Market research for marketplaces and platforms

A marketplace has two sets of customers, and they want different things. Buyers want choice, price and trust. Sellers want demand, fair fees and simple tools. Analytics show what each side does, not why.

No credit card50 free respondentsGDPR & CCPA compliant
A woman shopping online on her phone

How satisfied are you with the platform fees?

12345

You stopped renting out on the platform. Why?

Not worth it anymore.

Is it the fees, the number of bookings or the time it takes? What changed for you?

50free respondents
to start

A marketplace study, from one question to the answer

1. Ask2. Follow up3. Analyse
Live
Survey

How satisfied are you with the platform fees?

12345

You stopped renting out on the platform. Why?

Not worth it anymore.

AI follow-up

Is it the fees, the number of bookings or the time it takes? What changed for you?

Answering by voice…

The AI asks one more question whenever an answer is vague, in the respondent's language.

Live results
How satisfied are you with the platform fees?n = 395
3.2mean / 5
10%1
18%2
29%3
28%4
15%5
395open answers coded into themes
Fees too high34%
Not enough bookings29%
Admin takes too long19%

Illustrative example with sample data, not a client study.

Marketplace research asks buyers and sellers about their motivations, their frustrations and the alternatives they use, so that product, pricing and supply decisions keep both sides happy.

SmartInterview surveys both sides with a link or an email, asks a follow-up when an answer is vague and codes open comments into themes you can compare between buyers and sellers.

Why research matters for marketplaces

A change that pleases one side can drive the other away. Fees, ranking rules, reviews and delivery all affect trust. Hearing both sides before a change avoids churn that only shows up in the numbers months later.

  • Understand both buyers and sellers
  • Find the reasons behind churn and inactivity
  • Test fee and pricing changes before launch
  • Compare segments, categories and regions
A small seller packing a parcel
From question to study

Questions we help marketplaces and platforms answer

Typical situations in this sector, and how we would set up the study for each.

Research objective

Survey both sides of the platform and compare them

Who we ask

Active hosts and recent renters

How SmartInterview answers it

Two short questionnaires with shared questions, sent from your own tools, results side by side

Two audiences

You use the platform as…

OwnerRenterBoth
Research objective

Hear the silent majority, not only fans

Who we ask

Active and inactive users

How SmartInterview answers it

A reminder after three days and a small incentive for non-responders, with quotas by activity level

Quotas by activity

Answers by user activity

Very active100%
Occasional86%
Dormant71%
Research objective

Find out why supply leaves

Who we ask

Hosts who stopped listing in the last year

How SmartInterview answers it

A short survey soon after they go inactive, with the AI probing vague answers such as 'not worth it'

AI follow-up

You stopped listing your flat. Why?

Not worth it anymore.Is it the fees, the number of bookings or the time it takes?
Research objective

Plug the survey into the tools you already use

Who we ask

Your user base, segmented in your CRM

How SmartInterview answers it

Survey links inserted in your own emails, with profile fields passed in the link so nobody is asked twice

Profile passed in the link

Hi Laura, how was your last rental?

GreatOkayDisappointing
Research objective

Test price changes before announcing them

Who we ask

Hosts by activity level, and recent renters

How SmartInterview answers it

Price acceptance at several levels, with a follow-up on what would make the change acceptable

Fee acceptance

A 12% host fee would make you…

Keep listingList lessLeave
Research objective

Have results in time for the next season

Who we ask

Hosts and renters, in the languages they use

How SmartInterview answers it

A retroplanning from link set-up to results in a few weeks, themes updating as answers arrive

Results as they arrive

Top reasons hosts leave

Fees34%
Few bookings29%
Admin time21%

Run this study on your own customers

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How it is done today, and with SmartInterview

TodayWith SmartInterview
In-app NPS hears only happy users, never those leavingSurvey inactive users soon after they stop, AI probes 'not worth it'
Buyer and seller feedback collected in separate toolsTwo linked questionnaires, themes compared side by side
Fee changes launched blind, then supply dropsTest fee levels by seller segment and hear what makes them acceptable
Support tickets show complaints but no prioritiesOpen answers coded into themes with counts and verbatims

Questions you can answer

  1. 1Why do sellers stop listing on our platform?
  2. 2Would buyers accept a service fee, and at what level?
  3. 3What makes a first-time buyer trust a listing?
  4. 4Which competitor do our users also use, and why?
  5. 5Which new category would bring the most demand?

Who you can reach

Active and inactive buyers from your user baseSellers, hosts or providers, with an in-app link or emailUsers who churned, before they forget whyPotential users in a new market, through a panel

What you can learn

Buyer motivations and trust

Why buyers choose your platform over a competitor or a direct purchase, and what would make them trust it more.

Seller experience

What sellers or hosts value, which tools frustrate them and how fees affect their commitment.

Reasons for churn

Why buyers stop ordering and sellers stop listing, in their own words, by segment.

How SmartInterview works for marketplaces

  1. 1

    Define the business decision

    Name the decision: a fee to change, a feature to launch, a category to open or a churn problem to fix.

  2. 2

    Generate the survey

    Describe the decision in one sentence. SmartInterview drafts the questionnaire, scores its quality and flags leading or double-barrelled questions before anyone answers.

  3. 3

    Recruit the target audience

    Invite buyers and sellers from your user base by email or in-app link, segment them by activity, and reach potential users in new markets through a panel.

  4. 4

    Collect quantitative and qualitative answers

    Structured questions give the numbers. When an answer is vague, the AI asks a follow-up, by voice or text, in the respondent's language.

  5. 5

    Analyze segments and open-ended feedback

    Open answers are coded into themes with counts and sentiment, and every theme links back to the verbatims behind it. Compare segments side by side.

  6. 6

    Turn insights into recommendations

    Export the findings, the themes and the quotes to the team that has to decide, as a report or a spreadsheet.

Example studies

Young colleagues working on laptops together
Illustrative study design

Testing a new seller fee on a two-sided marketplace

Challenge

A marketplace wants to change its seller fees without losing its most active sellers or raising buyer prices.

Research design

Two questionnaires, one for sellers and one for buyers, with price acceptance questions and AI follow-ups on the reasons behind each answer.

Respondents

Active and occasional sellers, and recent buyers, from the platform's user base.

Business decision

Introduce tiered seller fees and pair the buyer fee with a visible protection guarantee.

Key insights

  • Occasional sellers are far more price sensitive than active ones
  • Buyers accept a small fee when it comes with buyer protection

Marketplace research topics teams search for

Seller satisfaction survey questions

Ask sellers about fees, demand, payouts, tools and support, and what would make them list more. SmartInterview follows up when an answer is vague so you know which lever actually matters.

How to reduce churn on a marketplace

Find out why users leave before you act: survey them soon after they become inactive and ask what they use instead. Coded reasons show whether to work on price, supply quality or the experience.

Buyer experience survey template

Cover search, trust in listings, payment, delivery or handover, and whether the buyer would come back. SmartInterview drafts it from your goal and you send it by email or in-app link.

How to research supply-side acquisition

Ask new sellers or hosts how they heard of you, why they joined and what almost stopped them. The answers tell you which channels and arguments bring quality supply.

Measure trust and safety perception on a platform

Ask users how safe they feel transacting, what worries them and which signals reassure them, such as reviews or verification. Coded open answers show which trust features to invest in.

Competitor research for marketplaces

Ask users which alternatives they use, such as other platforms, classifieds or social groups, and when they prefer each one. Their reasons show where your platform wins and where it loses.

Rental platform host survey

Ask hosts about booking volume, pricing control, guest quality and the time management takes. The AI probes answers like 'too much work' to identify the specific task that discourages them.

User research tool for two-sided platforms

A two-sided platform needs to hear both sides fast without adding a new login. SmartInterview sends surveys by link from your own channels and codes the answers for each side.

Pricing

Choose your respondent volume

Pro and Ultimate prices update instantly as you change the number of respondents per month.

300 respondents / month
CHF 79
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  • Automated survey design
  • AI-powered analysis & dashboard
  • Share surveys via link, WhatsApp or QR code
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Frequently asked questions

Research that studies both sides of a platform, buyers and sellers, to understand their motivations, frustrations and alternatives and guide product, pricing and supply decisions.

Use two short questionnaires with shared questions, send them by email or in-app link, and compare the themes side by side.

Survey them soon after they become inactive, ask what they use instead, and let the AI probe vague answers such as 'not worth it'.

Yes. Measure acceptance at several price points and ask what would make the fee acceptable, separately for each segment.

A few hundred per side give reliable comparisons between segments such as active and occasional sellers.

The first 50 respondents are free. Paid plans start at CHF 45 per month for 150 respondents per month.

Yes. Each respondent answers in their own language and the themes are consolidated across languages.

Themes update as answers arrive, so you can read the first results the same day.

Hear both sides before you change the rules

Survey your buyers and sellers this week. The first 50 respondents are free.

No credit card50 free respondentsGDPR & CCPA compliant