Product design for a marketplace app balancing buyer demand and seller supply

Design the product for a marketplace app that must bring together two distinct groups of users, such as buyers and sellers, and keep both coming back. ```hint Decide which side is harder Before sketching screens, pick a concrete market and ask which of the two sides will be harder to attract at launch, and what that side needs to see before it shows up. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - Which two sides are we connecting: shoppers and independent merchants, consumers and local service providers, or businesses buying from other businesses? - Is this a marketplace starting from zero, or can it draw on an existing base on one side, such as merchants already selling on Shopify? - What is the first-year goal: transaction volume, number of active sellers, or fee revenue? - Is the scope the buyer app, the seller tools, or both? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - A concrete market and the two sides, with the needs and pain points of each - How the design solves the cold-start problem and which side to seed first - The core loop on each side (listing, discovery, purchase, fulfillment, review) and what the first release includes - Trust between strangers and a business model that says who pays and when - Liquidity metrics for both sides, with guardrails ### Follow-up Questions - Shoppers are signing up, but most searches return few relevant listings. What do you change first? - Sellers start steering buyers to complete purchases off the platform to avoid fees. How do you respond? - How would you decide when to expand to a new category or region?