The rules of eCommerce are changing. Today, having a presence on Amazon alone is no longer enough. New research highlights that 79% of surveyed brands indicate a clear strategic priority: expansion into new marketplaces in 2025. Luzern eCommerce ‘s European eCommerce Industry Research Report 2025 gathers insights from 300 eCommerce leading brands navigating the challenges of pricing pressures, operational complexities and resource constraints, and spotlights strategies for success.
Another key finding from the survey highlights that the same percentage — 79% — of brands are actively exploring hybrid (1P/3P) selling models on Amazon, or fully externally managed 3P solutions. This shift reflects brands’ growing frustration with margin erosion, unpredictable purchase orders, and lost pricing autonomy inherent in purely 1P arrangements. To thrive rather than simply survive, brands now need to understand and manage Amazon’s dynamic environment.
Amazon is a fiercely competitive marketplace that can make or break brands. Its opportunities are immense, but so is its complexity. Amazon presence remains important, but as it becomes increasingly costly, European brands are recognising the imperative need to diversify their channel mix and customer reach.
Marketplaces including Zalando, eBay, Allegro, Otto, and regional leaders such as Bol, are becoming essential to maintain growth momentum and capture untapped revenue potential. However, brands realise that expanding into new marketplaces and/or international territories demands extensive expertise across logistics, compliance, localisation, and platform-specific marketing expertise. Many brands, despite strong intentions, are hesitating due to gaps in internal skills and knowledge.
eCommerce success will go to those brands who control their own online activity – who embrace a wider range of marketplaces, leverage hybrid models, address operational and skills gaps and invest in strategic partnerships. Online presence has to be properly managed to exploit all the potential of the platforms. Brands need to act boldly, move quickly, and think tactically. Complacency is costly.
– Ken Doyle, co-founder, Luzern eCommerce
Brands surveyed also came forward with their challenges: feeling trapped in Amazon’s ‘race to the bottom’ pricing; internal eCommerce teams lacking sufficient resources and expertise; the constant struggle with avoiding CRaP (can’t realise a profit) status – Amazon’s way of removing unprofitable products; the impact of product returns on profitability, and the exhausting battle of meeting rising advertising costs while maintaining spend.
The report explores the driver for success on Amazon and reveals actionable strategies brands can use immediately. It shows that brands that are thriving are not just reacting to market changes, they are proactively engineering success — leveraging smarter pricing and operational flexibility to achieve strategic multi-channel growth.
