Ethica is an online marketplace that selects and offers sustainable and ethically-produced fashion and lifestyle goods, fostering a connection between shoppers and eco-friendly brands while advocating for responsible consumer choices.
If you’d like to start your own marketplace like Ethica, you’re facing a buy vs build decision. So before you decide to build it in-house on top of Spree open-source, consider using Vendo which is a marketplace SaaS. Go live, start selling, iterate.
Build vs Buy a marketplace?
Utilizing open-source technology offers considerable advantages like full control and customization options. However, these benefits come with high costs. Creating a complete marketplace solution can take a long time, often months or years, and involves substantial financial investment, as evidenced by numerous marketplace projects.
Therefore, unless you’ve secured a large funding, choosing a ready-to-use, all-encompassing marketplace solution like Vendo is more beneficial, according to a professional with years of experience in billing for marketplace development.
Back to the Ethica marketplace case study
Ethica marketplace has emerged as a significant player in the sustainable and ethical shopping domain, offering a wide array of products that cater to a conscious and eco-friendly lifestyle. This online platform showcases a diverse range of categories, including fashion, beauty, food and drink, jewelry, and items for pets and home. The marketplace is noted for its commitment to sustainability, featuring products made from natural, biodegradable, or upcycled fabrics.
One of the standout aspects of Ethica is its comprehensive selection of products that are not only environmentally friendly but also stylish and contemporary. For instance, in the fashion category, customers can find everything from everyday wear to accessories and activewear, all adhering to ethical production standards. Similarly, the food and drink section offers a variety of organic and sustainable options, ranging from snacks to beverages.
Moreover, Ethica places a strong emphasis on women’s empowerment and supports female entrepreneurs. Many of the brands featured on the platform are women-owned, reflecting the marketplace’s commitment to social responsibility and gender equality.
In terms of customer experience, Ethica ensures that every aspect of the shopping process aligns with their sustainable ethos. From eco-friendly packaging to initiatives like planting a tree for every order, the marketplace goes beyond just selling products; it fosters a complete eco-conscious shopping experience.
Ethica’s success and popularity among conscious consumers highlight a growing trend towards sustainable and ethical shopping practices. By offering a vast and varied selection of products that align with these values, Ethica marketplace stands out as a leading destination for shoppers looking to make a positive impact through their purchasing decisions.
How to emulate Ethica marketplace success?
To achieve a level of success similar to Ethica, you should think about launching your marketplace sooner rather than later, ideally in weeks rather than months. Check how well your range of products meets the needs of your audience. Continuously refine your customer acquisition strategies based on real experiences.
Test the waters of the market before you dive into building it yourself.
Here’s what you’d be getting with a Vendo free trial:
- Book a marketplace demo call: We’ll set up your demo marketplace and populate it with products, so you could give it a try and start selling in 14 days
- Customize your Storefront: Use the drag & drop page builder or custom CSS
- Onboard Brands: Invite your brands or choose brands from our catalog
- Select Products: Curate products and collections manually or automate it
- Embed products: Make your content, newsletters, social media shoppable
- Get Paid: Get paid as soon as products are shipped by the brands
- End-to-end automation: Brands sync, fulfillment, payouts, invoicing, taxes
When you’ve tried all that and it works, start thinking about building your own, custom-made marketplace project based on Spree Commerce. First, by decoupling the storefront and going headless with Vendo marketplace API, and later with your own backend, if you decide you really need it. Just lift and shift the storefront.
Nobody has to know what’s under the hood, right?
