Top 5 Marketplace Trends in 2022

Online marketplaces have been around since 1995, and in each subsequent decade, a significant leap took place in the evolution of marketplace technology. Thus, Amazon and eBay were the first successful pioneers in digitizing the marketplace business model, which has opened up numerous profit opportunities for entrepreneurs. In the 2010s, with the spread of wireless internet and the increase in device portability, the online marketplace concept continued to evolve even more dynamically, targeting mobile-first strategies for website development and moving toward the development of mobile marketplace applications.

These days, the marketplace business model is on the verge of another massive shift that constitutes a totally simplified and fully adjusted shopping experience to rely on during our rapid lifestyles. Which trends in the marketplace development have proved to be an integral part of the new wave of marketplace transformation we witness now? Let’s read our article to find out.

Vertical marketplaces

Vertical marketplaces specialize in a particular niche market. Now more and more narrow-focused marketplaces are dotting the e-commerce landscape. The Statista report shows that the platforms that offer a deeper range of particular products or services undergo a positive transformation. There is also much practical demonstration of this thesis: how often do you resort to calling a taxi via app or ordering food via food delivery services? Or compare the best accommodation options using Airbnb or Booking.com?

Vertical marketplaces are usually a prerogative of entrepreneurs who seek a solution for positioning their brand as an expert in a specific market — customers are more likely to trust companies that focus on a single area. Also, being attached to a narrow niche allows for a better understanding of prospective clients’ preferences and, as a result, for effective sales messaging. Thus, niche marketplaces are a great opportunity to build emotional connections with customers, provided you approach the development process correctly and rely on the assistance of proficient web developers, such as Dinarys.

Responsible consumption

Forbes claims that resale is predicted to be a major player in the e-commerce market in 2022. This tendency is induced by consumers’ switch to practices, implemented to benefit people and the planet. Responsible consumption and production imply the use of products up until the end of its service life and taking a balanced approach to acquiring new goods. This concept is grounded on health considerations and ethnic motivations.

Sustainability has become a corporate social responsibility for many businesses and continues to emerge as a source of competitive advantage. 81% of customers prefer to buy from sustainable sellers. That is why sustainability has been put on the marketplace agenda as well — marketplaces can be an efficient solution to contribute to the extension of products’ lifecycles by providing customers with the possibility of goods reselling. This goal is also pursued on auction websites, such as eBay and Auction.com, which are convenient places to sell and buy pre-owned items, including art, antique, and luxury items.

Research online, purchase offline (ROPO)

ROPO is a modern trend in buying behavior where buyers conduct thorough research on a coveted product online before purchasing it via a local store. Detailed product information along with live product reviews and ratings can significantly stimulate buyers’ decision-making process and increase your customer retention rate. According to the Ibi and the University of Regensburg study, 82% of Germans study product information on the Internet before buying.

To optimize your marketplace for ROPO, consider the following options:

• Integrating product review and rating system into your marketplace (93% of consumers say that online reviews influenced their purchase decisions)
• Offering your customers the buy online pick-up in store (BOPO) functionality
• Adjusting your online marketplace shopping experience to mobile (some buyers may seek additional information on the product right in the store)

Fintech-enabled marketplaces

Recently we’ve noticed one more emerging marketplace trend — pairing online marketplaces with fintech. Fintech (financial technology), a software used to enable and support banking and financial services, demonstrates a vast increase in investment. In the first half of 2021, investment in fintech companies reached a then-record-breaking $98 billion — a $19.9 billion increase in the second half of 2020.

Marketplaces that put high stakes on financial services manage to build more shareholder value and show further room for growth. Embedding fintech elements may seem just a gradual change, but the results can be revolutionary. Fintech-enabled marketplaces have EV/Sales of 6.7x, compared to 5.3x and 4.6x for other marketplaces and financial services, respectively.

Below you can find the top reasons why you should incorporate financial services directly into your marketplace platform:

• Switch from banking-centric services to customer-centric services
• Facilitating lending, banking, and insurance services
• Cheap, and real-time payment options
• Frictionless buy now pay later services
• Payment transparency and value creation
• Payments in the buyer’s preferred currency

The future of fintech-enabled marketplaces holds great potential. Let’s unleash it together with Dinarys.

Omnichannel

Omnichannel is already a well-established online marketplace trend, and it shows no signs of abating. The omnichannel approach means that an e-commerce company provides an access to its products/services on all channels, platforms, and devices. A key factor in this is a close connection between different sales points, which determines a seamless and coherent buyer interaction with a brand.

Headless architecture, perhaps, now is the most optimal solution for enabling synchronized sales channels. In terms of the omnichannel approach, headless e-commerce platforms come with distinctive advantages over less agile monolithic architecture.

Conclusion

The present-time e-commerce landscape is a structure that constantly changes. To stay afloat and always be at least one step ahead of the competition, merchants should be able to foresee potential opportunities and risks, be aware of recent changes in the marketplace development practices, and get forearmed with the right technology accordingly.

The trends in the marketplace development we mentioned in this article impetuously modify the market. How to always keep your marketplace platform up-to-date? Firstly, it is important to choose an outsourcing team that will delve into the business problems and objectives of your company. Contact our specialists to discuss the launch of your project to be handled by seasoned marketplace development professionals.