There are a few main categories of marketplaces though we’re seeing some niche marketplaces on the rise as well. Typically, you’ll see Business-to-Business (B2B), Business-to-Customer (B2C) and Peer-to-Peer (P2P) types of marketplaces connecting buyers and sellers to a range of products and services.
There are four main types of eCommerce marketplaces:
- Platforms that offer the same product type from multiple sellers are called vertical marketplaces.
- In horizontal marketplaces, different products with similar characteristics are offered.
- A global marketplace sells all kinds of products from different suppliers and has no limitations.
- A hybrid marketplace allows customers to buy both its own products and products from other businesses on a single platform.
An online service marketplace platform has no product or inventory, rather an exchange of skills and services – the possibilities are endless.
While these are common types of marketplaces we’ve seen so far, there’s no doubt more waiting to be realised, so if you’ve got an idea when it comes to your turn to build a marketplace platform, we’d love to hear from you.