The Old Logic Is Breaking Down

For years, product content in fashion e-commerce was treated as a cost to be managed. Every SKU needed photography. Every market needed assets. Every new channel demanded more material. The cost scaled linearly with volume — and that meant brands constantly made trade-offs: fewer images, slower time-to-market, underfunded product pages.

That logic is now being dismantled.

AI has made it possible — for the first time — to scale content without scaling cost. The result is not just operational efficiency. It is a structural shift in how competition on fashion marketplaces works. And the brands and platforms that recognised this earliest are already pulling ahead.

Zalando: The Signal Everyone Should Be Reading

When Zalando reported its full-year outlook in March 2026, the headline numbers were strong: a forecast jump of 12–25 % in adjusted operating profit, a share buyback of up to 300 million euros, and shares leaping 12% on the day — their best performance since March 2024.

But the more significant signal was in how Zalando explained the growth. Co-CEO David Schröder attributed it directly to AI:

“We have 70 % more content now, basically at the same kind of cost.”

Seventy percent more content. Same cost. That is not incremental improvement — that is the unit economics of content production fundamentally resetting.

Zalando also pointed to AI-generated product images as a driver of efficiency in ad creation, and flagged AI virtual try-on as a tool for reducing returns — historically one of the most expensive structural problems in online fashion.

The takeaway is not that Zalando is doing something clever with technology. It is that content — long a fixed operational cost — is beginning to behave like a variable one.

Marketplace Universe Insight
When the marginal cost of an additional product image approaches zero, the competitive logic of a marketplace changes entirely. Content stops being a constraint and starts being a weapon.

Luxury Is Not Sitting This Out

One persistent assumption in the AI-and-fashion conversation is that the premium segment will resist. Brand DNA, heritage, creative control — these are real concerns. But the data from early adopters tells a different story.

Fabrizio Cardinali, CEO of Etro and former General Manager of Dolce & Gabbana, spoke at BoF VOICES 2025 about the brand’s results after partnering with AI content provider PIXELMODA:

“With PIXELMODA we have been growing e-comm sales close to 50% per year for 2 years — and we are spending less than what we did 3 years ago.”

50 % annual e-commerce growth. Lower cost than before. That is the kind of P&L impact that tends to end the philosophical debate about AI fairly quickly.

Cardinali was also candid about how the shift happened internally. Etro began by using AI to improve precision and consistency in product imagery, then expanded into campaign content — including the SS24 “Nowhere” campaign, which used AI to build imaginative visual worlds around products. The concern that AI would dilute brand DNA has not materialised. According to Cardinali:

“It’s very difficult, almost impossible, to see the difference between a non-AI image and an AI-assisted one.”

The human element — real photographers, real models, real stylists — remained central. What changed is how efficiently that human team works, and how many additional assets can be generated from each shoot. The freed-up budget and creative capacity then went into the work where human judgement genuinely cannot be replicated: editorial, campaign, storytelling.

How the Production Model Actually Works

To understand why this matters at scale, it helps to understand what modern AI content production actually looks like. The industry has largely converged on two complementary modes — and the combination of both is where the real economics shift happens.

Mode 1: AI-Assisted Production A human team — model, photographer, stylist — shoots on set, but guided in real time by AI that checks every frame against the brand’s specific visual guidelines. Nothing is generated or synthetic. The output is traditional photography, produced faster and with significantly less rework and waste. The AI acts as a quality layer, not a replacement for the shoot itself.

Mode 2: Generative AI Using AI-assisted images as inputs, generative AI then produces additional assets per SKU: body swaps, alternative backgrounds, different poses, video clips, editorial shots. Content that previously required separate shoots, separate locations, and separate budgets can now be generated in hours.

Providers like PIXELMODA have built their entire service model around this two-layer approach — using the assisted shoot as the foundation and the generative layer as a multiplier. The results, across a client base of over 900 brands, make the case for the model plainly.

The cost impact is significant:

• Photography costs reduced by up to 70 %
• Video production costs reduced by up to 90 %
• Time-to-online cut by up to 50 %

And the revenue impact is equally measurable. According to PIXELMODA’s data:

• Moving from 4 images to 7+ per SKU reduces returns by 22 % (Shopify data)
• Adding video drives sales up by +10–20 %
• Aligning model ethnicity with target consumer demographics adds a further +10–25 % in conversion

The Missed Opportunity Most Brands Don’t See

Gianni Serazzi, who leads PIXELMODA, put the business case bluntly at BoF VOICES 2025:

“If you look at your business and you’re creating content for online the same way you were creating it 5 years ago, you’re probably missing anything between 10 % and 30–40 % of sales — now, this month.”

The uncomfortable truth is that this gap does not show up on a P&L as a line item. It is invisible — the sales that never happened, the conversions that never came, because the product page wasn’t good enough to close the deal.

Marketplace Universe Insight
Content gaps don’t announce themselves. You don’t see the sales you’re missing — you only see the ones you make. That’s what makes AI-driven content so structurally important: it makes previously invisible losses recoverable.

What This Means for Marketplace Competition

Here is where the argument gets structural.

Content volume and quality are already major inputs into marketplace ranking algorithms, conversion rates, and retail media performance. As AI makes richer content dramatically cheaper to produce, the baseline expectation on platforms will rise. What is a differentiator today — more images, video, diverse model representation — becomes table stakes in a short window.

That changes the nature of competitive advantage. Once AI content tools are widely available and the cost advantages compound for everyone who adopts them, content quality alone ceases to be a moat.

The brands that pull ahead will be those that use the newly freed-up capacity — budget, time, creative talent — more intelligently. That might mean:

• Faster creative testing across markets
• Deeper localisation (language, model ethnicity, cultural context)
• Higher investment in the data capabilities needed to understand which content actually converts, and where

The Uncomfortable Conclusion

The structural argument cuts both ways. If AI makes content production dramatically cheaper and faster for everyone, then the brands and marketplaces that benefit most will not be those who simply adopt the technology. They will be those who move earliest and build operational and strategic capabilities around it before the window closes.

Zalando’s framing — AI as a catalyst for both efficiency and growth simultaneously — is the version of this story that should be landing in boardrooms. Not AI as cost-cutting. Not AI as a creative experiment. AI as the mechanism by which the economics of marketplace competition fundamentally reset.

For fashion brands still treating content as a linear cost to be managed, that reset is already underway.

Key Learnings

• AI has broken the linear relationship between content volume and content cost. 70 % more content at the same cost (Zalando) is not an edge case — it is the new direction of travel.
• Premium and luxury brands are adopting AI, not resisting it. The Etro example shows that AI-assisted content can preserve brand DNA while delivering significant commercial results.
• The production model has structurally changed. AI-assisted shooting + generative AI output means 30+ assets per SKU, at a fraction of traditional cost.
• The revenue impact of richer content is measurable and significant. More images reduce returns. Adding video lifts conversion. Localised models drive further uplift.
• The gap is invisible until it’s gone. Brands not optimising their PDP content are losing sales they cannot see — and won’t recover until they change the workflow.
• Content quality will become table stakes, not a differentiator. Competitive advantage will shift toward execution, data, and how freed-up resources are reinvested.

PIXELMODA is a global provider of AI-assisted and AI-generated content for fashion and luxury e-commerce, working with over 900 brands across Europe, the US and Asia. For more information see pixelmoda.net 

04.05.2026 – Written by Ricarda Eichler, Journalist and Author for OHN

Der Beitrag How AI Transforms Fashion Marketplaces — From Content Bottleneck to Business Engine erschien zuerst auf Marketplace Universe.

DDoS attack takes eBay offline
eBay was targeted by a large-scale global DDoS attack, claimed by the Iranian hacker group 313 Team. At the end of April 2026, this led to repeated disruptions – with estimated revenue losses of up to USD 200 million per day. Sellers were affected by limitations in sales operations and transactions. eBay refers in this context to its seller protection, which is intended to safeguard affected merchants in case of platform-related issues. Find out more on Cybersecurity (DDoS) and Wortfilter (seller protection)

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eBay significantly increases revenue and GMV
eBay generated revenue of USD 3.1 billion (+19%) and GMV of USD 22.2 billion (+18%) in Q1 2026. eBay also reports 136 million active buyers and points to strategic progress in advertising and payments. Read more on eBay 

Cloud business and advertising drive Amazon growth
Amazon also significantly increased revenue to USD 181.5 billion (+17%) and operating income to USD 30.3 billion in Q1 2026. Key growth drivers remain AWS (+28%) and advertising, while investments – particularly in AI infrastructure – continue to rise sharply. See more on Stocktitan 

Etsy beats expectations
The handmade marketplace Etsy exceeded revenue forecasts in the first quarter and increased Gross Merchandise Sales (GMS) by 5.5% to USD 2.5 billion. Growth was mainly driven by more active buyers and a 2% increase in GMS per buyer. More on Fashionnetwork

Vinted further connects DACH markets
Vinted continues to link its country marketplaces. Together with Austrian Post, it has now connected Germany and Austria for the first time. Previously, German users could trade with France, Italy, and the Netherlands, while Austrian users were connected to France and Italy. Find out more on Ecommercenews  

Zalando prepares launch in Bulgaria
Zalando continues its expansion in Europe. After launching in Portugal and Greece, the market entry in Bulgaria is expected on August 1. More on Worldef 

B&Q expands marketplace with Tech & Home Office
The British DIY marketplace B&Q continues to grow and adds a new “Tech & Home Office” category – ranging from furniture to monitors and printers. This addresses rising home office demand and gives sellers access to over 20 million monthly visitors. See more on ChannelX

Wild News

GameStop wants to acquire eBay
The gaming platform GameStop has made an unsolicited takeover bid for eBay worth $55.5 billion. The offered price is about 20% above eBay’s current share price. If eBay rejects the proposal, GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen plans to take the offer directly to eBay shareholders. With this move, GameStop aims to build a stronger competitor to Amazon, while also planning significant cost reductions following a potential acquisition. Read more on BBC

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Der Beitrag Marketplace Universe News 04.05.2026 – Gamestop wants to buy eBay, and eBay Under DDoS Attack erschien zuerst auf Marketplace Universe.

Who is where now? The personnel carousel of the Marketplace Universe has been moving merrily along in April. We help you keep up with the Movers & Shakers of our dynamic industry.

Our Movers & Shakers Top picks in April

Rossella Furnari has stepped up at Leroy Merlin, now leading as Marketplace Team Leader, taking on greater responsibility across marketplace operations.

Jonny Hofberger has been Managing Director at GTK VATpilot GmbH since March.

Pia Nolte left fashionette to join Douglas as a Director Partner Program.

Johannes von Roth-Bandick has left TB International to step into a top leadership role as Co-CEO / Chief Commercial Officer at MAG – Marketplace Amplifier.

Ronja Wichmann has taken the next step at limango, now leading as Teamlead Marketplace – Key Account, Operations & Retail Media, with a broader remit across marketplace performance.

More Movers & Shakers in april

Lisa Babenko was promoted to a new position as Head Global Service and Customer Experience Strategy at MediaMarktSaturn.

Mateusz Czechowski was promoted to Team Leader, Intellectual Property at Allegro.

Annabelle Fezer has left ULTIMO Fashion to join Rich & Royal – Peter Stupp Design Mode as Key-Account-Manager, continuing her path in fashion commerce.

Greta Fubel has left ARMEDANGELS to join Douglas as Manager Global CRM & Loyalty, taking charge of customer engagement strategies.

Stina Ingensiep has taken the next step at home24 SE, now serving as Senior Manager Risk & Compliance.

Tobias Jung left Braun Büffel to start a new position as Head of Platform at Klapital

Steffen Kneer left EGLO Leuchten to join KG HAGEN Deutschland as Head of E-Commerce.

Scarlett Kubovicová has transitioned from Amazon Business to Allegro, where she now works as Sr. Key Account Manager.

Silvia Leskova was promoted to a new position as Head of E-commerce & Revenue at FABINI.

Luc Malmendier has moved up at Redcare Pharmacy, now serving as Associate Director of Engineering.

Christine Marks has left Rotkäppchen-Mumm Sektkellereien and joined Dr. Beckmann Group as Group Lead E-Commerce, taking charge of digital growth.

Laura Melchior has advanced to Lead Localization Manager at zooplus, overseeing international content and market adaptation.

Klaudia Orlovčić has joined bike-components as Specialist Operational Buying, strengthening procurement and assortment operations.

Janusz Radicke left Converse to start a new position as Sr. Principle NSW Sales CEMEA at Nike.

Alice Reichenbach has been promoted to Associate Director of eCommerce at Pattern®, taking on a broader leadership role in marketplace growth.

Marc Ritter has moved on from Handelsagentur Ritter to become Key-Account-Manager D/AT at Croozer GmbH.

Sarah Ruehrich has been promoted to Senior Field Marketing Manager EMEA Central at Mirakl, taking on a broader regional scope.

Christian Scheel has moved up at eBay, now leading as Lead Seller Programs & Performance.

Denise Schlumm has advanced at PlentyONE, now serving as Revenue Operations Manager, bridging sales and operational performance.

Rob Smith has left New Balance to join Nike as Senior Sales Rep – Football Speciality, shifting focus within the sportswear space.

Grzegorz Suchanek has been promoted to Senior Franchising & Sales Development Manager at SMYK Group, expanding his role in retail development.

Alexander Trzka has started a new role as Marktplatz Manager at MAG – Marketplace Amplifier, focusing on marketplace strategy and execution.

Katharina Wrede has been promoted to Merchandise Planner & Controller at ARMEDANGELS, combining planning with financial oversight.

Did we miss something? Let us know!

Der Beitrag Marketplace Movers & Shakers in April 2026 erschien zuerst auf Marketplace Universe.

Zalando shuts down Connected Retail
Zalando is consistently pushing its platform strategy and is discontinuing its Connected Retail programme – at the expense of its partners: all Connected Retail retailers must decide by May 15th whether to transition into Zalando’s Partner Programme by June 2027. If not, the partnership will already end this August. At the same time, Zalando is adjusting its fee structure, which could have significant implications for retailers’ margin calculations. The move itself is understandable – but the way it is being executed is not. See the full story on LinkedIn

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Better figures for Asos
The turnaround at Asos is slowly taking hold: In the first half of 2026 GMV declined again by 9% to £1.17 billion and revenue fell by 14% to £1.11 billion. However, operating profit improved from £42.5 million to £64 million, and margins increased from 45.2% to 48.5%. For the first time since autumn 2021, Asos also recorded new customer growth of 9% in March. Read more on Fashionnetwork 

Temu and Shein cost the German economy €2.4 billion
Competition from China costs the German economy around €2.4 billion in value creation each year, including €1.3 billion in retail alone. Specifically, the German state loses around €429 million in tax revenue, and approximately 40,000 jobs are affected. The reason is unfair competition due to violations of applicable EU regulations. And the momentum continues: In Portugal, Temu has been named the leading international marketplace for the first time. See more on Einzelhandel (competition) und Fashionnetwork (Portugal)  

EU reviews Ceconomy acquisition over Chinese subsidies
EU competition regulators are reviewing the $2.5 billion acquisition of electronics retailer Ceconomy by Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com for potential state subsidies from China. If concerns are confirmed by May 25, the EU could launch an in-depth investigation and demand concessions from JD.com. Find out more on Retail-Insight-Network 

CMA reviews eBay–Depop deal in the UK market
The planned acquisition of Depop by eBay is also facing scrutiny. In the UK, the competition authority CMA has launched a public consultation to assess potential impacts on competition and consumers. Submissions are open until May 8, 2026, after which the CMA will decide whether to proceed with a formal investigation. Find out more on ValueAddedResource 

Etsy adjusts operating fees
The handmade platform Etsy is adjusting the regulatory operating fees it charges sellers across several European markets. In France, Spain, Italy and the UK, fees have in some cases more than doubled, while they are being introduced for the first time in Hungary. In Turkey, however, fees are decreasing. Read more on ValueAddedResource 

Success News

9 success factors behind Decathlon
While competitors struggle with shrinking margins and market share losses, sporting goods retailer Decathlon has developed strongly in recent years – its network of 1,800 stores across 79 countries alone is remarkable. According to Swiss consultancy Carpathia, key success factors include an excellent price-performance ratio, a strong omnichannel experience, and powerful private labels. Read the full story on Carpathia

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Der Beitrag Marketplace Universe News 27.04.2026 – Zalando kicks out retail partners, and Shemu erodes value erschien zuerst auf Marketplace Universe.

Marketplace Country Quadrant UK 2026: The Return of the British Giants

The British market has evolved rapidly over the last years. From Europe’s powerhouse to post-Brexit decline to battle field for aggressive Chinese players to local heroes-playing field, outlook changed hard and fast in just a few years. ECDB’s data for 2026 now projects the UK e-commerce revenue to reach €167.09 billion in 2026. Following a period of relative cooling, growth is regaining serious momentum, projecting an impressive 6.4% year-over-year increase.

The level of market penetration is truly remarkable: nearly one in every three pounds (29.7%) in the UK is now spent online. In a country of 69.6 million people where internet penetration stands at a saturated 99.3%, “offline” retail is rapidly becoming an outlier. However, the most compelling trend is the “platform boom” led by domestic giants. Retailers like Tesco, Next, and John Lewis have aggressively adapted to the marketplace model and are now dominating the landscape. Our freshly updated Marketplace Country Quadrant UK 2026 reflects this shift.

What’s changed? The great domestic shift

Compared to the previous year, the face of the Marketplace Country Quadrant UK has shifted radically:

• Next & TikTok Shop: Both have officially ascended to the generalist tier. Next has completed its transformation into a broad-based platform, massively pushing its marketplaces as the main driver for growth. And TikTok Shop has expanded well beyond its initial niches to become a major force in categories like Food.
• AliExpress & Very: These players have been repositioned. AliExpress seems to be losing the battle against the determined local heroes and has lost its place among the generalists. It is still relevant in some categories but much less the attacker it was one year ago. Very’s marketplace is doing well, but in many marketplaces it has been overtaken by the stronger growth of competitors like Next, which is why we moved them to the category leader’s board for now. 
• The Brexit Filter: International Platforms (apart from Amazon and ebay) are struggling in the UK. ManoMano has disappeared completely from the quadrant, Zalando is nowhere to be seen, and Decathlon is fighting for their place on the category leader board. The bureaucratic friction of post-Brexit trade acts as a natural filter, weeding out cross-border actors lacking local infrastructure.

The 2026 Quadrant in Detail

Looking closely at the current Marketplace Country Quadrant UK, the balance of power is clearly defined:

Generalists

• Amazon & eBay: Defending their foundational roles as the ultimate market leader and re-commerce hub, respectively.
• Next & Tesco: The new gold standards for successful British platform strategies.
• TikTok Shop: The social commerce powerhouse now serving all major categories.
• Temu: Present, but far less dominant here than on the European mainland.

Specialists by Category

• Fashion & Shoes: Shein dominates the budget segment, while John Lewis and Very capture the curated lifestyle niche.
• Electronics: Back Market continues to capitalize on refurbished tech, flanked by Argos and OnBuy.
• Home & Living: A three-way battle between premium John Lewis, specialist Wayfair, and value-driven AliExpress.
• DIY & Garden: B&Q defends its top spot against a revitalized Argos and AliExpress.
• Sports: JD remains the benchmark, with Decathlon and John Lewis providing market breadth.
• Beauty & Care: TikTok Shop dominates this category, but as they ascended to the generalist tier, we also look at Superdrug, ASOS and Very to fill the niche.

Market Analysis: Marketplace Universe Opinion

The Marketplace Country Quadrant UK makes one thing abundantly clear: The British “Local Heroes” didn’t just crash the marketplace party; they took it over. With a staggering 94.4% of e-commerce revenue generated via domestic purchases, the UK is no longer a landscape for quick cross-border wins. If you want to succeed here, you have to commit to local platforms. The moat is deep, but thanks to the high digital affinity of British consumers, the potential for those who cross it is greater than ever.

Want to add your voice?

Did we miss an emerging player in our analysis? Help us make the quadrant even more precise for 2027!

Do you have anything to add to our country quadrant for the UK? Let us know!

Interested in a different country or a specific product category? Check out all our quadrants here!

Der Beitrag Top Marketplaces in the UK – Marketplace Country Quadrant UK 2026 erschien zuerst auf Marketplace Universe.

TikTok Shop Expands into Europe
ByteDance appears to see opportunities for e-commerce even in smaller European markets: TikTok Shop is currently preparing to launch in Poland, the Netherlands, and Belgium. This is indicated by job postings and seller platforms that have already been set up. Meanwhile, QVC has filed for bankruptcy in the U.S. The home shopping channel has recently been suffering increasingly from the shift to TikTok Shop and Whatnot. Read the full story on Ecommercenews (TikTok Shop) and CNN (QVC)

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eBay sales directly in the Facebook feed
Meta Platforms has added eBay to its new affiliate partner programme. It allows Facebook users to integrate eBay listings directly into their feeds and sell them for a commission. The programme is still in beta, with a broader rollout expected in the coming months. More on ChannelX 

Temu joins IACC
Temu has joined the International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition (IACC), which includes around 250 companies and organisations across more than 40 countries dedicated to fighting counterfeiting and piracy. In recent years, Temu has repeatedly faced criticism for the widespread distribution of counterfeit and imitation branded goods. Read more on Yahoo

Mirakl positions itself as middleware
Marketplace software provider Mirakl is expanding its integration solution “Mirakl Connector” into a broader middleware layer, enabling connections to additional marketplaces such as Amazon, Walmart, Target, Kaufland and TikTok Shop. More marketplaces are expected to follow. The new solution includes cross-platform campaign planning, automated content adaptation, and financial services. Find out more on LinkedIn

bol opens checkout for third-party shops
The Dutch marketplace bol is opening its checkout technology to additional shops. Following a pilot phase, bol.checkout is now used by more than 300 online stores, allowing customers to pay using their bol account. Access for shops that are not bol partners will follow later. See more on Retaildetail

Rent the Runway enters the marketplace business
The rental and subscription platform Rent the Runway launched its own online marketplace in March. The goal is to expand its designer and eveningwear offering to include accessories and items for complete looks. In 2025, Rent the Runway generated nearly $330 million in revenue, up 7.7% year-on-year. Find out more on RetailDive

Allegro still holds its ground against Temu (for now)
The Polish marketplace Allegro managed to increase both the average product price and basket size in 2025, clearly outperforming Temu in terms of basket value. However, the Chinese competitor is catching up in order volume. Despite Temu’s growing popularity, users still spend around 2.5 times less there than on Allegro. More on ITWiz

Customer Fees News

eMAG introduces additional order fee
Since April 17, the leading Romanian marketplace eMAG has introduced an additional fee for customers. It ranges from approximately €0.29 to €0.78 per order and applies to purchases both from eMAG itself and from marketplace sellers. eMAG justifies the fee with investments in technical infrastructure and improvements to the shopping experience. See more on Antena3

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Der Beitrag Marketplace Universe News 20.04.2026 – QVC files for insolvency, TikTok expands erschien zuerst auf Marketplace Universe.

These are the 47 most relevant B2C marketplaces for Fashion & Shoes in Europe in 2026

Last update 17.04.2026

The state of the European fashion market

Fashion remains the largest e-commerce category in Europe — but the headline numbers only tell half the story. According to ECDB, the market reached €149.4bn in 2024, is expected to grow to €156.6bn in 2025, and will hit €165.7bn in 2026. Online penetration keeps climbing alongside it, moving from roughly 35% in 2024 to nearly 38% in 2026. On paper, that looks like stable, predictable growth. In reality, it isn’t.

A disproportionate share of that YoY growth sits with a handful of players — most notably Shein and Temu. Add Zalando and a few strong regional platforms like OTTO, bol, Skroutz or Allegro, and you already cover most of the momentum. Behind those platforms, the picture changes.

For much of the mid-market, the last two years have been difficult — squeezed between rising competition, high return rates and constant pressure on margins. The moderate growth expected for 2026 doesn’t suggest that this will ease anytime soon.

Growth is still there. But it’s no longer evenly distributed.

And that has consequences for how the marketplace landscape evolves. Fashion combines massive scale with extreme assortment complexity: sizes, colours, seasons, styles, men’s, women’s, kids. Add to that the fact that marketplace models have been embedded in fashion for years, and the result is a category that doesn’t collapse into a handful of dominant platforms. It spreads across global generalists, fashion-first marketplaces, off-price ecosystems, recommerce players and highly specialised niches — all operating at the same time.

A leaner quadrant — but not a small one

Compared to the 2025 edition, we have significantly reduced the number of platforms: from 66 marketplaces to 47 in 2026.

Not because the market shrank. But because we stopped pretending everything is equally relevant. We applied stricter criteria — focusing on real marketplace activity, clearer platform structures and actual commercial relevance. But at the same time, fashion doesn’t lend itself to a purely data-driven filter: Too many platforms operate in hybrid models. Too much activity happens in places that don’t fully show up in clean KPIs. And too many decisions are still driven by where brands actually sell — not where models say they should.

That’s why this update combines data with direct input from our Marketplace Universe Fashion Community. And integrated knowledge directly from the field.

And one more thing we changed: the X-axis. We moved away from “Budget Segment → Luxus/Premium” and now use Price Driven → Brand Driven — because it better reflects how brands and sellers actually navigate this landscape.

What’s changed?

The lower-priced end of the market has become impossible to ignore. Shein, Temu and AliExpress are no longer fringe cases or uncomfortable additions. They are structural forces in European fashion.

At the same time, off-price has become more visible as its own ecosystem. Best Secret, Veepee, Privalia, Showroomprivé, Secret Sales, DreiVIP, Afound and Dress-for-less are not just stock clearance channels. They are part of how fashion inventory is redistributed at scale.

Recommerce is getting bigger — but still finding its place. The business models like Vinted and Vestiare Collective are evolving fast, and a lot of players from outside the category are trying to get a piece of it too. Watch this space.

There are some marketplaces we deleted from our Fashion Quadrant from last year, because they are not really relevant –  yet or anymore –  for the Fashion Category in Europe. So whom did we delete from this overview? sarenza, Outletcity Metzingen, Yoox (not operating as a marketplace anymore), van Graaf, BrandAlley, Clubefashion, trendyol (mainly in Turkey), avocadostore, Ahlens, M&S, Galeries Lafayette, de Bijenkorf, Harvey Nichols, Harrods, Globus, Douglas, very, ellos, Modivo, Le BHV/Marais.

First time on the quadrant: Vestiaire Collective, Vinted, AliExpress, Frasers Group & TikTok Shop 

And then there is the growing cluster of hybrid specialists and fashion-led marketplaces: Zalando, About You, breuninger, Next, La Redoute, Miinto, Fashionette, Fashion Days, WE Fashion, ASOS,  and others. Different models, different strengths — but all relevant enough for some use cases to remain in the big picture.

The most important players

A few platforms still define the shape of the market.

Zalando remains the clearest reference point for fashion marketplaces in Europe. It combines scale, platform logic and a strong brand environment more convincingly than almost anyone else.

About You continues to build beyond its home region and has become one of the most important fashion-native marketplace players in Europe.

Amazon remains unavoidable. Not because it is the most fashion-specific platform, but because of its scale, traffic and role in basics, repeat purchases and price comparison.

A highly differentiated ecosystem

What makes the fashion marketplace landscape so difficult to compress is exactly what makes it so interesting: there is no single winning model.

At one end, you have price-driven generalists such as AliExpress, Temu, Allegro and eMAG. These platforms compete through scale, low prices and broad reach.

Then there are the large generalists with stronger local roots or more curated environments, including Amazon, eBay, Kaufland, Miravia, Galaxus, bol, OTTO, Skroutz, El Corte Inglés, John Lewis and Manor.

But fashion in Europe is not defined by generalists alone.

A large part of the category is carried by platforms that are much more fashion-specific – and price-driven. Shein has become the clearest example of a highly price-driven specialist. Showroomprivé, Vinted and Spartoo also play in that broader space, albeit with very different models.

The off-price segment follows its own rules. Best Secret, Veepee, Privalia, Secret Sales, DreiVIP, Afound and Dress-for-less are all built around deal logic, inventory pressure and brand offloading.

And then there is the broad group of more brand-led or segment-led fashion specialists: About You, Happy Size, H&M, Humanic, TikTok Shop, Limango, WE Fashion, Next, ASOS, Debenhams, Frasers Group, Fashionette, Fashion Days, INNO, Miinto, Wehkamp and La Redoute.

Finally, the right edge of the market remains reserved for the clearest fashion-first and brand-led environments: Zalando, Vestiaire Collective, Breuninger and Farfetch.

Conclusion

The 2026 update shows a more edited, curated view of the marketplace landscape for fashion & shoes. We cut the number of platforms from 66 to 47 — not to flatten the category, but to make the landscape more readable without losing what makes fashion different. Because fashion marketplaces in Europe stretch across price logic, brand logic, off-price, recommerce, niche positioning and local heritage. That makes the category messier, but also leaves plenty of room for growth opportunities and profitable niches aside from the big players.

Check out all our other Category and Country Quadrants here!

Der Beitrag Marketplace Quadrant Fashion & Shoes 2026 erschien zuerst auf Marketplace Universe.

Vinted Achieves Over €10 Billion GMV
In 2025, sellers sold goods worth more than €10.8 billion through the second-hand marketplace Vinted, marking a nearly 50% increase compared to 2024. While net profit declined by 19% to €62 million, Vinted remains profitable for the third consecutive year. The company attributes the profit decline to the expansion of the German market, the logistics service Vinted Go in Spain and Portugal, as well as the launch of Vinted Pay. See more on Ecommercenews 

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Der Beitrag Marketplace Universe News 13.04.2026 – Vinted Breaks the €10 Billion Mark / TikTok Shop Doubles Growth / Sephora builds ChatGPT Integration erschien zuerst auf Marketplace Universe.

The silo trap: when strong Amazon performance hides weak business performance

Marketplace performance — particularly within Amazon advertising — often looks convincing on paper.

• Revenue is growing
• Campaigns are scaling
• Efficiency metrics such as ROAS remain stable or improve

From a channel perspective, everything appears to be working.

And yet, many teams encounter the same pattern over time:
budgets increase, but growth does not follow proportionally.

This is where the silo trap becomes visible.

When optimisation is confined to Amazon’s own reporting logic, success is defined by what the platform can measure. Campaigns are evaluated based on how well they convert within Amazon — not on whether they generate additional demand.

At first, this works.

As long as there is enough untapped demand, performance improves. But as competition intensifies and budgets scale, the question changes. It is no longer about conversion efficiency. It is about contribution.
Which activities actually create growth — and which ones merely capture what is already there?

→ The numbers are not wrong — they are just incomplete.

At this point, the limitation of standard reporting becomes obvious. It can tell you what converted — but not what caused the conversion.
This is where the distinction between attributed and incremental performance becomes critical.

Why attributed performance is no longer enough

Attributed performance answers a relatively simple question:
Which campaign was involved in the conversion?

Incremental performance asks a more demanding one:
Would this conversion have happened without the campaign?

The difference matters because the Amazon customer journey is no longer linear — and rarely confined to one platform.

Data provided by Front Row shows that:

• around 40% of Amazon branded searches are driven by off-Amazon media
• roughly 36% of Amazon sales are influenced by off-Amazon advertising, often with significantly higher returns

In other words, a substantial share of what looks like Amazon performance is actually initiated elsewhere.

If teams optimise only within Amazon, they systematically overvalue lower-funnel activities and undervalue the channels that created the demand in the first place.

Marketplace Universe Insight
Attribution tells you where a sale happened.
Incrementality tells you why it happened.

This is exactly the gap that Amazon Marketing Cloud is designed to address.

To understand why, it’s worth briefly looking at what AMC actually is — and what makes it different from standard reporting.

What AMC is — and what it makes visible

Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC) is a secure analytics environment provided by Amazon Ads. It allows advertisers to analyse anonymised, event-level data across Amazon touchpoints — including impressions, clicks, and conversions.

Unlike standard reporting, AMC makes it possible to analyse how interactions unfold over time and how different campaigns influence each other. As a result, it shifts the perspective from isolated attribution to actual contribution.

“AMC is no longer optional. It’s essential for brands that want to understand consumers through data, remove friction from the path to purchase, and drive repeat buying.”
— Simone Vobejda, Director Performance Marketing, Front Row

For many brands, Amazon Marketing Cloud is becoming a central tool to better understand the Amazon customer journey, improve retail media performance, and evaluate incremental growth beyond standard Amazon advertising metrics.

In practice, however, many teams are still only using a fraction of its potential.

Marketplace Universe Insight
The value of AMC is not in more data — but in seeing connections that weren’t visible before.

From channel optimisation to Connected Commerce

Once these interactions become visible, the limitations of a channel-centric approach are difficult to ignore.
Amazon is not an isolated system. It is part of a broader ecosystem that includes search, social media, CRM, and D2C channels.

Front Row describes this broader approach as Connected Commerce — an operating model in which data, decisions, and execution are connected across channels.

Connected Commerce is not about adding more tools.
It is about changing how commerce is run:

• aligning teams around shared metrics such as incrementality and customer value
• connecting insights from Amazon with decisions in media, CRM, and merchandising
• shifting from channel performance to business performance

In this model, Amazon does not lose relevance.
But it is no longer treated as a standalone growth engine — and that shift is where most organisations struggle.

Marketplace Universe Insight
Marketplace performance is no longer about who captures demand best — but who understands where it actually comes from.

What changes when you look at the data differently

When AMC is used to analyse interactions rather than isolated results, performance starts to look different.

Incrementality and campaign interaction

AMC analyses often reveal that multiple campaigns reach the same users across different stages of the journey.
In standard reporting, each campaign may appear successful on its own.

But when viewed together, it becomes clear that some of this spend does not generate additional demand — it simply reinforces or intercepts demand that already exists.

Part of what looks like growth is therefore not new demand, but the result of multiple campaigns influencing the same conversion.
Understanding this allows brands to reduce inefficiencies and reallocate budgets towards activities that actually expand their customer base.

Rethinking ROAS in context

ROAS remains a useful operational metric — but AMC data highlights its limitations when used as a proxy for growth.

High-ROAS campaigns often target users who are already close to conversion or have interacted with the brand before.
This makes them efficient — but not necessarily growth-driving.

A campaign with lower ROAS that introduces new customers may create significantly more long-term value.

Case study: what customer-level data actually changes

One of the clearest ways to see this shift in practice is to look at how performance changes once customer-level data is introduced.

What the data actually revealed

In an analysis conducted by Front Row for Wella, AMC was used to examine how different campaigns contributed to customer acquisition versus retention.
The findings were striking.

• Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) was approximately $30, while the average order value was around $15 — meaning long-term value was roughly 2x higher than initial purchase value
• The top 20% of customers generated 48% of total revenue, with 27% higher purchase value than the average

At the same time, the analysis revealed something even more important.

Campaigns that appeared highly efficient were often heavily skewed towards existing customers. They performed well because they targeted users who were already familiar with the brand.

Meanwhile, campaigns that seemed less efficient at first glance played a disproportionately important role in acquiring new customers.
Even more telling:

• 52% of new customer journeys started with shampoo or conditioner — not hairspray, as initially assumed

This insight led to concrete changes in media allocation, creative strategy, and product prioritisation.

The data didn’t just refine decisions.
It corrected them.

Marketplace Universe Insight
The biggest performance gains don’t come from better optimisation — they come from correcting the wrong assumptions.

From insight to action

The value of AMC lies in how it changes decision-making.

The first shift is conceptual.
Instead of asking how efficient campaigns are, teams need to understand which activities actually create incremental growth.

The second shift is technical.
AMC insights become significantly more valuable when combined with other data sources — such as CRM systems, D2C performance, and margin structures. Only then can performance be evaluated at a business level.

Some organisations are already building more integrated data environments to support this. In this context, tools such as Catapult, Front Row’s analytics platform, help connect signals across brand, demand, D2C, and Amazon — making it easier to identify patterns and translate them into actionable decisions.

The third shift is organisational.
Marketplace teams, performance marketing, and CRM functions need to work with shared objectives and a common understanding of success. Without this alignment, insights remain isolated and underutilised.

Finally, there is a shift in how success is measured.
The goal is not to build more metrics, but to focus on fewer metrics that actually drive better decisions — such as incrementality, customer lifetime value, and contribution to overall growth.

Want to identify your blind spots and move beyond siloed optimisation?
The Connected Commerce self-check offers a practical starting point.

Why this shift is becoming unavoidable

The relevance of this shift is increasing.

• Retail media is expanding rapidly.
• Competition on Amazon continues to intensify.
• At the same time, margins are under pressure.

In this environment, optimising within a single channel is no longer sufficient.
What matters is understanding how different activities contribute to overall growth — and making decisions accordingly.

Amazon remains a critical part of that system.
But it is only one part.

Key Learnings

• Strong Amazon performance can mask a lack of true business growth
• Attributed performance and incremental performance measure fundamentally different things
• AMC makes customer journeys, campaign interaction, and customer value visible
• Connected Commerce links marketplace data with broader business decisions
• Competitive advantage increasingly depends on cross-channel understanding, not channel-level optimisation alone

Marketplace Universe Insight
The challenge for marketplace teams is no longer just execution.
It is understanding what their data actually reflects — and what it doesn’t.

10.04.2026 – Written by Ricarda Eichler, Journalist and Author for OHN

Der Beitrag The Amazon Silo Trap: Why Marketplace Performance Doesn’t Equal Growth erschien zuerst auf Marketplace Universe.

Who is where now? The personnel carousel of the Marketplace Universe has been moving merrily along in March. We help you keep up with the Movers & Shakers of our dynamic industry.

Our Movers & Shakers Top picks in march

Dr. Kai-Ulrich Deissner, CEO of CECONOMY AG / MediaMarktSaturn, will hand over the role of CEO during the course of 2026 for personal reasons. His successor Remko Rijnders will assume the role of CEO on July 1.

René Groll, previously Head of E-Commerce and Chief Digital Officer at Alberts, is joining Front Row Germany on May 1, where he will support the team behind the Catapult analytics tool.

Marco Pirani, Commercial Director at Benetton, left the group after four years to take the position of CEO Commercial at Lowa Sportschuhe GmbH.

Laura Maria Schmidt, Head of Marketplaces at Snocks, has taken on the additional role as Group Lead Marketplaces at Les Lunes, expanding her responsibilities in marketplace strategy.

Giovanna Scarpato has moved on from BEARS WITH BENEFITS to join NaschNatur as E-Commerce Manager, continuing her journey in digital commerce.

More Movers & Shakers in march

Leonel Fred Ador has left b.box for kids to join Bunjie as Head of Ecommerce, leading the brand’s digital sales strategy.

Jan Niclas Brandt will become the new Chief Customer Officer.

Jackie Hasek Carlryd has advanced to Head of B2B and Market Expansion at NA-KD.com, driving growth beyond the core D2C business.

Rahel Fiebelkorn has left Rausch Schokoladen to join Purize Filters GmbH as E-Commerce Manager.

Peter Goldbach has been promoted at eBay, now serving as eBay Live Sr. Enterprise Seller Development Manager, with a focus on live commerce initiatives.

Francisco Gonçalves has left A. Fiuza & Irmão to join Boomfit as Marketplace Manager – BOOMFIT.

Jackie Hasek Carlryd has advanced to Head of B2B and Market Expansion at NA-KD.com, driving growth beyond the core D2C business.

Aqdas Khan has joined Lassic Limited as Senior Marketplace Specialist, strengthening the company’s marketplace operations.

Jacob Kelly has been promoted to Head of Digital at Waldencast, taking charge of the group’s digital growth agenda.

Reinhardt Kruger has been promoted to Commercial Lead: Ecommerce, Modern Trade, Traditional Trade & Export at Bayer, overseeing a broad commercial portfolio.

Eva Laukotter has been promoted to Team Lead Inside Sales & E-Commerce at group24 AG, taking on leadership responsibility across sales and digital channels.

Vanesa Pires has left SILBON and joined Goa Organics as Ecommerce Manager, taking the lead on digital commerce.

Bert Schultink has joined Fatboy the original as Marketplace Specialist, strengthening the brand’s marketplace presence.

Thomas Smook has stepped up at bol, now serving as Lead EU Network Development.

Anastasiya Trushyk has stepped up at fashionette, taking on greater responsibility as Team Lead Product Management.

Dimitri Zoran has left Understatement Underwear to join L’Oréal as E-Commerce Key Account Manager.

Did we miss something? Let us know!

Der Beitrag Marketplace Movers & Shakers in March 2026 erschien zuerst auf Marketplace Universe.