How To Create A Multivendor E-commerce Application Like Souq?
Shopping Frenzy, Shopaholic, Fashionista, and other monikers abound!
All credit goes to social media platforms for bringing to light the fact that people want to shop, regardless of the time or place.
The entire brick-and-mortar commerce arena was transformed into e-Commerce with the help of digitization, and people began shopping online with the convenience offered by their smartphones, all from the comfort of their own homes.
The e-Commerce mobile application has commemorated the e-Commerce website, which was once a revolution. Yes, indeed! Today’s smart consumers and their smartphones are ruled by e-Commerce mobile apps with the slogan “Shop on the go.”
Although malls and supermarkets have been reduced to “Selfie zones,” “window shopping fads,” and “Check-in” hangouts, they have become an integral part of people’s lives.
Who would want to waste valuable weekend time standing in long lines at the billing counter, waiting for their turn, when France is playing Croatia? With an e-Commerce mobile app, they could do nothing but shop while never missing a game.
Amazon, along with its knockoffs Alibaba, Myntra, and Snapdeal, is the biggest player in the e-Commerce game. While Amazon was thriving across the globe – UAE was witnessing the rise of a local brand – SOUQ – turning into a worldwide success in a couple of years.
What Is Souq.com?
Souq.com is the largest e-commerce site in the Arab world, which is now owned by Amazon.
Souq.com receives over 41 million monthly visits to its collection of over 8.5 million unique items across 35 categories, including books, automobiles, consumer electronics, household goods, fashion, watches, perfumes, toys, and baby products.
Souq.com, founded in 2005, is an award-winning retail company as well as an online marketplace that enables SMEs, retailers, brands, and distributors to sell their goods online.
Sour has a workforce of over 4,500 people. They have offices and local operations in the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and Jordan, as well as a leading product and engineering center.
Ronaldo Mouchawar created the website in 2005 as a consumer-to-consumer auction site as part of the Maktoob Group. Wisam (Sam) Daoud joined Souq from eBay in 2010 as Chief Technology Officer, leading the company’s transition from auctions to a fixed-price catalog model similar to Amazon.com. Asif Keshodia entered as CFO in late 2012, following Souq’s first major funding round, which was led by Naspers of Cape Town, South Africa, and Tiger Global Management of New York City.
Souq.com is now a subsidiary of Amazon, serving as Amazon’s arm in the Arab world, following its takeover in 2017. Souq.com UAE became Amazon in May 2019 .ae, Amazon launched the Amazon DSP in the UAE in September of the same year, and Souq.com KSA will become amazon.sa in June 2020.
Key Aspects Of eCommerce App Development
Before we go any further, let me give you a quick rundown of the most important things to consider when creating an e-Commerce mobile app:
- Market Analysis
The foundation of e-Commerce mobile app growth is defining your company’s buyer persona. “Who are you selling your goods to?” you may wonder. As a result, conduct research for your target audience.
Examine the target audience’s habits and trends. Learn about their digital age as well as their preferences and dislikes. This will assist you in making the app as relatable to them as possible.
- Competitor Analysis
Compile a list of your rivals. Create a separate list of what they’re interested in and why they’re the obvious choice for buyers. Do not copy their functionality or business model; instead, conduct thorough research into the business model and make the most of your analysis.
- Choosing The Right Tech
Know your company inside and out before deciding on a technology for your e-Commerce mobile app. Keep track of your production budget, inventory, CMS, database, platform, and, most importantly, the back-end and front-end languages you’ll use to code your software.
Choose a hybrid app if you want a faster time to market, and a native app if you want to be more sustainable. Similarly, you must determine whether you want to release an Android app, an iOS app, or both at the same time, taking into account your target audience’s smartphone use.
- UI & UX Designing
By using calming color schemes, pleasing graphics, and seamless transitions for your customers from one page to the next, you can give your brand the voice it deserves. Create a variety of choices for your logo and make the most of it. For your target customers, that will be your company’s identity. Use clever branding strategies to play with the consumers’ subconscious minds and leave a lasting impression.
- Your Budget
When you first set out on this new venture, the most important thing to consider is your budget. The type of eCommerce mobile app you develop will be determined by your budget. The business model of your app, whether you should provide your own infrastructure or serve as a middleman between service providers and customers, and several other factors that will influence the initial state of your app on the basis of your budget are only a few of the factors that will expand and shrink according to your budget.
Your budget, on the other hand, does not determine the performance of your eCommerce company; it does, however, determine the initial style of your business approach.
- MVP or A Complete App
A minimum viable product (MVP) is a version of an app that contains only the functionality and functionalities that are needed to provide the app’s core services. A fully-fledged shopping mobile app, on the other hand, includes not only the basic features but also the extra features and functionalities that are needed to improve user experience and engage users in a positive shopping experience. As a result, the latter option is always a good choice for gaining an advantage over your competitors.
Find Vetted Teams For Your Project With GoodTroopers
Technology Stack For An App Like Souq
Application and Data
- Apache HTTP Server
- Foundation
Utilities
- Google Analytics
- Amazon SES
- Optimizely
DevOps
- New Relic
- RequireJS
Team Structure Required to Build an App Like Souq
- Marketing team
- Business analyst
- Product manager
- UI/UX designer
- Android/IoS developers
- Backend/Frontend Developers
- Devops and Quality Testing Engineer
Must-Have Features In Your Souq Like App
- Easy Registration Process
As simple as this sounds, it can be a time-consuming process for your clients, and they can simply want to uninstall the app after filling out pages and pages of information. Who has time for that anyway?
Ensure that the registration process is easy. With everybody having a Social Media Account these days, you can make ‘sign up’ and ‘log in’ as simple as two clicks and your customer will be on board! Plus, you get an extra brownie point for knowing their tastes via their social media accounts in the modern era!
- Multiple Payment Support
Let’s say you have a big customer who primarily buys online and decides to try out your e-Commerce mobile app. He realizes after tossing his belongings into the cart that you do not have the payment choice he wants. You’ve just lost a big client. And there are a lot of people who prefer the payment method that your app does not have.
As an e-Commerce business owner, you must accept the most common payment methods in order to play safer and smarter. With credit cards, debit cards, net banking, and e-Wallets at the top of the list, make sure you gently encourage your customers to use your app’s built-in wallet.
- Push Notifications
Your customers have wants and needs, and you have the necessary supply to meet them, but how do you close the contact gap? The importance of push notifications cannot be overstated.
One of the most critical features that determine the performance of an e-commerce mobile app is push notifications. They increase customer loyalty by informing them about referrals, discounts, deals, promotions, and offers, which encourages them to return for more. As a result, you’ll have the potential to cross-sell and up-sell to increase your profits.
- Social Media Integration
Don’t tell me you don’t want all of your customers’ attention. You even want their time on social media. And, given the fact that you own a company, your demand is reasonable.
Not only will Social Media integration allow for one-tap login, but it will also ensure that your e-Commerce mobile app is always in front of your customers, whether they are chatting on Facebook, tweeting on Twitter, or pinning on Pinterest. This would also make it easier for them to post your exclusive offers on their social media pages. What’s better than user-generated content and word-of-mouth marketing?
- Complete Synchronization
You’ve got an e-commerce website and a smartphone e-Commerce app. You’ve created an innovative feature that’s sure to pique the interest of your target audience and elevate their purchasing experience. However, you must release this feature before your rival. You want a faster time to market, but with changes to be made in both portals independently, time seems to have stood still. What would you do in this situation?
Get our e-Commerce mobile app synchronized with the website to expedite the operation. Save a lot of time, outperform the market, and boost the profits.
- Rating & Review
Don’t be afraid of receiving negative feedback or low product scores. A wise businessperson is one who is open to feedback as well as learning.
Give your customers the ability to rate and review your app and its features. It’s possible that the items you’re selling aren’t on your customers’ wish lists, and feedback will help you realize this. Again, don’t erase negative reviews after you’ve made improvements; instead, thank them and show them what steps you’ve taken. This will make them feel significant, and who knows, they could become lifelong fans of your brand!
- Wishlist Button
The month is coming to a close. The pay is coming up in a week, and the buyers don’t want to lose out on what they just learned. They want to buy it, not right away, but within a week. Allow the wish list to do its thing.
Wishlists can be a lifesaver for your sales. It allows the customers to save items they want to purchase later. Plus, you gain an advantage by understanding your buyer’s tastes and making customized offers, resulting in a SOLD!
- Hassle-Free Checkout Process
Your customers have expended all of their passion and energy in making their selections and adding products to their shopping carts. The payment is now the most difficult part!
Make the checkout process as simple as possible to prevent them from abandoning their cart. Assist them in saving their card and e-wallet information and navigating payment gateways more quickly. As previously said, your customers despise waiting in a billing queue; don’t make them wait any longer with a virtual billing system!
See Also:
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1) What is the estimated cost to develop an app like Souq?
A1) The estimated cost to build an app like Souq is around $35,000 to $75,000 and may vary based on the complexity of the app.
Q2) What is the difference between a marketplace and an online store?
A2) In the case of a marketplace you provide a platform for buyers and sellers to meet and buy and sell products whereas an online store only sells its own products.
Q3) How do I ensure that my idea is not stolen by an app development company?
A3) You should write a non-disclosure agreement with your app development company to ensure that your idea is not stolen.
