Marketplaces Year in Review 2020
2020 was the best year for e-commerce marketplaces in over a decade. E-commerce growth had a step change, and marketplaces captured most of it. In aggregate, it was the most successful year for sellers and brands that transact through them, too. The Year in Review looks at the state of marketplaces and describes the most important trends.
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Amazon Will Avoid Empty Shelves
Despite disruptions to global supply chains and Amazon's warehouse space restrictions, inventory levels at Amazon warehouses are high. As other retailers are fearing empty shelves, Amazon has turned its vast marketplace into an advantage.
Seen on Netflix, Sold on Amazon
The #1 most-searched term on Amazon is "squid game costume." Netflix's hit dystopian thriller "Squid Game" spawned a craze for Squid Game costumes less than two weeks after the show was released.
The Amazon and Shopify Venn Diagram
The overlap of sellers that sell on both Amazon and Shopify is growing. What used to be separate and distinct groups of entrepreneurs is converging.
Banned Chinese Sellers Are Suing Amazon
A group of banned Chinese sellers filed a class-action complaint against Amazon. They seek to recover funds amounting to over $550,000 that are "being illegally and improperly withheld by Amazon."
Chinese Sellers Losing Market Share on Amazon
Chinese sellers have been losing market share on the Amazon marketplace for most of 2021. This year, after increasing market share for years, the trend has unexpectedly reversed.
Amazon Launches in Egypt
Amazon launched in Egypt on September 1st. It is Amazon’s 20th global marketplace and follows Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in the region, where it launched during the past two years.
25 Amazon Aggregators Raised at Least $100M
Twenty-five different companies acquiring Amazon sellers have now raised at least $100 million. A year ago, there was just one. Nearly $7 billion has been raised so far in 2021.
Amazon Is Adding Employees Faster Than Revenue
Amazon went from $229,000 quarterly revenue per employee ten years ago to $84,000 now. The ratio has more than halved, despite Amazon scaling automated businesses like AWS, marketplace, advertising, and others during that time.
Data
Proprietary software parses raw data to extract critical pieces of structured data on brands, products, categories, and sellers.
Research
We analyze the data and share insights as research reports and articles.
Analysis
We believe that data is better than opinions for understanding what's next in e-commerce.
"According to Marketplace Pulse..."
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