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.
The Otto Group has found its way back to profitability. The company refers to the past financial year, which ended in February, as an “extremely convincing financial year”. The retail and services group generated a net profit of 165 million euros. Otto is optimistic about the future and expects further growth, particularly from its successful marketplace.
Online consumer spending in Switzerland increased by 3.5 percent last year, while brick-and-mortar retail saw a slight decline of 0.2 percent. As in many other countries, the share of online sales within total retail continues to rise.
After launching in the United States and the United Kingdom, TikTok Shop now aims to enable the trade of second-hand products on its platform elsewhere in Europe. The company is currently recruiting a program manager who will be responsible for defining and implementing the pre-owned category strategy across the European Union.
Six months after its debut in the U.S., Amazon Haul has now launched in the United Kingdom. The rollout is in beta, but Amazon has stated that “ultra-low-priced products” will soon be available to all customers in the United Kingdom.
Second-hand fashion marketplace Vinted sells the most clothing in France in terms of sales volume. It outranks Amazon and local omnichannel clothing seller Kiabi. This indicates that recommerce is gaining market share in the country.
Ecommerce giant Amazon is lowering its package fees for several product groups in its Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) program. Fees for items in these categories will be based on package size and unit weight.
Kaufland will open its marketplace to consumers in France and Italy by the end of the summer. “We are the alternative to global ecommerce giants, from Europe for Europe. With that goal in mind, we are now taking the next two steps - certainly not the last”, according to Gerald Schönbucher, CEO of Kaufland e-commerce.
This week, fulfillment and customer service provider Salesupply has launched a new solution. With MarketplaceCare 365, marketplace sellers can be sure that customers will receive responses within the required timeframes.
Temu and DHL Group have signed a Memorandum of Understanding. The companies say they aim to support the growth of SMEs in established markets as well as in growth markets. DHL will utilize its logistics expertise to support Temu's operations in Europe, including its local-to-local model.
Last year, Decathlon generated 26 percent of its German trade volume online. The marketplace's share within that has nearly doubled in just one year. The platform serves as a catalyst for growth for Decathlon, both in Germany and beyond.
Starting today, TikTok Shop is available in Germany, France, and Italy, where a total of 72.1 million users reside. Among the first sellers are About You and Nivea, as well as local merchants. “TikTok Shop opens new opportunities for brands of all sizes.”
Otto has grown faster than the ecommerce market in Germany over the past fiscal year, largely thanks to its popular marketplace. “The strong growth over the last 12 months gives us the utmost confidence that we are turning a corner after two challenging years”, says CEO Marc Opelt.
The European online DIY market reached a revenue of 66 billion euros last year. Compared to the total market of online and offline DIY sales, the online share was 17 percent. The total market value came to 388 billion euros.
Marketplace solution provider Mirakl has generated over 162 million euros in annual recurring revenues in 2024. Its GMV also showed a year-on-year growth of 30 percent, reaching 10.3 billion euros.
