The problem
Small sellers wanted an online storefront without building their own site, and the marketplace owner needed vendor onboarding, commissions and payouts to run without manual spreadsheets.
The approach
- 01Designed the data model around vendors first: storefront, catalogue, orders, commission and payout per vendor.
- 02Built the storefront with Next.js for speed and search visibility, so each vendor and product page can rank on its own.
- 03Added cash on delivery alongside card payments, which is still how most Pakistani buyers pay.
- 04Automated commission calculation and payout reports so the operator's team spends time on sellers, not sums.
The result
1,000+ sellers on the marketplace (figure published on devkeytech.com).
What it taught us
- Marketplaces live or die on seller onboarding. A seller should be live in minutes, not days.
- Server-rendered product pages are free marketing: every listing is a landing page.