44 Online Marketplace Statistics

Article by Charlène Guicheron - 07 Jun 2021 - 4 minute read

Looking for the best online marketplace statistics? Here’s what you need to know about marketplace growth, numbers, and so much more.

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Looking for the best online marketplace statistics? 

Here below, we’ve gathered the latest information to show you just how fast marketplaces are growing, what the biggest marketplaces businesses are, and many more interesting statistics.

Want to learn more? Read on!

online marketplace statistics

Source: Pexels

Online shopping statistics 

Who shops online? What percentage of shopping is done online? Here, you learn what online shopping looks like today.

More people are shopping online than ever before:

  • 230.5 million people shop online today and that number is steadily increasing year over year. (Statista)
  • 85% of Americans admit they go online on a daily basis. (Pew Research Center)
  • 79% of Americans make purchases online. (Pew Research Center)
  • 15% of online shoppers buy on a weekly basis. (Pew Research Center)
  • 62% of those who shop online on a weekly basis would rather purchase items online than at a physical store. (TechCrunch)
  • 40% of adults with an annual household income of over $75,000 use the internet “almost constantly.” (Pew Research Center)

 

As people experience the benefits and convenience of online marketplaces, they are spending more and more money. So, how much money is being spent online?

  • In 2021, global e-commerce sales are expected to reach $4.2 trillion. (Forbes)
  • U.S. consumers will account for almost 25% of that global spending. (Forbes)
  • By 2023, 17% of all transactions are predicted to go through e-commerce and marketplaces. (Forrester)
  • $3 USD was the average e-commerce spending per online visit. (Statista)
  • The average purchase value of desktop users was 42% higher than shoppers who browsed via a mobile device. (Smart Insights)
  • Last year, 14% of all U.S. consumer spending was performed online. (The US Census Bureau)
  • U.S. e-commerce sales grew 39% (to $199 billion) in the first quarter of 2021. (Forbes)

How big is the online marketplace industry?

Curious just how big the online marketplace industry is overall? Why is the online marketplace industry growing so rapidly? Consumers are becoming loyal, repeat shoppers as these online platforms build marketplace trust. Here’s what you need to know.

  • B2C marketplaces are estimated to reach $3.5 trillion in sales by 2024. (Forbes)
  • 47% of digital purchases worldwide happened via online marketplace platforms. (Statista)
  • One-third of all U.S. business “flow through e-commerce.” Of that, 63% is performed via marketplaces. (Forrester)
  • The top 50 marketplaces in the U.S. grew their sales 40% in 2020. (Digital Commerce)
  • 14% would prefer to shop at an online marketplace for a first-time purchase. (Statista)
  • 37% would prefer to make a repeat purchase at an online marketplace. (Statista)
  • The fashion industry generates more revenue than any other. It collected $525.1 billion in 2019 and is projected to make up 11.4% of the Global Compound Annual Growth Rate from 2019–2025. (FitSmallBusiness)
  • Apparel and footwear account for 27.2% of online sales. In 2020, that was over $121.5 billion. (CNBC via Coresight)

What is the biggest online marketplace in the world?

What are the biggest marketplaces in the world? How much money do they make? Here’s a closer look at these e-commerce giants.

Amazon marketplace statistics 

  • In 2020, Amazon’s U.S. sales grew 44.1%. (eMarketer)
  • 47% of online shoppers bought their first item on Amazon. (NPR Marist Poll)
  • 79.8% of Amazon shoppers choose this marketplace for it’s “fast, free shipping.” (Statista)
  • $1,400 is how much the average Amazon Prime member spends per year. That’s more than double of non-members whose average spend is $600 per year. (Business Insider)
  • 65% of U.S. Amazon shoppers are subscribed to Amazon Prime. (Statista)
  • 83.2% of U.S. Amazon sales in 2021 were books, music, and video purchases. (eMarketer)
  • When U.S. adults are planning to make a digital purchase, 53% begin their search on Amazon. (eMarketer)
  • Amazon supports small businesses. In 2018, a survey showed 73% of Amazon retailers had only 1-5 employees. (Statista)

Etsy marketplace statistics 

  • 61 million new and reactivated shoppers joined Etsy in 2020. (Etsy)
  • 13 million joined during the holidays (between October and December) of that same year, spending $3.3 billion. (Etsy)
  • In 2020, Etsy made over $1.7 billion in revenue, exploding over 100% since the year before. (Statista)
  • 14% of Etsy sellers are based in California. (Statista)
  • Home and Living is the most popular homemade category on Etsy, making up 25% of their sellers. (Statista)

Facebook marketplace statistics 

  • 74% of U.S. adults who use Facebook visit the platform at least once per day. (Pew Research Center)
  • In 2018, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg claimed Facebook Marketplace attracts over 800 million monthly users. (CNBC)
  • 3 types of businesses can sell inventory directly on Facebook Marketplace: Automotive, real estate and retail & e-commerce. (Facebook)
  • Every month, more than 20 million people click on Facebook’s used vehicle listings within the U.S. (Facebook)
  • Private sellers have reported a 70% success rate for selling items on Facebook Marketplace. (CNET)

Ebay marketplace statistics 

  • $10 billion was eBay's annual net revenue in 2020. This was a significant increase from the $8.6 billion made in 2019. (Statista)
  • 183 million active shoppers use eBay worldwide, as of December 2019. (Statista)
  • eBay has localized operations in more than 30 countries. This marketplace employs more than 30,000 people worldwide. (Statista and Balanced Careers)
  • 1995 is when eBay was founded, making it one of the oldest online marketplaces still operating (and growing) today. (Statista)
  • $7.5 million is how much revenue eBay made from transaction fees in 2019. This is the majority of how this online marketplace makes its revenue. (Statista)

Over to you!

There you have it! Now you know what the main online marketplace statistics are. 

Online marketplaces are growing in popularity and present an irresistible opportunity for those looking to launch their own. As more people migrate online and evolve their spending habits, now is a great time to discover a successful marketplace niche and get started.

Want to start your own marketplace? Sign up for a free trial of our marketplace builder. 

Charlène Guicheron
About Charlène Guicheron

Co-Founder and CEO of Kreezalid

After 5 years helping companies to develop their online marketplace, I saw success stories as well as failures. Today I share my experience and my clients feedbacks through useful resources that will allow you to focus on what really matters for the success of your online marketplace. Because believe me, the secret isn't in the code ...