Have you ever considered digitalizing your auction platform? If not, this is the right time for you to take your auction setup to the next level.
With the increased popularity of online auction platforms, the number of auction apps in the market is also growing. Developing an auction app like Emirates Auction can help you simplify your bidding process, attract a wider target audience, ensure transparency of information, and offer many other benefits.
In this guide, we will take you through a step-by-step guide to develop an app like Emirates Auction. For better understanding, we have covered everything, including the must-have features, monetization strategies, and cost of developing such an auction app. Let’s discuss this in detail.
Market Stats of Emirates Auction
Before developing an app like Emirates Auction, you should study their market stats.
- According to the reports, the global market of hard assets equipment online auction was valued at USD 9801.8 million in 2022 and will expand up to 18.17% by the end of 2028.
- The market size of the online auction will reach USD 26691.27 million by 2028.
- The real-time market size of the Emirates Auction app is as follows:
Step-by-Step Development Guide of an App Like Emirates Auction
Seeing these growing market stats, you should develop an app like Emirates Auction to tap into the thriving online auction industry and capitalize on the increasing consumer demand for convenient, secure, and efficient ways to buy and sell a wide range of items.
We have mentioned here a step-by-step development guide for an app like Emirates Auction, which is as follows:
- Market Research
Before starting the development process of an app like Emirates Auction, you should conduct market research that will help you to understand the requirements of users. Analyze the competitors’ auction apps to know what people like and dislike about their apps. Check their reviews and ratings, and also look for the user’s feedback on their app.
While conducting market research, you must evaluate:
- What is your target audience?
- Define your app’s USP (unique selling point).
- For which geographical location do you want to develop your app?
Examining all these details will help you define a clear approach for the development process of an app like Emirates Auction.
- Define Features & Functionalities
In the next step of the development process of an app like Emirates Auction, you should define the features & functionalities you want to embed in your app. Design the features and functionalities of an auction app in a simple way using which users can easily navigate through the entire app.
You should design the features and functionalities of your auction app keeping your target audience in mind. You should consider their age, geographical location, and other factors that can affect the features and functionalities of your app. You can also provide multi-lingual support in the app if you want to release your app in various regions.
- UI/UX Design
When designing the UI/UX of an app like Emirates Auction, it’s important to make it easy for people to use. The UI (user interface) should have clear and intuitive buttons and menus, so users can navigate the app without confusion. The colors, fonts, and images should be appealing and consistent with the app’s purpose.
The UX (user experience) should focus on making the app efficient and enjoyable to use. This means minimizing the number of steps needed to complete tasks, providing helpful notifications and feedback, and ensuring that the app responds quickly. Overall, the goal is to create an app that is user-friendly and makes the auction process simple and convenient.
- Development
Developing an app like Emirates Auction involves several steps. First, the developers gather requirements and plan the app’s features and functionalities. Then, they create a design that is visually appealing and easy to use.
Next, they start coding the app using programming languages like Java or Swift. They test the app thoroughly to find and fix any bugs or issues. Once the app is stable and working well, it goes through a final round of testing.
Finally, the app is ready for release and is submitted to app stores for users to download and enjoy. Throughout the process, developers work closely with designers and testers to ensure a high-quality app.
- Testing & Deploy
Testing an app like Emirates Auction involves several iterations. After the app is developed, it goes through a testing phase. Testers carefully check the app for any issues, bugs, or problems to ensure it works correctly. They test different features, check how the app performs, and make sure it is user-friendly.
Once the testing phase is completed and all identified bugs are fixed, your app will be ready for deployment. It is uploaded to the app stores, like the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, where users can download and install it on their devices. This way, people can start using the app and enjoying its features.
- Support & Maintenance
Support and maintenance are essential for an app like Emirates Auction to ensure its smooth operation and address any user concerns. Support involves assisting users, answering their queries, and helping them troubleshoot issues they may encounter while using the app. This support can be offered through various channels like email, live chat, or a dedicated support team.
Maintenance involves regularly updating the app to fix bugs, improve performance, and add new features based on user feedback. This keeps the app remains secure, up-to-date, and aligned with evolving user needs. Support and maintenance contribute to a positive user experience and help build trust and loyalty among app users.
Must-Have Features for an App Like Emirates Auction
Creating an app like Emirates Auction requires a comprehensive understanding of online auction platforms, user experience design, and robust development skills. In addition, you must ensure data security and privacy and adhere to local laws.
Emirates Auction is a popular online platform in the United Arab Emirates for buying and selling various items through auctions. To develop an app like Emirates Auction, you would need to incorporate a range of features and functionalities. You can consider these below-mentioned features:
- User Registration
User registration is one of the most prominent features of an app like Emirates Auction. The users of the app must register themselves with basic information, such as their name, contact number, and email address. After registering, they should be directed to the user profile page where they can update their contact details, preferences, and activity history.
- Product Search
Online auction apps should allow users to easily search for the product they’re looking for. Effective sorting and filtering options for categories such as item type, condition, price, seller ranking, purchase format, shipping choices, and more should be included in the search tools.
- Products Page
Your online auction app must contain a dedicated and intuitive page for each product so that users can easily check the in-depth details of each product. You can even design a different section for each detail of the product. For instance, if the seller is listing a car, then they should mention factors like the car’s brand, model, image, color, kilometers driven, model year, and more.
- Seller Dashboard
A seller dashboard is another essential feature of an online auction app. Using this feature, a seller can get all the updates of their products in one place. The seller dashboard should reflect options for managing their listing, viewing bids, tracking sales, and others. You can also embed their performance analytics and reports of their listings.
- In-App Camera
By using the in-app camera feature, users can easily upload photos of the products they want to sell on your auction app. Product images can help enhance the credibility of the seller as well as of your app among users. Users will be able to get a complete view of the product which will help them to get a better idea of it.
- Auction Management
Under auction management, you should provide the option to access past auction results and bidding history, detailed transaction history for both buyers and sellers, and more.
You can set up alerts on specific sellers to receive notifications when they list new items. Provide easily categorized listings for easy navigation, such as vehicles, electronics, real estate, and more.
- Real-time Bidding
With the real-time bidding feature, you can access real-time auction bidding with a countdown timer, send notifications for outbidding and auction status updates, auto-bidding and proxy bidding options, and more. By empowering your auction app with AI, you can enable it to automatically detect a unique bid amount along with the details of the user.
- Payment Gateway Integration
It is essential to integrate your auction app with the payment gateway as these apps work on online payment processing after completing the bidding process. A reliable payment gateway can provide secure handling of transactions. Payment gateway integrations provide secure payment processing for winning bids and buy-it-now purchases. You should also go for multiple payment methods, including credit/debit cards and digital wallets.
- Social Media Sharing
Today’s tech-savvy generation likes to share everything online on their social media handles. That is why, integrating your app to social media is a crucial feature. This helps to market your app on various social media platforms and reach a wider target audience.
- Multi-language Support
If you are developing your auction app for global boundaries, you must offer a feature of multi-language support. As it will help people from different geographical locations use your app to host or buy goods at auction.
- Reviews & Rating
The reviews and ratings feature of a fitness app allows users to share their experiences and provide feedback on the app’s performance. This feature helps to improve the functionality of the app and user experience. Users can rate the app based on its effectiveness, ease of use, and overall satisfaction. Reviews can also help potential users decide whether the app is worth downloading or not.
Tech-Stack of an App Like Emirates Auction
Emirates Auction is a platform that facilitates online auctions for various products and services. While we don’t have specific details about Emirates Auction’s tech stack, we can provide you with a general idea of the technologies commonly used in building similar auction platforms.
Top 5 Apps Like Emirates Auction
Now that we have read about the development guide, features, and tech stack of the app. It is the time to know about your competitors in the market. Let’s know about the top 5 apps like Emirates Auction which are as follows:
- Auction.com
Auction.com is one of the supreme competitors of an app like Emirates Auction. The company was founded in the year 2007 by joint investors Thomas H. Lee Partners, Capital G, and Stone Point Capital. The company deals especially in real estate buy and sold, fix and flip, real estate marketplace, bank-owned properties, and more.
- Sotheby’s
Sotheby’s is the second-largest alternative for an app like Emirates Auction. Samuel Baker, a bookseller, started this company in the year 1744. The prime listing of this company includes valuable books and unparalleled artwork. Currently, the site offers a wide range of products, including wine and spirits, footwear, jewelry, purses, watches, vehicles, and antiques.
- eBay
eBay is one of the most popular alternatives to Emirates Auctions. Pierre Omidyar established the company in the year 1995 by the name of AuctionWeb and it was later converted to eBay in September 1997. Their headquarters are located in California, US. They deal in several product categories, such as collectibles & artwork, sporting goods, real estate, electronics, fashion wear, accessories, toys, and more.
- AuctionZip
AuctionZip is another auction app like Emirates Auction. With its headquarters located in Boston, this software was first introduced in 2003. They provide online auctions for a variety of items, including real estate, jewels, coins and money, firearms and ammunition, antiques, sportswear and accessories, and more.
- Catawiki
Catawiki is an unparalleled auction app. This auction platform was created by Marco Jansen and Rene Schoemakers in the year 2008 for online auctions of collectibles. Now, they deal in art, coins & stamps, entertainment & games, jewelry & precious stones, sports, fashion and more.
Monetization Model for an App Like Emirates Auction
To balance the finances of your auction app, it is necessary to monetize your app with an efficient monetization model as follows:
- Listing Fees
Listing fees are charges imposed by platforms to list products or services. Businesses pay these fees to showcase their offerings on online marketplaces, helping them reach a wider audience and potentially increase sales.
- Transaction Fees
Transaction fees are costs spent when financial transactions occur while buying or selling goods. Platforms or payment processors charge these fees for facilitating secure and smooth transactions between buyers and sellers.
- In-App Purchases
In-app purchases involve buying digital content or features within a mobile app. Users spend money on virtual goods, upgrades, or subscriptions to enhance their app experience. This monetization model is common in mobile games and various applications.
- In-App Ads
In-app ads are advertisements displayed within mobile applications. Developers earn revenue by featuring ads, often in the form of banners, videos, or interstitials. Advertisers pay for exposure, and users may encounter these ads while using the app
- Premium Features
Premium features are additional functionalities or content available at a cost within an app or service. Users can choose to upgrade for an enhanced experience, unlocking advanced tools, exclusive content, or an ad-free environment in exchange for a fee.
- Sponsorship & Partnership
Sponsorship and partnership involve collaborations between businesses and content creators. Companies financially support creators in exchange for promotion, visibility, or association with the creator’s brand. This mutually beneficial arrangement helps both parties reach new audiences and achieve marketing objectives.
Cost of Developing an App Like Emirates Auction
Witnessing the huge uprise in the popularity of Emirates Auction, the demand for such auction apps is rising every now and then. The cost of developing an app like Emirates Auction depends on various factors. Let’s study some of these factors.
Factors affecting the cost of developing an app like Emirates Auction
There are several factors that affect the development cost of an app like Emirates Auction. Some of these are as follows:
- Platform Selection
The platform selection is a wide criteria that can affect the number of users of your auction app. Properly analyze your target audience and check whether they are iOS or Android users. This will help you decide on a platform for your native app. Other than this, you can also go for cross-platform development for your auction app, but it needs you to be a little flexible on your budget.
- Features & Functionalities
There must be a lot of features and functionalities in your auction app. The basic features of an auction app can be sign-up and registration, product page, product search, etc., and its advanced features are integration with a payment gateway, real-time bidding, a recommendation system, etc.
Embedding your app with trending technologies, such as AI, Blockchain, Metaverse, etc. can help you to enhance its features and provide users with a more intuitive experience.
- Design & User Experience
The design of your auction app should be user-friendly and simple. It will help users to easily find all the features of the app and navigate through it. An app with complex features but a simple design will enhance the app’s performance and increase user engagement. Although, it will cost you more.
- Third-Party Integration
Auction apps have integration with several third-party APIs, such as payment gateways, social media platforms, push notifications, video conferencing tools, etc. These third-party APIs can increase the cost of developing an app like Emirates Auction.
- Development Team
The development cost of an app like Emirates Auction also depends on the development team. It depends on the size of the dedicated development team you are hiring, such as project managers, front-end developers, back-end developers, UI/UX designers, testers, and other team members.
Examining all these factors, you can evaluate the cost of developing an auction app like Emirate Auction which can vary from US $40,000 to US $300,000 and even more.
Conclusion
Developing an auction app like Emirates Auction is a challenging task, as you need to customize the features and functionalities according to your business’s requirements. Incorporating your auction app with crucial elements, like, secure payment gateways, real-time bidding systems, an intuitive user interface, and more.
To develop an effective auction app like the Emirates Auction or to upgrade the existing one, you must connect with an auction app development company. With a market presence of 13+ years, Quytech is one of the top auction app development companies. The company provides high-quality auction app development solutions enabling it with future-proof technologies.