Eqithra: Estonia’s Equestrian Marketplace Powered by Webkul

Eqithra is an Estonia-based online platform for equestrian enthusiasts and horse lovers.

It is a one-stop platform for horse riding equipment, accessories, feed, and equestrian lifestyle products from trusted brands for both enthusiasts and professionals.

In addition to eCommerce, Eqithra offers a commission-free flea market for buying and selling pre-owned horse equipment within the community. By encouraging reuse, Eqithra supports sustainability through a user-friendly, community-driven platform.

Eqithra manages its Equestrian Marketplace with the help of Webkul’s PrestaShop Advanced Multi-Vendor Marketplace and PrestaShop Development Services.

E-Commerce Market of Equestrian Products in Estonia:

According to a report published by Verified Market Reports, the equestrian equipment market size was valued atUSD 1.2 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 1.8 Billion by2033, exhibiting a CAGR of 5.2% from 2026 to 2033.

According to Cognitive Market Research, Europe equestrian equipment market size was valued at USD 678.36 million in 2024 and projected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.7% from 2024 to 2031.

Some of the key players in the e-commerce market for equestrian products in Estonia include Barefoot Baltics, Lily.ee, and Eqithra.

The Equestrian products market encompasses a wide range of offerings such as saddlery and tack, riding apparel, stable and horseware, feeding and care items, as well as accessories and training aids.

Challenges Faced:

As Eqithra expanded its product offerings and transformed its website into a marketplace, it encountered several operational challenges :

• Seller–Customer Communication: In the standard Marketplace Workflow, customers can purchase products of multiple sellers within a single order. Therefore, when a customer sends a message from the “Shipping Method” step of the checkout process, the seller is unable to view that message.

• Separate Payment Workflow: The automatic Split feature is supported in multiple Online Payment Gateway Modules. However, the sellers on Eqithra marketplace did not want to use online payment gateways. The marketplace also does not support separate payment flows for seller products and admin products within the same platform.

• Unified Order Confirmation Email: If the customer purchases a product using the Bankwire Payment Method, they receive two separate emails as per the Standard Prestashop. One email contains the order confirmation details, and the other contains the bank wire payment information.

Solution:

To address these challenges, Eqithra integrated several Webkul modules into its Prestashop-based e-commerce platform:

1) PrestaShop Advanced Multi-Vendor Marketplace Module:

In order to launch Eqithra’s website into a marketplace, we suggested using the PrestaShop Advanced Multi-Vendor Marketplace Module. This module allows the admin to launch their website into a marketplace.

2) Prestashop Marketplace Bankwire Payment Module:

Since the sellers of the Eqithra marketplace did not want to use online payment gateways, we suggested that Eqithra use the Marketplace Bankwire Payment Module. This module allows the sellers to accept payments using Bank Transfer.

3) PrestaShop Marketplace Seller Wise Checkout Module:

To allow sellers to view customer messages sent during the “Shipping Method” step, it was necessary that the system route messages to the correct seller, because a single order may include multiple sellers.

Similarly, when customers make separate payments for seller products, the system must route each payment to the correct seller, even when a single order involves multiple sellers.

To achieve these functionalities, we recommended using the PrestaShop Marketplace Seller Wise Checkout Module. This module allows customers to order each seller’s products individually, even when the cart contains products from multiple sellers.

Customization:

• Webkul went a step further and customized the PrestaShop Advanced Multi-Vendor Marketplace Module, allowing sellers to view the messages that the customer sends from the “Shipping Method” step on the checkout page.

• Webkul also customized the PrestaShop Advanced Multi-Vendor Marketplace Module to display only the Marketplace Bankwire Payment method for the seller’s products. All the other payment methods are still available for the Admin products.

Other Modules:

Eqithra also uses the following modules that introduce multiple features for its customers and sellers.

• Prestashop Bulk Order Delete Module: This module enables you to delete unnecessary, test, or any orders from your Prestashop Store in bulk. Webkul also customized the PrestaShop Bulk Order Delete module to ensure that deleting an order removes all corresponding marketplace data as well.

• Prestashop Marketplace Membership Module: This module enables you to restrict the number of products a seller can add to the Marketplace based on the membership plan purchased.

• Prestashop Product Label: This module enhances product visibility and engagement by displaying customized labels on product images for products of your choice.

• Prestashop Hide or Disable Attributes Without Stock: This module enables you to control the visibility of your out-of-stock products on the Prestashop product Pages. Webkul also customized the module to bypass its functionality when stock is zero, and back orders are enabled.

• Prestashop Google WebP Image Converter: This module allows you to convert images into the WebP format, significantly reducing file size compared to other image formats and improving overall page loading speed.

• Prestashop Speed Optimization: This module improves the performance of your PrestaShop store by using optimization techniques such as lazy loading and device-responsive image display.

Conclusion

Webkul’s PrestaShop development services & extensions have played a key role in driving business growth, offering out-of-the-box features for both customers and sellers, and helping boost engagement and loyalty on the store.