Do I Need To Rebuild or Replatform to Start a Marketplace?

There’s a persistent fear among retailers considering a marketplace launch:
“We’ll have to rebuild the whole site just to make this work.”

It’s one of the most common myths—and one of the most paralyzing.

The thought of replatforming sparks visions of lengthy development cycles, migration risk, disrupted customer experiences, and unexpected costs. For many brands, the idea of tearing down what’s already working just to launch a marketplace feels like a non-starter. 

But here’s the truth: you don’t need to rebuild your store. You need to extend it.

Platforms like Marketplacer are designed to plug into your existing eCommerce setup, not replace it. You keep your core infrastructure, customer experience, and front end exactly where they are while adding a flexible, scalable marketplace layer that lives alongside your current stack.

In this article, we’ll debunk the integration myth by showing:

• Why this fear still lingers (even when it shouldn’t)
• How connected marketplace platforms like Marketplacer integrate without disruption
• What gets added into your platform, not replaced
• What a real integration looks like behind the scenes
• And how retailers like Rackhams and Bloop did it successfully

If you’ve been assuming marketplace = replatform, you’re not alone, but not stuck. Let’s break that myth wide open.

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TL;DR — You Don’t Need to Rebuild to Launch a Marketplace

• The myth that marketplaces require re-platforming still lingers—but it’s based on outdated tech and painful legacy projects.
• Modern platforms like Marketplacer layer on top of your existing eCommerce site, so you don’t need to rebuild or disrupt your frontend.
• Marketplacer integrates with Shopify Plus, Adobe Commerce, BigCommerce, Salesforce Commerce Cloud, and custom stacks via APIs, headless middleware, or pre-built connectors.
• Your core systems stay intact—checkout, product catalog, frontend design, and SEO aren’t touched. What’s added:
  • A Seller Portal for third-party sellers to manage their products and orders
  • Product vetting workflows, shipping rules, commissions, and seller controls
  • Auto Mapping tools and Golden Records to automate product categorization and clean listings
  • Marketplace order and payout management that works independently of your checkout engine
• Retailers like Barbeques Galore and Myer expanded their marketplaces without rebuilding their tech stack.

Why the Replatforming Myth Refuses to Die

The myth that you’ll need to rebuild your site to add a marketplace didn’t come out of nowhere. It’s rooted in how marketplace technology used to work—and in many painful legacy experiences.

Before modern solutions like connected commerce platforms, launching a marketplace meant:

• Custom codebases built from scratch
• Complete re-platforming projects with high cost and high risk
• Data migrations, frontend disruptions, and SEO uncertainty
• Multiple teams and months of development just to get a minimally viable platform

Retailers had to choose: upgrade everything or don’t bother. That’s where the myth began—and for many, it stuck.

Even today, teams working on modern e-commerce platforms often assume marketplace functionality isn’t possible without profound backend changes or a full platform.

In short, the fear persists because:

• Legacy platforms were never built for third-party selling
• Long, expensive tech projects have burned many retailers
• Marketplace success stories rarely reveal what happened behind the scenes

But the truth is, the tech has evolved, and you can add a marketplace without rebuilding your website.

The New Reality: Marketplaces That Integrate, Not Replace

Do you need to tear down your existing tech stack to launch a marketplace? That’s no longer true—and hasn’t been for a while.

Today’s leading marketplace platforms are built on a connected commerce model, designed to layer onto your existing eCommerce site instead of replacing it. That means you can keep your current store, product catalog, checkout flow, and tech stack—all while adding a robust marketplace engine that unlocks new growth.

Here’s how Marketplacer makes this possible:

• It works as a best-of-breed platform, sitting on top of platforms like Shopify Plus, commercetools, Adobe Commerce, BigCommerce, and Salesforce Commerce Cloud.
• It connects via headless integration or pre-built connectors, requiring no replatforming and minimal front-end redesign.
• It integrates cleanly through APIs and middleware, ensuring fast data syncs without disrupting your live store.
• Your internal team controls what’s visible, how seller products are presented, and how they interact with your brand.
  

You don’t lose your core systems. You gain:

✅ Third-party sellers

✅ Extended product range

✅ New revenue channels

✅ Endless aisle capabilities—without endless dev cycles

What Gets Added to Your E-commerce Platform

When retailers think “marketplace,” they often imagine their entire store being replaced or overhauled. But with Marketplacer, that’s not the case. Your existing site stays intact. You’re adding a powerful new layer, not a new foundation.

So, what exactly gets added when you launch a marketplace?

Here’s what gets layered in:

• A dedicated seller portal – Third-party sellers can access their dashboard to manage listings, inventory, and orders without requiring access to your eCommerce backend.
• Marketplace-specific workflows – Product approval rules, commission structures, shipping logic, and vetting processes are all configurable and independent of your existing catalog.
• Automated product mapping –  Tools like the Auto Mapping Tool leverage machine learning to accurately automate seller products categorization, syncing them into your existing taxonomy.
• Unified listings – Duplicate products are grouped and consolidated into clean, consumer-friendly listings.
• Order and payout management – Built-in tools manage seller payouts, invoices, and returns without disrupting your current checkout or payment systems.
  

And here’s what stays untouched:

• Your core product catalog
• Your checkout and payment gateways
• Your customer experience (CX) and frontend design
• Your existing SEO structure and URLs
  

The result? A fully functioning marketplace integration that lives on top of your site, not inside of it.

With Marketplacer, you add a marketplace without rebuilding your website, because the core of your business doesn’t need to change. You’re simply expanding what it can do.

Real-World Proof: Barbeques Galore & Myer Did It Without Rebuilding

Barbeques Galore: Expanding Product Range Without Rebuilding

Barbeques Galore, Australia’s premier outdoor entertainment retailer, sought to modernize its digital presence and expand its product offerings. In 2019, the company upgraded its infrastructure, including adopting Adobe Commerce (Magento) for its e-commerce platform. Barbeques Galore integrated Marketplacer’s cloud-based marketplace platform to further enhance its online capabilities.

Key Outcomes:

• Product Range Expansion: Tripled online product offerings by incorporating third-party suppliers, without additional inventory investment.
• Increased Online Sales: Within the first three months of launch, the marketplace contributed over 10% of online sales.
• Operational Efficiency: Adopted Marketplacer’s pre-built connectors to expand product range while maintaining their existing customer experience.

This approach allowed Barbeques Galore to enhance its online presence and customer offerings without rebuilding its existing website infrastructure.

👉 View Barbeques Galore – Case Study

Myer: Launching a Curated Marketplace with Existing Infrastructure

In 2017, Myer, a leading Australian department store, partnered with Marketplacer to create the Myer Marketplace—a curated online destination to broaden its product range. Instead of overhauling its existing e-commerce site, Myer opted for a headless integration approach.

Key Outcomes:

• Expanded Product Offerings: Upon launch, we introduced over 60,000 products from 75 retailers, enhancing the shopping experience for customers.
• Increased Traffic: Achieved over four million monthly visitors to the marketplace.
• Seamless Integration: Maintained the existing customer experience while integrating new marketplace functionalities through Marketplacer’s platform.
  

Myer’s strategy demonstrates that it’s possible to significantly expand online offerings and customer reach without rebuilding the existing eCommerce infrastructure.

These case studies exemplify how retailers can successfully integrate marketplace platforms like Marketplacer into their existing eCommerce systems, achieving growth and diversification without needing complete website overhauls.

👉 View Myer Case Study

The Real Shift: You’re Not Starting Over—You’re Scaling Smarter

Adding a marketplace doesn’t mean starting over—it means scaling what already works.

Too many retailers hit pause on marketplace plans because they assume it requires a replatform, a site rebuild, or weeks of backend disruption. That assumption used to be true. Today, it’s outdated—and it’s costing businesses growth.

Marketplacer is built to integrate with your existing eCommerce platform, not replace it.

✅ No frontend disruption

✅ No replatforming

✅ No starting from scratch

Instead, you add a scalable layer of seller tools, product workflows, and commission logic—all without losing the customer experience you’ve already perfected.

 Key Takeaways

• You can add a marketplace without rebuilding your website.
• Marketplacer integrates seamlessly with ecommerce platforms via prebuilt connectors & custom systems via API.
• Your core site, checkout, UX, and catalog stay untouched.
• Marketplace layers include seller portals, listing workflows, commission engines, and approval tools.
  

Want to Go Deeper?

This article is part of our Marketplace Myth-Busting Series. Keep exploring:

▶️ Marketplaces Take Forever to Launch — Debunking the Timeline Trap
Discover why marketplace projects no longer need to drag on for 12+ months.

▶️ Think You Need a Massive Development Team? Think Again
Learn how retailers are launching with lean internal teams and minimal tech overhead.

▶️ Is Launching a Marketplace Risky? The Truth Revealed
Worried about marketplace risk? This guide debunks old myths, revealing how platforms like Marketplacer enable lean, fast & controlled launches.

FAQs – Marketplace Integration Without the Chaos