Article | 6 min read

Setting Up A Marketplace For Baby and Kids Products

Build a Marketplace
Author
Samiksha Kukreti
Editor
Manav Gupta
Published
October 31, 2024
Last Updated
December 10, 2024

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E-commerce has drastically changed the baby and kids’ products industry, providing a more convenient shopping experience for busy parents.

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.

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.

The journey begins with understanding who would want to create such a platform and why:

  • Retailers Expanding Into the Baby and Kids Market: Businesses in the retail sector looking to expand their product offerings by creating a marketplace that brings together various baby and kids brands, from apparel to toys and gear.
  • Niche Product Providers: Businesses focusing on niche products such as organic baby food, eco-friendly diapers, or custom baby clothing, who want to create a marketplace that connects them with parents seeking these specialized products.
  • Maternity and Parenting Brands: Brands that offer maternity, infant care, or parenting products looking to diversify their offerings and build a marketplace where different sellers can provide everything from baby gear to educational resources.
  • Subscription-Based Model Entrepreneurs: Those interested in building a marketplace where customers can subscribe to regular deliveries of baby or kids products, such as toys, clothing, or educational materials.

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.

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:

I. Product marketplace

Product marketplaces focus on new items across categories like clothing, toys, furniture, and baby essentials, providing a wide selection from multiple vendors.

  • Amazon Baby Store – Offers a vast range of baby products, from essentials to furniture.
  • Buy Buy Baby – Features baby gear, toys, apparel, and essentials from various popular brands.
  • Maisonette – Curates high-end clothing, toys, and home products for babies and kids from boutique brands.

II. Used goods marketplace

These platforms are popular among parents seeking sustainable and budget-friendly options for gently used baby and kids' items like clothes, toys, and strollers.

  • Kidizen – A resale marketplace for gently used kids’ clothing, shoes, toys, and accessories.
  • ThredUp Kids – Offers secondhand kids' clothing and accessories, focusing on sustainable and affordable shopping.
  • GoodBuy Gear – Specializes in high-quality, secondhand baby gear, such as strollers, car seats, and nursery furniture.

III. C2C (Consumer-to-Consumer) marketplace

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.

  • Facebook Marketplace – Used widely for local transactions, allowing parents to buy and sell baby items, including toys, clothes, and furniture.
  • OfferUp – A local marketplace where parents can buy and sell baby items conveniently within their community.
  • Poshmark Kids – Originally focused on clothing, now a platform where parents buy and sell children’s apparel and accessories directly.

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2. Key Features of a Successful Baby and Kids Products Marketplace

A marketplace for baby and kids’ products must incorporate certain features to meet the needs of both vendors and customers:

  • Vendor Management: A must-have for any multivendor marketplace is vendor management instruments to both assimilate them and offer assistance to them. Platforms like Shipturtle are among the many vendor management tools that cater for multiple vendor stores.
  • Product Listing Management: Vendors need an easy way of listing, categorizing and updating products so that they can have a well-organized catalog such as Cot & Cuddles.
  • Secure Payment Gateways: This greatly enhances trust in the customer's eyes more so when it comes to parents’ purchasing high-end products for their kids.
  • Customer Reviews and Ratings: Babylist has introduced the concept of prominent placements for rating and reviewing goods, hence making it more transparent to use their website.
  • Logistics Services For Delivery: Parents regard speed as important when it comes to sending packages that are safe. This can improve customer satisfaction by connecting them to locally delivered goods.
  • Inventory Management: Properly managed stock reduces chances of running out of goods which means that products remain available for purchase at all times.

3. How to Build a Multivendor Marketplace

Creating a marketplace for baby products, whether it’s a platform like Amazon 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

4. Marketplace Business Model for Baby and Kids Products

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:

  • Commission-Based: This model charges a commission for each sale, making it ideal for marketplaces with high transaction volumes. FirstCry follows a commission model that enables scalability as more vendors join the platform.
  • Subscription Model: Vendors or customers pay a recurring fee for access to the marketplace. A subscription model suits vendors who frequently list new items, offering predictable revenue.
  • Listing Fees: Charging vendors to list products is another effective model, especially for P2P marketplaces focused on second-hand goods.
  • Featured Product Placements: Vendors can pay for increased visibility, a model that works well on established platforms with high traffic. This approach is used by Cot & Cuddles to promote premium listings.

5. Challenges in Building a Baby and Kids Products Marketplace 

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.

How can Shipturtle overcome these challenges:

  • Vendor Acquisition and Onboarding: Shipturtle’s tools streamline the onboarding process by offering a centralized dashboard, where vendors can manage their inventory, orders, and payments easily, reducing the friction in getting started.
  • Logistics and Supply Chain Management: Shipturtle provides 200+ carrier integrations out-of-box, allowing for real-time tracking and efficient order fulfillment across regions. Vendors can manage shipping preferences and track logistics directly through the platform, improving delivery reliability.
  • Building Customer Trust: Shipturtle supports review and rating functionalities, enabling customers to assess product quality and vendor reliability. This helps build trust and encourages repeat purchases.
  • Scaling the Marketplace: Shipturtle’s automation tools handle inventory management, commission calculations, and order routing, allowing the marketplace to scale seamlessly. Automated inventory syncing ensures stock levels are updated across vendors, reducing the risk of overselling and stockouts.

Building a baby and kids product marketplace on your own

i. Custom coding and integrations are costly.

ii. Building and testing takes significant time.

iii. Requires advanced backend systems for scalability.

iv. Needs experienced developers and designers.

v. Ensuring strong security measures and compliance.

vi. Continuous updates and bug fixes are necessary.

vii. Compatibility issues with payment, shipping, and CRM tools.

viiii. Balancing design with functionality for ease of use.

Building a baby and kids product marketplace with Shipturtle

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!

Moreover, it is way more cost-effective with pre-built 400+ marketplace workflows and at the same time, flexible to customize based on your unique requirements!

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Conclusion

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.

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About The Author

Samiksha Kukreti

Samiksha Kukreti is a content creator with a unique blend of scientific expertise and creative flair. Having earning a U.G. degree in Biotechnology, Samiksha is pursuing her creative and strategic interests in digital marketing and helping Shipturtle grow.