Export e-commerce: how marketplace geography is reshaping global trade

In international digital trade, the gap between theoretical opportunity and practical execution is widening. Between 2025 and 2026, that distance has grown further. The global and European marketplace landscape is now denser and less uniform, with competition patterns shifting sharply from country to country and category to category.

On the trade policy side, US tariffs have reshaped the economics of digital exports to the American market, making once-straightforward decisions far more complex. For Italian exporters, the question is no longer whether to internationalise, but how precisely to do it. That means a far more granular approach: which platform, in which market, with which logistics model, and under which customs cost structure.

Europe’s e-commerce engine

European e-commerce continues to expand on solid foundations. According to the 2025 European E-commerce Report by Ecommerce Europe and EuroCommerce, total B2C online turnover reached €819 billion in 2024, with steady growth expected into 2025.

Cross-border trade is increasingly structured around marketplaces. The Cross-Border Commerce Europe Top 100 report estimates the European cross-border market at €358.7 billion in 2024/2025, with around 70% generated via marketplace platforms. This is where competition is most dynamic, fragmented and fast-moving.

No such thing as a single European market

The reality of Europe becomes clear when looking at national differences. The idea of a homogeneous EU market is increasingly misleading.

In Germany, Europe’s fourth-largest e-commerce market at €94 billion in 2024, Amazon and Otto dominate, alongside growing sector-specific marketplaces. Otto, originally a mail-order company dating back to 1949 and online since 1995, remains a key player, particularly in home, furniture and DIY. The German market also demands strong returns management, especially in fashion, and a genuinely localised presence rather than a translated offer.

In France, Cdiscount remains a major player alongside Amazon, particularly in electronics and home goods, while La Redoute continues to anchor fashion and interiors. ManoMano, a specialised DIY and gardening marketplace, has built a strong European footprint and illustrates the shift towards vertical platforms in technical categories.

In Spain, El Corte Inglés leverages its physical retail brand into a digital marketplace, while AliExpress and Temu have rapidly expanded in lower price segments. In Central and Eastern Europe, Allegro remains the dominant local platform, with limited displacement from global competitors.

Across Europe, three marketplace models stand out: generalist, vertical and C2C. Vertical platforms such as Zalando in fashion or ManoMano in DIY tend to deliver higher conversion rates in specialised categories, while generalists retain scale and geographic reach.

The US tariff shock

Beyond Europe, the US remains the key stress test for many Italian exporters. In 2025, the US administration introduced and progressively tightened tariffs on a range of European imports, materially changing access conditions to the American market.

For e-commerce, the impact is direct: higher landed costs reduce price competitiveness and compress margins. Companies with local US logistics have been better able to absorb the shock. Those relying on direct shipping models have been forced to rethink their entire export architecture.

Three mistakes to avoid, three levers to use

Three strategic mistakes stand out.

First, relying on a single marketplace for all international markets. Amazon is an entry point, not an architecture. Europe’s fragmentation makes single-channel dependency structurally risky.

Second, confusing translation with localisation. Listing products in German does not mean operating in Germany. Logistics expectations, returns behaviour, pricing sensitivity and seasonality all vary significantly by market.

Third, treating compliance as an afterthought. Recent changes in US import thresholds and tariff regimes have exposed the fragility of direct-shipping models built on outdated assumptions.

On the opportunity side, three priorities emerge.

Data quality is now foundational. Structured catalogues, correct attributes and platform-specific content determine visibility, not only in marketplace algorithms but increasingly in AI-driven discovery systems.
Channel diversification is essential: balancing generalist platforms with vertical marketplaces and direct-to-consumer channels helps optimise margin, visibility and brand control.

Operational integration is no longer advanced optimisation but baseline infrastructure. Real-time synchronisation of stock, pricing and orders is essential to scale across markets without increasing error risk.

A strategic question

For Italian companies, complexity is not necessarily a disadvantage. Those with structured multichannel systems and strong data infrastructure can adapt quickly to shifting conditions. Those reliant on a single platform or market face a more fundamental redesign.

The real question is no longer which marketplace to choose, but which multichannel architecture allows demand to be followed wherever it moves, without losing control of data, margins and customer relationships.

Co-founder of Poleepo