Running a multi-vendor marketplace sounds exciting. You bring sellers together, upload products, and wait for sales. But reality hits fast. Some vendors stop uploading, some lose motivation, and others ask for more visibility. In the end, you keep searching for ways to keep everyone active.
Featured products solve that problem in a clean and smart way.
When a vendor’s product gets highlighted, they feel noticed. Shoppers see those items first. The products get more clicks, and many convert into sales. Vendors stay happy. Your marketplace earns more. It’s a win for everyone.
In this guide, you’ll learn why featured products work so well, how they boost vendor engagement, and how you can offer this feature in a Dokan marketplace. Keep reading.
What Are Featured Products in a Marketplace?
Featured products are special items that get extra attention on your marketplace. Think of them as spotlight products. Instead of getting lost in long catalog pages, they appear at the top, on the homepage, or inside a highlighted section.
Shoppers see them faster. Vendors love them because these items get more views. And you get a marketplace that looks more organized and attractive. Here’s where featured products usually show up:
When customers notice featured items first, they click, explore, and often buy. It’s one of the easiest ways to guide shoppers toward the best or newest products.
Why Featured Products Matter for Online Marketplaces
Marketplaces are huge: global consumers spent US $5.8 trillion on online marketplaces in 2023. Given that scale, helping vendors stand out with featured slots isn’t optional, it’s critical.
Not every product gets the same level of attention. Some stay hidden on page two or three. Featured products fix this by giving selected items prime placement. Here’s why they matter:
- More visibility for important items: When a product sits in a featured spot, customers can’t miss it. This drives more clicks and gets vendors excited to promote their best work.
- Better shopping experience: Shoppers often want quick suggestions. Featured sections help them discover popular or high-quality items without scrolling forever.
- Helps highlight new or trending items: Got a new seller? A seasonal product? A best-seller? Featuring these items gives them an instant push.
- An easy way to earn more: You can offer paid featured spots. Vendors will happily pay for extra visibility. It becomes a simple revenue stream for your marketplace.
When done right, featured products don’t just decorate the homepage. They help you guide buyers, support your vendors, and bring in more sales.
How Featured Products Increase Vendor Engagement
When vendors join a marketplace, they don’t just want a place to upload products. They want visibility. They want customers. They want proof that selling on your platform is worth their time. When their products sit at the bottom of a category page with zero views, motivation dies fast.
Featured products fix that problem in a direct and visible way.
Here’s how they keep vendors active and invested:
1. More Views, More Activity
Because over 73.9% of e-commerce sales happen via mobile devices, vendors who get featured also gain higher chances of being seen on the go, meaning more views, more clicks.
A featured slot turns a silent product into a visible one. Vendors notice the difference. When they see more clicks, more wishlists, or even a few quick sales, they feel encouraged to upload more items, optimize product details, and stay engaged with your marketplace.
2. A Healthy, Positive Competition
The moment one seller gets featured, every other vendor wants the same spotlight. You don’t even need to push them. They naturally start improving product titles, images, categories, and pricing. It turns your marketplace into a productive, competitive environment — and that leads to better inventory and stronger sales.
3. Higher Quality Products Overall
Featured placement acts like a reward. Vendors don’t try to get featured with lazy product pages. They upload better photos, write clear descriptions, add variations, and organize products properly. That effort improves the overall quality of your marketplace, which brings more buyers and repeat customers.
4. Helps New Vendors Feel Included
Fresh vendors often struggle because they don’t have reviews or exposure. When you feature a few of their products, they get a real chance to grow. This builds trust and loyalty. In return, they stay longer, become more active, and recommend your marketplace to others.
5. Keeps Vendors From Going Silent
Every marketplace has inactive sellers. Featured products give them a reason to wake up and re-engage. Vendors who know they can gain visibility at any time won’t abandon your platform.
Featured products aren’t just cosmetic. They change vendor behavior, and that builds a healthier, more active marketplace.
How Featured Products Drive More Sales
Buyers don’t scroll forever. They click what appears first. That’s why featured products are powerful; they place the right items in front of shoppers before distractions take over.
featured image
Here’s why featured listings directly improve sales:
1. They Capture Instant Attention
When a product appears at the top of a category, the homepage, or a store page, it receives more impressions and clicks. The more clicks it gets, the more likely it is to convert. For vendors, this visibility can be the difference between zero sales and steady momentum.
In one large marketplace experiment, providing featured/sponsored listing spots improved revenue by 1.8%, purchases by ~1.55% and gross merchandise value by ~1.39%, showing even modest lifts matter.
2. They Stand Out in Overcrowded Sections
Some marketplaces have thousands of listings. A small badge, a highlighted block, or a top-row position immediately separates a featured item from the rest. Even if two products are similar, shoppers tend to choose the one that looks trusted and recommended.
3. They Build Customer Confidence
Buyers see featured items as safer choices. They assume the product is popular, trending, or chosen by the marketplace team. That psychological nudge often leads to faster decisions and more purchases.
4. Perfect for New or Seasonal Products
New launches usually struggle because there are no reviews yet. A featured spot gives them a fair chance. The same works for seasonal items, summer outfits, festive gifts, and school supplies, all of which benefit from being placed front and center.
5. Proven Sales Impact
Large marketplaces show this effect every day. On Etsy, promoted listings receive significantly more impressions and clicks than non-promoted products. More views mean more conversions. It’s a simple formula that works in any eCommerce environment.
Featured products take the randomness out of selling. Instead of hoping shoppers find the right item buried on page three, you highlight the best options and let the visibility do the work.
How to Mark and Show Featured Products in Dokan
Dokan makes the whole process very simple. You can feature products from both the admin panel and the vendor dashboard. Here’s how it works.
A) How Admins Mark a Product as Featured
That’s it. The item is now featured. It will appear in the sections where your theme or page shows featured products.
B) How to Mark a Vendor as Featured (Dokan Pro)
You can also feature a vendor using the Dokan Pro plugin. It adds extra credibility to your marketplace, since shoppers trust stores with highlighted sellers. Just open the vendor’s profile from the admin panel and scroll to the bottom. You’ll find the option to mark that vendor as “Featured.”
C) How to Show a Featured Product Anywhere on Your Site
You can also place featured items anywhere on your site using a simple WooCommerce shortcode, for example:
[products limit="4" columns="2" visibility="featured"]
About the sorting: If you don’t use orderby, WooCommerce uses its default sorting, which is:
So the shortcode will display featured products based on menu order first, then by product title if menu order is not set. Add it to a homepage section, a landing page, or a custom widget area. The products will appear instantly.
How to Promote Featured Products Across Your Marketplace
Featuring a product is only the first step. You can boost results by promoting these items in important places. A little visibility goes a long way. Here are simple ways to highlight featured products:
- Show them on the homepage: Place a “Featured Products” block at the top. Shoppers see them instantly.
- Create category highlights: Add featured items inside each category page. It helps customers discover the best options faster.
- Promote them on vendor storefronts: Let every vendor show their featured items at the top of their store page.
- Use banners and badges: A small badge or ribbon can draw attention and improve clicks.
- Send featured product emails: List the top featured items of the week and send them to buyers. It keeps your marketplace active.
- Share on social media: New featured items make great Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok posts.
A bit of promotion builds trust, adds excitement, and gives vendors a reason to keep improving their products.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Featuring Products
Featured products work best when they feel special. If everything looks featured, nothing stands out. Here are mistakes many marketplaces make, and how you can avoid them.
Too many ads or featured listings can clutter your platform and negatively affect customer experience.’ Keeping featured slots limited and meaningful keeps buyers engaged.
So watch out for these common mistakes when you feature products in your marketplace.
- Featuring too many products at once: If every product looks featured, shoppers ignore the entire section. Keep it limited and meaningful.
- Highlighting low-quality items: Featured space should build trust. Only showcase products with good images, clear pricing, and real value.
- Not promoting featured products well: If your homepage doesn’t show them clearly, the feature loses impact. Place them where buyers look first.
- No vendor limits: Without limits, vendors won’t feel a reason to upgrade. Use subscription plans to control featured slots.
- Never rotating the selection: Fresh products bring excitement. Update featured items regularly, so buyers keep coming back.
Avoid these mistakes, and your featured section becomes a powerful tool for sales and vendor engagement.
Final Thoughts
Featured products are more than a visual highlight. They help vendors get seen, increase sales, and stay motivated. Buyers get quick suggestions. Marketplaces earn more. It’s a simple upgrade with a big impact.
Dokan makes this even easier. Vendors can mark items as featured from the dashboard. Admins can place featured products on the homepage, category pages, or any custom layout. And with subscription plans, you can control how many featured slots each vendor gets.
If you want an active marketplace where sellers keep uploading and customers enjoy a smoother buying experience, featured products are a smart choice.
Want to try it out? Start with Dokan Pro and give your vendors the power to promote their best products today.
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