WOOCOMMERCE MULTI-VENDOR OPERATIONS:

HOW TO BUILD YOUR MARKETPLACE?

IntroductionMulti-vendor marketplace for WooCommerce platformWhat is a multi-vendor marketplace?Why do you need a multi-vendor marketplace?What do you take into consideration before building amulti-vendor online store?Is WooCommerce good for building a marketplace?Which are the best WooCommerce multi-vendor pluginsfor web stores?

Dokan MultivendorWC Vendors ProYITH Multivendor pluginWC MarketplaceWooCommerce Product Vendors

Conclusion

TABLE OF CONTENTS

WooCommerce Multi-Vendor Operations

INTRODUCTION

When you search for the most popular eCommerce stores inGoogle, you are most likely to come across prominent nameslike eBay, Amazon, Flipkart, Walmart, Airbnb and Etsy.Although these eCommerce giants work on diverse businessmodels and sell different products/services online, the onecommon factor that brings them together is their multi-vendor operations feature. In short, these online stores are allmulti-vendor marketplaces.

Considering the growing popularity of multi-vendormarketplaces in the eCommerce domain, many noviceentrepreneurs now want to build and launch similar onlinestores like Amazon and eBay. However, starting aneCommerce multi-vendor marketplace model is not all easyas it sounds. Since this article is all about WooCommercemulti-vendor marketplace, let’s briefly understand how thisbusiness model works for WooCommerce or WordPress.

WooCommerce Multi-Vendor Operations

Multi-vendor marketplace forWooCommerce platform

If you are running your business on a WordPressWooCommerce platform, the only way to transform youreBusiness into a multi-vendor marketplace is by installingmyriad plugins that support multi-vendor for WooCommerceoperations.

You will find plenty of plugins and themes on WooCommercethat offer multi-vendor marketplace operations. One of thebest recommended is the Dokan WooCommerce plugin thathelps you seamlessly convert your web store into a multi-vendor marketplace. Similarly, there is the YITHWooCommerce plugin for multi-vendor operations that allowsan eCommerce owner to create a full-fledged store andmanage two or more vendors at the same time.

But before we dive into the details of these plugins, we shallfirst discuss in detail the systematic approach to building aWooCommerce multi-vendor marketplace. Before you installone of the multi-vendor marketplace plugins in your onlinebusiness store, you should learn about this marketplaceapproach in detail. Without understanding the concept,installing a plugin on your web store is of no value.

WooCommerce Multi-Vendor Operations

What is a multi-vendor marketplace?

You must be familiar with the concept of a “bazaar”; a weeklymarketplace or shandies where sellers or traders fromdifferent places gather at a common place to sell their goodsand services. The same concept is applied to the onlinespace.

For a specific definition, a multi-vendor marketplace oreCommerce marketplace is a virtual platform where you canfind different products and services from different vendorsbeing sold on the same platform.

The owner of the marketplace (in this case, it’s you) isprimarily responsible for attracting potential buyers andprocessing transactions. The vendors, of course, deal withmanufacturing, inventory, packing and shipping related work.

WooCommerce Multi-Vendor Operations

Why do you need a multi-vendormarketplace?

To keep up with the increasing rate of competition in theeCommerce sector, it is necessary that you have an advancedand ultra-modern online store. Your store must be updatedwith the latest technologies, which will help your customersshop for products or services with ease and efficiency. Multi-vendor marketplaces offer a plethora of opportunities thatsingle vendor stores cannot compete with.

With a fully-fledged multi-vendor marketplace, you candesign web stores like eBay where any user can sell any itemor perhaps create a niche multi-vendor store focused on aparticular product or service category such as gadgets orautomobiles, etc. – the opportunities for running a businessare nearly endless.

Furthermore, having other vendors onboard, onlinestoreowners can provide products or services they aren’t ableto offer themselves. Multiple vendors can enhance the brandvalue of your store by increasing online web traffic.

WooCommerce Multi-Vendor Operations

As a manager of your online store, you need not keep aninventory. You can act as an intermediary for suppliersinstead of being a supplier yourself. Moreover, you can alsocharge vendors a separate fee for selling their products andservices on your online store. This option can generaterevenue and open new business opportunities.

With your online store following a multi-vendor marketplace,sellers get a chance to empanel with you and sell theirproducts and services hassle-free. They do not have toundergo the stress of opening a new store. Similarly, sellerscan also make use of the existing web traffic to get bettervisibility.

WooCommerce Multi-Vendor Operations

Managing the storeStriking a balance between managerial tasks and vendoractivities

As mentioned earlier, building a multi-vendor marketplace isnot an easy task. You will need to understand the multi-vendor business concept thoroughly before fully venturinginto it. There are several aspects of a multi-vendormarketplace that you must keep your eyes on.The two key factors that you will need to take intoconsideration before building a multi-vendor marketplaceare:

If your WooCommerce multi-vendor marketplace is a puzzle,each component contributing to your business represents apiece of the puzzle. Even if one piece of the puzzle is lost,your multi-vendor marketplace cannot function and performimpeccably in the actual market out there.

WooCommerce Multi-Vendor Operations

What do you take into consideration beforebuilding a multi-vendor online store?

So for instance, if you are in charge of inventory, but notpackaging or you do not have a suitable vendor to packagethe goods, your eCommerce store will not have the finishedproduct required to drive sales. Customers will instead jumpto another online store that offers them a better shoppingexperience.

It’s also imperative to know what part of store managementmust be executed by the eCommerce storeowner (you) andwhat can be done by the vendors. By segregating and dividingtasks, you can eventually focus on less important tasks andhandhold major workloads like controlling and processingtransactions.

WooCommerce Multi-Vendor Operations

Managing a multi-vendor marketplace involves a balancebetween vendor activities and managerial tasks. Going backto selecting a WooCommerce multi-vendor marketplaceplugin, this means a strong base that lets you balance thetwo.

An imbalance between vendor activities and managerialcapabilities can spell trouble for your online web store. Forinstance, you manage an online store where vendors sell onlycar components. If a vendor adds a product like a smartphone(which is totally different from the components sold in yourstore), this can confuse your potential customers and drivethem away from your web store. Effectively monitoring andevaluating vendor activities would avoid this issue.

WooCommerce Multi-Vendor Operations

Over the years, most eCommerce entrepreneurs have turnedto WooCommerce to convert their WordPress website into afully functioning multi-vendor marketplace. WheneCommerce owners want to add any complex functionality totheir marketplace, they look up to WooCommerce multi-vendor marketplace plugins as these plugins are simple tointegrate and easy to use.Furthermore, all WooCommercemulti-vendor marketplace plugins are customizable,extendable and open source.

WooCommerce Multi-Vendor Operations

Is WooCommerce good for building amarketplace?

Designing and building web stores/marketplaces forthemselves. Majority of them (84 per cent) are purchasingextensions for stores, as they are easy to use andintegrate.Converting their stores efficiently into multi-vendormarketplaces with the help of WooCommerce PluginsDiversifying their business. With the help ofWooCommerce multi-vendor plugins, owners are spreadacross different verticals.Able to conduct business globally. Many eCommerceowners from across the world find it easy to useWooCommerce multi-vendor marketplace to conductinternational business.Adding design features that appeal to marketplace usersvia multi-vendor marketplace WordPress themes.

As per the data generated from WooCommerce, mosteCommerce owners are:

WooCommerce Multi-Vendor Operations

Several enthusiastic eCommerce entrepreneurs, like you,always seek better options to build and create the best multi-vendor marketplace they can offer to potential customers.Till today, WordPress is considered the best CMS to buildmulti-vendor marketplace. It has the highest growth rate andalmost half of the web stores are built with it.

Similarly, WooCommerce is also known for its easy-to-integrate eCommerce plugins. Installing plugins is one of thequickest ways to convert your store into a multi-vendorWooCommerce marketplace, perhaps even one of the easiestways to sell products and services. WooCommerce offers awide range of plugins and extensions for building a multi-vendor marketplace, but it is rather difficult to decide whichis the best choice for your multi-vendor web store.

To simplify your search, we have compiled a list of some ofthe best WooCommerce multi-vendor marketplace pluginsthat will match your current needs. Although WordPresssupports 15 plugins for creating multi-vendor marketplace,we will focus on the top 5

WooCommerce Multi-Vendor Operations

Which are the best WooCommerce multi-vendor plugins for web stores?

Dokan Multivendor

Dokan is one of the most reliable and best multi-vendorextensions powered by WooCommerce. It has superiorfeatures to build your own multi-vendor marketplace within aspan of just 30 to 45 minutes. Dokan is unique of its kind andthe most sought after WooCommerce plugin by mosteCommerce owners.

WooCommerce Multi-Vendor Operations

Dokan has its own set of benefits that makes it the bestamong all other WooCommerce plugins. Its advanced adminfeatures and frontend vendor dashboard allows users totake control of the store and manage activities with relativeease.Dokan can definitely secure the first place for the bestWooCommerce multi-vendor marketplace plugin by thenumber of innovative features it offers. With its exclusivedesign features and premium modules, you can build thebest multi-vendor marketplace that will surely attract a goodamount of web traffic to your store.

WC Vendors Pro

If you are already familiar with the Dokan WooCommerceplugin, here’s another popular and new multi-vendormarketplace WooCommerce plugin called WC Vendors Pro.This plugin is similar to the Dokan plugin in many ways.Likewise, Dokan plugin was launched earlier. WC Vendorsbecame trendy and was well received by many eCommerceentrepreneurs thanks to its inimitable marketing strategyand support.

WooCommerce Multi-Vendor Operations

The WC Vendors marketplace plugin has multiple featuresthat can offer you with a complete working WooCommercemulti-vendor marketplace. Dokan and WC Vendors havesimilar prices. If you are looking for an affordable multi-vendor marketplace with minimum capabilities and frontendfeature, then the WC Vendors WooCommerce plugin is themost suitable one for you.

YITH Multivendor plugin

YITH Multivendor is another unique WooCommerce pluginthat lets you build a multi-vendor marketplace wherevendors can sell their products/services and get acommission for each sale. This WooCommerce plugin isspecialized in downloadable products.

WooCommerce Multi-Vendor Operations

Unlike its counterparts, the YITH WooCommerce plugin doesnot support a frontend dashboard for sellers/vendors.Besides, it does not have features to add or update productsfrom the frontend. If you are keen to integrate frontendfunctionalities to this plugin, you will have to purchaseanother addition extension “YITH Frontend Manager forWooCommerce”.YITH Multivendor offers only PayPal payment gateway whileother plugins like Dokan and WC Vendors support multiplepayment gateways.

WC Marketplace

With this WooCommerce vendor plugin, you can effortlesslybuild a complete multi-vendor marketplace on yourWordPress CMS. The best part is, this WooCommerce pluginoffers its main functionalities for free. However, if you arelooking for some advanced features or frontend capabilitiesto enhance your virtual marketplace, you can alwayspurchase extensions supporting this plugin.

WooCommerce Multi-Vendor Operations

The WC Marketplace plugin supports payment gateways likeStripe and PayPal. It also offers additional features likevendor approval capabilities, automated paymentscheduling, admin control options and payment onwithdrawal.

WooCommerce Product Vendors

The WooCommerce Product Vendors plugin is the originalproduct of WooCommerce. It offers an array of multi-vendorfeatures for your WooCommerce store. This plugin is still inits developing stages and has a long way to go whencompared to the other WooCommerce marketplace pluginstrending in the market.

WooCommerce Multi-Vendor Operations

The WooCommerce Product Vendors plugin works on thebackend of your eCommerce store. Although this plugindoes offer other multi-vendor operations, only the admincan create and update products on the store. Hence, thisplugin makes it difficult for vendors to work with the store.

Likewise, you can always purchase an additional frontendextension to make things (operations) easier for you as anadmin and your vendors.

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Conclusion

Building and creating a multi-vendor marketplace is a tedious taskwhen compared to building and managing a single vendor store.Though the challenges of creating a multi-vendor marketplace canseem enormous, breaking them down into categories can help youbuild a better store.By reviewing each category, plugin oradditional features related to WooCommerce multi-vendor themeor marketplace, you can find a ground to build a fairly good multi-vendor store which will help you provide your customers the bestpossible shopping experience.

WooCommerce Multi-Vendor Operations

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