Amazon and eBay’s excitement has increased the demand for marketplace development services. To develop a successful e-commerce website, business owners resort to software consultants. Then there’s the question of what they’ll need to build the most profitable online marketplace website.
A lucrative e-commerce operation, we believe, begins with the correct IT stack. Scalability, ease of modification, and flexibility are the most important characteristics of a modern marketplace. As a result, it’s critical to select technologies that will aid in developing these attributes.
In this post, we’ll look into Spree Commerce as a cost-effective and dependable way to create online markets in a short amount of time. You’ll learn about the framework’s core features and how they might assist your company. You may also read success stories from well-known firms that used Spree Commerce to build e-commerce sites.
Finally, we’ll talk about our experience deploying Spree Commerce websites.
What is Spree Commerce, and how does it work?
Before we offer our ideas and procedures for building an e-commerce site on Spree Commerce, let’s explain what this term means. Spree Commerce, sometimes known as Spree Commerce, is an open-source e-commerce solution based on Ruby on Rails. Developers may swiftly establish online stores and marketplaces of any complexity with this free code library.
Spree Commerce’s modular structure makes customization and upgrading a breeze. As a result, clients have access to a unique marketplace suited to their requirements.
Spree Commerce was founded in 2007 by Sean Schofield, an RoR developer. Spree Commerce’s popularity has been continuously increasing since then.
Let’s take a look at some particular numbers that demonstrate the platform’s enduring popularity.
- 780 contributors
- 1100000+ downloads
- 10100+ Github stars
- 2000+ contributions
Spree Commerce’s Benefits
So, why should you use Spree Commerce to launch an online marketplace? Let’s look at the platform’s main advantages to address this question.
Rapid advancement
Spree Commerce is built on Ruby on Rails, as we’ve already explained. Spree Commerce, like the Rails framework, is known for its rapid development. Compared to competing platforms like Magento, coders utilizing Spree Commerce for online marketplace creation write 10 times less code.
Rapid development is one of the main reasons why companies with short deadlines seek to create an e-commerce site on Spree Commerce.
Easy Customization
Spree Commerce comes with a lot of features right out of the box. However, it cannot account for all individual business requirements that may arise. Fortunately, with the help of a large variety of extensions, you can always improve and customize your online store.
Furthermore, a skilled Ruby on Rails developer can construct customized extensions. They’ll provide your Spree Commerce e-commerce site with a lot of essential flexibility, scalability, and individuality.
It’s worth noting that Ruby has many gems or free, open-source libraries. They save developers the time and effort to create functionality from scratch, and they need to utilize a different gem for each functionality, such as product reviews, wishlists, and payments.
Scalability
Even if you’re starting with an internet store, keep in mind the prospect of expanding. Keep in mind that your e-commerce site must be able to withstand a high volume of traffic. Spree Commerce may become your best option in this regard.
This framework is dependable. It means Spree Commerce can handle a large number of concurrent user requests. There won’t be any delays in response time. You won’t have to worry about greater loads when you construct an e-commerce site using Spree Commerce, and large amounts of traffic will not be an issue for your expanding company.
A mobile-first strategy
Mobile Commerce is anticipated to reach $488 billion in 2024, according to Business Insider, and it will account for 44% of the entire e-commerce business. This statistic shows why an increasing number of e-commerce companies are adopting a mobile-first strategy.
Spree Commerce was designed specifically for smartphone users. The websites created using Spree Commerce have a user-friendly interface. Furthermore, the framework is compatible with front-end technologies utilized in the construction of PWAs. What advantages does it provide to business owners? They get quick-loading progressive web apps that can work even if the Internet connection is slow or in offline mode.
Spree Commerce is a completely free CMS.
Finally, it’s worth noting that downloading Spree Commerce is completely free, and it makes no difference how big or small your project is. There are no license fees to create a tiny online store or a large multi-vendor marketplace like Amazon.
Furthermore, all extensions that provide additional functionality are also free. Consider the case when you require multi-domain support or bespoke themes. You can get a unique and eye-catching appearance for your Spree e-commerce site by downloading and installing these extensions.
Numerous opportunities for advancement
Launching a website for an online marketplace is only half the battle. You must employ the most effective marketing methods to attract as many consumers and merchants as possible to your platform.
So, what are the most important Spree Commerce marketing features? The following features will make promoting your e-commerce platform much easier than ever before.
- User analytics have been improved.
- Split testing is also known as A/B testing, and you measure the difference in performance between two versions of any marketing asset.
- Management of loyalty programs.
- SEO that is integrated (search engine optimization).
- Email marketing at a high level.
- Heat maps are diagrams that show how hot something is. They’ll keep track of user flow and better understand customer behavior.
- The dashboard for data analysis. You will make deliberate, data-driven decisions with its assistance.
The most important features
Let’s take a closer look at the key Spree Commerce features that will help you get the most out of this Ruby on Rails-based e-commerce system.
- It’s a simple search. Spree Commerce based s e-commerce platforms have a predictive search feature. Customers are given product recommendations while they are still inputting their inquiries.
- Reports. You can track your traffic thanks to the easy integration with Google Analytics. You can also learn about your consumers’ demographics and gain useful marketing information.
- Payments according to each country’s needs. The Spree Commerce framework supports local payment gateways in over a hundred countries.
- Subscriptions are helpful. Members who subscribe to Spree Commerce receive various incentives, and discounts, priority customer service, and free shipping are all included.
- Order administration is simple. This feature allows you to search, examine, and manage your clients’ orders. You’ll be able to process payments, give refunds, and so on.
- Self-service for customers. With a robust FAQ knowledge base, you can assist customers in finding solutions to common questions.
- Products. This feature is available in a variety of configurations. You can, for example, add, update, and delete things from your store. You may also write a thorough description to highlight the most important features of the products you sell.
- Returns. With this functionality, you’ll learn how to handle returned goods quickly and easily.
- Taxation. Spree Commerce has specific capabilities for dealing with taxes. Taxes vary based on which country, zone, or state your multi-vendor marketplace is located.
- Settings in general. You can always change your e-commerce website’s name, currency, or security policy.
How Spree Commerce assists us in launching markets quickly
A London-based client had approached us, requesting our assistance with developing a lucrative e-commerce business. The goal was to establish an AI-powered beauty platform that was open to everyone, and its goal was to assist clients in discovering and purchasing beauty goods from well-known brands around the world.
The client asked us to create a user-friendly beauty marketplace website. It should allow visitors to select cosmetics depending on their aims and tastes. Customers should take a quiz to filter out products that aren’t relevant to them and identify ones that are.
Because our customers required a quick time to market, our team recommended Spree Commerce as the primary technology. We swiftly created a scalable, fast-loading, and attractive e-commerce website using this framework, and it has all of the features of a successful internet marketplace.
The following was the basic feature set:
- Product page
- Multiple payment options
- Shopping cart
- Wishlist
- Ratings and reviews
- Quiz page
- User profiles
- Search and filters
New fields were added to the search and filtering mechanism to make it personalized (brands, location). We have added a multi-currency capability that allows prices to be automatically recalculated. We incorporated Stripe, a payment solution, and Shippo, a multi-carrier shipping API in terms of third-party services.
Consequently, the customer received a scalable and versatile beauty platform quickly. According to our client’s demands, the Spree Commerce e-commerce site was completed on time and within budget.
Final Thoughts
Spree Commerce is a great option if you need to get your multi-vendor marketplace up and running quickly. Its comprehensive out-of-the-box capability enables you to get to market swiftly. In addition, extensive tutorials and manuals explain how to use Spree Commerce to create an e-commerce site that will benefit your customers.
Be advised, that this framework necessitates some technical expertise. Please contact us if you’re seeking a reputable business to help you establish your Spree Commerce store. We’ll gladly accept your job and see it through to completion.
