Fruugo is a global e-commerce platform that links consumers with a wide array of products offered by different sellers and retailers across the globe, simplifying international shopping by providing a single checkout process and tailored shopping experience in numerous languages and currencies.
If you’d like to start your own marketplace like Fruugo, 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?
Employing open-source technology has its perks, including outright ownership and developmental flexibility, but these come at a substantial price. The journey to build a complete marketplace solution is lengthy and financially demanding, often stretching over months or years. This knowledge comes from our involvement in numerous marketplace projects.
Unless you’ve acquired a considerable sum in funding, it’s advised to opt for an established, comprehensive marketplace solution like Vendo, a suggestion from an individual experienced in charging clients for marketplace development services.
Back to the Fruugo marketplace case study
Fruugo, a UK-based online marketplace, offers a great example of how it adapted to changing privacy laws and e-commerce trends. Founded in 2008, Fruugo focuses on global transactions, connecting brands and customers worldwide.
They operate in 40+ countries, allowing sellers to market products globally without upfront fees, making it risk-free for merchants. Fruugo faced challenges due to evolving privacy laws but partnered with Croud to enhance data privacy and analytics technologies.
This collaboration led to impressive results, with a 36% increase in conversions, a 26% decrease in acquisition costs, and better data signals while respecting user privacy choices. Fruugo’s simple cross-border e-commerce model, where they handle translation and currency conversion, is effective and attractive to global brands.
Fruugo’s unique approach, driven by search engines, ensures visibility for merchants, making 85% of their sales international. They excel in diverse markets, like Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia, providing essential support to brands in these regions.
How to emulate Fruugo marketplace success?
In striving for success comparable to Fruugo, plan to launch your marketplace expediently, within weeks instead of months. Assess the alignment of your product catalog with your audience’s needs and modify your customer acquisition plans based on real results.
Test the market before diving 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?
