Top 20 European Cross-Border Marketplaces

Cross-Border Commerce Europe have mapped the 20 best Marketplaces based on their Cross-Border performance. The total Cross-Border market of European owned Marketplaces represents a turnover of €9 billion in 2018 (excluding travel). This is 21% of the total Cross-Border Marketplaces in Europe, reaching a turnover of €42 billion, with Amazon generating €28 billion. The German Marketplace Zalando is number one.European owned Cross-Border Marketplaces are expected to grow by more than 50% to reach €15 billion by 2020.

If you want to sell cross-border, then the “Top 20 Cross-Border Marketplaces of Europe” compilation of Cross-Border European Marketplaces websites will give you a good starting point when selecting which platforms to trade on – the list doesn’t include eBay and Amazon so many will be new opportunities.

The ranking is based on four parameters:

• Cross-Border online sales in Europe (16 countries in Western Europe including UK)
• SEO indicators for Cross-Border performance
• A Cross-Border score determined on the number of covered countries
• Number and percentage of Cross-Border visits

There are four additional weighted parameters that refine the ranking:

• Type of Marketplaces’ business models (B2B – B2C – P2P – C2C – …)
• Pan-European Marketplaces’ brand strategies
• AI & Big Data Marketplaces’ strategies
• Type and number of services offered to the Marketplaces’ customers

This study takes into account B2C online platforms, all sectors combined, excluding travel, that offer at least two of the following three services: payment, storage and logistics. Farfetch, Asos, Zalando, Fnac, La Redoute, Spartoo, Otto, Pixmania, Fruugo and Deliveroo are included in this analysis. Miinto, a B2B network with fashion stores without logistics services, and Takeaway are on the other hand excluded. Most Marketplaces offer a portfolio of “Retail as a Service” services: transport, return management, flow management, cloud computing, payment and online marketing.

The European Cross-Border trade (excluding travel) amounted to €95 billion in 2018, with 55% generated by European players and 45% by non-EU retailers.

European owned Marketplaces represent a Cross-Border turnover of €9 billion, which represents only 17% of the total Cross-Border market in Europe worth €52.25 billion.

For retailers outside the European Union, 80% of the Cross-Border turnover is generated by Marketplaces. Pure players such as Amazon (€28 billion), Wish, AliExpress, Etsy and eBay represent more than a third of the total €95 billion, leaving behind the European owned Marketplaces with €9 billion.

The share of Marketplaces in Cross-Border B2C ecommerce continues to increase. Consumers prefer Marketplaces because of their frequent and repeated orders. They are for the most part “Prime” members and therefore very loyal. Marketplaces go beyond brands and retailers in almost all dimensions of consumer preferences, including product quality, uniqueness, availability and price. Consumers search directly for products on Marketplaces before using Google.