The UK’s e-commerce market is a standout, known for being one of the most lively and rewarding across the globe. In 2025, the UK e-commerce market reached an estimated valuation of £286 billion, solidifying its position as the third-largest in the world behind only China and the US.
With each person spending an average of £3,715 annually online, roughly £310 per month, Brits are at the forefront of digital consumption globally. As of December 2025, online sales accounted for nearly 29.3% of all retail spending in the UK. A lot of these sales happened on the UK's top online marketplaces. This post will look at and give a rundown of the most popular online marketplaces in the UK for 2026.
Quick comparison: UK marketplace traffic
Amazon.co.uk: ~337.4M visits from the UK (+22.57M from the UK to Amazon.com)
eBay: ~113.9M monthly visits from the UK
Temu: ~61.24M monthly visits from the UK
Etsy: ~43.92M monthly visits from the UK
ASOS: ~16.65M monthly visits from the UK
Wayfair: ~15.97M monthly visits from the UK
OnBuy: ~5.68M monthly visits from the UK
Zalando: ~2.19M monthly visits from the UK
ManoMano: ~849.75K monthly visits from the UK
Note: This data is based on Semrush and cross-checked against SimilarWeb for directional consistency. The figures reflect traffic from December 2025 and should be treated as directional estimates rather than exact numbers.
The 9 best online marketplaces in the UK (2026)
This ranking is based on byrd’s pre-selection of relevant marketplaces for online retailers selling in the UK.
Top marketplace in the UK #1: Amazon UK
- Visits per month in the UK: 337.4 million
- Product category: Generic
- Target region: Global
It comes as no surprise that Amazon leads the British e-commerce market, just as it does across most Western countries. To put 337.4 million monthly visits into perspective, the UK has around 67 million residents. Statistically speaking, that would mean every person in the country visits Amazon around five times per month.
Amazon is best for
- Fast-moving consumer goods, home, electronics, beauty, sports, pets
- Brands with clear differentiation and enough margin to absorb fees and advertising costs
What to know before you start
- Amazon is highly competitive. Success often depends on pricing, reviews, stock availability, and delivery promise.
- Fulfilment can be handled via FBA, or merchant fulfilled using your own warehouse or a 3PL.
Pro tip (logistics)
If you are selling from outside the UK or expanding into the EU, your fulfilment setup and returns handling quickly become a competitive advantage, especially when customers expect Prime-level delivery.
Top marketplace in the UK #2: eBay
Visits per month in the UK: 113.9 million
Product category: General marketplace
Target region: Global
eBay remains one of the UK’s largest online marketplaces, with strong performance in both new and pre-owned categories and a buyer base that is comfortable comparing multiple offers.
eBay is best for
- Refurbished, collectibles, hobby and specialist categories
- Price-competitive branded products
- Sellers with broad catalogues
What to know before you start
- Visibility on eBay is influenced by seller performance, pricing, delivery speed and listing quality.
- It can be an effective channel for clearing inventory without damaging your D2C price positioning.
Top online marketplace in the UK #3: Temu
- Visits per month in the UK: 61.24 million
- Product category: Generic
- Target region: Worldwide
Temu has captured significant consumer attention through aggressive pricing and high-volume product discovery.
Temu is best for
- Sellers who can compete on price and scale
- Trend-driven, impulse-buy categories
What to know before you start
- Marketplace dynamics are often heavily price-led.
- Carefully assess your brand positioning. Temu may not be the right fit for premium or value-story-driven brands.
Top marketplace in the UK #4: Etsy
- Visits per month in the UK: 43.92 million
- Product category: Craft, Gifts & Arts
- Target region: Global
Together with Temu, Etsy leads the chasing pack, although there is still a noticeable gap to Amazon and eBay. eBay sees almost three times the traffic of Etsy, and Amazon’s traffic is nearly eight times higher. Even so, Etsy remains a go-to marketplace for handmade, vintage, personalised and creative products, where uniqueness often matters more than price competition.
Etsy is best for
- Handmade goods, custom products, print-on-demand with care, vintage
- Brands with strong storytelling and clear product differentiation
- Sellers who value community engagement
What to know before you start
- Etsy shoppers buy with intent but expect authenticity and detailed product descriptions.
- Packaging and unboxing can have a bigger impact on reviews than many sellers expect, especially in gifting categories.
Top marketplace in the UK #5: ASOS
- Visits per month in the UK: 16.65 million
- Product category: Fashion & Apparel
- Target region: Global
ASOS is a leading British online fashion retailer, offering a wide range of clothing, accessories, and beauty products. Catering primarily to young adults, ASOS provides both its own branded items and products from over 850 partner brands. The platform is known for its trend-focused collections and inclusive sizing options.
ASOS is best for
- Fashion and accessories, especially trend-driven assortments
- Brands targeting younger demographics and mobile-first shoppers
What to know before you start
- Fashion marketplaces typically see high return rates. Your margins and operations need to reflect that reality, including clear sizing information, fast refunds and reliable delivery.
Top marketplace in the UK #6: Wayfair
- Visits per month in the UK: 15.97 million
- Product category: Furniture & home goods
- Target region: Europe & North America
Wayfair is one of the leading online marketplaces in the UK focused on home and furniture. While 15.97 million monthly visits may appear lower than general marketplaces, it is substantial for a category-specific platform. Customers often make fewer but higher-value purchases. Average basket values are typically higher than on many other marketplaces. This contributed to revenue of $12.2 billion in trailing twelve-month net revenue as of September 2025.
Wayfair is best for
- Furniture, home décor, textiles, lighting, home improvement
- Sellers with strong supply chain discipline, particularly for large-item delivery and returns
What to know before you start
- High-quality product data is critical: dimensions, materials, assembly details and imagery.
- The delivery experience forms part of the overall product, especially for bulky items.
Top marketplace in the UK #7: OnBuy
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- Visits per month in the UK: 5.68 million
- Product category: Generic
- Target region: UK
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OnBuy was founded in 2014 and launched in 2016 as a British alternative to Amazon. Within a few years, it has developed into a meaningful sales channel for merchants looking to diversify beyond Amazon and eBay.
OnBuy is best for
- Broad retail categories such as home, tech, beauty, toys and garden
- Sellers looking to reduce reliance on a single major marketplace
- Merchants and buyers who prefer UK-based platforms
What to know before you start
- As with any marketplace, strong product feeds and competitive delivery promises tend to perform best.
- Works well as part of a portfolio approach alongside Amazon and one or two additional channels.
Top marketplace in the UK #8: Zalando
- Visits per month in the UK: 2.19 million
- Product category: Fashion
- Target region: Europe
Zalando is a key fashion marketplace in Europe, and its UK presence is relevant for brands aiming to scale cross-border.
Zalando is best for
- Fashion and footwear brands with European growth ambitions
- Brands that can deliver marketplace-ready content and manage returns efficiently
What to know before you start
- Align your logistics with customer expectations: fast delivery, clear tracking and smooth returns.
Top marketplace in the UK #9: ManoMano
- Visits per month in the UK: 849.75K
- Product category: DIY, gardening, homeware, crafts
- Target region: Europe
ManoMano focuses on DIY, home improvement and garden categories. While niche compared to Amazon, its audience is highly intentional within these segments.
ManoMano is best for
- DIY, tools, garden and home improvement
- Sellers with deep product expertise and strong technical detail
What to know before you start
- Detailed content drives results. Specifications, compatibility information, installation guidance and Q&A-style listing content can significantly improve conversion rates.
Alternative or addition to online marketplaces in the UK
While marketplaces are a great option to increase e-commerce sales or expand into new markets, operating an independent online shop has plenty of perks over operating on marketplaces.
Some of these advantages are:
- Stronger brand positioning
- Customisable packaging and unboxing experience
- Greater opportunity to highlight sustainability initiatives
- Reduced dependency on third-party platforms
- More flexible cost structures
- Improved customer retention
- Clearer differentiation from competitors and fewer price wars
- Direct customer feedback and communication
- Greater data access
- More control over your operational processes
Selling on the top marketplaces in the UK: shipping and fulfilment matters
No matter which online marketplaces you sell on in the UK, a large part of your success comes down to logistics and fulfilment.
Customers expect fast delivery, transparent tracking and straightforward returns, especially when shopping on marketplaces. Because these platforms are built for quick comparison, shipping speed and delivery costs directly influence conversion rates.
Amazon has set the benchmark for fast delivery, and that expectation carries over to other marketplaces. If you cannot ship quickly and reliably, it will impact your conversion rate, reviews and repeat purchases. On top of that, marketplaces are introducing increasingly strict performance standards and SLAs.
This is why efficient marketplace fulfilment becomes a real growth lever:
- Store inventory close to your customers
- Ship with trusted local carriers
- Offer fast, competitive delivery options
- Manage returns locally wherever possible
For merchants selling in the UK and across Europe, byrd’s fulfilment network in the UK, Germany, France and Austria helps you deliver a marketplace-level experience without having to build your own warehouse infrastructure.
If you would like to explore outsourcing your marketplace fulfilment, take a look at our guide to the best fulfilment services in the UK or get in touch with byrd to discuss your expansion strategy.
