Hyperlocal marketplaces have become a trend since the time Covid happened. Local products with doorstep delivery on the same day were in demand during Covid times. Near me businesses fulfill exactly this, and, therefore, it gradually became the future of ecommerce delivery. The idea of a hyperlocal eCommerce business popped up because of the growth of “Near Me” searches. As hyperlocal eCommerce delivery solutions are relevant till date, it has become a popular buzzword of the eCommerce industry.
Table of Contents
- Why are Hyperlocal Businesses in Demand?
- What is a Hyperlocal Marketplace?
- Products and services of Hyperlocal Business
- Features of Hyperlocal Business
- Hyperlocal vs Multivendor Business Model
- Why Start a Hyperlocal Marketplace?
- How to Start a Hyperlocal Marketplace?
Source: Digitalagencynetwork.com
Why are Hyperlocal Businesses in Demand?
Hyperlocal marketplace is nothing new – it was there, but it it had an exceptional growth during pandemic. That’s why, since Covid-19 came, people were wondering what made hyperlocal deliveries so popular. To answer this, there are 5 specific reasons behind the rising demands of the hyperlocal business. These are:
- No-contact norms of Covid
- Fear of people of getting infected
- Demand of essentials to be delivered fast at doorsteps
- Need of a convenient, dynamic, and mobile-friendly store
- No-contact shopping and payment options
Hyperlocal marketplaces have successfully fulfilled consumer demand during and after Covid. With prompt deliveries, these became the go-to-solution amongst the masses. And it till now has a steady demand because it is convenient and it is saving time of buyers. These overwhelming statistics also prove that buyers accepted hyperlocal marketplaces with open arms.
- “Near me today/tonight” searches had a 900% increase over the past 2 years
- 86% of the searchers find the location of the businesses on Google map
- 76% of local searches result in same-day in-store visit
- 56% online consumers in US searched for local businesses
- 61% searchers prefer a local business with mobile-friendly site
- 28% local searches become a purchase within a day
- Above 200% growth in searches with “Open”, “now” and “near me”
Source: Alliedmarketresearch.com
Based on these statistics, it will be right to claim that hyperlocal trend is going to stay in eCommerce for a long time. It gained momentum during the first wave of Covid-19 and increased thereafter. Right now, almost everyone opts for hyperlocal delivery which proves that it has a bright future. That was about the statistics, now lets move on to an easy definition of hyperlocal delivery business models.
Read: The Success Story of a Hyperlocal Marketplace: Power Tools Near Me
What is a Hyperlocal Marketplace?
A hyperlocal marketplace is a multi-vendor marketplace that works in a specific geographic location. In other words, services, or products of hyperlocal business are offered within a small geographical area. With a hyperlocal marketplace, one can place order from the comfort of their drawing rooms. They can expect the service or product delivery on the same day without standing in a queue or putting any effort. This is why hyperlocal Ecommerce delivery solutions are much in need now.
Read: Future of ecommerce: The year of Online Marketplace platforms
What Products or Services are Included in the Hyperlocal Delivery Business?
With a hyperlocal Ecommerce delivery solution, one can sell anything and everything. In other words, by searching with near me option, buyers can get the A-Z they need. A hyperlocal marketplace can be
- Pharmacy
- Clinic
- Grocery store
- Vegetable, fruits, and fish market
- Liquor store
- Restaurants or local food store
- Apparel and accessories market
- Cab service
- Beauty service
- Essential service (plumbing, electrical, repairing, etc)
- Entertaining service (movie tickets, flight, hotel booking, etc)
The image below refers to some of the most popular categories of hyperlocal delivery business solutions:
Source: Chatmeter.com
It could be perceived as a version of the Online Booking Business. During COVID-19, people developed a habit of managing all their daily tasks from home. This continues till date because it offers extreme convenience to the buyers. The hyperlocal delivery business model is based on 6 prime factors, no matter is it a horizontal marketplace or a vertical. These factors are Geolocation, Order Routing, Targeted Promotions, Optimized Logistics, Order Routing and Mobile-centric approach.
For more information on how and where to start hyperlocal business, click here.
Read: How digital transformation saves small businesses during COVID-19?
Planning for own hyperlocal marketplace? We will be happy to assist you in setting up a dynamic marketplace for you!
Features of Near Me Businesses – Must-Haves for Hyperlocal eCommerce Delivery
Some must-have features of hyperlocal eCommerce marketplace are:
1. Time Tracking
On a hyperlocal marketplace, buyers must have the opportunity to estimate the delivery time. After placing the order, they must know when they can expect their package. Therefore, offering the time tracking feature will help them to track their order status. It will offer a pleasant experience to the buyers.
Also, read: 7 ecommerce business ideas in COVID-19 Pandemic
2. Google Map Integration
Hyperlocal Ecommerce delivery solutions are based on locations. In other words, fast delivery options are applicable for a particular location. Buyers residing out of the radius are not eligible for fast deliveries. So, map integration is essential in this multi-vendor marketplace.
Read: Why Choose Magento for eCommerce? 10 Convincing Reasons
3. Push Notification
Push notifications are very helpful because it keeps the buyers engaged. To keep your buyers engaged, use of AI algorithms to offer recommended products based on the previous searches and preferences of buyers is now very popular. So, definitely take help of AI.
Check: Customer experience extensions
4. Product Comparison
To offer more convenience to the buyers, product comparison is a must-have feature in hyperlocal delivery business. It will help the buyers to have an end-to-end comparison of different products before making the final decision.
Find out: Product page extensions
5. Order History
Many buyers like to repeat their purchase and order history is a very helpful feature in this regard. It helps buyers to get details about the products they purchased previously. Therefore, they can analyze if the price of the product increased or decreased.
Get an idea about the hyperlocal delivery model
6. Easy Return and Refund
Return and refund options are the must-haves for all the marketplaces. Indeed, there are some products that do not offer the return and refund option. Except for these products, a hyperlocal marketplace should have return, refund, and booking cancellation options. Also, adding these features will pull more traffic on your website,
7. Multi-payment Option
Marketplaces have different types of buyers, therefore different payment methods are required. Thus, traditional and modern payment methods are a must in hyperlocal marketplaces.
Also, check Payment extensions
8. Multi-language Option
Even though hyperlocal marketplaces operate for smaller areas, having multiple languages help the buyers to access the stores in their preferred language.
9. Social Sign-in
Asking the buyers to create an account or register may become tiring for buyers. Therefore, social sign-in options should be used for offering easy registration. Social sign-in is now widely used in almost all marketplaces and apps.
Also, see Social media extensions
10. Flexible Delivery Option
As hyperlocal models work on quick deliveries, delivery partners have to be efficient. So, a marketplace owner needs to ensure that the delivery takes place within the mentioned time. One-day delivery and instant delivery are the popular plans options of hyperlocal delivery business.
Read the success story of Freedi and find out how eCommerce marketplace brought remarkable changes in their customer experience. They plugged in more feasibility and safety that result in higher sales.
Hyperlocal eCommerce Business Marketplace Vs. Multi-vendor Marketplace
The concept of a hyperlocal eCommerce marketplace and a multi-vendor marketplace is quite similar. Just like a multi-vendor marketplace, multiple vendors register on a hyperlocal marketplace too. Not only that, hyperlocal business model and multivendor marketplace have some other similarities as well. Here are a few:
- Vendors can register themselves
- Admins add services and/or products
- Customers pay either online or offline
- The admin gets a commission on each transaction.
However, a hyperlocal eCommerce business is a bit different in certain aspects from a multi-vendor marketplace. The basic differences are
- Hyperlocal admin can decide to restrict their service area
- They deliver services in a very short time
Though covid-19 created a hype in hyperlocal marketplaces, it is now a need of the hour.
Find out the best Multivendor marketplace solutions for you!
Why Start a Hyperlocal Marketplace?
Hyperlocal eCommerce business is taking over the economical market at a rapid speed. As a result, it can be a good idea to invest in it now. Some benefits of hyperlocal marketplaces are
- Less capital required
- No need of a warehouse
- Less shipping costs as delivery locations are nearby
- Very fast delivery
- More vendors – more profit
- Vendors will get more noticed
- Possible to add offers and heavy discounts for buyers
Check Shipping extensions
The following image denotes how a hyperlocal business model works:
Source: Startuptalky.com
Check: Enhance Your Store with the New and Advanced version of Multivendor Marketplace Platinum Package
How Can You Start an Active Hyperlocal Marketplace?
By following these steps, you can start your own hyperlocal Ecommerce delivery solutions:
1. Choose what to sell
Firstly, you have to decide what kind of hyperlocal delivery business you want. Now, it can be a horizontal one that caters to the needs of a wider audience across any industry (eg. Amazon). Similarly, it can be a vertical model that caters to the needs of a specific group of audience where the target audience is interested in the products or services from a particular niche (eg. Etsy).
2. Choose target consumers
Once you have decided what to sell with your hyperlocal marketplace, conduct market research to get your target customers for your products. Unless you identify target customers for your hyperlocal business, your selling strategies will be flawed. So, analyze beforehand
- What to sell
- Whom to sell?
- When and where to target the buyers?
- How to target the buyers?
3. Concoct Fellowship
Bond with local vendors and encourage them to register on your site because it can offer you decent amount of profit. You may need doorstep deliveries in case your hyperlocal delivery business is willing to become more popular in shorter span. So, you can hire delivery personnel on payroll or contact a delivery agency as per business needs.
4. Define your Revenue Model
Once products, partners and customers are identified, you can choose all the stages where you can charge a commission from the vendors and the consumers as well. Also, you may charge a fixed monthly commission or product-based commission. Additionally, there are site maintenance charges that you can include in the commission. You can also charge delivery charges from the buyers as well.
5. Get a Mobile App for Your Business
The importance of mobile apps for businesses has been already emphasized enough. Right now, the multi-vendor sites have a mobile application of their sites. Also, most of the urbanites own smartphones and they manage all their orders through these. As a result, you have to create mobile-friendly, so that buyers can place orders easily.
The hyperlocal addon for Magento 2 allows the admin, local vendors and consumers to connect with each other. This addon is a helpful one because it allows the site to auto-detect the location of the consumers if they don’t enter it manually. Also, you can opt for PWA to create an app-like website for your hyperlocal Ecommerce delivery solutions.
You might also like to read: All You Need To Know About Online Booking Marketplace
Wrapping Up
So, hyperlocal marketplace is a trend right now and consumers are in need of it. Indeed, the increasing number of hyperlocal business makes the competition a little bit tough for the start-ups. However, the more hyperlocal marketplaces are around, the faster delivery the consumers will get. Therefore, to offer more ease to the consumers, you can definitely start your own hyperlocal business. You may reach CedCommerce for assistance.
About Cedcommerce
CedCommerce offers the necessary technical solutions for building marketplace and online stores. They also provide Magento 2 Multi-vendor Marketplace solutions and extensions for flexible websites. So, whenever you are in need a solution for hyperlocal Ecommerce delivery solutions, you can reach us.
Alternatively, you can schedule a meeting with the experts to understand hyperlocal marketplace in a better way!