Choosing the best Shopify theme for marketplace is not easy, especially when you’re drowning in tons of choices around the internet.
On top of that, you also have to pick out the ones with built-in features that support the operation of your multi-vendor marketplace, like vendor dashboards, product listings, and more.
If that is the case, don’t worry because you’ve come to the right place. In this blog, we will go over the top 5 best Shopify themes for your multi-vendor marketplace as well as tips on choosing the most appropriate one for your store.
Without further ado, let’s start with an overview of our list.
Contents
1. 5 best Shopify themes for marketplace: An overview
From 200+ themes available on the Shopify theme store, we’ve picked out the 5 best marketplace Shopify themes for you to examine and get more inspiration. Check it out.
| No. | Theme | Live demo | Pricing | Suitable for | Rating |
| 1 | Dawn | View here | Free | Marketplace that wants to highlight its products, with advanced customization options and a chic, minimalist layout design | 34% positive |
| 2 | Empire | View here | $340 USD | Marketplaces or stores with large product catalogs, looking for a powerful theme with colossal capacity, order-value boosting, and industry acrobat functionality | 79% positive |
| 3 | Focal | View here | $320 USD | A high-volume marketplace that is looking for a solution to spark its products through storytelling and brand identity, with a bold, striking theme design | 95% positive |
| 4 | Multi | View here | $350 USD | High-volume marketplaces or dropshippers looking for a highly flexible multi-purpose theme with advanced features, powerful built-in apps, and extensive navigation options | 100% positive |
| 5 | Paper | View here | $320 USD | High-volume marketplaces that prioritize meaningful design to appeal to target customers and feature-rich themes but are still quick to set up and performance-optimized solution | 91% positive |
📚 Looking for the best of the best Shopify themes to kickstart your business? Check out this list of the best Shopify themes of all time.
2. Best Shopify theme for marketplace: Our top picks
2.1. Dawn (Free)
Dawn is the best Shopify theme for marketplace that offers free pricing. Although it is free and can be used to create stores in a variety of niches, it is a good fit for Shopify’s multi-vendor marketplace.
Theme Developer: Shopify
Price: Free
Highlighted features:
- Product-centric theme that focuses entirely on your store’s products
- Advanced customization options to freely customize your storefront
- Reliable marketing and conversion features (cross-selling, similar product recommendations, promotional banners…)
- Built-in product discovery tools (mega menu, enhanced search, product filtering…)
Review: 34% positive (190 reviews)
Brand using Dawn theme:
Take this Pegasus Jewelry as an example of a marketplace built with the Shopify Dawn theme. The store is product-focused with a lot of space to showcase its product-appealing images.
The jewelry is categorized into different collections (i.e., according to their sales, materials, or meanings), making it easier for visitors to navigate through each of the categories and find the product they want.
Our verdict:
Overall, Dawn is the best free option to kickstart your marketplace, especially when your business is trying to cut down on budget but still looking for a feature-rich, timeless design theme. Dawn can meet all of your requirements and be a good companion for your e-commerce journey.
2.2. Empire ($340)
👉 Install the Empire theme now!
Just as stated on its page, Empire is one of the best Shopify multi-vendor marketplace themes. The reason is simple, it offers a lot of powerful features, especially optimized for large product catalogs.
Theme Developer: Pixel Union
Price: $340 USD
Highlighted features:
- Amazing colossal capacity to handle extensive product catalogs
- Robust product discovery, comparison, and conversion features
- Comprehensive tools for product discovery and comparison will assist your customers in filtering, sorting, and comparing products
- Exceptional adaptability and flexibility, can adapt to a wide range of business models & customized to meet the needs of the business.
Review: 79% positive (428 reviews)
Brand using Empire theme:
GAP website was built using the Empire theme and features extensive product categories from various brands and collections. Despite its large category, navigating the websites feels smooth and easy, and searching for products from brands is simple thanks to Empire’s powerful tools.
Our verdict:
Overall, Empire is excellent because it was specifically designed to meet the needs of the marketplace, which includes the ability to handle a large number of product categories and high-volume transactions. Plus, it is not limited to a specific niche but can be adaptable and provide your business with a wide range of comprehensive tools at a reasonable cost.
📚 Looking for a reliable app to start your marketplace? Don’t miss out on our list of the best Shopify marketplace apps in 2024.
2.3. Focal ($320)
👉 Install the Focal theme now!
There’s no doubt Focal is on the list of the best Shopify themes for multi-vendor marketplaces thanks to its distinctive design and features. Its rating is 95% positive over 284 reviews, which is also a very impressive number.
Theme Developer: Maestrooo
Price: $320 USD
Highlighted features:
- Bold grid-style design that is both visually appealing and better at showcasing products
- Wide range of options for customization & personalize storefronts
- Advanced marketing and conversion features (cross-selling, product recommendations, promo popups…)
- Tools to optimize the customer experience & product discovery (enhanced search, mega menu, product filtering…)
Review: 95% positive (284 reviews)
Brand using Focal theme:
BevRock website as an example of marketplace developed with a Focal theme. The marketing-optimized feature offers chat support right on the web, making it easier than ever to address all your concerns about their product and service.
Our verdict:
Overall, Focal is an ideal choice for a marketplace or any high-volume store looking for a solution for its extensive menu. At a budget-friendly price, you can have access to a modern, bold design theme with powerful and comprehensive built-in tools that will ultimately drive your business success.
2.4. Multi ($350)
Multi is one of the best Shopify themes for multi-vendor marketplaces thanks to its high flexibility, advanced features, navigation options, and useful tools. The theme offers a huge number of tools so that you won’t need to purchase any other third-party app, such as animated backgrounds, color schemes, and more.
Theme Developer: Mile High Themes
Price: $350 USD
Highlighted features:
- Time-based promotions features like flash sales.
- Flexibilty: Fit in with a lot of business models and store designs, from drop shipping to high-volume stores.
- Extensive navigation options: mega menus, product features, promotions, recently viewed products…
- Product discovery tools: enhanced search, product filtering, sorting…
- Sales-boosting features: cross-selling, recommended products, promotional pop-ups…
Review: 100% positive (36 reviews)
📚 Are you stuck with finding inspiration for your upcoming fashion marketplace? Wait no more; check out our blogs of the 10 best fashion marketplaces on Shopify for more hands-on experience.
Brand using Multi theme:
DLG International Trading is a perfume wholesale that was built using the Multi theme. The store has a large number of products. However, it is so easy to navigate through their categories thanks to the smart products filter and sorting, as well as the Wholesale Order Form that will allow you to search for any products by their name or SKU.
Our verdict:
Overall, we believe that Multi is an excellent choice for the marketplace due to its comprehensive set of built-in tools and features, all of which are reasonably priced. It is compatible with stores in a variety of niches due to its high flexibility and extensive navigation options.
2.5. Paper ($320)
👉 Install the Paper theme now!
Paper is the last theme on our list of the best Shopify theme for marketplace today. The theme is an excellent choice for anyone looking for a feature-rich theme to launch their marketplace, as it allows vendors to customize their storefronts and opens the door to a seamless user experience on Shopify.
Theme Developer: Brickspace Lab
Price: $320 USD
Highlighted features:
- Conversion-focused design to encourage customers to stay on your marketplace.
- Built to ensure a fast and responsive experience for customers
- Helpful product discovery tools for large categories: Enhanced searches, mega menus, product filtering & sorting…
- Comprehensive marketing and conversion boosting features: cross-selling, promotion popups, product recommendations…
Review: 91% positive (11 reviews)
Brand using Paper theme:
Artesial, a web-selling art, was built using the Paper theme. Despite the large number of drawings available, you can easily sort or filter them based on your preferences thanks to Paper’s powerful tools.
Our verdict:
Overall, Paper is great if your marketplace wants to find a powerful, feature-rich theme that is optimized for performance for both online and offline stores. Furthermore, Paper distinguishes itself from other themes by providing a conversion-boosting design that your marketplace can benefit from.
3. How to choose the right Shopify themes for marketplace
Choosing the best Shopify theme for marketplace is not an easy task. In this section, we’ll provide some criteria that you need to take into consideration to choose the most suitable theme for your store.
- Theme features
Your theme should be product-centric, which means it will better focus on your products, and better showcase their highlight features or product description.
It should also include features such as vendor management for multiple vendors in your marketplace, customization to enhance your business identity, SEO, and mobile responsiveness for a better customer experience.
- Marketplace-specific features
Vendor dashboards, product comparisons, wishlists, and customer reviews are essential features for Shopify’s multi-vendor marketplace.
- Performance
The two most important criteria for determining a theme’s performance suitability are loading times and scalability. Make sure to choose a theme with fast loading times and scalability for your marketplace.
- Pricing and support
Before purchasing a theme, you should consider the price and customer support. Some are free, while others cost money. Some provide live chat and email support 24 hours a day, seven days a week, while others only provide email support during business hours.
- Visual appeal
Finally, if you want to attract your target customers and keep them on your page for longer periods of time, prioritize appealing design. Try looking for a theme with a conversion-boosting design, such as the Paper theme on our list.
To wrap up
Choosing the best Shopify theme for marketplace is not easy. You need to carefully consider the themes’ features and choose those that will benefit your marketplace. We hope that our blog today has helped you address all your difficulties with this topic.
If you find this blog helpful, don’t forget to share it with anyone you know who may be interested in the same topic. Also, follow us at eComstart.io and stay tuned for more informative blog posts on Shopify themes and e-commerce in general.
