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The UK’s e-commerce market truly stands out, recognized as one of the most dynamic and lucrative in the world. In 2025, the market reached an estimated value of £286 billion, securing its position as the third-largest globally, behind only China and the United States.
With average annual online spending of £3,715 per person (about £310 per month) UK consumers rank among the world’s most active digital shoppers. As of December 2025, online sales made up nearly 29.3% of total retail spending in the UK. A significant share of these transactions took place on the country’s leading online marketplaces. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the most popular online marketplaces in the UK for 2026 and provide a clear overview of each.
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 (UK): ~15.97M monthly visits from the UK
- OnBuy: ~5.68M monthly visits from the UK
- Zalando (UK): ~2.19M monthly visits from the UK
- ManoMano (UK): ~849.75K monthly visits from the UK
Note: This data stems from Semrush and was cross-checked by data from SimilarWeb for directional consistency. The numbers reflect traffic from December 2025 and should be taken as directional estimates rather than perfect precision.
The 9 best online marketplaces in the UK (2026)
The ranking is based on byrd's pre-selection of relevant marketplaces for online retailers 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, as it does in most Western countries. To put the 337.4 million visits per month for Amazon.co.uk into perspective, one has to consider the population of the UK. There are around 67 million inhabitants, which means that every one of them (statistically including all ages) visits Amazon 5 times per month on average.
Amazon.co.uk is best for
- Fast-moving consumer goods, home, electronics, beauty, sports, pets
- Brands with clear differentiation + margin for fees/ads
What to know before you start
- Amazon is competitive. Your success often depends on pricing, reviews, inventory availability, and delivery promise.
- Fulfillment can be done via FBA or merchant-fulfilled (your own warehouse / 3PL).
Pro tip (logistics)
If you’re selling from outside the UK or scaling into the EU, your fulfillment setup and returns handling quickly become a competitive lever, especially for Prime-like expectations.
Top marketplace in the UK #2: eBay UK
- Visits per month in the UK: 113.9 million
- Product category: Generic
- Target region: Global
eBay remains one of the UK’s biggest marketplaces, with strength in both new and pre-owned categories, and a buyer base that’s comfortable comparing offers.
eBay UK is best for
- Refurbished, collectibles, hobby & specialist categories
- Price-competitive branded products
- Sellers with wide catalogues
What to know before you start
- eBay visibility is influenced by seller performance, pricing, shipping speed, and listing quality.
- It can be a strong channel for clearing inventory (without burning your D2C store’s price perception).
Top online marketplace in Germany #3: Temu
- Visits per month in Germany: 61.24 million
- Product category: Generic
- Target region: Worldwide
Temu has become a major player in consumer attention thanks to aggressive pricing and high-volume product discovery.
Temu is best for
- Sellers that can compete on price and scale
- Trend-based, impulse-friendly categories
What to know before you start
- Marketplace dynamics can be very price-driven.
- Carefully evaluate your brand positioning: Temu may not be the best match if you’re premium or value-story-led.
Top marketplace in the UK #4: Etsy
- Visits per month in the UK: 43.92 million
- Product category: Craft, Gifts & Arts
- Target region: Global
While Etsy (together with Temu) can be titled the leader of the “chasing pack”, there is a significant gap between Etsy and the top two marketplaces in the UK (Amazon and eBay). Visits on eBay are almost triple the amount of visits to Etsy, and the number of Amazon visits is almost 8x as high. Still, Etsy remains a go-to marketplace for handmade, creative, vintage, and personalized products, where uniqueness beats price wars.
Etsy is best for
- Handmade goods, custom products, print-on-demand (with care), vintage
- Brands with strong storytelling and product differentiation
- Collaborative community
What to know before you start
- Etsy shoppers buy with intent, but expect authenticity and clear product detail.
- Packaging and unboxing can influence reviews more than you’d think (especially for 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 & accessories (especially trend-led assortments)
- Brands targeting younger demographics and mobile-first shopping
What to know before you start
- Fashion marketplaces tend to be return-heavy. Your margins and ops should be designed for that reality (clear sizing info, fast refunds, 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 the number one e-commerce marketplace in the UK that is focused on homeware and furniture. 15.97 million visits per month are a reasonably high number, especially when taking into account that this marketplace is focused on a specific product category. Operating in a niche means that customers are often one-time visitors who spend a lot but don’t return regularly. On average, the shopping basket is higher than on most other marketplaces. This led to a revenue of $12.2 billion (Trailing Twelve Month net revenue September 2025).
Wayfair is best for
- Furniture, home decor, textiles, lighting, home improvement
- Sellers with strong supply chain discipline (large-item delivery, returns handling)
What to know before you start
- Product data quality matters: dimensions, materials, assembly info, imagery.
- Delivery experience is part of the product, especially for bulky goods.
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 couple of years of operating, OnBuy's marketplace alternative has grown into a meaningful channel for sellers who want diversification beyond Amazon/eBay.
OnBuy is best for
- Broad retail categories (home, tech, beauty, toys, garden)
- Sellers looking to reduce dependency on one major marketplace
- Sellers and buyers who want to support UK solutions
What to know before you start
- As with any marketplace, strong product feeds + competitive delivery promises tend to win.
- Great as part of a “portfolio” approach (Amazon + one/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 platform in Europe, and the UK presence is relevant for brands aiming for cross-border scale.
Zalando is best for
- Fashion and footwear brands with European ambitions
- Brands that can operate with marketplace-grade content and returns readiness
What to know before you start
- Fit your logistics to customer expectations: fast shipping, clear tracking, smooth returns.
Top marketplace in the UK #9: ManoMano
- Visits per month in the UK: 849.75
- Product category: DIY, gardening, homeware, crafts
- Target region: Europe
ManoMano is focused on DIY, home improvement, and garden. It’s niche compared to Amazon, but the audience is high-intent for these categories.
ManoMano is best for
- DIY, tools, garden, home improvement
- Sellers with deep product expertise and technical product detail
- High trust in community
What to know before you start
- Content wins: specs, compatibility, installation/use guidance, and Q&A style listing text can materially affect conversion.
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:
- Possibility to capitalize on your branding
- Possibility to benefit from customizable packaging and unboxing experience
- Possibility to foster and highlight your focus on sustainability
- Less dependence
- More flexible cost structure
- Facilitated customer retention
- Facilitated differentiation from the competition (to avoid price wars)
- Direct contact with and feedback from customers
- More data
- More control over your processes
Selling on the top marketplaces in the UK: Shipping and fulfillment matters
No matter which marketplaces you’re selling on, a huge part of your success comes down to logistics.
Customers expect fast delivery, clear tracking, and straightforward returns, especially when they’re buying on marketplaces. And because marketplaces are designed for quick comparison-shopping, shipping speed and delivery cost can heavily influence conversion.
Amazon has pushed the boundaries of fast delivery, and that expectation has spilled over into other marketplaces. If you can’t ship quickly (and reliably), you’ll feel it in your conversion rate, customer reviews, and repeat sales. Additionally, marketplaces have been implementing ever-stricter rules and SLAs.
That’s why efficient fulfillment is such a lever:
- store inventory close to customers
- ship with trusted local carriers
- offer fast, competitive delivery options
- handle returns locally where possible
For merchants selling in the UK (and across Europe), byrd’s fulfillment network in the UK, Germany, France, and Austria can help you deliver a marketplace experience that meets customer expectations, without building your own warehouse operations.
If you want to learn more about outsourcing your marketplace fulfillment, uncover our list of the best fulfillment services in the UK or reach out to byrd to discuss your expansion strategy.
