European e-commerce dominated by marketplaces

Amazon already has a quarter of the e-commerce market in Europe. It is therefore not surprising that platforms dominate the market: by 2025, marketplaces will account for 65% of cross-border online sales in Europe.

60% marketplaces

Excluding travel, the total cross-border e-commerce market in Europe last year accounted for a turnover of 143 billion euros. However, one type of online retailer seems to be increasingly dominating that market: as much as 84 billion euros, or 59%, comes from marketplaces.

Thanks to Amazon, it has to be said: the American giant has a turnover of 32 billion euros in Europe, accounting for almost a quarter of the market and an increase of 18.5% compared to 2018. Already American Ebay ranks second with a turnover of 17 billion euros, while bronze goes to China’s Alibaba.

Market share of online platforms will even increase to 65% in 2025. Amazon remains the leader with an expected European turnover of 50 billion euros. It is striking that consumers are also increasingly selling directly to each other: according to a survey by the CBCommerce knowledge centre, half of sales will be consumer-to-consumer.

Second-hand overtakes fast-fashion

The share of second-hand goods is still growing strongly: today, 41% of the largest market places sell used goods, with Vinted as the market leader, but CBCommerce estimates that by 2025 second-hand sales will be 1.5 times higher than fast-fashion sales and will represent 13% of the average wardrobe. Millennials and Generation Z stimulate this growth, as 18-37 year olds buy 2.5 times more used clothes than other age groups.

Marketplaces of European origin accounted for 11% of the market last year, which is 17% more than a year earlier. The biggest players are Vinted, G2A, Farfetch and Zalando.

The ten largest cross-border platforms in Europe are the following:

Amazon (VS)
eBay (VS)
AliExpress (China)
Etsy (VS)
Discogs (VS)
Wish (VS)
Vinted (Litouwen)
G2A (Polen)
Farfetch (Groot-Brittannië)
Bandcamp (VS)