In another year of shifting sands in the e-commerce landscape, one channel emerged as the clear and overwhelming winner: marketplaces.
According to a new study by Cymbio, a marketplace orchestration platform for brands, marketplaces were responsible for over 40% of the total e-commerce growth in 2024 — more than any other channel by a significant margin. This metric, known as share of growth, tracks which channels actually drive year-over-year expansion in sales, and the results are clear.
Whether selling on Amazon, Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, TikTok Shops or other sites, brands leveraging marketplaces saw more growth momentum than those relying on D2C, wholesale, or other e-commerce channels.
This chart shows marketplaces pulling far ahead of the pack.
The Big Shift in Growth Drivers
While marketplaces surged, D2C (direct-to-consumer) channels experienced a decline in their contribution to overall e-commerce growth. Once the darling of the COVID-19 era, D2C has hit a ceiling.
One of the biggest factors? Rising customer acquisition costs (CAC).
What once worked — performance marketing on social platforms — has become increasingly expensive and less predictable. The result: eroding margins, plateauing growth, and growing skepticism from both investors and operators.
For many brands, maintaining a profitable D2C operation is becoming increasingly difficult. And while D2C still plays a vital role in brand building and customer engagement, it is no longer the primary engine of growth it was just a few years ago.
Room To Grow
Despite the data, some brands are still late to the marketplace game.
According to our internal analysis at Cymbio, nearly 30% of the brands that onboarded to our platform in 2024 had not sold through a single marketplace prior to joining. That includes established brands, niche labels, and even digital-first businesses.
This lag in adoption points to a perception problem: some brands view marketplaces as low-margin or brand-diluting. But the numbers — and success stories — say otherwise. In 2024, marketplaces were not just a channel for clearing excess inventory; they were the primary driver of sales growth in e-commerce, globally.
Looking at internal Cymbio data, the evidence is overwhelming. Brands using Cymbio saw average year-over-year sales growth of 40%, with some achieving over 200% or even 300% annual growth across multiple marketplace integrations.
Looking Ahead: The Marketplace Era
The research data suggests that by the end of the decade, marketplaces will account for more than 53% of all e-commerce growth by 2030 — becoming not just an option, but the core of any scalable e-commerce strategy.
For brands, this means one thing: adapting is no longer optional.
Those who fail to build efficient, tech-enabled marketplace operations across multiple platforms will find themselves outpaced and out of options.
Marketplace selling is no longer just a channel — it’s the new default.
Methodology:
The Cymbio study triangulated multiple data sources from proprietary sources, as well as from Capital One and eMarketer studies.