Online sales through marketplaces have multiplied over the last year, with increases of up to 26% in some cases. We analyse the factors behind this trend and its possible impact on the strategies of the different e-commerce players.
Deep in the so-called digital age, whose origins date back to the mid-20th century, e-commerce has been growing at an unprecedented pace for decades and has redefined the way people buy and sell across the planet. In this context, marketplaces have proliferated massively to become undisputed protagonists, with steady growth that has revolutionised e-commerce.
Thanks to their ability to offer a wide range of products in a single virtual space, marketplaces have democratised access to e-commerce, led by giants such as Amazon, eBay, Temu and AliExpress and complemented by countless specialised platforms. They have also changed consumer habits: shoppers feel at home on ground where they can find endless products, compare features and prices without limits, and buy with a click.
Marketplaces have also opened their doors to sellers of every size, who can now reach a global audience without costly infrastructure, without worrying about logistics and without investing in their own platform.
A clear example of this consolidation is Decathlon. The French group closed 2023 with over 900 million euros in revenue from the sale of 1.19 billion items worldwide. Online sales accounted for 17.4% of total turnover, 0.7% more than the previous year.
Carrefour, with its own marketplace, confirms the trend: 1.659 billion euros in net profit last year, up 23.1%, and online sales that grew 26% versus 2022 thanks to its digital strategies.
Something similar is happening in the United States with Walmart. In 2023 it reached a milestone with record revenue of 600 billion dollars, 6% growth in the fiscal year, with the online channel exceeding 100 billion.
Another significant case is the Douglas marketplace. In the fourth quarter of 2023, the perfumery chain reached revenue of 1.5 million euros, with 33% coming from online sales.
Changing the landscape of shopping trends
E-commerce is here to stay, and new working and social structures favour its consolidation. Remote work is one of the main factors driving online shopping, because consumers spend more time researching online before paying. Experts point to a 65% increase in online consumption, a figure they link directly to the growth of remote workers.
E-commerce now accounts for 58% of total consumer spending. And according to the VLM Future Shopper Report, the figure will rise to 64% over the next decade.
The growth of social commerce
Social networks and platforms such as Instagram and TikTok have perfected the art of creating needs, showing customers products they did not know existed but suddenly want intensely.
Social commerce has had a profound impact on the traditional dynamics of marketplaces, challenging established metrics and reshaping consumer behaviour. For companies, this form of e-commerce, with its huge user base and high segmentation capacity, is a great opportunity to win customers in innovative ways. With Generation Z as the main target, social commerce fits their consumption habits and digital preferences like a glove.
Such is its success that even marketplaces want a slice of the pie. Meta has partnered with Amazon to integrate shopping features into its platforms: users can now buy on Amazon from Instagram and Facebook without interrupting their social media experience.
The future of shopping is defined by seamless integration across channels, the growing prominence of social commerce and an evolving consumer mindset shaped by remote work, sustainability and digital innovation.
The future of marketplaces
As e-commerce keeps evolving, everything suggests marketplaces will continue to play a fundamental role. With growing technology integration, platforms are in a constant process of improvement to offer an increasingly personalised shopping experience.
Expansion into new markets and diversification of the offer will remain the strategic keys to the rise of online sales. The versatility of these platforms and their specialised tools will let them, through user and seller data, adapt to demand and market trends. Knowing a product’s visits, potential customers’ browsing habits or competitors’ offers will help them keep differentiating and set the pace of consumption.
In this complex context, we must be very aware of the incalculable value of data. That is why the Data Seekers digital intelligence platform becomes the ally of any e-commerce player: retailers, manufacturers, wholesalers and marketplaces themselves. With it you can build a solid pricing strategy, position yourself ahead of competitors, create personalised offers, control stock and identify unauthorised sellers or counterfeit products, as well as analyse your visibility and reputation through ratings and reviews. All with one goal: make better decisions and improve your bottom line.
Discover how we track what happens on every marketplace with our Marketplace Intelligence module.