The Local Aunty is a marketplace with a very specific job: connect people in a South African neighbourhood with the cooks, tailors, and makers around them, and make ordering as frictionless as the way people already buy locally. That meant designing for how the market actually shops, not how a generic store assumes it does.
The challenge
Local makers do not want a heavy checkout funnel, and their customers are already comfortable ordering over WhatsApp. The build had to honour that: discovery and trust up front, then a direct line to the seller to close the sale. It also had to make a sprawling, informal set of vendors easy to browse by what they sell and where they are.
The approach
One week, fixed from day one. With a scope that tight, every decision serves discovery and ordering — browse, find, contact — and nothing that does not earn its place ships. Discovery set the date; the date held.
What we built
A marketplace that lets shoppers browse by category, find makers near them on a map, and surface current deals — then order directly over WhatsApp instead of forcing an unfamiliar checkout. It fits the way the market already behaves, which is exactly what makes a local marketplace get used.
The outcome
The Local Aunty launched at thelocalaunty.co.za inside one week, fully owned and handed over on day one. No template lock-in, no ongoing fee to us — the marketplace and everything under it belongs to the client.
In the client’s words
For over six months, I worked tirelessly to launch my own online marketplace. During that time, I invested significant amounts of money in various AI-powered website builders promoted by influencers, as well as outsourced development services. Unfortunately, despite the time, effort, and expense, none of these solutions delivered the results I was looking for.
Everything changed when I partnered with Platform Direct. From the very beginning, their team demonstrated professionalism, expertise, and a genuine commitment to bringing my vision to life. They maintained consistent communication throughout the process, providing regular updates and check-ins, which gave me complete confidence and peace of mind.
Within just one week, Platform Direct successfully built the marketplace platform I had been dreaming of. The final product exceeded my expectations in both functionality and quality, and it has been running exceptionally well ever since.
What impressed me most was that they delivered a superior solution at a fraction of the cost I had previously spent on AI tools and outsourced developers. I highly recommend Platform Direct to anyone looking for a reliable, professional, and cost-effective partner to develop their website or online platform.
— The Local Aunty