Douyin Is the Hottest Upstart eCommerce Marketplace Right Now

Big, bigger, the biggest? In today's global economy, companies that grow are the ones that succeed. Many factors come into play, and not all of them are within a company's control. In the last few years, one particular marketplace had the best conditions for its current success.

The Top 10 Marketplaces: Who Leads the eCommerce Market 2024?

Once again, the ranking of the top 10 eCommerce marketplaces has changed slightly in 2024. However, the top two remain in the hands of Amazon, which generated a GMV of US$797 billion in 2024, followed by Pinduoduo with a GMV of US$655 billion. Both have seen stable growth between 2023 and 2024, placing them in the middle of the rankings.

In 2024, Amazon, the oldest marketplace in the ranking, has increased its growth after its low in 2022 caused by the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, its growth rate of 9.1% is lower than in the years before the pandemic. Although it should also be noted that the absolute growth of US$68 billion is comparatively high.

A similar picture applies to Pinduoduo: after its extreme growth of 587% in 2017, the relative growth rate slowed down – a normal phenomenon after a successful entry of an eCommerce player. By 2024, the leading Chinese marketplace reached an annual increase of 14.9%, equivalent to more than US$85 billion. Like Amazon, Pinduoduo has now reached a GMV where smaller relative growth rate translates into larger absolute growth.

Investment and Innovation Pay Off for U.S. Marketplace Walmart

The top online marketplaces remain in the lead, but some competitors are approaching with big steps: U.S. marketplace Walmart saw the largest relative growth between 2023 and 2024 at 37.1%, an increase of US$54 billion. After bottoming out in 2021, the marketplace acted quickly to maintain its eCommerce presence.

Among other things, the U.S. player invested in its AI tool Wally, which helped address issues such as out-of-stocks and overstocks with greater efficiency. It also expanded its in-store delivery service and lowered prices to make its quick commerce operations more attractive.

Douyin With the Most Remarkable Absolute Growth

In terms of absolute growth, Douyin has made the most remarkable leap among the top 10 marketplaces. With the continued strong growth trend, its GMV jumped by 33.5% to reach US$509 billion in 2024, an absolute growth of US$128 billion. As a result, Douyin was able to move from sixth place in 2023 to third place between Chinese marketplaces Pinduoduo and JD.com – in China, it even cracked the second place.

The combination of a social media platform with the ability to make purchases while scrolling has contributed greatly to the success of these marketplaces. Globally, there is a strong trend towards social and livestream shopping. Not only Douyin is benefiting from this trend, but also its Western counterpart TikTok Shop, which is also owned by ByteDance.

Meanwhile, other top Chinese marketplaces are struggling to grow. Tmall, Taobao, and JD.com all recorded below 1% growth in 2024, some even in negative territory. But what's one's loss is another's gain, and helped Douyin overtake JD.com in terms of GMV.