The top online marketplaces sold $3.25 trillion in goods in 2022. Third-party sales through platforms like those operated by Alibaba, Amazon.com Inc., eBay Inc. and others accounted for 77.5% of total gross merchandise value among the Top 100 companies in the 2023 Online Marketplaces Database.
This year, growth came from hybrid marketplaces — those that sell goods they own along with goods from third-party sellers. Overall, marketplaces grew GMV by 2.9%, but hybrids like Amazon, Walmart Inc. and JD.com Inc. grew 7.2%, all well outperforming pure marketplaces like eBay, Wish.com and Alibaba’s Chinese marketplaces Tmall and TaoBao. Pure players’ GMV declined 0.9%.
Marketplaces are popular online shopping platforms, as consumers are attracted to the large number of products available — typically at lower prices. The world’s largest, operated by Alibaba and Amazon, dominate the industry. But there are a number of marketplaces, many of which sell products in a particular merchandise category, that are growing sales at a robust pace.
International online marketplace growth
International online marketplaces led growth this year. While Chinese online malls suffered from lockdowns, other international marketplaces in countries like Brazil and Russia had large growth as domestic sellers turned to local options amid supply chain woes and international conflicts. Two Russian operators, Ozon and Wildberries, were among the fastest growers in 2022 thanks to domestic sellers shifting to Russian-owned sites amid sanctions. Brazilian players MercadoLibre Inc. and Etsy-owned Elo7 also in the top 10 growers.
Despite declines, Alibaba’s TaoBao and Tmall lead third-party GMV of competitors globally. Amazon’s third-party GMV keeps it in third. But eBay’s decline lets Indonesian Shoppee make the top five.
New players keep coming
In the last decade, 35 of the Top 100 online mall operators accepted their first third-party sales. This includes a mix of pure players like sneaker seller StockX or grocer Mercato Inc. as well as traditional retailers opening up their online storefronts to third parties, like Sweetwater and Zalando.
US companies had flat GMV
Growth among U.S. online marketplaces was flat this year, with third-party GMV down 1.0%. Trends matched those of the global list, with hybrids faring better than pure marketplaces. Half of the Top 100 marketplaces are based in the U.S.
Still, among top U.S. companies, GMV hit $869.80 billion, accounting for more than a quarter of Top 100 marketplace GMV. Sneaker marketplace Flight Club grew fastest among U.S. marketplaces, with total GMV up 50% over last year.
Online marketplace trends
The bottom line:
- Top 100 marketplaces grew to $3.25 trillion in total GMV this year
- That’s more than 55% of global ecommerce spending
Marketplaces are a global phenomenon. Top 100 marketplaces are located around the globe:
- North America: 51
- Europe: 22
- Asia: 16
- Latin America: 7
- Middle East/Africa: 3
Top global marketplaces:
- Taobao
- Tmall
- Amazon.com Inc.
- JD.com Inc.
- Shopee
Top U.S. marketplaces:
- Amazon.com Inc.
- eBay.com Inc.
- Walmart Inc.
- OfferUp
- Houzz
Quick facts on U.S. marketplaces:
- $869.8 billion sold on U.S. marketplaces in 2023
- The median marketplace in the U.S. had 61.2% of sales from mobile devices
- Flight Club was the fastest-growing U.S. marketplace in 2022, with a 50% increase in GMV
About the Datababase
The 2023 Online Marketplaces Database provides more than 50 key financial, performance and corporate metrics on the world’s largest 100 marketplaces, including:
- Gross merchandise value (GMV) and growth of all products sold by marketplace platform, including inventory the marketplace operator owned and goods third-party sellers sold
- GMV and growth of goods third-party sellers sold on a marketplace platform
- Key marketplace operating metrics, including average ticket, conversion rate, number of sellers, number of SKUs and the fees/commissions the marketplace charges its sellers
- Share of sales from mobile devices
- Share of sales from U.S. customers
- Company information, including country of operation, marketplace business model type and the primary merchandise category
- Primary website features and payment options
The 2023 edition of the Online Marketplaces Database is available in two membership tiers: Basic Plus — priced at $1,095 per year — and an expanded Pro version for clients who want more financial metrics, multiple user licenses and data download capabilities.
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