Germany · German web sales via marketplaces
Marketplace Share of German Web Sales
As of 2025 Eurostat Next update: Annually, typically toward year end for the survey year
The share of German enterprises' web-sales turnover earned through online marketplaces rather than their own websites, the official measure of marketplace dependence.
How much German online revenue goes through marketplaces? German enterprises with ten or more persons employed earned 19.2% of their web-sales turnover through online marketplaces according to the 2025 Eurostat survey, which covers the previous calendar year. The rest came through their own websites and apps.
Key takeaways
- German enterprises with ten or more persons employed earned 19.2% of their web-sales turnover through online marketplaces in the 2025 survey, which covers the previous calendar year. The rest came through their own websites and apps.
- This splits German web-sales revenue between own websites and marketplaces, a strategic line no platform publishes itself.
- German sellers have leaned on marketplaces more than the EU average in every survey since the series began in 2017. In 2025 the EU figure was 15.5 percent against 19.2 percent for Germany.
- The share has swung widely, from 15.5% in 2017 to a high of 26.6% in 2021, so read the direction over several surveys.
- A rising share means more German online revenue flows through intermediaries and their fees, a falling share means own-channel selling is winning.
- Marketplace dependence trades reach for margin and for first-party customer data, which is why the direction of this line matters for DTC strategy.
The data
| Period | German web sales via marketplaces |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 19.2% |
| 2024 | 16.4% |
| 2023 | 16.1% |
| 2022 | 24.2% |
| 2021 | 26.6% |
| 2020 | 24.7% |
| 2019 | 17.8% |
| 2018 | 15.0% |
| 2017 | 15.5% |
What this means for e-commerce and DTC brands
The own-site versus marketplace split is the strategic fault line of e-commerce. Marketplace revenue rents someone else's traffic and pays for it in fees and in surrendered customer data, while own-site revenue carries acquisition costs but keeps margin and the relationship. This series shows which way the German market as a whole is leaning, which is context for any brand debating channel mix: moving against the market tide is a strategy, but it should be a deliberate one. Own-site revenue is also the part you can measure end to end with first-party tracking and attribution, while marketplace sales report through each platform's own analytics.
What this statistic does not tell you
The survey covers enterprises with ten or more persons employed, so micro sellers, many of which sell mainly through marketplaces, are excluded, and the marketplace share across all sellers may be higher. It is annual and structural rather than a trading signal, and it swings by several points between surveys. Web sales exclude EDI-type transactions, which sit in a separate series. It does not measure the market share of Amazon or any other platform.
Frequently asked questions
How much of German online sales goes through marketplaces?
19.2% of the web-sales turnover of German enterprises with ten or more persons employed came through online marketplaces in the 2025 Eurostat survey, compared with 16.4% a year earlier. The rest came through the enterprises' own websites and apps. The survey asks about sales in the previous calendar year.
Does this show Amazon's share of German e-commerce?
No. Each enterprise reports how its own web sales split between marketplaces and its own channels, so the figure measures how much sellers depend on marketplaces as a group. It names no platform and is not a market share of Amazon, eBay, Otto or any other marketplace.
How does Germany compare with the EU?
German sellers rely on marketplaces more than the EU average, and have in every survey since 2017. In 2025, 19.2 percent of German web-sales turnover came through marketplaces against 15.5 percent across the EU, ninth of the 26 member states with data. Lithuania and Portugal were highest, Ireland and Estonia lowest.
Are German companies relying more on marketplaces?
The share has moved a lot. It went from 15.5% in 2017 to a high of 26.6% in 2021, was back at 16.1 percent in the 2023 survey and stood at 19.2% in 2025. Changes of several points between surveys are common, so read the direction over several years.
Does this include small sellers?
No. The survey starts at ten persons employed, and many micro sellers rely heavily on marketplaces, so the marketplace share across all German sellers may be higher than this figure.
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