Amazon & eBay: China-Based Sellers on Western Marketplaces Grow

Sellers in China are increasing their presence on online marketplaces around the world. Third-party platforms are an ideal way for Chinese manufacturers to sell their products directly to consumers in Europe or the U.S. at unbeatable prices.

Since then, the role of China-based sellers on international online marketplaces has become more and more important, with an increasing number of new players from the region entering the business. According to Marketplace Pulse, 75% of new sellers on Amazon's marketplace in January 2021 were located in China, up from 47% in January 2020 and 41% in 2019.

Chinese Producers to Reach 28% of Expected GMV on Amazon by 2023

The data demonstrates that China-based sellers are wielding a growing influence on platform transactions, i.e. GMV (Gross Merchandise Volume). The following chart illustrates their impact in more detail:

In 2018, sellers from China sold a total of US$62 billion worth of products on Amazon, contributing 20% to Amazon’s total GMV that year. Fast forward to 2021, China-based sellers accounted for 24%, representing a GMV of US$164 billion.

The significance of China-based sellers in Amazon's total GMV is projected to persist, with their GMV expected to reach US$238 billion, equivalent to 28.4% of the total, by 2023.

Despite Fluctuating Sales on eBay, the GMV Share of Chinese Sellers Is Set to Grow

But Amazon is not the only international online marketplace on which sellers from China are increasing their presence:

eBay’s total GMV has been rising and falling in the years since 2018 and a long-term trend points to stagnation. Still, the share of eBay's GMV accounted for by China-based sellers is growing steadily. Despite declining transaction values across the platform starting in 2021, sellers from China continue to do business on eBay. This is evidenced by their increasing contribution to eBay's total GMV, starting from a 20.9% in 2021 to an expected 26.3% in 2023.

This represents the same share as on Amazon. Of course, when comparing the GMV generated on eBay and Amazon, eBay cannot compete – a possible indication that China-based sellers are positioning themselves broadly across different marketplaces to offset losses on platforms where business is slowing.

Amazon & eBay: China-Based Sellers

Chinese sellers are becoming increasingly influential in global online marketplaces like Amazon and eBay. As these sellers are capturing a growing share of marketplace transactions, they are diversifying their presence across multiple platforms to reach more Western consumers.