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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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.
Chinese Sellers on Walmart Marketplace
Nearly a hundred China-based sellers have joined the previously US-only Walmart Marketplace over the past few weeks as the company quietly expanded it to allow foreign sellers.
Amazon Tops Six Million Third-Party Sellers
There are over six million third-party sellers on the Amazon marketplace. More than half of them sell on Amazon in North America.
Amazon’s B2B Marketplace Tops $25 Billion
Amazon Business, a business-to-business marketplace, has surpassed $25 billion in annualized sales five years since launching. It is growing faster than its consumer marketplace, too.
TikTok Leggings on Amazon
The #1 best-selling clothing product on Amazon for most of January and February was a pair of high waist leggings that went viral on the social app TikTok. "tiktok leggings" is still one of the most-searched terms on Amazon.
Marketplaces as Economies
If GMV were GDP, that would make the Amazon marketplace the 42nd-largest economy globally, just behind Bangladesh but ahead of South Africa. It isn't only the sales volume that makes marketplaces comparable to economies, however.
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.
