The 6 European marketplaces you should be selling on in 2026

Most brands fighting for ecommerce growth in Europe are having the same conversation: how do we squeeze more out of the platforms we're already on? It's not a bad question. But it might be the wrong one.

Around 79% of European brands now pursue multi-marketplace strategies to diversify their channel mix. That isn't a fringe movement. It's the mainstream. And the brands winning across Europe aren't asking whether to expand. They're asking where.

Europe's ecommerce market is worth around £580 billion in 2026 and is forecast to hit £850 billion by 2031. Here are the six platforms where that opportunity is actually being captured right now.

Europe's Ecommerce Marketplaces, Mapped.

Otto: Germany's gated garden is finally opening

Otto has historically been off limits to international sellers. A German VAT ID, a German entity, a German warehouse. That's changing in 2026.

Otto is rolling out EU seller access in phases, starting with the Netherlands and Poland, with Austria, France, Spain and Denmark to follow later in the year. It grew its marketplace partners by 33% to more than 6,500 even as German ecommerce overall declined 11.8%. One third of its revenue now comes from marketplace business.

It's curated, application-based, and it doesn't want cheap disposable goods. For quality brands, that's the point. Less noise, better customers, stronger conversion. The window is open. It won't stay that way.

Zalando: more than a marketplace

Zalando reported €17.56 billion GMV in 2025, up 14.7%, with 62 million active customers across 26 European markets. It's forecasting 12% to 17% growth in 2026.

But the bigger story is what sits underneath those numbers. Zalando's logistics, software and integration infrastructure now enables around €11 billion in GMV for over 1,200 merchant partners. When Next plugged into ZEOS in 2025, it achieved a 33% increase in international online sales and reduced fulfilment costs by 6.5%. This isn't a platform you list products on. It's one you build into.

Bol: the Benelux platform the global giants still haven't beaten

In virtually every major Western European market, the biggest global platforms dominate. The Netherlands is the exception. Despite a €1.4 billion investment push from a major international rival in 2025, Bol holds a €5.9 billion trading volume and leads the market. It has 14 million active customers, 44,200 sales partners, and Dutch online retail's share of total commerce is expected to rise from 18% to 25% by 2029.

Belgium is the underrated bonus. Home, garden and electronics categories perform even better there than in the Netherlands. Treat it as a two-market play and the numbers look even better.

Allegro: CEE's dominant marketplace, in its expansion era

Allegro reaches over 80% of Polish online shoppers and contributes approximately 1% of Poland's GDP. It has 21.1 million active buyers, more than 150,000 merchants, and international GMV grew 56% in 2025 as it expanded into Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary.

Eastern Europe's ecommerce market grew 18% in 2024 vs 6% in Western Europe. Brands that establish presence on Allegro now will be the incumbents when the rest of the market catches up. That time is coming faster than most people expect.

Tesco Marketplace: the UK's most trusted brand, now open to sellers

Tesco Marketplace now has over 700 sellers and 485,000 live SKUs. It tripled its seller count in a year, switched to Mirakl, and its latest results name it explicitly as a strategic growth priority alongside 11% overall online sales growth.

For non-food brands, the pitch is simple. 1.2 million weekly orders, an average basket size of £95, and significantly less seller noise than most other major platforms. Clubcard loyalty and brand trust do some of the conversion work for you. Home, electrical, garden and lifestyle categories are the strongest fit.

TikTok Shop: the fastest-growing commerce channel in Europe

TikTok Shop generated $66 billion in global GMV in 2025, nearly doubling year on year, and is projected to reach $112.2 billion in 2026. In the UK it recorded a 131% annual increase in shoppers. It sold 27 items every second over Black Friday.

It's live across six European markets with the Netherlands, Poland, Belgium and Sweden expected to follow in 2026. Fulfilled by TikTok handles storage and delivery in the UK, Germany and Spain. The creator affiliate model means brands can scale reach without building their own audience first. It's not a channel to watch. It's a channel to be on.

The bottom line

Getting onto the right marketplaces is one thing. Getting them to perform is another.

Pattern is already operating across all six platforms above. We handle onboarding, optimisation, content, advertising and logistics so brands show up in the right places, in the right way, at the right time.

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