eCommerce: Top Marketplaces

Top Online Marketplaces in the World: Key Insights

• Amazon Dominance: Amazon leads global online marketplaces with a 2023 GMV of US$728 billion, showcasing growth from US$144 billion in 2014, with a strong market focus in the U.S.

• Pinduoduo Surge: Since its launch, Pinduoduo has rapidly expanded to a GMV of US$580 billion in 2023, predominantly in Greater China, with fashion being its largest category at 56%.

• Taobao Stability: Taobao, focusing exclusively on third-party sellers, has maintained a strong presence in China, with a slight decrease to US$541 billion in 2023 GMV, mainly driven by fashion and electronics.

• Tmall Trends: Tmall's GMV peaked during the COVID-19 pandemic but slightly decreased to US$526 billion in 2023, with a major focus on care products and fashion in the Chinese market.

• JD.com Growth: JD.com has shown consistent growth in GMV, reaching US$501 billion in 2023, with electronics as the top-selling category, primarily serving the Greater China region.

An eCommerce world without online marketplaces is unimaginable. The first online marketplaces used one of the most basic and earliest concepts of successful trade and reinvented it in an online context: The convenience of finding everything you need in one place.

Online marketplaces represent a significant portion of global eCommerce sales, accounting for over one-third (35%) of online shopping orders worldwide. In specific regions, such as Germany and Italy, marketplaces comprised 44% of eCommerce transactions as of January 2024.

Our analysis reveals a clear winner in terms of global online marketplace GMV.

Top Marketplaces Worldwide: Amazon in Its Own League

Amazon has the lead in the global online marketplace world, with a 2023 GMV of US$728.8 billion. Following closely, Chinese platform Pinduoduo holds the second spot with a GMV of US$580 billion.

Taobao, another major player from China, is third with US$541.3 billion. Alibaba’s B2C platform Tmall is in fourth place, posting a 2023 GMV of US$526 billion. Chinese JD.com rounds out the top 5, with US$501.3 billion in 2023.

But what are the unique dynamics of each marketplace?

1) Amazon

Standing out as a key player in the online marketplace space for a long time now, Amazon offers a wide range of products both from its own inventory and from third-party sellers.

It's primarily managed by Amazon.com, Inc., and focuses heavily on sales within the United States, which make up the largest portion of its Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV). The American market dominates, contributing 50.1% to Amazon's GMV, with Japan being the second major contributor at 9.4%. Other significant markets include the United Kingdom (8.4%), Germany (7.7%), and Canada (4.4%).

Amazon's product offerings span various categories, with Hobby & Leisure and Electronics being the most prominent, accounting for 37.1% and 36% of the 2023 GMV, respectively. Other notable categories include Fashion, Furniture & Homeware, and Care Products.

Looking at Amazon's financial performance over the years, the GMV shows significant growth. In 2014, the GMV was US$144.45 billion, increasing to US$377.18 billion by 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic saw a major boost in 2020, with the GMV jumping to US$554.58 billion.

This upward trend continued into 2023, reaching US$728.85 billion. Forecasts for 2024 and 2025 predict further increases to US$755.39 billion and US$769.47 billion, respectively, indicating a steady rise in Amazon's eCommerce dominance.

2) Pinduoduo

Pinduoduo, operating under Pinduoduo, Inc., is a marketplace that sells products both from its own inventory and through third-party sellers. Its sales are mainly focused on the Greater China region. Launched in 2015, the platform has seen substantial growth over the years.

Looking at the GMV, 2016's numbers stood at US$3.04 billion. The successful marketplace's GMV surged to US$145.71 billion by 2019. The following year, 2020, saw a significant rise to US$241.65 billion. By 2023, the GMV had reached US$580.04 billion, and it's forecasted to grow further to US$654.52 billion in 2024.

As for product categories, in 2023, Fashion dominated with 56% of the GMV. Electronics followed at 22%, and Care Products accounted for 12%. Both Grocery and Furniture & Homeware each made up 5% of the total GMV.

3) Taobao

Taobao, launched in 2003, operates as a marketplace that only hosts third-party sellers. It is part of the Alibaba Group Holding, Ltd.

Looking at Taobao's GMV, there's been notable growth and fluctuation over the years. In 2014, the GMV was US$259.95 billion, which climbed to US$490.27 billion by 2019. The onset of COVID-19 saw an increase to US$568.36 billion in 2020. However, there was a decline afterwards, with 2023 recording a GMV of US$541.28 billion. The forecast for 2024 is slightly higher at US$542.62 billion, indicating a stabilization after recent drops.

In terms of geographic market share, Greater China dominates with 95.8% of Taobao's GMV, followed by smaller contributions from South Korea and Japan at 1% each, Singapore at 0.6%, and Malaysia at 0.5%. As for product categories, in 2023, fashion led with 35% of the GMV, followed by hobby and leisure at 21%, and electronics at 14%. Furniture and homeware accounted for 10%, while care products made up 9%.

4) Tmall

Tmall, launched in 2008, operates as a marketplace selling products from its own stock and from third-party sellers. Like Taobao, Tmall is also a part of Alibaba Group Holding, Ltd., and focuses primarily on the Chinese market.

Looking at Tmall's GMV, we see significant growth over the years, followed by a recent slowdown. In 2014, the GMV was US$137.87 billion. By 2019, pre-Covid, this figure had risen to US$463.50 billion. In 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, GMV jumped to US$546.52 billion, reflecting the boost in online shopping during the pandemic. However, in 2023, the GMV dipped to US$525.98 billion, and it's forecasted to slightly recover to US$528.38 billion in 2024.

The top countries contributing to Tmall’s GMV are overwhelmingly from Greater China, accounting for 96.1% of the total. Singapore follows at a distance with only 0.6%. The main product categories in 2023 were Care Products (41%), Fashion (31%), and Grocery (18%), indicating a strong consumer preference for personal care and fashion items on the platform.

5) JD.com

JD.com, an online marketplace operating primarily within Greater China, facilitates sales from both its own inventory and that of third-party sellers, with its main operations being tied to its website jd.com.

In terms of GMV, JD.com has shown significant growth over the years, though there have been fluctuations. 2014's GMV of US$42.4 billion nearly doubled by 2015 and continued to grow, reaching US$301.9 billion by 2019. After a sharp increase to US$378.6 billion in 2020, the GMV stabilized with a slight rise in 2021 before a minor dip in 2023 to US$501.3 billion. The forecast for 2024 shows a modest increase to US$502.5 billion.

In 2023, the distribution of sales across categories highlighted electronics as the leading category, making up 45% of total GMV. Fashion followed with 27%, while care products accounted for 11%. Furniture and homeware, and DIY contributed 10% and 5%, respectively.