Consumers prefer to do their online purchases on the big sales channels
This growth was initially slow, but it is taking the world by storm. According to the latest European Marketplaces 2023 report, 35% of online purchases globally are made on these large sales platforms. Meanwhile, only 12% take place on the websites of specific brands.
The proliferation of Marketplaces worldwide has grown by an astonishing 500% since 2007. According to the report, they should account for almost 60% of online sales by 2027. In China, Marketplace sales account for 80% of total e-commerce sales.
What is the secret to the success of Marketplaces?
But the success of the big sales platforms is no secret: Marketplaces act as intermediaries between consumers and sellers, offering numerous advantages to both. Consumers have a huge range of products on offer in one place. At the same time, sellers save the costs and time needed to set up an online store and advertise their products.
In addition to this, interest in Marketplaces has also been driven by other factors: convenience, competitive prices, a wide variety of options and even easy-to-manage delivery options. In addition, the platforms also have the ability to act as “shopping search engines”. This makes it easier to find what you’re looking for and compare prices.
In recent years, the big platforms have evolved rapidly, going from new distribution channels to real online shopping malls. Today, they are the most successful and widely used format in the world of ecommerce.
Marketplaces are among the top 100 retailers in Europe
Unsurprisingly, if you look at the top 100 European retailers, 62% are Marketplaces. As a result, 85% of registered website traffic are visits to the big platforms. It’s no coincidence that, from the consumer’s point of view, Marketplaces are the preferred way to shop online, as they attract the majority of e-commerce traffic.
Big competitors, but big advantages
But, according to the study, it is worrying for European retailers and brands that the majority of these Marketplaces are based outside Europe. As the report shows, 60% of Europe’s top 100 retailers by category and 78% by traffic are not based in Europe.
This is because the big players such as Amazon, eBay and AliExpress are based outside the continent, the first two in the US and the last in China. Although many more Marketplaces are based in Europe, most are relatively small compared to these three giants.
However, if you list all the advantages, you can see that anyone who wants to be in e-commerce, especially globally or cross-border, needs to be in the Marketplaces. Above all, because of their wide reach and greater visibility, since these platforms have a large audience. Above all, this means that retailers have access to a much larger number of potential customers than they would with their own online store.