Going to CEE-Markets with local marketplaces
What does the marketplace landscape look like in Central and Eastern Europe? You keep asking us for country quadrants for countries like Poland, Hungary or the Czech Republic. Good news: The quadrants are not finished yet, but we are working on overviews for this region. As part of our research, we have already asked our Czech partner Base.com what are the most interesting marketplaces in CEE market in their opinion. We don’t want to withhold the result from you.
According to Base.com, the generalists Allegro and Heureka are strong in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary – Allegro is also strong in its home country of Poland, of course, and Heureka is also strong in Romania. In Romania, eMAG and the Greek platform Skroutz are also doing well. In Greece, there is not really much in the way of marketplace business apart from Skoutz.
What is the situation in the individual countries?
1. Poland:
- Allegro is the largest marketplace in Poland and one of the most important e-commerce platforms in Europe. It dominates in several categories, including electronics, fashion, household goods and beauty & care.
- Empik is an important marketplace for cultural goods, including books, music and media, but it is also expanding in the areas of lifestyle products, toys and fashion.
- Ceneo is one of the largest price comparison sites integrated with several e-commerce shops. It has a strong reputation in consumer electronics, home appliances and IT.
- Kaufland Global Marketplace: The retail chain started its marketplace in 2023 and profits from its strong brick-and-mortar brand in the region.
- Potential newcomer: the rapidly expanding fashion platform Modivo belongs to the CCC Group and focuses strongly on personalized shopping experiences in the fashion and lifestyle sector.
2. Czech Republic and Slovakia
- Mall.cz, as part of the Allegro Group, is one of the most important e-commerce players in the two countries. Main categories are electronics, home & living, toys, fashion.
- Zoot.cz is a popular fashion and accessories platform offering a wide selection of clothing and fashion brands. Key categories are fashion, shoes, accessories.
- Heureka is the largest product search engine in Central and Eastern Europe, which is now also involved in the marketplace world. Built as an add-on to the price comparison and product comparison search engine, it is strong in the categories of DIY, home & living, and electronics.
- Potential newcomers: Dr. Max (vertical marketplace for beauty & care), WeWell (vertical marketplace for beauty & care), Sportisimo (vertical marketplace for sports)
3. Hungary
- As the leading marketplace in Hungary, eMAG offers a wide selection of products, with the main categories being electronics, household appliances, toys, fashion and beauty.
- Pepita.hu positions itself with a fresh, young user interface and good services, with a focus on electronics, IT, household appliances, DIY. Cross-border ambitions.
- Potential newcomers: Allegro has recently started their marketplace in Hungary and could grow very fast into a strong competitor. Fizz.hu (general marketplace) belongs to OTP Bank, the largest local financial institution.
4. Romania and Bulgaria
- eMAG and Fashion Days (fashion brands under eMAG): eMAG is the largest marketplace in Romania and dominates the market in categories such as electronics, fashion, appliances and toys. It has a strong logistics network and good customer service.
- OLX (C2C, general goods) is widely used in Romania for buying and selling second-hand goods, from electronics to cars and real estate.
- ALTEX Romania focuses on larger sellers in the region, strong in electronics, DIY, beauty & care and automotive
5. Greece
- Skroutz is the largest marketplace in Greece, main categories: electronics, pets, fashion, food. Expansion into other European markets.
6. Other promising newcomers in the region
- Rohlik Group is active in the Czech Republic (Rohlik.cz), Hungary (Kifli.hu) and other markets in Central and Eastern Europe, and is shaking up the still underdeveloped online grocery business in Eastern Europe with fast deliveries and high-quality offers. Its focus on logistics and quality offers strong growth prospects.
- Answear is active in several Eastern European markets, with a focus on trendy and premium brands, giving Answear a competitive advantage, particularly among younger consumers. Thanks to an intuitive shopping experience and strong brand partnerships, the company is growing rapidly.
- Fruugo enables international sellers to access several Eastern European countries via a single platform. The company is growing due to the increased demand for cross-border e-commerce.
If you want to know even more about the emerging CEE markets, you can also listen again to episode 83 of our podcast “Let’s talk Marketplace”. In this episode, we explore the topic in more depth together with David Cikanek. Or you listen in to episode 85 with Radek Klouda, CEO at Base.com, where we discuss how to connect new marketplaces fast.
What makes Central and Eastern Europe so interesting for Western brands?
On the one hand, the growing purchasing power in countries such as Poland, Hungary or the Czech Republic, especially in metropolitan areas such as Warsaw or Budapest. In addition, the use of e-commerce in CEE countries is growing rapidly and many industries are not yet as well represented as in Western Europe. This means that Western brands have access to a large market potential.
Furthermore, the CEE region is a bridge between Western Europe and Asia and is therefore of strategic importance for international trade and supply chains. Countries such as Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary serve as important logistics centers with modern infrastructure and access to broader European markets. At the same time, expansion in Central and Eastern Europe can also facilitate access to other regions such as the CIS countries (e.g. Ukraine, Belarus), the Balkans and even parts of the Middle East, enabling further market diversification.
Online marketplaces for Central Eastern Europe are indispensable
Marketplaces are central to the growth of e-commerce in Eastern European countries. In Poland, Romania and Greece, they are the dominant e-commerce channels, and in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Bulgaria, they are at least recording double-digit growth rates. Overall, marketplaces stand for
- Convenience, customer experience, existing customer trust
- Growth in cross-border e-commerce – increased willingness to sell and buy abroad
- Price sensitivity and consumer behavior – greater price sensitivity
- Mobile commerce and technology acceptance – rapid development of digitization in Central and Eastern Europe
- Solid infrastructure – logistics and fulfillment solutions
Conclusion:
If you have already tapped into the surrounding markets in Western Europe and are looking for new sales markets, taking a look at Central and Eastern Europe is a good idea. In a number of sectors and countries, there is still a lot going on in the market and market shares have not yet been firmly established. In many cases, it is worthwhile to take the route via local marketplaces – and, depending on the category, this does not always have to be the largest generalist.
If you want to read more: Hot shit CEE market