In 2025, the marketplace landscape is growing hotter than ever — and more crowded
A report from marketplace and social commerce automation platform Cymbio published on Wednesday found that marketplaces drove more than 40% of total e-commerce growth in 2024. The report, using internal data from Cymbio as well as Capital One and Emarketer, found direct-to-consumer channels drove 25% of e-commerce growth. Cymbio estimates that marketplaces will drive 53% of growth by 2030.
“There’s been an explosion of the sheer number of brands, and it’s hard for the consumer to discover so many brands,” said Daniel Hillyer, vp of sales and marketing at Cymbio, whose clients include brands like Balmain and Reebok. “These retailers have become like a search engine, effectively, for brand discovery.”
Numerous established retailers have taken up the marketplace model in recent months. In 2024, Nordstrom announced the launch of its digital marketplace. And Walmart announced the launch of Premium Beauty on Walmart Marketplace later that year. In March, Ulta Beauty unveiled plans to create a marketplace platform to accelerate its e-commerce growth later in 2025. In April, Saks Fifth Avenue debuted Saks on Amazon, a selection of luxury brands curated by the department store giant available on Amazon.
The seal of approval from retailers like Nordstrom has helped lift a stigma on the marketplace model, Hillyer said. “One of every two brands that we speak to wants to be on Nordstrom or selling on Nordstrom Marketplace,” he said.
Entering the landscape in 2025 means competing against massive players like TikTok Shop and Amazon, which, unlike higher-end retailers, are known for their discounting practices. On Tuesday, Amazon kicked off its Prime Day event with four days of discounts for the first time. Analysts estimate the 2025 sale could generate $23.8 billion in online spending, representing a 28.4% year-over-year increase.
With numerous marketplaces carrying the same brands, discounts are an attractive way to capture new consumers. Hillyer said retailers like TikTok Shop in some cases can cover the cost of a discount in order to capture that sale.
“A lot of these marketplaces are willing to take losses,” he said. “When you talk about Walmart, Amazon, TikTok Shop, Shein and Temu heavily discounting constantly, there’s probably some profit margin loss here. But they’re just really vying for market share.”
Shein, the Singapore-based fast fashion giant, first launched its marketplace in 2023 in countries like the U.S. and Brazil. It has since expanded its footprint to markets such as Spain. In May, Shein hosted “Shein Elevate” in Los Angeles, its first event dedicated to sellers on its marketplace. In July, the French government fined Shein €40 million ($47 million) for misleading customers regarding price reductions.
Some retailers have launched sales concurrent with Amazon’s Prime Day; luxury beauty retailer Bluemercury launched a Fourth of July sale with 25% discounts ending on July 8, the first day of Amazon’s Prime Day. But not all retailers can afford to lean into discounting: In its Q1 2025 earnings call in April, LVMH noted the challenges that Amazon’s steep discounting model has presented to Sephora’s ecommerce growth.
“A lot of retailers don’t want to try to compete with Amazon,” said Hillyer. “Trying to compete with them this week is not an economical decision, so let’s let them have their week.”
