Vendably: Democratising E-commerce Tools for SMB Retailers

Overview

Vendably is a dual-platform e-commerce ecosystem I built to solve two related problems for small and medium-sized retailers:

vendably.com - Affordable product feed management for SMBs who can't afford enterprise tools
vendably.shop - Free Google Comparison Shopping Service (CSS) giving retailers 20% cheaper Google Shopping ads

After 8 years of operation, we now serve over 1,000 brands across 21 countries, managing more than 3 million products.

The Problem

When I was running my digital marketing agency, I repeatedly saw the same barrier stopping small retailers from competing online:

Feed management tools were too expensive. Enterprise platforms like Feedonomics and ChannelAdvisor charged thousands per month. Great for large retailers, but completely unaffordable for businesses selling a few hundred products.

Google Shopping was expensive. After the EU's antitrust ruling, Google opened up "Comparison Shopping Services" (CSS) that offered 20% cheaper clicks. But CSS platforms charged monthly fees, making them viable only for large advertisers.

Integration was complex. Connecting to Google Shopping, Facebook Catalog, Bing Shopping, and other platforms required technical knowledge most small retailers didn't have.

The result? Small retailers either didn't advertise on shopping platforms, or paid agencies hefty fees to manage feeds manually.

I thought: what if we could make these tools affordable, or even free?

The Solution: Two Platforms, One Mission

vendably.com: B2B Feed Management SaaS

A product feed management platform designed for SMBs:

Unlimited products. Most competitors charged per product. We charge flat rates, so retailers can list their entire catalogue without worrying about costs scaling out of control.

20+ platform integrations. We automatically format and submit product feeds to:

Google Shopping (and Google CSS)
Facebook Catalog & Instagram Shopping
Bing Shopping
TikTok Shopping
Pinterest
Snapchat
Plus 15+ other platforms

Simple interface. No technical knowledge required. Upload a CSV or connect your e-commerce platform, and we handle the rest.

Real-time synchronisation. When prices or stock levels change, updates flow automatically to all connected platforms.

vendably.shop: Free B2C Comparison Shopping

A consumer-facing price comparison site that doubles as a free Google CSS:

20% cheaper Google Shopping. By using our CSS, retailers get the same clicks at 20% lower cost-per-click (Google's CSS discount).

No monthly fees. Completely free. We only make money if we send customers to the retailer.

Broad coverage. Products from 1,000+ brands across fashion, electronics, home, sports, and more.

21 countries. Launched initially in UK, now operating across Europe and expanding globally.

Why This Model Works

The two platforms support each other:

Retailers use vendably.com to manage their feeds
They connect to vendably.shop as their CSS provider for free
They get cheaper Google Shopping ads
Shoppers find deals on vendably.shop
More retailers join because of the cost savings
More products attract more shoppers

It's a flywheel: better for retailers, better for shoppers.

Technical Architecture

Django-Powered Multi-Tenant SaaS

We built Vendably using Django, which gave us:

Fast development. Django's admin interface, ORM, and authentication let us build quickly without reinventing wheels.

Scalability. We went from managing thousands of products to millions without rewriting the core platform.

Security. Django's built-in protections against SQL injection, XSS, CSRF, and other common attacks kept customer data safe.

Maintainability. After 8 years, the codebase is still manageable because Django enforces good practices.

Key Technical Components

API Integration Layer:
- Google Shopping Content API for product uploads
- Google CSS API for comparison shopping service
- Facebook Catalog API for social commerce
- Bing Content API for Bing Shopping
- Custom integrations for 15+ other platforms

Data Processing Pipeline:
- Automated feed validation and correction
- Product categorisation using machine learning
- Image optimisation and hosting
- Price monitoring and competitor tracking

Multi-Tenant Architecture:
- Isolated data for each retailer
- Shared infrastructure for efficiency
- Per-account customisation (brand colours, logos, rules)

RESTful APIs:
- Allow retailers to push product updates programmatically
- Enable integration with e-commerce platforms
- Support mobile apps and third-party tools

Handling Scale

As we grew from hundreds to millions of products, we had to solve several technical challenges:

Daily product updates. With 3M+ products and prices changing constantly, we process millions of updates daily:

Background job queues using Celery
Redis for fast caching
Batch processing to avoid rate limits
Smart scheduling to prioritise urgent updates

API rate limits. Each platform has different limits:

Google: 250 products per batch
Facebook: 1,000 items per request
Bing: 100 items per batch

We built a queuing system that respects these limits while keeping products updated quickly.

Database optimisation. Storing and querying millions of products requires:

Proper indexing on frequently-searched fields
Partitioning large tables
Caching popular queries
Archive old data that isn't actively used

Real Clients, Real Results

We work with a diverse range of retailers:

Co-op - One of UK's largest retailers, using Vendably for multi-platform product advertising.

Complete Care Shop - Healthcare and mobility aids e-commerce business. We helped them grow from £6M to £20M+ in annual revenue through optimised feed management and cheaper Shopping ads.

NRS Healthcare - Medical equipment supplier serving NHS and private customers.

Beer52 - Subscription craft beer service, using Vendably to advertise products across social media and shopping platforms.

Plus hundreds of smaller retailers across fashion, electronics, home & garden, sports, and more.

The Google CSS Advantage

Let me explain why the CSS platform matters:

What Is Google CSS?

After an EU antitrust ruling in 2017, Google had to open up Google Shopping to "Comparison Shopping Services" - third-party platforms that aggregate products from multiple retailers.

Google incentivised CSS adoption by offering a 20% CPC discount on Google Shopping ads. If you pay 50p per click normally, you'd pay 40p through a CSS.

The Problem with CSS Platforms

Most CSS providers charged monthly fees (£50-500+) to access the discount. For small advertisers spending £500-1,000/month, paying £100/month in CSS fees ate into savings.

Our Solution: Free CSS

We made vendably.shop completely free:

No setup fees
No monthly fees
No minimum spend
No long contracts

Retailers get the 20% discount without any cost. We make money through referral fees when shoppers buy through our comparison site.

This democratises access. A small retailer spending £500/month saves £100/month. That's meaningful.

Results After 8 Years

1,000+ brands using the platform - From single-person businesses to major retailers.

3M+ products managed - Fashion, electronics, home, sports, health, and more.

21 countries served - UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, plus 15 more.

20+ platform integrations - Google, Facebook, Bing, TikTok, Pinterest, and more.

Millions in ad savings - Our free CSS has saved retailers hundreds of thousands in Google Shopping costs.

High customer retention - Most retailers stay for years because the platform works and saves them money.

Key Technical Decisions

Looking back at 8 years of development, here's what worked:

Django Was the Right Choice

We could have used Node.js, Rails, or .NET. We chose Django, and I'd make the same choice again:

Rapid development - Django's batteries-included approach meant we built features quickly
Strong ecosystem - Excellent libraries for everything we needed
Easy maintenance - After 8 years, the codebase is still manageable
Great documentation - When we hired developers, Django's docs made onboarding easy

API-First Architecture

Building RESTful APIs from the start meant:

Mobile apps were easy to add later
Third-party integrations were straightforward
We could offer white-label solutions to agencies
Testing was simpler

Focus on SMBs, Not Enterprises

By targeting small and medium businesses, we:

Avoided competing with well-funded enterprise platforms
Kept features simple and usable
Charged prices that made sense for our market
Built a loyal customer base

Free CSS as Growth Driver

Making vendably.shop free was controversial (investors wanted subscription revenue), but it worked:

Customer acquisition cost dropped - Retailers joined for the discount
Word of mouth increased - Free is easy to recommend
Lock-in effect - Once using our CSS, retailers stayed on the feed platform
Differentiation - No competitor offered free CSS

Challenges We Overcame

Platform API changes. Google, Facebook, and others regularly change their APIs. We've had to adapt dozens of times.

Multi-country complexity. Each country has different rules, tax requirements, shipping costs, and languages.

Customer support at scale. With 1,000+ retailers, support volume grew significantly. We built extensive documentation and automated common tasks.

Competition. Larger players like Feedonomics raised millions in VC funding. We stayed competitive by focusing on SMBs and keeping costs low.

What's Next

We continue to add:

More platform integrations - TikTok Shopping, Amazon, eBay, and more
AI-powered optimisation - Automatic product title and description improvement
Expanded country coverage - Launching in more markets
Enhanced analytics - Better insights into what's working

The mission remains the same: make e-commerce tools affordable for SMBs.

Technologies Used

Backend:
- Django 4.x
- Python 3.11
- PostgreSQL
- Redis
- Celery

APIs & Integrations:
- Google Shopping Content API
- Google CSS API
- Facebook Catalog API
- Bing Content API
- 15+ additional platform APIs

Infrastructure:
- Cloud hosting (AWS/GCP)
- Docker for containerisation
- Nginx for serving
- CDN for static assets

Frontend:
- HTMX for interactivity
- Tailwind CSS for styling
- Alpine.js for light JavaScript

Need help with product feeds, multi-platform integration, or building a SaaS platform? I offer consulting on Django development, e-commerce systems, and API integration. Get in touch to discuss your project.

Project Overview