How to Build a Shopping Marketplace Like Whatnot (Cost & Features)

Digital entrepreneurs are aggressively looking for the procedure to build a Shopping Marketplace like Whatnot. The world of shopping is gradually shifting from static product listing to immersive real-time experiences. So, if you want to gain maximum profit from the market, comprehending the fundamental infrastructure of a live shopping marketplace is vital for business success and engagement. Where traditional shopping is fundamentally built around images, product reviews, and descriptions, live shopping is all about evolved engagement, authentic product reviews, and real-time demonstrations. Statista’s Live Commerce Report published in 2025 states the elevation of Live Stream shopping, where brands and social influencers have hosted live video sessions and viewers have massively made real-time purchases.

Live Shopping Marketplace is a real-time online selling model where products are showcased through live video streams, enabling interactive communication, instant purchasing, secure payments, and immersive shopping experiences that drive engagement, trust, and faster buying decisions.

Whatnot is one such live Shopping Marketplace platform that significantly focuses on three aspects:

No More Static Engagement
The Rise of Interactive Buying
Seamless Transaction & Easy Buying

So, in this blog, we will delve deeper into the fundamentals of live Shopping Marketplace platforms, their key components, functionalities, and how a mobile app development company can help you in Whatnot clone app development.

Build a Shopping Marketplace like Whatnot: Know how it functions

After knowing about the live Shopping Marketplace platform, it’s high time to know how a platform like Whatnot functions.

Step 1: User & Seller Onboarding

Account & profile setup
Initiate KYC verification
Link multiple payment gateways
Seller onboarding support
Secure & smooth participation

Step 2: Product Listing & Scheduling

Post image, description, & price catalogue
Tag the product to the auction slot or the fixed price
Schedule live sessions
Notification alert to users
Integrate a product recommendation engine

Step 3: Live Streaming Setup

Establish zero-latency streaming (similar to Agora.io or AWS IVS)
Integrate the camera & host controllable
Test quality & speed
Optimize performance verticals
Enable undisrupted live selling

Step 4: Real-Time Interaction

Integrate live chats & questioning sessions
Capture user reaction & emojis
Instantly respond to buyers
Transparent product review demonstration
Foster seamless audience engagement

Step 5: Live Auction & Checkout

Conduct live auctions or “Buy Now” sales
Manage bids and wins
Track inventory in real time
Allow instant checkout
Ensure smooth purchase flow

Step 6: Payment Processing

Incorporate relevant payment gateways
Commissions & transaction management
Resolve disputes & refunds
In-app wallet integration
Give payment to sellers

Step 7: Order Management & Shipping

Capture order details
Generate shipping labels
Manage product dispatch
Buyer tracking & TAT management
Assure timely delivery

Step 8: Ratings & Reviews

Capture feedback from buyers
Integrate star rating systems
Display review publicly
Elevate seller credibility
Encourage continuous buying

Step 9: Re-Engagement & Notifications

Apply reminders and push notifications
Inform followers about pipeline streams
Build personalized & custom-made updates
Encourage continuous visits
Drive audience engagement

Step 10: Analytics & Optimization

Monitor engagement and sales
Track auction & conversion rates
Evaluate behaviour preference
Optimize pricing and streams
Improve user experience

Step 11: Platform Monetization

Optimize commissions & transactions
Inculcate seller subscription
Feature promotions & listing
Monetize daily advertisements
Offer premium analytics tools

Step 12: Scaling & Modernization

Upgrade cloud architecture
Optimize app performance
Integrate AI-centric features
Update new functionalities
Increase user base

Want to launch your own Whatnot-style Shopping Marketplace? feel free to contact us!

Key Features to Build a Shopping Marketplace Like Whatnot

Now, let us explore the major features of a live Shopping Marketplace solution like Whatnot.

Live Video Streaming

The live video streaming enables the sellers to broadcast their products in a hyper-realistic fashion. The features offer an open video storytelling opportunity, leading to a higher conversion rate and a large-scale profit margin.

Real-Time Auction

Instant bidding with a dynamic product catalogue helps you sell products more easily and quickly. It not only creates an ecosystem of excitement but also fosters urgency for purchase.

Live Chat Interaction

Live chat interaction is beneficial for both the buyer and seller. The seller gives a descriptive narration of the product, and the buyer gets confidence before the purchase. Live chat elevates the trust, transparency, and authenticity of the product.

One-Tap Checkout

To increase the conversion rate of a marketplace platform, one-tap checkout is the best payment option that you can have in your bucket. The users only have to feed the payment details and shipping address to witness a frictionless payment with real-time bidding and the fastest conversion rate.

Seller Profiles & Storefronts

To uplift the brand identity, trustworthiness, and engagement scale, a live Shopping Marketplace platform like Whatnot voraciously strengthens the profile, including the seller ratings, selling track record, upcoming live streaming, and follower list.

Product Listing & Catalogue Management

Real-time product listing and price management are the best virtues for a live Shopping Marketplace platform like Whatnot. Sellers can conveniently manage the product listing, pricing description, and auction settings with dynamic catalogue management and clear pricing visibility.

Notification & Alerts

The continuous notifications and alert system allow users on the live Shopping Marketplace platform to engage better with the audience. This not only informs the users about the live streaming updates but also capitalizes on the bidding activities, order status, and shipping updates.

AI-Based Recommendations

An AI smart recommendation engine is another phenomenal feature of an application like Whatnot. It not only evaluates the user behaviour and preferences but also suggests to them the correct live streaming, products, and service discovery across the entire ecosystem.

Security & Modernization

Security and modernization are core to Whatnot-style platforms, ensuring safe transactions and scalable performance. The system uses encrypted payments, secure authentication, fraud detection, and compliance with industry standards. Modern cloud infrastructure enables real-time streaming, high concurrency, and seamless updates without downtime.

Build a Shopping Marketplace Like Whatnot: Get the Cost Bifurcation

Know the cost of building a platform like Whatnot. Although the Shopping Marketplace development cost goes through multiple bifurcations, we have divided them into three categories: Simple, Advanced, and Complex.

Category	Features	Estimated Cost (USD)	Description
Simple (MVP)	• Basic user accounts (buyers & sellers) • Live streaming (basic quality, e.g., WebRTC/Agora) • Real-time bidding or fixed price sales • Basic chat during streams • Product listings & search • Simple payment integration	$10,000 – $40,000	Good for testing the core idea with minimal features. Shorter timeline (2–4 months). Lower cost but limited functionality.
Advanced (Mid)	• All Simple features, plus: • Seller dashboard & inventory tools • Wishlists/notifications • Ratings & reviews • Push notifications • Enhanced UI/UX • Moderation tools/admin panel • Better streaming stability	$40,000 – $80,000+	A more polished product for real users with stronger engagement and platform reliability (3–6+ months).
Complex (Full-Featured)	• All Advanced features, plus: • Real-time auctions with high concurrency • Personalized product recommendations (AI/ML) • AR previews / virtual try-ons • Multi-stream support & cross-platform (iOS, Android, Web) • Advanced analytics for sellers • Loyalty, tipping, subscriptions, promotions • Scalability & global infrastructure	$80,000 – $150,000+	Enterprise-level app with full social / commerce ecosystem, scaling to many simultaneous users and advanced features. Longer build time (6–12+ months).

Read: Global eCommerce Mobile App Development Company

Conclusion: Hire the Right Mobile App Developers to Build a Shopping Marketplace Like Whatnot

With 10+ years of experience, TechGropse is a leading mobile app development company to develop 3000+ branded solutions for innumerable industries, including manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, Shopping Marketplace, FMCG, gaming domain, and Information Technology.

In case you are interested in developing a solution like Whatnot, know what we offer for you.

Holistic product strategy & app consultation
Customized & live streaming architecture
Real-time recommendation engine
Seamless selling and buying design
Secure payment wallet integration
AI-based hyper-personalization
Analytical & admin panel dashboard
Scalability & cloud infrastructure
After-sales maintenance & support services

-feel free to contact us !

FAQs

Live Shopping Marketplace is a real-time shopping platform where sellers showcase their products with live interactions, and users instantly buy the respective products. The approach not only accelerates the engagement but also improves purchase decisions, conversion rates, and Return on Investment (ROI).

Seller Registration & Verification→Go Live & Product Showcase→Live Audience Engagement→Auctions & Instant Buying→Real-Time Bidding & Checkout→Secure Payments & Wallets→Order Fulfillment & Tracking→Ratings, Reviews & Notifications

Live Shopping Marketplace is gaining popularity because it makes online shopping more viable, interactive, social, and trustworthy. Not only the quick revelation of products and services, but live Shopping Marketplace platform

Products like apparel, clothing, skincare, beauty care, and gadgets work best for live Shopping Marketplace platforms.

Live Shopping Marketplace is fundamentally known for offering real-time interaction and video selling features instead of static product display. Unlike traditional Shopping marketplaces, buyers in live Shopping marketplaces can watch demos, ask questions, get flash deals, and engage in multiple other ways.

Sellers benefit from higher engagement and conversion rates, real-time interaction with buyers, faster inventory turnover, stronger brand trust, immediate feedback, loyal communities, and the ability to showcase products authentically through live demonstrations and auctions.

Having live interaction rather than static engagement would elevate the scale of trust, allow instant questioning, and foster real-time responses. These facilitations enable a high rate of engagement among users.

Yes. Small businesses and startups need to reach a large audience. This phenomenon makes a live Shopping Marketplace platform the best for them.

Video streaming technology, secure payment gateways, real-time chat systems, cloud infrastructure, data analytics, robust backend APIs, and push notifications are required for building a platform like Whatnot.

Yes. Live Shopping Marketplace is the future-ready solution for online shopping. With real-time interaction, social encouragement, and an instant purchase approach, it is clear that live Shopping Marketplace is the future of online shopping.

Written by

Aman Mishra

CEO

Hello All, Aman Mishra has years of experience in the IT industry. His passion for helping people in all aspects of mobile app development. Therefore, He write several blogs that help the readers to get the appropriate information about mobile app development trends, technology, and many other aspects.In addition to providing mobile app development services in USA, he also provides maintenance & support services for businesses of all sizes. He tried to solve all their readers' queries and ensure that the given information would be helpful for them.