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.
Read the report
Amazon Posts Record Marketplace Growth in Q1 2021
Amazon Marketplace grew 60% in the first quarter of 2021, the fastest in at least five years since the company started reporting third-party seller services revenue.
Amazon Is Never Going Back to Normal
For most consumers, Amazon has been back to normal for a while. However, behind the scenes, for the sellers and brands that sell on Amazon, Amazon’s fulfillment operations have remained disrupted.
Walmart Is Building a Prime-Like Flywheel
Walmarts wants most of its shoppers to be Walmart+ members. It is aggressively pushing free shipping, the membership's core benefit. While also trying to increase free two-day shipping selection by nudging sellers to use WFS.
Etsy Reaches 10 Million Sellers
Etsy added nearly three million sellers over the past twelve months, more than double compared to the previous period. It started 2020 with less than seven million sellers and now has ten million. The number of sellers joining the marketplace is still accelerating, continuing the growth spurt started by the pandemic.
$3.5 Billion in Twelve Months To Buy Amazon Sellers
Firms acquiring successful brands on Amazon have attracted over $3.5 billion in capital over the past twelve months. $2.5 billion of that was raised in just the first four months of 2021.
Renting Amazon Customers
Sellers on Amazon can no longer access their customer information like the full name and address, let alone contact them. On April 8th, Amazon removed customer details from the last report.
Shopify Won’t Build a Marketplace
A year ago, Shopify launched a consumer shopping app called Shop. Many called it a step towards a marketplace. However, despite being downloaded tens of millions of times, Shopify didn't implement any marketplace features.
Amazon Is a Minor Player Across Most of Europe
Amazon's app is in the top 20 most-downloaded shopping apps on the iPhone app store in nearly thirty countries in Europe, despite having launched in only nine of them. Yet, it is a market leader in just a few.
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..."
Journalists all over the world rely on Marketplace Pulse insights and data for their stories. Marketplace Pulse works with leading magazines, newspapers, and online publications, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Bloomberg, and CNBC.
