Chinese third-party sellers on these platforms is striking: their turnover, already staggering, will double by 2026.
An ambitious newcomer
Marketplaces continue to increase their market share in the European e-commerce market. Of a total e-commerce turnover of €265 billion (excluding travel), marketplaces accounted for €167 billion, or 63%, in 2022. A year earlier, this figure was 59%. ; in 2025, it will be 65%, predicts Cross-Border Commerce Europe, the platform for promoting cross-border e-commerce in Europe, which has just published its new top 100 international marketplaces active in Europe.
AliExpress is the leading marketplace in Europe, with impressive growth. The rankings remain largely stable, although some scores have changed. Zalando falls out of the top 10. A notable newcomer is Temu, in 9th place. This ambitious marketplace directly connects consumers with millions of Chinese third-party sellers (individuals, manufacturers and brands), completely eliminating retailers as middlemen.
Reduced shipping costs
Notable trend: hybrid marketplaces – that is, platforms that combine proprietary offerings and consumer-to-consumer offerings – are winning the prize. By expanding third-party offerings and reducing their own inventory, these cross-border marketplaces can grow faster and control costs. The largest hybrid marketplace is Amazon, which currently has 58% third-party sellers – by 2025 this figure is expected to be 65%. Zalando currently has 30% third-party sellers and is aiming for 50% by 2025.
Most third-party sellers come from China: their share is already 59% at Amazon and 90% at AliExpress. In 2022, Chinese sellers achieved a turnover of 189 billion euros on Amazon, 44 billion euros on AliExpress, 18.4 billion euros on eBay and 11.3 billion euros on Wish. These amounts are expected to double by 2026. Hot detail: Chinese sellers still benefit from reduced shipping costs: a service called ePacket significantly reduces the cost of shipping goods from China to the United States and the European Union .
Top ten cross-border marketplaces operating in Europe:
- AliExpress (China)
- Etsy (United States)
- Amazon (United States)
- eBay (United States)
- Discogs (US)
- OLX (Netherlands)
- Bandcamp (US)
- Uber Eats (United States)
- Temu (China)
- Vinted (Lithuania)
