Complete Guide to Build a Multi-Vendor App like Amazon

Online marketplaces have offered immense convenience in accessing various different products at your fingertips through appealing and smooth-performing mobile apps. Multi-vendor apps got highlighted ever since Amazon partnered with various vendors from different categories and from different geographical locations to offer a wide range of products at one marketplace. Today, Amazon has more than 300 million active users worldwide and among which almost 197 million people use Amazon shopping app every month and purchase products through it.

The cost to develop app like Amazon is often searched by users as E-commerce app development has gained much hype and people are looking for more advanced ways to shop online for different products from various categories with much enhanced saving options and ease to get things delivered to their doorstep. So, if you too are planning to launch a smooth and scalable multivendor app like Amazon, this blog will certainly offer you crucial insights about the entire development process and how to approach it.

What is a Marketplace App?

Amazon is a multivendor marketplace app that acts as a platform for both buyers and sellers to join together and works as an intermediary between different groups with slightly different features and functionalities from an online store. Sellers come up with their different product categories whereas buyers are facilitated with access to multiple products at a single platform. You can ask your mobile app development company to develop between specific multivendor app and general multivendor app where the former is related to a specific product category and the latter offers various different categories. Developing a robust multivendor app like Amazon will require four panel development; users, vendors, delivery persons, and admin panel. Each panel will require different set of features to facilitate smooth functioning of the app.

Key Aspects to Develop an App like Amazon

Building an ecommerce app like Amazon requires diligent efforts and foolproof planning as it’s a quite tricky project to be handled efficiently. Before you get started with the actual app development process, we have mentioned some crucial steps that must be taken into account to avoid any disappointment and get a fully-fledged ecommerce app developed successfully.

Research & Planning

No matter whatever is the purpose behind launching an app, this is an indispensable part of any app development project. You must conduct a thorough market research on the type of audience that you are going to target and plan features accordingly. Attractive UI/UX designs, easy navigation, and user-centric features are the key factors that will decide the level of success for your ecommerce app.

Moreover, you must also focus on developing a native app for both platforms (Android and iOS) differently. An ecommerce app is a complex project and requires robust backend development to facilitate smooth online purchases and handling abundant data from different devices and from different geographical locations. Native apps are unmatched in terms of performance and security measures. Hence, you must ask your e-commerce app development company to develop a native ecommerce app with latest and advanced tech stacks.

Must-have Features for an Amazon-like App

Features are the driving force for any app to succeed and you must plan them very intuitively depending on the market research and current market trends. We have mentioned some must-have features that Amazon currently has. Apart from these, you must also try to include your own flavor (niche) to make it more personalized and user-centric ecommerce app.

User Panel Features

Social Media Login
Profile Creation
Product Listing
Favorites listings
Add to Cart
Shipping & Billing Address
Checkout
Order Tracking
Delivery tatus
Ratings & Reviews

Merchant Panel Features

Social Media Sign-up
Offers & Discounts
Notifications
Inventory Management
Settlement Module
Reports & Analysis
Feedback & Seller Support
Order & Return Management
Ratings & Reviews

Admin Panel Features

Reports & Analysis
User & Admin Management
Category Management
Feedback & Support
Seller & Product Management
Payment & Refund Management
Discounts & Offers management
Banner & Logistics Management

Choosing the Best Tech Stack

Tech stacks play a crucial role in bringing your imaginations and ideas to reality and make it smoothly operational. The performance of your ecommerce app will depend much on the kind of tech stack used by the e-commerce app development company. You can consider the following tech stack to develop a robust ecommerce app like Amazon.

Front-end Development: Angular and HTML5

Back-end Development: Node.js and Python

Programming Language: Swift for iOS and Java for Android

For Cross-platform App: Flutter & React Native

Database: MySQL and MongoDB

Infrastructure: AWS (Amazon Web Services)

Payment Integration: Stripe and Braintree

Creating a Monetization Strategy

If you wish to make most out of your ecommerce app like Amazon, you need to plan well for its monetization. These days, both mobile app developers and business owners have come up with several revenue models through which you can easily generate huge revenues from your app. We have mentioned some commonly used revenue generation techniques that you can consider for your ecommerce app development.

Product Listing Fees:This is the most common revenue model used by ecommerce giants like Amazon and E-Bay to list their products and get paid easily.

Sales Commission: On each product sold through your ap, you will be eligible to earn a certain amount of commission that will be paid by the stores.

Subscription Method: Offering some advanced and customized features through subscribing for a premium package will also help your app to generate heavy revenue from your users.

Advertisement: Once your app gains a good userbase, umpteen businesses will approach you to highlight their ads on your app’s interface in form of ads.

Sponsorship: You can also team up with other marketplaces to make maximum out of your ecommerce app. Especially, the startups often look for a digital platform to get instant recognition and this will open various opportunities to earn money through them.

Cost to Develop App like Amazon

Now, you must be wondering about Amazon like app development cost. There are multiple factors that will be affecting the total development cost for your project. These factors are:

Type of Mobile App Development Company: Development agencies often charge an app development project based on their experience and expertise. Hence, you need to choose an expert one that has relevant experience in delivering ecommerce apps successfully.

Number of Features: Incorporating each feature requires rigorous efforts and time along with use of some best advanced technologies. Hence, keep the numbers limited and user-centric.

Type of Platform: Whether you need a web-based app or a cross-platform or a native app for both Android and iOS platforms separately, it will directly impact your development cost. Native apps are much costly affair but offer unmatched performance whereas cross-platform and web-based apps are much affordable in comparison to native app development.

Complexity of the Project: It depends on the nature of features and app designs that you may like for your ecommerce app development. Use of advanced technologies will also add to the development cost.

You can easily get an Amazon-like app developed in USD 15000 to $20000 for a single platform (Android or iOS) and that too from scratch. A cross-platform or a web-based app will also be developed within the same range and it will perform on multiple platforms.

End Note

You must have got all the necessary information to get started with your Amazon-like app development project. It is recommended to prepare a detailed project requirement list well before you approach any development agency.