As an eCommerce software developer, you want to serve your customers and offer them outstanding services properly. For that, you need first to understand the importance of marketplace APIs. After that, you will be able to choose the best API for your needs.
In simple terms, an API is an intermediary system that allows two applications to communicate with each other. It allows to exchange information between different software solutions. You can use the API to streamline processes and operations, automate repetitive tasks, and gain access to vital data.
Basically, marketplace APIs give you access to your customers’ data. This data is related to products, orders, shipments, baskets, and so on. Today, you need to perform data marketplace API integrations to offer better services to your clients and enable them to make the most out of your software.
Each marketplace has its own API. However, some APIs are considered to be better than the average. Here is the list of the top 10 best marketplace APIs:
- eBay API
- Amazon API
- Walmart API
- Etsy API
- MercadoLibre API
- Aliexpress API
- Flipkart API
- Shopee API
- Taobao API
- Lazada API
What is a Marketplace API?
Marketplace API is a system of protocols and instruments which enable developers to work with the data and the functionality of an eCommerce platform directly. These APIs help to access the essential marketplace data like product catalog, orders, customers, and stock information. Marketplace APIs are crucial for developers because they help to automate some processes, connect different services, and design fluent interfaces within applications.
eBay API
eBay is one of the world's largest marketplaces. It powers close to 800.000 stores and serves over 170 million users each month. Moreover, eBay API offers you unrestricted access to a plethora of capabilities and features the marketplace offers.
Nevertheless, know that the specific eBay API has several bugs and errors and uses various data formats that make it hard to work with information. Therefore, performing a working integration with eBay should be left to professionals with previous experience in this task.
Amazon API
Amazon is undoubtedly the largest marketplace today. It boasts tens of millions of sellers and hundreds of millions of daily shoppers. Their powerful API enables you to easily retrieve product information, review data, seller feedback and profiles, and other information regarding the end buyers. Also, using Amazon API allows you to change the data on Amazon listings, payments, and orders programmatically.
Unfortunately, Amazon API is pretty old and outdated. So, you need to work with experienced developers if you want to benefit from a successful integration.
Walmart API
Ever since the largest physical chain store in the United States has migrated towards online sales, their sales have surged like never before. Because they are investing massively in the digital sphere and have big plans, including overtaking Amazon.
Walmart API is based on the REST data structure, making it pretty easy to use and straightforward. You can learn more about Walmart API on their developer portal.
Etsy API
Etsy is a vast platform that allows tens of thousands of sellers to promote their handmade items to clients from all across the globe. With over 70k live websites, Etsy is expanding really fast.
Etsy API is specially designed with the end-user in mind. It offers the reliability of the RESTful interface combined with the lightweight JSON format. Developers can easily use the OAuth method to send and receive Etsy users’ data. As a result, it is easy to gather data and use it to offer better services to the end-users.
MercadoLibre API
MercadoLibre is a Mexican-based online commerce platform that has grown exponentially since the pandemic began, going from 5k websites to over 29k within months. One of the main traits of the MercadoLibre API is that it’s easy to use and monetize.
Using RESTful technology, MercadoLibre API enables you to access various resources part of the platform’s ecosystem, such as items, orders, products, shipping status, taxes, and so on. In addition, this API is exceptionally secure.
Aliexpress API
Aliexpress is a Chinese-based and operated marketplace that, despite the decline in recent years, continues to have a majority of over 85k live sites. The Aliexpress API is specially designed to enable the automation of a vast number of processes, including managing orders, getting product information from the platform, and publishing updates.
This API can seamlessly integrate with third-party solutions and allows developers to perform their updates. You can find out more information about the Aliexpress API by checking out their documentation.
Flipkart API
Flipkart is India’s most powerful retail platform. It hit the market in 2007 and has managed to exceed all expectations for four years, reaching a whopping 250k sellers and 8 million shipments per month.
Flipkart uses a modern API infrastructure that makes it possible to get the necessary data. The Flipkart API leverages the Sandbox environment using the OAuth framework and allows users to pull out data using simple API calls such as GET, PUT or DELETE.
Shopee API
As one of the largest and most impressive Singaporean eCommerce marketplaces, Shopee has grown exceptionally much in the last few years, reaching over 10 million active sellers and a whopping revenue of over $17 billion. It seems that they are definitely poised to take over the global market, and their secret lies in their own API.
Shopee API is easy to work with and offers a plethora of excellent opportunities to sellers, developers, and software providers. In addition, you can quickly accelerate the development process using their testing tool and expand your service scope by utilizing all the functionalities of their API.
Taobao API
Taobao is a large Chinese retail platform that spans over 57k live sites. Despite their narrow focus on the Chinese market, this marketplace still has a say in the digital sales sphere.
Even if this is a pretty old platform, they have invested in a new, modern marketplace REST API. This open platform API allows you to perform standard operations seamlessly, such as searching for shops, finding orders, working with product information, and accessing data related to taxes, shipping, and baskets.
Lazada API
Lazada is a widespread open marketplace that spans dozens of countries in South Asia. With over 135k merchants, Lazada leverages end-to-end API generation and rich API endpoints to enable software providers to efficiently work with orders, products, users, marketing information, and payment info.
Lazada API stands above the crowd by coming equipped with solid business data security, high application performance, and advanced support documentation.
How to Develop the Integration with Marketplace APIs Easily
If you want to grow and expand your software business across several verticals and in multiple markets, you need to find a way to integrate it with more than a few of the marketplaces mentioned above. Fortunately, you don’t have to develop a separate connection with each one of these marketplace APIs. Instead, all you have to do is leverage the true power of our unified shopping cart data interface.
API2Cart makes it super easy for you to connect your business with the APIs of over 40 marketplaces and shopping platforms. Currently, we support the integration with Amazon, eBay, Walmart, and Etsy marketplaces, and we’re in the process of creating connections with Aliexpress and Flipkart.
API2Cart API methods allow getting, updating, and deleting marketplace data related to the order, products, customers, etc. All info about each of API2Cart API method you can find in API Docs.
It is possible to use API2Cart unified API for marketplace integration development for a month absolutely free and see how it works for your business. All you have to do is to register your free account with the help of our managers. For more detailed information you can contact our managers by chat, email or phone. They will answer all your questions 24/7.
