Walmart enhanced its online marketplace with new capabilities and seller solutions, the retailer announced at its annual Walmart Marketplace Seller Summit this week. Updates include the addition of premium beauty products, expanded fulfillment services, and revamped seller solutions.

Both retailers used generative AI to improve employee productivity in Q2—Walmart leveraged the tech to improve its product catalog and Target used it to enhance in-store employee tools. Target’s curbside pickup service helped it grow digital comparable sales 8.7% YoY, while Walmart’s marketplace and sales of GLP-1 drugs contributed to its 4.2% comp sales growth YoY.

Ikea’s business model evolves: In addition to experimenting with new store formats in new locations and bolstering its online presence, the furniture giant tests a peer-to-peer secondhand marketplace.

ThredUp tests peer-to-peer marketplace model as losses pile up: The resale platform is in need of a reset as it struggles to navigate an uncertain economic environment.

Fast shipping, the vast selection of products, and high-quality customer service add to consumers’ growing attraction to online retail marketplaces, our analyst Sky Canaves said. “If there are any issues with the order, for example, there’s a trusted intermediary between the buyer and seller, which is why consumers may often feel that they have greater trust in marketplaces,” she said.

Gen Z shoppers embrace Temu, Shein, and TikTok Shop: 1 in 4 makes a purchase at a Chinese online marketplace at least once a week, as their array of cheap, trendy goods proves impossible for the price-sensitive cohort to resist.

Young people are on Marketplace and Groups: The challenge for Meta is to direct those users to more monetizable areas of the app.

Product safety issues could derail Chinese ecommerce platforms’ growth ambitions: Shein and Temu are struggling to keep products with high levels of toxic substances—as well as those hazardous to babies and children—off their marketplaces.

Amazon misses sales expectations as shoppers trade down to cheaper products: The retailer is trying to win over price-conscious customers with more sales events and a soon-to-be-launched budget marketplace.

In 2024, US consumer spending on online marketplaces will reach $468.33 billion, according to our forecast, with a significant portion of ecommerce sales shifting to these platforms.

Etsy fights against Amazonification with new seller policies: The marketplace is overhauling its product designations to ensure all items have a human touch.

Target looks to its online marketplace to drive growth: The retailer’s new partnership with Shopify could expand its selection online and in stores, while also boosting its retail media business.

TikTok Shop joins Amazon in holding a July sale: The marketplace hopes exclusive discounts on brands like L’Oréal and live-shopping events will boost GMV.

Amazon to launch budget marketplace to compete with Temu, Shein: The retailer is copying their playbook—complete with cheap products and longer delivery times—to stay ahead in the ecommerce race.

US B2B ecommerce growth is outpacing B2B product and electronic sales growth—but at a slow rate. Buyers’ preference for third-party marketplaces (e.g., Amazon Business) is fueling growth, pushing sellers to consider ecommerce solutions and third-party platforms to reach buyers and meet their procurement expectations.

Walmart’s market share gains continued in Q1 as the retailer emphasizes value and convenience: The company continues to draw in more high-income shoppers, while its advertising and marketplace offerings boost revenues.

Google’s I/O showcases bold AI integration across products: The announcements show its marketplace strength but it’ll need an effective monetization strategy to beat the competition.

US retail marketplace ecommerce sales will grow 11.4% to reach $428.30 billion this year, per our forecast. Because Amazon (73.4%) and eBay (8.2%) will rake in the majority of those sales, smaller marketplaces like Shein, Michaels, and Wayfair are getting creative and taking the battle for sales in-store.

Prior to TikTok Shop’s launch last September, live shopping platform Whatnot earned nearly 100% of social shopping gross merchandise value in 2023, according to a recent Earnest Analytics report. What’s Whatnot? Whatnot is a livestream marketplace platform, specializing in the sale of collectibles including sports cards, sneakers, comics, and vintage clothing.

A quarter of US shoppers are influenced to buy products via ads on retailers’ websites, according to new research from Intellias, as reported by Search Engine Land. This is compared with just 13% of consumers who are influenced by ads on third-party marketplaces and 14% who buy after seeing social media ads.

Amazon accounted for 80% of marketplace sales, 40% of ecommerce sales, and 4% of retail sales in the US in 2023, per Marketplace Pulse.