The e-commerce market revenue of Europe is worth $363 billion, with an expected annual growth of 7.3 percent. Experts estimate that by 2022 the European e-commerce market volume will be worth as much as $481 billion. This is a lot considering the fact that in Europe there are 50 different countries, more than 200 languages spoken and 28+ currencies used.
Obviously, the most popular e-commerce marketplaces are Amazon and eBay. But of course, there are many more interesting platforms for retailers looking to sell their products to local customers.
· Allegro
Allegro is the largest Polish marketplace and number five on the list of Europe’s most visited e-commerce marketplaces. With 13 million active users, Allegro is a good opportunity for B2C brands and professional re-sellers to expand into Poland’s thriving €10 billion online market. It has significant market share in electronics (62 percent), home and garden (74 percent) and fashion (46 percent).
Sellers are allowed to sell new, refurbished as well as used items. They need to pay a listing fee, a commission on sales and a percentage of all commissions to the number of successful sales.
· Bol.com
Bol.com is effectively a two-country e-commerce marketplace, with 98% of its users based in the Netherlands and Belgium. It says that 41,000 entrepreneurs have sold through the website, and millions of items are available to buy from categories including books, music, electronics, toys, fashion, DIY and auto parts. There are no monthly fees, but only a commission for products that sell.
· Cdiscount
Cdiscount is a French marketplace with roughly 8.6 million active customers and 19 million unique visitors per month. It sells products across 40 different categories with over €1 billion in annual sales.
Sellers need to pay €39.99 per month, plus a commission rate on the sales, depending on the type of product sold (starting from 5 percent).
· eMAG
Emag is the largest e-commerce marketplace in Romania with over 500,000 unique customers each day. It currently hosts 3,500 sellers and more than 1.4 million products, generating more than €100 million in revenue and over 1.9 million orders for marketplace partners. The highest sales are generated in the categories of car accessories, home & deco, children & toys, fashion and sport.
Sellers can list products in in over 1600 available categories and get marketing support from eMAG but only need to pay for the products that get sold.
· Fruugo
Fruugo is a U.K.-based e-commerce marketplace available in 32 countries and has more than 25 million active users, supporting 22 currencies and 17 languages.
Sellers can register once to sell across all markets available in the portfolio. Furthermore, they only pay when they make a sale, so there are no joining or setup fees.
· OnBuy
OnBuy is a B2C online marketplace where third-party business sellers can list new, used or refurbished products and buyers can browse thousands of categories, compare and securely purchase with PayPal Buyer Protection.
It connects over 3,000 sellers, over 10 million products and 8 million buyers with a 5-9% sales fee and a 1.9-3.4% PayPal payment fee.
· OTTO
Otto claims to be the biggest German online marketplace. It features over 1.8 million products from about 7,000 brands. It operates in over 20 countries, of which most are in Europe.
For sellers, OTTO represents the biggest e-commerce opportunity in Germany after Amazon. They need to pay a one-off sign up fee of 10,000 euros, while commission rates range from 15 to 50 percent but no monthly fee.
· Real.de
Supermarket chain Real merged with online marketplace Hitmeister.de and it became the third biggest online marketplace of Germany. It offers shipping to around 30 different countries, has 10 million monthly visitors and 6.5 million customers.
It sells products in 5,000 different categories including furniture, media, music, electronics, kitchen articles, household articles and garden articles, sports equipment, cosmetics, baby articles, car and outdoor accessories. There are no contracts for sellers, but they need to pay €39.95 every month and a percentage, varying on the category.
· Zalando
Zalando is a German fashion online marketplace that has expanded to Europe e-commerce market. According to the latest figures, they have 20 million active buyers and a 7.4% share of the Western Europe fashion market that totals $42 billion.
Products from categories other than clothing, shoes, sportswear and equipment, and accessories will not be accepted. Also, sellers need to offer free returns and follow the 100 day returns policy.