Mobile appE-commerce & marketplacesOriginal by Trendyol
Trendyol is Turkey's largest online marketplace, and its strength lies in gathering thousands of sellers into a single storefront while keeping shopping almost frictionless. A personalised home feed, flash sales and coupon campaigns bring users back every day, while fast, predictable delivery and easy returns build trust. More seller variety attracts more shoppers, and more shoppers attract new sellers: a classic network-effect loop.
Building something similar takes more than a single shop app. You need a customer app, a seller panel where merchants manage products, stock and orders, and an admin panel that controls categories, commissions, campaigns and returns. Behind the scenes, the backend must run scalable search, a cart and split-payment layer, carrier integrations and a finance module that calculates seller payouts.
How Trendyol works: the core user flow
How many apps and dashboards do you need?
Customer app
Shoppers search for products, build a cart, pay, track their orders and open return requests.
Seller panel
Merchants upload products and variants, update stock and prices, prepare orders for shipping and monitor their payouts.
Admin panel
The platform team manages categories, commission rates, campaigns, seller approvals and dispute resolution.
Critical features of a product like Trendyol
Multi-seller catalogue and buy box
Different sellers offering the same product are listed on one product page; the featured offer is chosen by price, delivery time and seller rating.
Split payments and payouts
The total of a single cart is automatically divided between sellers, commission is deducted and a payout list is generated at the end of each settlement period.
Campaign and coupon engine
Cart discounts, buy-X-pay-for-Y deals, seller coupons and flash-hour campaigns are configured through a rule-based engine.
Personalised storefront
The home page, recommendation rows and notifications are ranked for each user based on browsing and purchase history.
Carrier integration and tracking
Label generation, shipment status updates and delivery notifications run automatically with carriers such as DHL, UPS or DPD.
Returns and dispute management
Customers open a return request in the app and receive a return code; if the seller objects, the admin team decides in the panel.
What goes into the first version, what comes later
First version (MVP)
- Customer app: categories, search, filters, product details, cart and order tracking
- Seller panel: product upload, stock and order management
- Marketplace payments with commission deduction via Stripe Connect or a similar provider
- Integration with at least one carrier plus order status notifications
- Admin panel: seller approval, categories and simple coupon setup
Later releases
- AI-driven recommendations and a personalised storefront
- Advertising and promotion panel for sellers
- XML and API integrations for bulk product uploads
- Live-stream selling and social shopping features
Modules and how the budget is calculated
The budget is calculated with 360 SOFT’s pricing model from the modules below, about 36 screens and the project’s complexity: roughly 219 person-days for the full scope and 133 person-days for the first version. Every module you drop lowers the budget directly.
| Module | Phase |
|---|---|
| Sign-up, login, social login | First version |
| User profile and settings | First version |
| Roles and permissions | First version |
| Admin dashboard | First version |
| Online payments (Stripe / PSP) | First version |
| Product / content catalogue | First version |
| Cart and checkout | First version |
| Advanced search and filters | First version |
| Push notifications | First version |
| Email / SMS notifications | First version |
| Ratings and reviews | First version |
| Reporting and analytics | Later release |
| Marketplace integration (Amazon, etc.) | Later release |
| E-invoicing | First version |
Hosting, SMS, map APIs, app store accounts and payment-provider fees are separate items. Maintenance and improvements (optional): €750 / month. We send a fixed written price within 24 hours after a free discovery call.
The hard parts
Scaling during sales events
Traffic multiplies on big discount days; search, stock reservation and checkout must be built to scale horizontally and use caching.
Catalogue quality
Different sellers uploading the same product with different names and images creates catalogue chaos; matching and moderation processes are essential.
Financial reconciliation
Returns, partial cancellations and campaign contributions complicate seller payouts; accurate accounting and an e-invoicing flow are critical.
Business model
The main revenue source is a sales commission that varies by category. On top of that come advertising fees sellers pay to promote products in search results and on the storefront, charges for fast delivery or warehousing services, and optional paid membership perks. A healthy path is to attract sellers with low commissions at first and switch on the advertising model as the catalogue grows.
Get a free quote for your project
Let us scope it together and send a fixed written quote within 24 hours. NDA on request; you own the source code.
Choosing a company to build an app like Trendyol
Most people searching “build an app like trendyol” are really looking for a reliable app development company. When comparing quotes, check four things:
- Can you try similar products they have shipped, in the stores or live?
- Are the source code, design files, servers and store accounts transferred to you by contract?
- Do they show a working demo every two weeks, with written scope and acceptance criteria?
- Are maintenance, scaling and GDPR/security costs written into the quote?
Copyright and trademarks
A business model and features are generally not protected on their own, but the Trendyol name, logo, interface design, content and source code are. That is why we build a product with similar functionality but your own brand, design and code. This is not legal advice; we recommend a trademark search before launch.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to build an app like Trendyol?
A lean first version made up of a customer app, seller panel and admin panel can usually go live within a few months. The campaign engine, advertising panel and advanced recommendations are added step by step in later releases.
How many separate applications are needed?
At least three parts: iOS and Android customer apps, a web-based seller panel and an admin panel. A mobile app for sellers and a web storefront can also be planned.
Ready-made marketplace script or custom software?
Ready-made scripts give you a quick start but hit their limits as commission rules, payouts and scale requirements grow. If you are aiming for a long-term marketplace, a custom-built, modular architecture is the healthier choice.
Are there copyright or trademark issues?
The marketplace business model and general features can be used freely, but the name, logo, interface design, content and code cannot be copied. This information is general in nature and is not a substitute for legal advice.
