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E-commerce has drastically changed the baby and kids’ products industry, providing a more convenient shopping experience for busy parents. Parents can find high-quality, safety-verified products from reputable vendors on specific online markets. This blog explains how to create an online marketplace where baby and kids’ products are sold including selecting the right business model as well as essential features, monetization strategies, observation of trends among others.
Statista’s recent report reveals promising growth in the global baby care sector, now valued at over 67 billion U.S. dollars and expected to rise steadily. The baby food market is particularly attractive, with a projected increase from just over 67 billion dollars today to nearly 100 billion U.S. dollars by 2027, presenting lucrative opportunities for investors. Parents demand convenience, high quality and variety leading to this. Having a marketplace online allows one place where all these needs can be met very easily at affordable pricing hence why there is such demand for them now more than ever before.
Some Marketplaces in the industry that have done well include Buybuy Baby, as well as Babylist demonstrating how effective such a model can be. Others include Cot & Cuddles - a Shipturtle-powered marketplace - has been touted as the go-to place for Indian moms seeking selective premium baby-products. Cot & Cuddles is aimed at bringing more than one seller on board thus offering parents trusted low-cost choices.
Selecting the appropriate marketplace model is essential to meet the unique needs of both parents and vendors. Here are the most effective models, along with examples from the industry:
Product marketplaces focus on new items across categories like clothing, toys, furniture, and baby essentials, providing a wide selection from multiple vendors.
These platforms are popular among parents seeking sustainable and budget-friendly options for gently used baby and kids' items like clothes, toys, and strollers.
C2C marketplaces allow individuals to buy and sell directly to each other, ideal for families looking to pass on outgrown items and find affordable, gently used goods.
A marketplace connects parents with sellers offering essentials like clothing, toys, and nursery items, earning a commission on each sale. Platforms like Babylist and The Tot thrive here, leveraging trusted brands to attract new and expecting parents seeking high-quality, curated products.
A platform, however, provides the tech infrastructure for baby product retailers to manage their own stores, as seen with Shopify or Wix, allowing for custom branding and direct customer relationships.
Luckily, Shipturtle can help you build both - explore our Shopify App & Whitelabel solutions! The choice depends on your business goals, target market, and resources.
A marketplace for baby and kids’ products must incorporate certain features to meet the needs of both vendors and customers:
Creating a marketplace for baby products, whether it’s a platform like Etsy or a unique solution, requires careful planning and understanding of development options. Here’s an outline of various approaches to building your marketplace, including some that leverage Shipturtle for a seamless multivendor setup -
i. Building a Custom Marketplace from Scratch
If you have advanced coding skills or a reliable tech team, building a marketplace from scratch offers the highest degree of customization. This method allows you to create features unique to your brand, including vendor and buyer interaction, product personalization, and inventory tracking.
However, it’s resource-intensive, often requiring around $50,000 and several months for development.
ii. Using a Website or eCommerce Builder with Multivendor Plugins
Popular eCommerce platforms like Shopify, Magento, and WordPress with WooCommerce offer plugins that support multivendor capabilities. Shopify, for example, has apps like Shipturtle that transform a single-vendor store into a multivendor marketplace, making it ideal for building an online mall.
Shipturtle enables you to manage vendors with features such as commission management, shipping integration, vendor sync, and performance analytics, making it a streamlined option for quickly setting up a baby products marketplace without custom coding.
iii. Headless Commerce with Off-the-Shelf Marketplace Solutions
Headless commerce provides a middle ground, where you can customize the frontend while using pre-built backend solutions. It separates the backend, which manages inventory, vendors, and orders, from the frontend, allowing you to tailor the user interface while using platforms like Shipturtle for backend functions.
Shipturtle’s open API support allows developers to customize both the look and functionality of the marketplace, ideal for businesses wanting a unique user experience without building the backend from scratch.
"... ShipTurtle worked with me to determine and create custom solutions for my business and was upfront about any associated costs... their customer service is very responsive... the integrations and automatic shipping tracking functionalities are incredibly convenient and useful... "
Britney Gibilisco
Localee, United States
Choosing a business model that aligns with the marketplace’s goals and target audience is crucial for long-term success. Here are some popular monetization options:
Building a successful marketplace can come with challenges. Here’s how to overcome some common obstacles:
i. Vendor Acquisition and Onboarding: Attracting quality vendors is crucial for a successful marketplace but can be difficult. Offering onboarding incentives and providing a smooth, easy-to-navigate experience for vendors encourages them to join and stay on the platform.
ii. Logistics and Supply Chain Management: Ensuring reliable delivery is especially important for baby and kids' products, as items like diapers and baby food are often time-sensitive.
iii. Building Customer Trust: Parents prioritize quality and safety for baby products, making it essential to have transparent product details, certifications, and reviews.
iv. Scaling the Marketplace: As the platform grows, manual processes become harder to manage, especially with multiple vendors and high order volumes.
i. Designing apps like Adobe Suite or Figma
ii. Cross-platform app development frameworks like Flutter or React Native
iii. Backend development with Django, Ruby on Rails, or Node.js
iv. Database with MySQL or MongoDB
v. Cloud-based Platforms like AWS or Microsoft Azure
vi. Other utilities for payment, location-based services, and more.
i. Shopify store or any CMS platform
ii. Shipturtle app and its open APIs
That's how simple it is to create a multivendor marketplace or platform with Shipturtle!
100%
Go live on Shopify in less than 48 hours using our out-of-box multivendor functionalities. Our solution offers 400+ pre-built workflows, including vendor management, product listings, order processing, and payment management. The app is configurable, has no code & boasts 1000+ integrations!
There is an increasing demand for baby and kids products. It is therefore a great time to set up an online market place where they can be bought and sold. If Cot & Cuddles takes into account this and uses correct features and efficient marketing strategies, it can become an authoritative place where mothers and fathers go for kids items.
Shipturtle empowers brands to scale in the dynamic e-commerce landscape with an enterprise-level SaaS solution that is faster, more cost-effective, and superior to platforms like Amazon Seller Central. Begin with a 14-day free trial to experience our advanced features; once you're ready, seamlessly launch your site and connect with thousands of sellers, rapidly expanding your e-commerce reach.
Get advanced shipping, configurable vendor management, payment features, and more. Install Shipturtle today from the Shopify App Store and enjoy a free trial to experience its benefits firsthand.
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