To help you out, we’ve listed our top picks of the best APIs you can use to build the best online marketplace possible. These APIs will help improve your customer engagement and retention by optimizing the most critical aspects of your online marketplace, from the second the customer hops on your website to the checkout page.
1. Stream: Chat Messaging API
Stream’s Chat API allows customers to connect with buyers on your online marketplace platform via chat messaging.
If a customer has a question about an item, but no one is there to answer them, they could start doubting their buying decision and abandon their cart. Chat allows buyers to ask questions about your products before purchasing without sharing their personal details.
Stream’s Chat API comes with features that most customers now see as necessary as part of the chat experience:
- Ask your support team questions
- Add emojis to messages
- See whether the other person is typing
You’ll be able to recreate a similar messaging tool to the apps that your users already use, such as Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp. The API translates all your chat messages to support global users and expand your reach.
Stream’s Chat Messaging API supports your online marketplace as you grow. To help you scale, the infrastructure of our Chat API supports your growing bandwidth, regardless of whether you have one thousand or one million users.
Keeping the details of your customers safe during their chat conversations needs to be a priority. Stream’s Chat API complies with all internet safety regulations such as HIPAA, GDPR, and SOC2.
2. Stripe: Payment Processing API
Stripe’s well-trusted API allows customers to pay for products in various payment methods while keeping the transaction safe and secure. That way, you can enable customers to make their payment with their method of preference, track orders, and give customers peace of mind.
Stripe offers payments in 135+ currencies, which means you have access to a broader audience worldwide. The payment methods Stripe integrates include cards, wallets, and bank debits.
To keep customers safe during their payments, Stripe’s Radar uses machine learning on data from millions of businesses to protect your customers from fraud. Radar’s algorithm also adapts to changing criminal patterns so that you’re always ahead of fraudsters.
3. ShipHawk: Shipping API
ShipHawk offers various features to help online marketplaces better manage their shipping, inventory, and deliveries.
Shipping is an integral part of an online marketplace because even with the best products and shopping experience, a poor shipping process prevents customers from receiving their products in the first place. The problem is that if you handle shipping 100% manually, you’re prone to human error and losing a lot of time on repetitive tasks.
ShipHawk helps eliminate all the manual tasks that come with shipping, such as getting tracking information, monitoring your product delivery to the customer, and working with shipping carriers.
By automating all the repetitive tasks of handling shipping, you’ll have more time to focus on what truly matters: growing and scaling your online marketplace.
For 68% of customers in one survey, high shipping costs are a reason to stop purchasing a product. ShipHawk allows you to calculate the shipping rates of each order automatically, so the customer knows exactly how much they will spend on shipping before adding your item to their cart.
4. Search.io: Search Feature API
Search.io is an AI-powered search engine tool to help customers easily browse through your online marketplace to improve website navigation and user experience.
It can be challenging for customers to find what they’re looking for if you sell thousands of products on your online marketplace. A search feature allows customers to quickly find the product they want and get to checkout faster.
Some key features of Search.io include:
- Natural Language Processing (NLP) to deliver relevant search results
- Filters that customers can use to segment their search based on factors such as color or size
- Spell checking in case the user makes a typing mistake
It also comes with an Autocomplete component, allowing customers to see different search results as they type.
5. API2Cart: Shopping Cart API
API2Cart gives you access to any of your customers’ shopping carts to see what’s inside so that you can optimize their checkout experience.
With direct access to your customers’ shopping carts, you can personalize their cart experiences to maximize conversions. For example, you could offer customers a discount to reward them for their loyalty. Or send an email to follow up with customers whenever they abandon their cart and win back lost sales.
With API2Cart, you can automatically send abandoned cart emails when a customer doesn’t follow through with their purchase, generate coupons to your online marketplace, and let the customer know about the status of their orders.
6. Luigi’s Box: Personalized Recommendations API
Luigi’s Box API solution helps integrate personalized product recommendations based on the customer’s previous purchases and interests.
According to research by Zendesk, 68% of customers expect their experiences to be personal, and 87% are ready to pay more for personalization. With personalized product recommendations, you can boost conversions by showcasing relevant offers based on the customer’s past behavior.
With Luigi’s Box, you can place personalized product recommendations anywhere on your online marketplace. You can set your recommendations based on the customer’s preferences or products they’ve previously seen or offer alternatives to sold-out products.
APIs Help Build the Best Online Marketplace Possible
APIs help you build the best online marketplace possible for your users, which increases engagement and retention. On top of that, they speed up your development process and reduce your time to market.