The European e-commerce market has shown significant growth in recent years. Experts predict that with an average annual growth rate of 7.7% it will consolidate its position as the third largest e-commerce market in the world by 2025. Online marketplaces, which we will discuss in more detail in this article, also have a share in this. Most of the most major ones come from Germany, France and the United Kingdom, but marketplaces from other European countries are also gradually growing. Large international online markets, such as Amazon, eBay, Etsy and AliExpress, still maintain a strong market position.

Marketplaces in a nutshell – why cooperate with them?

Marketplaces are platforms through which different businesses can sell their products to a pre-set customer base. Shopping through online marketplaces is becoming ever more popular among customers, as they can see all available options from different sellers in one place. Are you aware of the advantages that cooperation with marketplaces can bring you?

• Wider reach. With the help of online marketplaces, you can build a larger customer base that will come to trust your brand .
• Technical support. Large marketplaces have a team of specialists available who will help you in case of problems; their websites are also adapted to handle extremely high traffic.
• Customer service. Online marketplaces make sure that shoppers get the best possible shopping experience. Aside from filtering and storing products, they also offer top-notch customer service in different languages.
• Cost reduction. Many online marketplaces will also, for a fee, help e-shops with logistics, SEO or marketing strategies, which can in the end pay off for both larger and smaller businesses.

The 10 most important European marketplaces

In our ranking, you’ll find the 10 largest European marketplaces, sorted in descending order by the number of active customers. You can read basic data on each, including their headquarters, year-on-year growth rate, or the advantages and disadvantages of cooperating with them.

1. Kaufland

• Headquarters: Germany
• Category: International marketplace (more than 8 thousand sellers)
• Key segment: Food and personal care items
• Number of active customers: More than 32 million
• Countries of operation: Germany, Slovakia, Czech Republic
• Information about selling through Kaufland Marketplace and pricing

Marketplace Kaufland.de, formerly known as Real.de, currently operates mainly in Germany, but in 2023 it successfully launched sales in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The online grocery marketplace is part of the Schwarz Group, which is one of the world’s leading retail conglomerates.

Kaufland.de is a rapidly developing sales platform; over the past five years, the portal has grown by an average of 92% (for comparison – German e-commerce as a whole has grown by 13% over the same period).

OPINEST TIP: Are you preparing to expand to Germany? Find out what to remember when entering this market.

E-shops that want to sell their products through Kaufland.de must meet several conditions, including written communication with customers in German, the provision of product descriptions in German, and offering only products with a special EAN code.

Regarding payments, Kaufland.de expects its sellers to transfer both regular monthly fees and sales commissions. Aside from the simple registration process, the advantage of cooperating with this German platform is also the multi-channel marketing or personal support for sellers in several languages.

2. Zalando

• Headquarters: Germany
• Category: International marketplace (more than 7 thousand brands)
• Key segment: Clothing and fashion
• Number of active customers: More than 31 million
• Countries of operation: Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Norway, Italy, Spain, Poland, Denmark, Finland, The Netherlands, Estonia, Slovenia, Ireland, Luxembourg, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia, United Kingdom, Lithuania, Latvia, Hungary, Romania
• Information about Zalando partnership models

Zalando.de, a German online marketplace focused on fashion, is celebrating its fifteenth birthday this year. It has evolved from a regional footwear marketplace to a leading European online platform, connecting brands, e-shops and customers from 25 European countries.

Zalando SE shows continuous growth; the year-on-year growth rate reached 34% last year, and estimates range 16 and 25% in the near future. One of the company’s recent milestones was attaining its one millionth registered user in the Zalando Plus membership programme.

Cooperation with Zalando should be easy and has several immediate advantages. Compared to other similar marketplaces, Zalando stands out for its low commissions and fees, wide reach and high-quality customer service. The platform also focuses on sustainability and environmental protection, which can help not only the planet, but also with your brand image. Zalando offers e-shops several partnership models, so it is a good idea to study the conditions and determine which will be the best for you. 

3. Asos

• Headquarters: United Kingdom
• Category: International marketplace (more than 900 companies)
• Key segment: Clothing and fashion
• Number of active customers: More than 26 million
• Countries of operation: United Kingdom, USA, Australia, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, The Netherlands, Russia and Italy
• Information about selling on Asos

The online marketplace Asos.com is one of the leading online stores in the clothing and footwear segment in the United Kingdom, but it has also gained popularity in other countries. This popular clothing and accessories marketplace has been operating since 2009 and, among other things, is exceptional in that it allows you to sell products even without having your own website or retail store. The platform is owned by the British investment holding Asos Plc with its headquarters in London, and the year-on-year growth rate of Asos last year was 19%.

The process of logging in, adding and removing products on the Asos marketplace is extremely easy, and you are not bound by any contract, number of products, deadlines or fees. A marketplace account can also be easily linked to the web and social networks, allowing sellers to customize the look and feel of their marketplace store. The platform’s disadvantages can be the complexity of the selection process, high fees, the obligation to add photos with the models and to deliver the shipment in the specified time and allow the customer to track it.

4. Fruugo

• Headquarters: United Kingdom
• Category: International marketplace (more than 3 thousand shops)
• Key segment: Toys and hobby
• Number of active customers: More than 25 million
• Countries of operation: Switzerland, France, Lithuania, Norway, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, The Netherlands, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, Spain, Austria, Portugal
• Information about selling through Fruugo and pricing

The marketplace Fruugo.com allows e-shops to sell in up to 46 (not only European) countries. This established global online marketplace has hundreds of positive reviews from satisfied customers across various platforms, which reinforces its credibility. The popular portal Fruugo.com was even ranked among the fastest growing companies in Europe this year, with a compound annual growth rate of up to 77%.

Compared with other online marketplaces, Fruugo presents itself as a flexible platform with easy cross-border sales (outside the European Union and even Schengen). The main advantage of this marketplace is clearly its global reach; Fruugo also offers its partners automatic translation of advertisements and product descriptions into various languages. With Fruugo, you can also get a unique view of the foreign market, which gives many e-shops an edge over the competition and saves on market research costs.

5. Allegro

• Headquarters: Poland
• Category: International marketplace (more than 130 thousand sellers)
• Key segment: Electronics and media
• Number of active customers: More than 20 million
• Countries of operation: Poland, Czech Republic
• Information about selling on Allegro and pricing

In its two decades of existence, the Allegro.pl platform has become the most trusted Polish marketplace and one of the largest overall marketplaces in Europe. The portal is part of the company Allegro Group, which owns, among other things, the price comparator Ceneo.pl, and since 2022 the Czech Mall Group, the Slovenian portal Mimovrste and the logistics company WE DO. The company continues to grow with a year-on-year growth rate of almost 30%.

The most popular Polish marketplace works similarly to top global marketplaces. The only significant difference is in language and currency (in Poland payments are made in Polish zlotys). The main advantage of selling through Allegro is its pan-European popularity, along with a user-friendly interface with payment integration and high-quality customer support. The disadvantages can be its limited reach (since it is only known in Central Europe), higher fees, the complicated process of uploading products and high competition among sellers.

6. Otto

• Headquarters: Germany
• Category: International marketplace (more than 7 thousand brands)
• Key segment: Furniture and appliances
• Number of active customers: More than 11 million
• Countries of operation: Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Norway, France, United Kingdom, Turkey, Japan, USA
• Information about a partnership with Otto and pricing

After Amazon, Otto.de is the second most used marketplace in Germany. Over its 70 years of existence, the Otto Group has become one of the largest online retailers in the world. It is active in 30 countries and offers its customers a wide range of products from furniture and appliances to fashion and toys. The group’s sales increased by 13% last year, which strengthened the position of the leader of this marketplace in the field of sales of home appliances.

As Otto.de says at the very start of its partner website, not everyone can get on the platform. If you decide to cooperate with this online market, you must meet several conditions, including, for example, having a German VAT number, being based in Germany, offering customer service in German, or selling products with a uniform VAT rate of 19%. As soon as the contract is concluded, a fixed basic monthly fee must be paid, which is the same regardless of how many products you offer.

7. Bol

• Headquarters: The Netherlands
• Category: Local marketplace (more than 52 thousand shops)
• Key segment: Electronics and media
• Number of active customers: More than 11 million
• Countries of operation: The Netherlands, Belgium
• Information about selling on Bol

The Dutch marketplace Bol.com, currently only operates in two Western European countries, but it offers customers more than 23 million items from various segments. The platform was founded almost 25 years ago and today is one of the most visited websites in the Netherlands and overall the largest online marketplace in the region. The marketplace has also received an award for being the most sustainable e-commerce brand. Bol.com is part of the Royal Ahold Delhaize NV group and has grown by 27% over the past year.

Similar to other strong local marketplaces, Bol focuses on building quality relationships with customers and sellers. Its size, popularity and market potential are among the main advantages of this online marketplace. Bol.com also offers its partners a broad range of services that help with optimising product records or logistics. The Dutch marketplace stands out with its many different payment options and customer-friendly cancellation and return policies, which keeps consumers coming back to the platform. 

8. Cdiscount 

• Headquarters: France
• Category: International (more than 13 thousand sellers)
• Key segment: Electronics and media
• Number of active customers: more than 10 million
• Countries of operation: Germany, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Austria, Ireland, Portugal
• Information about selling on Cdiscount

Cdiscount.com is among the largest and most visited French e-commerce sites with international reach. Founded as a retail store at the end of the last century, it became a marketplace in 2011, which allows customers to search for products mainly from the category of electronics and media at the lowest price. Cdiscount is a subsidiary of Cnova, the e-commerce division of the Casino group, and has an annual growth rate of 23%.

Sales on Cdiscount.com stand out with a wide customer base, a user-friendly website and the integration of various types of payments. The marketplace offers sellers a number of marketing tools for effective product promotion; an advantage is also affordability for retailers due to the low fees. Before cooperating with Cdiscount, we recommend that you consider the fact that, despite its presence in several countries, it is the most popular and best established in France. This is a highly competitive platform with limited customisation options and higher shipping costs. 

9. Manomano

• Headquarters: France
• Category: International marketplace (more than 3600 sellers)
• Key segment: Toys and hobby
• Number of active customers: More than 7 million
• Countries of operation: France, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Germany, United Kingdom
• Information about selling on Manomano

A wide range of products not only for DIY specialists, designers and gardeners – this is what Manomano brings in one place to customers from Western countries, as well as from Central and Southern Europe. Since 2013, it has been connecting traders in the toy and hobby segment and bringing consumers the most advantageous offers with price comparison. This French marketplace, with an annual growth rate of 27%, ranks among the fastest growing e-commerce companies.

Among the main advantages of selling via Manomano.com are the high segmented traffic in attractive European countries such as Spain, Italy and Germany, as well as a unique delivery and fulfilment service and high-quality customer support. You will also appreciate the free special Pro account with more convenient transport options and phone or chat support. The strong competition on the marketplace as well as the poor adaptability of the sales space and the ban on transporting goods to certain areas can be seen as disadvantages. 

10. eMag

• Headquarters: Romania
• Category: International marketplace (more than 22 thousand shops)
• Key segment: Electronics and media
• Number of active customers: More than 400 thousand
• Countries of operation: Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria
• Information about selling through eMag

The site eMag.ro is among the largest online marketplaces in Eastern Europe. It was originally established more than 20 years ago as an electronics e-shop, and today it connects tens of thousands of shops from all over the world and helps them sell a wide range of products in Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria. The eMag Group, which owns the platform, reached a record 29% year-on-year growth in 2022, and eMag was also ranked among the most valuable brands in Romania.

Using the eMag online marketplace is popular among merchants for several reasons. The platform does not charge a fee for registering the e-shop or uploading products; a commission must be paid only from the sales made. Customers repeatedly buy through eMag also for top customer service in their language and reliable fast shipping.

Denmark

The Danish e-commerce market can be characterised as dynamic and prosperous, with online marketplaces playing an important role in it. Shoppers rapidly fell in love with them thanks to the convenience of shopping, the wide range of products and the ease of comparing prices.

Sweden

Swedish online marketplaces are exceptionally popular shopping sites for consumers from neighbouring Scandinavian countries, but local customers also find their way here. Up to 55% of all companies in Sweden also offer their products on online marketplaces.

Finland

Finland can be considered a mature consumer market with a functioning e-commerce sector. Online marketplaces also have a strong position here; in addition to foreign ones, local marketplaces focusing on trusted, customer-favourite product brands and sustainability are also popular.

Iceland

Marketplaces are proving to be a driving force in the developing e-commerce world in Iceland. They are gaining more and more popularity among customers, with large foreign online marketplaces currently dominating over local portals.

Lithuania

Lithuania is among the leading countries in Europe in terms of online shopping and electronic banking. Therefore, it is not surprising that customers here know the value of convenient online shopping and often look for the best offers, promotions and product quality on foreign and local marketplaces.

Latvia

Latvian customers are increasingly ordering not only clothes, electronics, furniture and cosmetics online, but food, too. The development of the e-commerce market in this country is hindered by poorly developed logistics, but the situation in this area is gradually improving. Consumers often use local online marketplaces for purchases, but foreign platforms are also popular.

Estonia

According to experts, Estonians have the strongest relationship with local businesses and trust businesses operating in their own country the most. Estonian customers most often order clothes, furniture, electronics and toys online through e-shops and marketplaces.

Austria

Online marketplaces are also an integral part of the dynamic Austrian e-commerce ecosystem and are increasingly popular with customers and are changing their shopping habits. Along with domestic marketplaces, Austrians also like to shop from German portals, and large foreign marketplaces are also popular. 

Switzerland

The number of popular domestic and foreign marketplaces is approximately equal on the Swiss market. Up to 35% of online sellers use marketplaces in addition to their own e-shops to generate sales.

Liechtenstein

The e-commerce market in Liechtenstein is in a growth phase. Marketplaces are also gradually gaining popularity among customers and e-shops, but their popularity is still not at the same level as in neighbouring countries.

Poland

The majority of Polish customers shop online through marketplaces. Strong players in the Polish e-commerce market include domestic marketplaces, such as Allegro.pl, which is one of the largest in Europe, in addition to foreign online marketplaces.

Czech Republic

The popularity of marketplaces has been increasing in the Czech e-commerce market in recent years. Customers here generally have a high level of trust in shopping from e-shops; therefore, compared with other countries, they do not go for online marketplaces as much because they do not trust online stores. However, the wide offer, easy price comparison and user reviews are among the advantages that bring Czechs to marketplaces more and more often.

Slovakia

In the dynamically developing environment of the Slovak e-commerce market, online marketplaces have made a major impact in recent years, and they are increasingly popular among customers and e-shops. The predominance of marketplaces on the Slovak market is already evident today, but shopping via e-shops still has its place, which contributes to building brand identities and personalising the shopping experience.

Hungary

Online marketplaces are also an integral part of the Hungarian e-commerce world. Aside from domestic marketplaces, portals from other Central European countries are also gaining noteworthy attention. The popularity of online marketplaces is also growing continuously in Hungary, and their overall dominance in the online market is already evident today.

OpiTip: We will be happy to help you connect to new marketplaces; do not hesitate to schedule a call with our specialist in this area, Lukáš Bundzák.

France 

For French customers, good prices combined with sustainability are important; therefore, they tend to prefer local e-shops and marketplaces. The French e-commerce market is at the same time one of the most attractive in the world, so it is also attractive for foreign online marketplaces and new projects.

Luxembourg

European online platforms work well in Luxembourg along with international American marketplaces. Customers are getting ever more used to buying (especially food) through local marketplaces with reliable and fast delivery.

The Netherlands

Dutch customers learned quickly to use the growing network of online marketplaces, which represent a great opportunity to increase sales for both domestic and foreign sellers. Some resistance to the invasion of large foreign marketplaces can be observed among domestic platforms, but overall the market is still dominated by Dutch companies.

United Kingdom

The e-commerce market in the area of marketplaces in the United Kingdom is characterised by the strong position of international American online marketplaces. What is interesting is, for example, that in the case of the eBay marketplace, more customers come from Britain than from the USA. Local marketplaces and platforms from Western and Central European countries have also expanded, but sales for them were partly complicated by Brexit.

Ireland

Marketplaces also have a strong place on the Irish e-commerce market, as ever more customers and companies are using them. The share of purchases via online marketplaces and e-shops is currently balanced in Ireland, which contributes to the creation of a prosperous and innovative e-commerce environment.

Spain

Spanish customers quickly fell in love with shopping through marketplaces. According to surveys, the main reasons are the variety of products and brands, the convenience of shopping, and the presence of reviews from other users directly on the platforms. Spaniards are used to ordering goods from domestic and international marketplaces, and the most popular foreign companies are mainly those from France, Germany and the USA.

Portugal

Online marketplaces are key players in the e-commerce market in Portugal as well. Although the number of online shoppers here is still below the European average, it is gradually increasing. Aside from domestic platforms, various online marketplaces from Western and Central European countries also operate well here.

Croatia

In the developing Croatian e-commerce environment marketplaces are gaining popularity among sellers and customers. Platforms that enable customers to compare the prices of goods in individual stores are particularly popular, as Croatians are extremely sensitive to prices.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

The e-commerce market in Bosnia and Herzegovina has thus far used online marketplaces very carefully, but their popularity is expected to grow in the near future. Bosnian customers today can already buy from several large international platforms, but several local marketplaces are also available.

Serbia

Large foreign marketplaces are a clear favourite among Serbian customers, as Serbs order a variety of goods most often from online marketplaces from the USA and China. Local platforms, which are being used by more and more Serbian e-shops to sell products, are also slowly gaining recognition.

Macedonia

Online marketplaces have a weak position in the slowly developing e-commerce market in Macedonia, but their popularity is slowly growing. International platforms with a wide offer are clearly at the forefront, as there are still only a few local marketplaces.

Albania

Marketplaces are so far only gaining ground very slowly In the small, developing Albanian e-commerce environment. Aside from established international online platforms, you can also come across a local marketplace with partners all over Albania and Kosovo.

Greece

Online marketplaces today are an integral part of the e-commerce market in Greece, and they are very popular among customers and sellers. Aside from local marketplaces, international companies, particularly those from Central Europe and the USA, have a strong position in Greece.

Bulgaria

Bulgarian consumers, too, have become accustomed to versatile and convenient shopping experiences offered by marketplaces. Online marketplaces from Central and Southern Europe in particular have a significant position on the Bulgarian market, with popular American platforms also being popular.

Belarus

Belarusian customers are also beginning to discover the convenience of shopping through online marketplaces. Through international marketplaces, Belarusians have the opportunity to order goods from all over the world, but local platforms with nationally focused sales are the most popular.

Moldova

Online marketplaces are also gradually gaining their place within the small, developing e-commerce market in Moldova. Although there are several international marketplaces available here, they are not yet as widespread and popular as in neighbouring countries. Local online marketplaces with a wide and broad range of various products have a stronger position.

Sales through marketplaces? We will be happy to advise you

Selling products with the help of marketplaces can represent a flexible business opportunity with relatively low initial costs, but it also comes with many risks. Are you considering exporting or planning to upload your products to some of the largest European marketplaces? We will be happy to help you with this. Don’t hesitate to schedule a meeting with one of our consultants (here with us Lukáš Bundzák specialises mainly in cooperation with marketplaces).

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