashion industry is forecast to reach an overall market value of 821 billion U.S. dollars. According to estimates, the industry is expected to reach a value of over 1.2 trillion U.S. dollars by 2027. Top marketplaces like Lyst and Amazon Fashion are already fueling growth attracting millions of shoppers worldwide with their apparel, footwear, and other accessories line-up.
As niche fashion communities continue to build fast and sell well, learn how to build an online fashion marketplace with Yo!Kart.
3. Digital products marketplace
E-books, online courses, games, or other downloadable items, the marketplace for digital products generate enormous amounts of revenue worldwide. For instance, online courses alone are expected to surpass $240 billion in revenue in 2024, up from $160 billion in 2016. As the marketplace presents several growth opportunities, it is best to invest and cash-in. Amazon, Walmart, and AliExpress are among the most popular marketplaces for selling digital goods globally.
Launch Digital Product Marketplace
4. Jewelry & Ornaments Marketplace
The global jewelry market is expected to reach $480 billion by 2025, according to Statista. With a high-profit margin and several growth opportunities, Jewelry & Ornaments marketplace is a relevant business idea for both enterprises and startups. For instance, Amazon – the retail giant claims around 50% of the online jewelry sales in the US. Another popular marketplace eBay with 180 million active buyers offers plenty of opportunities for jewelry sellers.
Yo!Kart with its ready-to-launch eCommerce solutions will help you launch a customized multi-vendor marketplace for luxury products like jewelry and ornaments with distinct niche-specific features.
5. Furniture Marketplace
With the advancement in logistics, reduced shipping cost (for larger items), and an option of pre-sale listing of furniture and delivery, the online furniture marketplace is growing rapidly. The potential cost-saving features and convenience of ordering online have boosted sales for the furniture marketplace. Globally, the furniture e-commerce industry generated approximately 27.74 billion U.S. dollars in 2021. By 2030, the size of the furniture e-commerce market worldwide is forecast to reach about 41 billion U.S. dollars.
Wayfair and Amazon, two retail giants with a market share of 33.4% and 29.7% in online furniture sales respectively have changed the face of the furniture marketplace. Also, explore our readymade furniture ecommerce platform to start own furniture marketplace.
6. Electronics Marketplace
Invite and manage electronic vendors to register and sell products in your marketplace. A customized multi-vendor marketplace for electronics by Yo!Kart offers several distinct features like streamlined checkout, up to 5 million product listings, and more. With a Compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 7.3% over the next four years, the online electronics marketplace dominated by top players like Newegg, Best Buy, digitec, and GAME is expected to grow substantially.
Suggested Read: Launch an electronics marketplace like Newegg
7. Kitchen Utensils and Appliances
Instead of opting for a common marketplace to list/sell the kitchen utensils and appliances, vendors look for a niche-marketplace solely focused on their products. This is why custom marketplaces with niche-specific features sell fast and do well. HayNeedle and Cooking.com for instance, are some of the best online marketplaces for kitchen wares. With digitization and online shopping trending amid the pandemic, it is the right time to invest in a niche-specific marketplace.
8. Sports Good Marketplace
A marketplace for sports and fitness enthusiasts is another popular trend with a wider audience. As game players search for coaches, sports activities, materials, and fitness centers in their area, starting a sports marketplace is a great business idea. Sportsfinda, for instance, is an eCommerce marketplace for students and colleges to sell sports goods. Niche-specific marketplaces like these are emerging and prospering worldwide.
If you are ready to invest in a sports good marketplace, then choose Yo!Kart. We offer ready-to-launch solutions to start a sports products marketplace with conversion-specific features.
9. Cosmetics Marketplace
There’s a steep demand for high-end beauty products like cosmetics worldwide. As per Statista, the global cosmetics market valued at $507 billion is projected to reach $758 billion by 2025. And, the online cosmetic industry is growing rapidly as well. From Amazon to The Beauty Club – a beauty destination marketplace, sellers offering cosmetic products are increasingly considering eCommerce platforms for potential buyers.
Launch Your Own Cosmetics Marketplace
10. Automobile Marketplace
Sustained technology developments and the increasing millennial population have a massive impact on accelerating the growth of the online automobile marketplace. It presents several growth opportunities as highlighted by Vroom – a popular online marketplace for used cars. As the US automobile marketplace depicts a positive trend with growing advertising spend by dealers, starting an online automobile marketplace is a great business idea.
11. Hardware Marketplace
The market for hardware goods has been steadily growing over the last decade and grew by 3.3% in the last year. It is a popular eCommerce marketplace with several top players. Tindie.com, for instance, is an eCommerce marketplace for hardware products that enables buyers to purchase directly from the makers. Such marketplaces often are in great demand with an audience worldwide.
As several entrepreneurs or hardware retailers looking to grow their business, the eCommerce industry is the best bet today. Choose Yo!Kart to build a hardware multi-vendor marketplace with robust eCommerce features.
12. Ethical And Sustainable Products Marketplace
Recognizing the current environmental crisis, the “go green” campaign is clearly gaining momentum worldwide. According to data analysts at GlobalWebIndex, 57% of surveyed people say they would pay more for eco-friendly products while 61% say they would switch brands if the products aren’t eco-friendly. Clearly, environmental concerns are impacting the consumer’s purchasing decision.
Conscious consumers are quickly switching to new alternatives with more environment-friendly products. Shopingreen built with Yo!Kart, for instance, is one such consumer-centric marketplace that offers ethical and sustainable products targeting conscious consumers. And, seeing the current trend, online marketplaces selling ethical/sustainable products are more likely to sustain growth rather than those without sustainable products.
Conclusion
Every successful marketplace starts with a great business idea and a platform that helps you leverage your idea into reality. With the ready-to-launch marketplace solutions, Yo!Kart empowers startups, entrepreneurs, and enterprises to launch a niche-specific customized online marketplace with ease.
Start Your Own Robust and Feature-Rich Multivendor Marketplace
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q1. What kind of multi-vendor business can I start in the current market scenario?
There are several profitable multi-vendor businesses that can be started in the current market scenario such as starting a grocery marketplace, handmade items marketplace, a liquor multi-vendor store, or even a fashion marketplace.
Q2. How do I know which multi-vendor business idea is right for me?
If you have any experience in any of the niche businesses listed here or have access to adequate resources for a particular marketplace idea then you may pursue the specific multi-vendor business model. Otherwise, almost every marketplace idea listed here is a profitable venture that you may adopt.
Q3. Why is investing in multi-vendor business a good idea?
Multi-vendor eCommerce businesses offer some distinct advantages of multiple revenue generation streams, high scalability, and the opportunity to reach global markets.
Moreover, these allow entrepreneurs with no inventory to manage the backend and support operations of the business and the platform ― and get started with their own eCommerce business.
Q4. Which are the top companies in B2B multi-vendor?
Alibaba, Amazon Business, Upwork, and Uber for Businesses are among the primary B2B multi-vendor firms operating today.
Q5. Which are the top companies in B2C multi-vendor?
Amazon, ASOS, Wayfair, Etsy, AliExpress, Flipkart, and more. These are some of the top B2C multi-vendor marketplaces across the globe.
Q6. What solution is best to start a multi-vendor store?
You can choose a standalone solution like YoKart to kickstart a multi-vendor store. It is enriched with all essential eCommerce features/integrations and is highly customizable to even meet your individual business requirements.
Q7. How to onboard vendors to a multi-vendor website?
Create hype around the brand via a landing page, build awareness through social media marketing, place banner ads on popular websites, or find/connect directly with the merchants selling on other relevant multi-vendor websites. These are some of the many ways to connect with vendors or sellers.
