蘑菇AV

In 2024, US consumer spending on online marketplaces will reach $468.33 billion, according to our forecast, with a significant portion of ecommerce sales shifting to these platforms.

Target looks to its online marketplace to drive growth: The retailer鈥檚 new partnership with Shopify could expand its selection online and in stores, while also boosting its retail media business.

Etsy鈥檚 sales have remained 鈥渆ssentially flat鈥� for two years: The niche online marketplace鈥檚 inability to broaden its reach led it to lay off about 225 employees.

US retail marketplace ecommerce sales will reach $603.20 billion in 2027, representing 34.8% of total retail ecommerce sales, per our forecast.

On today's episode, in our "Retail Me This, Retail Me That" segment, we discuss the sizes of different digital marketplaces, what their unique selling points are, and why smaller retailers are building out their own. Then for "Red-Hot Retail," our analysts give us four spicy predictions about the future of digital marketplaces. Join our analyst Sara Lebow as she hosts forecasting analyst Whitney Birdsall and analyst Sky Canaves.

TikTok Shop has emerged for many brands as a pivotal marketplace for discovery and sales. Some 50% of US consumers take product recommendation suggestions from influencers on TikTok Shop, according to February 2024 data from PartnerCentric.

Gen Z shoppers embrace Temu, Shein, and TikTok Shop: 1 in 4 makes a purchase at a Chinese online marketplace at least once a week, as their array of cheap, trendy goods proves impossible for the price-sensitive cohort to resist.

From revolutionizing logistics and digital payments to capturing a major share of ecommerce and retail media ad revenues, Mercado Libre has profoundly reshaped Latin America鈥檚 digital economy.

Michaels and Shutterstock are navigating growth through a blend of creative initiatives and hard metrics. Michaels is focused on enhancing its customer experience and its new online marketplace. Shutterstock is leaning into SEO, automated dashboards, social listening, and collaboration.

On today's podcast episode, in our "Retail Me This, Retail Me That" segment, we discuss how the resale market is evolving, why some retailers work with a third party instead of developing their own charitable programs, and the role of digital marketplaces in resale. Join our analyst Sara Lebow as she hosts vice president of content Suzy Davidkhanian and Nancy Youssef, chief global business development officer of Soles4Souls.

So far, the retail media space has been slower to materialize in physical stores than on digital marketplaces. Cannes could reveal a move offline for networks. 鈥淚鈥檓 ready for the conversation around in-store retail media to move beyond potential and into execution,鈥� said Marzano. 鈥淚鈥檒l be keeping an eye out for compelling on-premise initiatives and activations.鈥�. 4. Talk of tariffs.

Marketplaces continue to drive growth for overall US ecommerce. First-party retail ecommerce sales will lag the average through 2029, while D2C sales will occupy the middle ground. Amazon will account for nearly 70% of US online marketplace sales.

Mercado Libre, which combines data from its digital marketplace and fintech arm, Mercado Pago, to build richer audience profiles and enable more precise ad targeting across its ecosystem. Rappi and DiDi go even further, operating across retail, banking, and travel.

The Commission鈥檚 decision represents the EU鈥檚 strongest effort yet to curb the market power of big tech companies and promote a more competitive digital marketplace. Given that Meta and Apple intend to appeal the decision, the actual payment of fines could be significantly delayed, and appeals could alter the final outcome.

Mercado Libre, which combines data from its digital marketplace and fintech arm, Mercado Pago, to build richer audience profiles and enable more precise ad targeting across its ecosystem. Rappi and DiDi go even further, operating across retail, banking, and travel.

With Amazon accounting for 76.7% of the US retail media industry鈥檚 $60.81 billion in ad spend, smaller retail media networks (RMNs) have to innovate to differentiate themselves in the longtail of the marketplace.

Marketplaces exert a strong (and still growing) influence. The share of ecommerce taking place through third-party marketplace channels will increase from 38.5% in 2024 to 39.8% in 2028, when the total value of marketplace sales will approach $700 billion.

Brands can find athletes willing to work with them on marketplaces like Icon Source or Opendorse. Brands can also attempt to connect directly with athletes and their representatives. And brands can connect to an athletic department who will put them in touch with their athletes, according to Carter. Brands with a sophisticated understanding of social media will be apt to use an online marketplace.

Social media companies are seeing online marketplaces like Temu and Shein slash ad spending. Social media ad growth could fall from around 13% to just 1.5%, a potential $10 billion impact, per an 蘑菇AV forecast. Overall digital ad spending could slow from 11.8% to 4.5%. "As these companies see their margins being squeezed, they've got to protect their bottom line," said Stambor.

Ecommerce advantage: Like fellow ecommerce operators Etsy and eBay, demand on Amazon鈥檚 marketplace has been resilient, with online store sales rising 11% YoY in Q2. That could be a sign that deal-hunting shoppers are turning to ecommerce more to uncover deeper discounts. 70% of US adults believe they can find better discounts online, according to the July edition of Ipsos鈥� Consumer Tracker.

Online fashion sales growth in France is stabilizing as global competitors capture market share and social platforms become more influential.

Etsy and eBay see opportunity to gain share as tariffs burden their competitors and consumers adjust their spending habits. Both companies are well-positioned to benefit from renewed interest in resale as tariffs make buying new more expensive for shoppers. The two platforms also now face less competition from Shein, Temu, and Amazon in online ad auctions鈥攁llowing them to be more efficient with marketing spend and reach more potential customers. While neither eBay nor Etsy is fully immune from the effects of tariffs鈥攁nd their potential drag on the economy and consumer confidence鈥攖hey are less exposed than most other retailers.

The situation: Amazon and Google, once bound by a symbiotic relationship in which Amazon funneled ad dollars into Google Search and Google indexed Amazon鈥檚 pages, are now veering toward open conflict as generative AI (genAI) blurs the lines between ecommerce, advertising, and search. Both companies are determined to own the entire journey from discovery to checkout, and that ambition is unraveling what remains of their former d茅tente. Our take: Amazon and Google are racing to define where and how consumers discover and buy products in the genAI era. If Amazon succeeds in walling off its marketplace data and steering shoppers to its own AI interfaces, the retail landscape could splinter into walled gardens where tech giants cooperate far less. That winner鈥憈akes鈥慳ll dynamic might suit the victors, but it risks degrading the overall consumer experience with fewer choices and less transparent pricing. At the same time, it could lead brands and retailers into a margin鈥憇apping race to the bottom inside whichever closed ecosystem proves most dominant.