How Much Does It Cost To Build A Marketplace App Like Mercari?

• Mobile App Development

Mobile marketplace apps are the newest ideas that drive both innovation and the business factor for different industries. The best part about such apps is that you can be both a customer and a merchant, depending on your needs at the moment.

Mercari is one such C2C app that allows you to buy and sell using their platform, gaining a unique experience. And since the huge success around the same, many different types of marketplace apps have also come up.

Currently, building marketplace apps like Mercari is all the rage for tech and business enthusiasts. And those who want to break into this industry sooner, are choosing to build marketplace apps with the Flutter framework.

It cannot be denied that the Flutter framework results in the best UI interface and performant apps across niches; so, if you are looking to enter this particular arena, you might wish to hire Flutter mobile application developers who are nuanced at their game. As for building your own marketplace app, read ahead to understand more.

Building A Marketplace App: Dissecting The Costs

The first step towards building a marketplace app is to study the benchmark you’ve taken up as inspiration. For this, you would need to completely understand all aspects of the business model that a marketplace app like Mercari has. This will help set the standards for your own marketplace and give you directions of where to start and what steps to take up, initially.

The costs of building a marketplace app depend on various factors, but we can broadly break it down in this way, based on the complexity of the app you’re building to launch:

1. Minimum Viable Product (MVP):

If you’re only looking to enter the market as of now, by building a simple app with most of the core functionalities like listings, chat, payment processing, etc. The costs can range around $15,000 – $25,000. This also depends on if you have freelancers to help you with this project or have hired a top-level flutter developer agency.

2. Standard Marketplace App:

A standard marketplace app is more feature-rich as compared to MVP. It is inclusive of features like a search button, push notifications, and social media sharing as well. Building a standard marketplace app can cost you up to $100,000.

3. Custom Marketplace App:

A custom marketplace caters to a certain section of the target audience, and perhaps you may also be able to charge said audience for the custom features. AI-powered recommendations can be a part of a custom marketplace app. Such an app can cost you anywhere from $150,000 and above. 

Marketplace App Building: The Factors Involved

The app development process is similar to any other app development process so that part isn’t what might throw you off. The part that may be a little tricky but will form the base for building your app.

The first part is always finalizing the intent and purpose of your app- without one, it is easy to get lost somewhere along the way. Determining this will help to ensure that your audience stays with the app.

However, these steps require extra clarity and determination on your part, so that your ideas can be brought to life:

Market analysis

The first step is always to start with market analysis and to identify and recognize the target audience. You can also analyze Mercari and other marketplace apps to analyze user feedback to optimize your app to meet user requirements.

One additional thing you can do is to make good note of the pain points of your audience so that you can easily tailor your app to match your audience’s needs.

Defining the app’s features based on your ideas and MVP

Once you are done with your market analysis, you can create an outline where you list out the most essential features in the app.

From here you can go on to create a minimum viable product with a few prioritized features that align with your target audience’s needs.

Choose A Framework

Now, choosing a proper framework is key to building an app that is seamless, and works on multiple platforms. This will help build a dependable and expandable application. Now, Flutter is one of the current best frameworks to build apps, seeing as it allows for cross-platform app performance.

If you are aiming to build a marketplace app with the Flutter framework, it would be best to hire flutter mobile application developers to build your app.

User-friendly UI/UX

The best apps are the ones with the best UI/UX, making it a user-friendly app experience overall. The correct technological stack choice is quite crucial when we are talking about the overall performance and appearance of the app.

In short, the better your UI is, the more chances you have of bringing in more users, as well as retaining the existing ones.

Development and Testing Phase

The most intense as well as important phase while building an app is the development phase. Here, you already have your design at the ready, you get on to developing it entirely.

With the help of the best design techniques, the developers can start producing mock apps and prototypes that be approved to move ahead with the process. Once the prototypes are approved, then the specifications can be further optimized. Soon after this, you can roll your app out for testing, and remove any bugs or usability problems. It is wise to consider both manual and automated testing services for your app.

Launch and Maintenance of the App

The final stage is where all bugs and issues are removed, and you can finally launch the app for public use on the app stores for both Android and iOS. You can also make sure to use SEO-related keywords in the description of the app so that it becomes more visible on the App Store.

For the maintenance part, you can avail mobile maintenance and support services to maintain and update your app for better retention and success according to user metrics. 

Conclusion

Building a marketplace app can be quite an exciting endeavor, but it requires careful planning and a realistic understanding of the costs associated with it. By understanding the niche, and your target audience and prioritizing user experience, you can build a strong app that delivers value to your customers.

While cost is just one factor in the grand scheme of things, it is crucial to optimize your approach and plan your app development to reduce the costs altogether. With the correct approach, you can build a marketplace app that resonates with your audience and achieve all your entrepreneurial goals.

Written by Tejas Raval

Leveraging 10 years of experience to bridge the gap between business needs and technology solutions. Passionate about helping businesses thrive in the digital age.