Want to rule the eCommerce market in your region like a King?
It’s time to get inspired by a highly spoken platform of the middle east Kingdom. Yes, we are talking about Souq.com. The eCommerce platform is governing the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Egypt market by offering over 600000 products at a competitive price. It was started with a web app in 2005 and launched its native mobile apps for iOS and Android in Dec 2013.
Before we start discussing how to Develop an eCommerce App like Souq.com, you should know, it is now Amazon.ae. In mid-2019, Amazon acquired Saudi’s giant eCommerce market, and since then, the marketplace platform is formally known as Amazon.ae. Now, coming to our point, “Multi-vendor Marketplace App Development, it takes significant and persistent efforts to come a long way.
The first and foremost thing is to analyze what goes into the development to make the app user-friendly, secure, and convenient for its end-users. We have classified the top features you must include to Make an App like Souq.com in the post. Stick with it to unleash the same.
Things required to make an eCommerce app like Souq.com
Add to Cart – Digital shopping cart:
It gives shoppers a vibe as if they are shopping in a virtual mall. Buyers add to cart items they like to buy from multiple vendors listed on your online marketplace. Upon checkout, the cart then shows buyers the breakdown of the actual amount to pay with individual items’ price.
Moreover, the feature assists buyers reserve the item they like in the Cart and purchase it later. Even it works well for vendors as they get the chance to pull existing buyers who want to buy their products. All in all, the Add to Cart feature becomes prominent for eCommerce App Builders.
On-demand delivery methods:
Souq offers a user-oriented marketplace to let merchants deliver products ordered by buyers. The platform simplified for buyers to enter their preferable shipping address at the time of purchase. As for the vendor, it allows them to opt for any of its third-party courier services to fulfill their products.
It draws attention that you also abide by integrating reliable delivery options for your end-users (when we state end-users, it refers to both Buyers & Merchants).
Location tracking:
GPS functionality is something that nearly every mobile application embeds to enhance service accuracy. It becomes a “shouldn’t miss” feature when it comes to eCommerce or any shopping web or mobile application. Souq’s buyers leverage the feature to explore vendors near them or from the desired location. Likewise, sellers can track the location of their buyers.
Secure Transaction Process:
Users’ data security throughout the transaction and beyond should be the vow of the eCommerce mobile apps. To comply with this vow, entrepreneurs secure the transaction process with data encryption, use authorized APIs, spend on writing secure code, or integrate an OTP system. Souq secures each transaction on the platform via an automatic OTP procedure. What will you choose in your eCommerce platform?
Customized homepage for buyers:
Your app’s homepage should be vibrant and full of top offers from vendors that hook the buyers. Remember Amazon’s homepage when you open it depicts everything available on the platform on a single page. It navigates buyers to explore deals of the month or day from the featured vendors.
Specific dashboard for vendors:
As the homepage is for buyers, vendors require a dashboard that presents a glimpse into sales, stocks, revenue, product views, etcetera. A vendor panel like the Souq.com Sellers App authorizes them to manage various operations on-the-go. Further, a dedicated mobile app for vendors lets them conduct transactions, manage items’ quantity and orders. Allowing sellers to generate invoices and manage order deliveries on the app uplifts the convenience of online stores.
Feedback and ratings:
A buyer’s feedback and ratings work like recommendations for other buyers; consequently, items with more positive feedback get more order requests. Besides, it denotes areas of improvement in product quality as well as app performance. To render a user-centric platform, you should work on negative responses received from your end-users.
Do you recall that Bill Gates’s quote? — ‘Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.’
Important aspects on which the Cost to Develop an App like Souq.com depends:
You must have been wondering and having a series of questions such as; How much would be the eCommerce App Development Cost? Where would you hire Mobile App Developers from?
So, the cost of creating a mobile application counts on many factors that contribute to evolving essential business aspects and meeting business demands.
App platform:
Among a set of operating systems, the majority of smartphone users have divided into two: Android and iOS. Mobile apps to launch on these platforms are developed using different technologies and methodologies. Android mobile app development is comparatively cheaper than iOS as iPhone apps need to undergo rigorous testing procedures.
While you select platforms for your app, pay attention to your budget and audience’s preferences in terms of smartphone OSs.
Features:
Souq, like eCommerce app development, costs highly influenced by the features you integrate. The term is the more features, the higher the development price. Given that, developers required extra time and effort to build distinct and advanced features like OTP authentication. Hence, be precise about adding features at first.
App Size:
The overall size of an eCommerce marketplace mobile application, including designing traits and purposes, affects the cost. Sophisticated UI/UX design in mobile applications typically increases the size and the cost both.
App Developer:
The development cost also varies with the proficiency and location of developers. Reasoning applicable taxes and market value to charge on development services differ worldwide.
Conclusion
Multi-vendor mobile applications based on the eCommerce marketplace model are booming. Customers go from window shopping to placing orders at their fingertips. Managing online stores in such a marketplace has become a go-to thing for vendors. eCommerce business owners and startups are planning their expansion to get a competitive edge integrating advanced technology. When will you?
