It can be very frustrating for a user to enter your Marketplace to buy something thinking it will be there and not finding it. It can even be a big reason not to re-enter your website or uninstall your application. If you don’t find it because it doesn’t exist, you can’t do anything because you’re not the provider. However, if you don’t find it despite being on your platform, you have a problem.
Among other fundamental aspects that you must consider when starting a Marketplace, such as getting them to trust you or defining your business model, it is vital that you focus on getting a tool that guarantees a satisfactory search experience. Here’s how to do it.
Searching a Marketplace
When a user who wants to buy enters your Marketplace, his first action will be to go to the search button, so it should be visible. Normally you will expect to find it at the top of the screen, don’t get labyrinthine.
If there was a perfect search tool, with the word that the client put, it would appear only what he wants, but this is very difficult. However, the search can be made easier for that user. For example, products can be sorted by relevance, that is, those that have the word in the title before those that have the word in the description. You can also help with the autocomplete function depending on what’s for sale or what you’re looking for the most.
In addition, your search tool should be smart enough to display ads selling a “bike” to users looking for a “bike”.
Filters in a Marketplace
As we have said, it is complicated to create a search tool that only responds to what the client of your Marketplace wants. Even so, we have the filters to refine the aim.
Geolocation is one of the most useful filters that exist in the Marketplace that focus their strength in proximity, since transactions are usually by hand, as in Wallapop or Vibbo. That way, users can choose the maximum search radius they want.
Another common filter is the category. It is important to select well which ones you want to incorporate in your Marketplace and which ones you do not. Our recommendation is that, in the beginning, you put only the categories that you consider essential. It is sad to have categories without articles.
There are also filters such as price or date of publication, very important to keep in mind. Even if you have a Marketplace in which transactions are made through it, you can put a filter on how the customer prefers to pay. One of the most popular in Anglo-Saxon countries is the escrow, which is that the payment does not go directly to the seller, but to an account of others. The money is not transferred to the seller until the customer verifies that what he has received is correct. This avoids frauds as typical as the seller charging and not sending anything. If you want to know more about this form of payment, we encourage you to contact Marketpay, as we are experts in incorporating escrow in Marketplaces.
Don’t forget to allow the user to sort the search results as he likes (by proximity, from cheaper to more expensive, the latest publications, etc.).
How to display search results in your Marketplace
The two most common ways to display search results are through a list or a map and even combine them. In the list, we recommend that you always see a photo of the product being sold, the title and the price. In addition, it is essential to show a nice design, with ads of the same size and typography easy to read on computer and mobile phone. You can also choose whether to show only a certain number of ads per page or opt for an infinite scroll.
With the map option, you should determine which area should appear in the results. To avoid being left behind with other platforms, it is essential that when someone moves around the map or zooms it in and out, the results are updated. What should appear on the map can be a thumbtack, a dot or something similar, as it must be a mark that does not occupy much. Once you click on it, the product card should appear.
