The European cross-border e-commerce market is currently under the influence of three dominant players: China’s AliExpress, and the American giants Etsy and Amazon. As reported by Cross-Border Commerce Europe (CCE) in its annual ranking, the sales within e-marketplaces are consistently on the rise. In 2021, they reached an impressive €141 billion, showcasing substantial growth from the €115 billion recorded in 2020. This momentum continued into 2022, surpassing €167 billion, nearly doubling the €84 million mark achieved in 2019. The top 100 e-marketplaces played a pivotal role, collectively accounting for a staggering 84% of the total volume, amounting to €140 million.
The top three e-marketplaces, namely AliExpress, Etsy, and Amazon, maintained their lead, closely followed by the American e-commerce heavyweight eBay and Discogs, a specialist in musical content under Zink Media. Taking the scene by storm, Dutch company Naspers introduced its generalist marketplace OLX, accompanied by the music portal Bandcamp owned by Epic Games, and the food delivery platform Uber Eats.
A noteworthy addition to the ranking is China’s Temu, a generalist e-tailer primarily focused on budget-friendly items, particularly apparel. Temu quickly climbed the ranks to secure the ninth position, surpassing Lithuania’s Vinted, a specialist in second-hand clothing, which experienced a three-place drop compared to the previous year.
CCE highlighted the growing presence of cross-border operators, stating, «Of the 498 marketplaces, an increase of 14%, selling across Europe through 1,000 domains, 175 are now recognized as cross-border operators, marking a 35% growth. By 2025, it is anticipated that approximately 50% of international marketplaces operating in Europe will be classified as cross-border operators, amounting to an estimated 250 to 300 companies.»
In the sales volume breakdown, the top 100 e-marketplaces exhibited an almost equal distribution between B2C (49.5% of the total volume) and C2C (43.7%). Notably, a significant 80% of the top 100 e-marketplaces are considered pure marketplaces.
