An online marketplace is a platform on which multiple retailers sell (part of) their assortment. There are literally thousands of online marketplaces around the world and these players gain more and more market share. The result is a changed ecommerce industry: online sales happen increasingly from these marketplaces instead from retailers’ ecommerce websites.
The reason behind this shift is clear: consumers can find almost everything they are looking for and for retailers an online marketplace offers them lots of opportunities. Because why would you restrict your market to your neighboring countries, while you can sell just as easily to consumers in Vietnam, Greenland or Brazil using a marketplace connection. Yet, marketplaces don’t offer significant added value by definition. If you’re operating in a very specific niche industry, chances are (potential) consumers could have already been able to find their way to your products.
The fact online marketplaces have become so popular is partly due to their urge for innovation. Amazon for example is clearly not focusing on profits, but on growing through innovation. The company is continuously investing in the latest technologies and developments, while keeping the future in mind. For an average retailer these kinds of investments aren’t financially feasible. But by joining such platforms, these same retailers can profit from the existing innovations.
Another reason is retailers just don’t want to miss the boat. As soon as a marketplace is popular among consumers and competing retailers, retailers are afraid they are missing out. And there should be a good reason why these consumers and competitors are on that platform, right? So, as a result, more and more retailers will join, which makes the platform even more interesting for other players.
Additionally, the fact retailers can also use online marketplaces to try out quite easily whether there’s enough interest for their product is another popular reason to join such a platform.
While joining a big and popular marketplace could lead to an increase of your reach and online visibility, it doesn’t necessarily mean you get rich of it. There’s a big chance one (or more) of your competitors is also active on that platform, which means a strong competition that’s based on who has the lowest prices. And even if sales go well, the commission you need to pay to the marketplace often has quite the impact on your profit margins.
The forced urge to perform is also something not every retailer feels comfortable with. In order to sell your products through an online platform, there are often many requirements one needs to qualify. Many platforms demand a certain kind of velocity: retailers need to deliver within a certain time period or they need to answer consumers’ questions within a couple of hours.
And, by joining an online marketplace, you also offer lots of valuable data to that same marketplace. Imagine, for example, you’re selling a product that’s hugely popular among a certain customer group. The marketplace could decide one day to (manufacture and) sell that same product itself for a much lower price.
It is no longer just American ecommerce giants such as Amazon and eBay that have left their mark in the global ecommerce industry. Asian and European giants are also increasingly making name for themselves. Think for example of the German fashion companies Zalando and Otto, the Chinese companies Alibaba and JD.com, the Japanese player Rakuten and the Dutch retailer Bol.com.
Whatever the assortment, chances are there’s a (specialized) marketplace that fulfills your needs. According to the European Commission, in Europe alone there are over 7,000 online marketplaces and platforms. To better protect retailers who joined these platforms, the Commission came up with a set of rules.
For example, the need to explain the most important parameters that form the internal ranking of retailers. They also need to tell which data they gather and how they will use these. And the European Commission also wants these platforms to set up an internal complaint-handling system to better assist business users.
More than one hundred thousand SMEs from the European Union use Amazon as a sales platform. Together, they generated 17 billion euros in cross-border sales last year, 2 billion euros more than a year earlier. Most international trade takes place within the EU.
Every day, Shein and Temu deliver 460,000 parcels to Germany. As both platforms violate several EU regulations, this results in unfair competition for retailers in the country. According to a recent study, this results in a yearly loss of 2.4 billion euros in added value to the German economy.
Users of Vinted in Germany and Austria can now trade directly with each other. Austrian Post has joined as a new logistics partner of the platform. The second-hand fashion marketplace is valued at 8 billion euros, according to a share sale announced today.
Zalando is accelerating its European expansion. After earlier announcements, Portugal and Greece are now live, marking the next step in Zalando’s strategy to strengthen its footprint across Europe. Bulgaria is expected to follow on August 1st this year. New signals suggest the rollout will not stop there.
A large majority of online transactions in Europe take place on marketplaces. In 2025, marketplaces accounted for 61 percent of total ecommerce GMV, according to ECDB. In other parts of the world, this share is even higher. The concentration is expected to increase further in Europe as well.
TikTok Shop is preparing to launch in Poland, the Netherlands and Belgium. This is evident from job listings for its “strategic readiness team” and for customer solutions managers who are fluent in Polish or Dutch. Seller environments have already been set up, but they are not yet live.
Consumers sold goods worth 10.8 billion euros on second-hand marketplace Vinted in 2025. That is an increase of almost 50 percent, compared to 2024. The company’s revenue reached 1.1 billion euros, also a record high. According to CEO Thomas Plantenga, Vinted delivered strong results across every growth vector. One of these is its delivery services for external clients.
Amazon will charge European selling partners additional transport costs as a result of the war in the Middle East. In principle, the measure is temporary, the company says, and applies to both Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) and Multi-Channel Fulfilment (MCF).
Yesterday, the winners of the prestigious Shopping Awards were announced, in the Netherlands. It was the 25th edition. Kaartje2go won the ‘DHL Best Online Store of the Year’ award, making it the overall winner of the evening.
TikTok Shop is gaining popularity among online consumers in Germany. One year after its launch, 15 percent of German online shoppers have made at least one purchase on the platform. In addition, both purchase frequency and the average order value have increased.
Online marketplace integrator ChannelEngine has expanded its partnership with Monta, a Dutch fulfillment provider. The fulfillment solution is now integrated with ChannelEngine’s platform, which means that online sellers can manage marketplace and fulfillment processes in one single ecosystem.
In the past fiscal year, German ecommerce giant Otto was able to increase its gross merchandise value (GMV) by 6 percent. It reached around 7.5 billion euros. By doing so, the company has outperformed the German online retail market.
Online marketplace integrator ChannelEngine is launching a new capability, called AI Attribute Builder, in April. The company wants to ensure that products from online retailers will remain visible in AI-driven discovery environments.
Popular cashback marketplace OnBuy is rolling out in eight new markets. This brings the total of the company’s footprint to 21 European countries. The expansion follows strong performance, with an increase of 152 percent in quarterly sales last year.
Dutch companies can now apply to sell on Otto.de. This marks the beginning of Otto’s expansion to marketplace partners from other European countries. If accepted onto the platform, Dutch sellers must provide customer service in German.