We all know there are more mobile users than that of desktop across the globe. And, in the e-commerce industry also shoppers prefer to perform purchase activities on mobile apps rather than a website.

Therefore, if you are an online merchant deals in selling products, then owning a mobile app is very important.

So, if you are planning to own a mobile app. Then, this article will answer all your HOW, WHAT, IF & BUT for your mobile app.

Types of Mobile Apps – Native & Hybrid

There are two types of mobile apps –

• Native Apps – These are platform/device dedicated apps that will work on your smartphones. They are built and maintained for a specific platform and interact with the operating system, giving a faster performance and more flexibility.
• Hybrid Apps – These are single code base which can run anywhere. Hybrid apps are website based apps( having CSS, Html5, and JavaScript), wrapped under a native container. Due to the web support, these apps lack the ability which a native app posses.

Note: Which mobile app is best – native or hybrid apps?

Select Platform For Your E-commerce Store

Above all, you first need to choose your e-commerce platform for your web store. There are various types of platforms types available –

• SaaS (for small companies) – SaaS is a software licensing model in which software is licensed on a subscription basis and is centrally hosted.
• Develop From Scratch – One can also develop their marketplace from scratch using programming languages. Creating your marketplace from scratch allows you to build exactly what you have in mind.
• Open Source (for medium/large companies) – Open Source is also known as Ready-made Solution. There are many free or one-time fee CMS available online which have front end & back end both by default – Magento, Magento 2, Opencart, WooCommerce(WordPress), Prestashop, etc.

Note: Which open source platform will be best for my website?

Convert E-commerce Store Into An Online Multi-Vendor Marketplace

Now, another thing comes up, how to convert my web store into a marketplace? For this, you can use Webkul’s below mentioned open source Multi-Vendor solutions.

• Magento Multi-Vendor Extension
• Magento 2 Multi-Vendor Extension
• Opencart Multi-Vendor Extension
• WooCommerce Multi-Vendor Extension
• Prestashop Multi-Vendor Extension

For example – If you are having Magento 2 website. Then, you just need to purchase and install Magento 2 Multi-Vendor extension in your existing Magento 2 web store. And you are all set to start your very own Marketplace.

Note: Planning to start your own e-commerce marketplace but have no idea how much the budget you will require?

Create Mobile App For Your Multi-Vendor Marketplace

As we have discussed above, there are so many open source solutions available for creating websites. But what about mobile apps? Is there any open source solution available for owning a mobile application for the online multi-vendor marketplace?

Yes, to create an open source e-commerce mobile app you can refer Mobikul App Builder. This will cater all your multi-vendor marketplace requirements.

Consequently, Mobikul app builder works for a single seller and multi-seller marketplaces both. Below you can find open source e-commerce mobile apps for the different platforms –

• Magento Multi-Vendor App
• Magento 2 Multi-Vendor App
• Opencart Multi-Vendor App
• WooCommerce Multi-Vendor App
• Prestashop Multi-Vendor App

Feature Loaded Multi-Vendor Mobile Apps

Let’s have a comparative journey through the capabilities and features of marketplace mobile app for Seller End & Customer End

Below is the seller end description –

• Seller Dashboard

Seller Dashboard section is for the seller to view sales statics, top selling products, latest orders, and reviews.

• Product Management

The logged in sellers can view the list of their products in this section

Also, the sellers can even edit or delete products from this section. The seller can navigate to the desired product with the help of filters.

• Product Stock & Pricing

The seller can add new products from the app by entering the various details like name, stock, price, etc

• Offers & Deals

Likewise, the seller can list their products under the hot deals section. For this, the seller will simply define the product special price in the product edit page and that will be visible under the deal section on the front-end to the customers.

• Order Management

Furthermore, the seller can view the complete list of the orders placed by the customers. Here, the seller can generate invoice, shipping slips, mail order details and cancel the orders individually.

• Order & Purchase Notification

Even more, the seller can send emails to the customers about the status of their orders.

• Dispute & Refund Management

Moreover, to manage the returns sellers can use the multi-vendor Return Merchandise Authorization system that allows them to manage the returns in an efficient way.

Note: Multi-Vendor RMA add-ons available for various platforms – Marketplace RMA Add-On

Below is the customer end description –

• Customer Front-End

Consequently, the app allows all the store products to be displayed with their sub-categories and parent category both at the front end.

• Product Sorting & Filters

Also, the customer can sort the category result by many sorting options provided. The app gives the facility of layered navigation to the app users via the addition of filters on products.

• Product Search

Furthermore, the app user can search for products to find the desired product to save time is scrolling through the complete app. The two types of search –

One is the “Search Term”. This will search the product as per the keyword typed in the search field.

Another is “Advanced Search”. The required product can be searched on the basis of various details like product name, SKU, description, short description, price, and color.

• Cart/Bag Page

Above all, the app can even review their orders on the bag page before proceeding for checkout.

• Checkout

Finally, after adding the product to bag the customer can easily check out by clicking Proceed To Checkout button.

Payment Gateways Support

However, you can choose any payment gateway that best suits your e-commerce needs and audience. Because Webkul MOBIKUL Mobile Application supports a wide range of Payment Gateways.

Shipping Gateways Support

Likewise, you can choose any shipping carrier that best suits your e-commerce needs. Because Webkul MOBIKUL Mobile Application supports a wide range of Shipping Solutions to fulfil orders.

GDPR Compliant Mobile Apps

Mobikul offers applications which are GDPR compliant they follow the rules as per the regulation. They give the customers of the EU the confidence of being secure and the data control is in their hands.

Also, learn why GDPR for e-commerce marketplaces is important, to comply with EU regulations and to also protect customers’ data, read the complete blog article to know more.

In the case of an online store, we have also developed Magento 2 GDPR extension, that makes your Adobe Commerce platform GDPR-compliant. Send requests to view, and delete private data, show cookie policy, terms & conditions disclaimer, and much more.

Does Mobikul Mobile Apps Support RTL?

Yes, the Mobikul Mobile app supports the multi-languages including the RTL and LTR languages in the single mobile app. Now, your store will have an Android/iOS app which will have all the desired languages in one app.

Note: For more queries please visit this – Mobikul Knowledgebase.

Everything Is Possible Via Vendor Mobile Apps

In the case of mobile applications, data exchange with the database is not direct. It takes place via a bridge called API. So, to create an app from the same database as the e-commerce website, API developers have to develop a number of APIs.

For example, if you are having an eCommerce marketplace store and wants to have a marketplace like features & functionalities in the mobile application. Then, this will be achieved through API.

API allows the developer to implement various functionalities of your eCommerce marketplace store like seller dashboard, seller orders, etc to another platform like Android and iOS. Therefore, you can achieve anything with the use of API.

Note: Want to know more about API?

Magento Is The Market Leader

Though there are various CMS available, but Magento is the most recommended and preferred platform for mobile app development.

The feature set of Magento is robust which is ideal for large as well as small companies. Magento offers Community Edition for free, Enterprise Edition is the advanced and paid version of Magento, and the third one is Magento Enterprise Cloud Edition.

You can go-through Webkul’s case study – Why Magento is preferred?

• Magento 2 VS Opencart
• WooCommerce VS Magento 2
• Magento 2 VS Shopify

If you have any issue, please feel free to add a ticket and let us know your views at https://webkul.uvdesk.com