The irresistible rise of third-party marketplaces

Third-party online marketplaces will be the largest and fastest-growing retail channel globally over the next five years, according to Edge by Ascential.

In its annual 2022 Future of Marketplaces Report, WARC’s sister company anticipates that third-party sales through online marketplaces will add $1.3 trillion in sales during this period. By 2027, Amazon, Alibaba, Pinduoduo and JD.com alone will be responsible for $4.3 trillion in global sales, up from $2.5 trillion today – or more than two-thirds of global e-commerce sales, first-party and third-party.

Key findings

• By 2027, all five of the leading global retailers – Amazon, Alibaba, Pinduoduo, JD.com and Walmart – will operate a third-party marketplace. With forecast net GMV sales (e-commerce and bricks and mortar) of $1.5 trillion, Alibaba will continue to be the leader, followed by Amazon with forecast net GMV sales of $1.2 trillion in total. 

• By 2027, third-party sales through marketplaces will account for 38% of all global retail sales growth, with third-party sellers through marketplaces capturing 59% of global e-commerce sales, up from 56% in 2022. First-party e-commerce sales will shrink from today’s 44 to 41% in 2027. 

• The number of third-party marketplaces operating globally has jumped by more than 500% since 2007. Edible grocery will be the fastest-growing category for third-party online sales between 2022-2027, with third-party sales compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11%. Household and Pet Care will be the second-fastest-growing category, with 10.6% CAGR growth for third-party sales, followed by the office supplies category growing at 10.5% CAGR.

Key quote

“The most successful retailers, both now and in the future, will operate third-party marketplaces. The consumer brands that will be most successful in this new retail environment will align with the right marketplace partners, optimize their unique capabilities to use all elements of the marketplace flywheel and leverage real-time data and insights to respond effectively to competitive intelligence, performance blockers and changing market conditions” – Deren Baker, CEO of Edge by Ascential.

Sourced from Edge by Ascential