Marketplaces remain the cornerstone of FMCG e-commerce. However, their role is evolving as the broader digital commerce landscape becomes more fragmented and competitive. Success increasingly depends on understanding the role marketplaces play within a broader retail ecosystem rather than treating them as a stand-alone strategy. To remain relevant, marketplaces must evolve beyond serving as destinations for traffic and transactions, positioning themselves as intelligent commerce ecosystems.
Delivery
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Key findings
Energy management can become a key premiumisation route for coffeebrands
Coffee brands are facing pressure from weak volume growth, high green coffee prices and more cautious consumers. This makes it harder to justify higher prices through origin, roast profile or packaging alone. Decaf, low-caf, functional and clearly positioned energy management propositions can create a more tangible reason to pay more by linking coffee to control, focus, sleep, wellness and daily performance.
Implication: Treat caffeine control as a value-growth strategy, not only as a health or decaf topic.
The energy market is huge, but coffee’s role is underwhelming
Energy management is already a major consumer need, but coffee has not captured its full potential. Energy drinks, supplements and new caffeine formats (egnicotine pouches or gummies) communicate clear benefits more directly, while coffee is still often positioned as a traditional routine drink. This leaves coffee with a major opportunity to reclaim energy occasions through clearer positioning and more targeted products.
Implication: Future coffee growth will depend less on routine alone and more on how well brands translate caffeine, decaf and functional benefits into clear energy need states.
There is not just one target group when it comes to energy management
Energy managers are not one consumer group. Some consumers want stronger stimulation, others want to reduce caffeine because of sleep, stress, pregnancy or health concerns, and many want different levels depending on the time of day. Coffee brands therefore need to build ranges around need states, not only around regular and decaf.
Implication: Caffeine needs to be translated into simple occasion language.
Most brands are not clearly delivering on energy management
The main barrier is not only product availability, but communication. Consumers need simple cues that explain when and why to choose each product, such as high energy, steady focus, balanced lift or low/no caffeine. Without clearer guidance, coffee risks losing occasions to categories that make their energy benefits easier to understand such as energy drinks and supplements. That is why energy levels need to be clearly communicated in both cafés and on products.
Implication: Segment by reason for caffeine control, not only by decaf usage.
Why read this report?
Key findings
Marketplaces have evolved as a core infrastructure underpinning FMCG e-commerce...
...but growth is becoming more channel-specific
Not one size fits all - the problem of category-channel fit
Where is growth shifting?
Marketplaces remain the anchor channel for beauty products, despite DTC growth
Growth is driven by a balanced mix of mass and premium brands across key categories
Estée Lauder’s DTC push reinforces, rather than replaces, marketplace-led scale
Marketplaces lead online consumer health sales, even as local channel structures vary
Quality-led brands outperform on consumer health marketplaces
Sports protein brands win on marketplaces by being discoverable and comparable
Marketplaces win in pet care on convenience and assortment amid a dual-channel split
Pet parents shop for specialised solutions and replenishments on marketplaces
Premium pet food brands rely on specialists, but marketplace growth is accelerating
Tissue and hygiene remains marketplace-led, supported by frequent and bulk buying
Marketplace growth in tissue and hygiene is broadening beyond baby care
Baby hygiene is marketplace-ready, but channel leadership remains market-specific
Bulk packs, subscriptions and price comparison sustain marketplace lead in home care
Innovation-led formats drive home care growth on marketplaces
Tide relies on marketplaces to widen its reach and distribution for global leadership
Grocery strengthens its lead in snacks e-commerce as marketplace share moderates
Snack marketplace growth shifts towards indulgence, gifting and established brands
Amazon turns Lindt’s premium chocolate appeal into scalable online growth
Dairy products and alternatives remain less penetrated on marketplaces
Despite limitations, opportunities exist: with successes to learn from in China
Adopt A Cow’s Tmall triumph proves dairy brands can thrive online
While Amazon leads globally, Douyin and TikTok Shop redefine FMCG e-commerce
Marketplaces developing quick-commerce to move to everyday replenishment
Marketplaces are becoming the product recommendation engine for AI-led commerce
Amazon has the strongest position, but also most exposed to external agent disruption
Recommendations and opportunities for growth
Evolution of FMCG e-commerce on marketplaces
Questions we are asking
Digital Shopper
Tracks all sales of goods and services to the public via the internet. Consumer purchases through web platforms are attributed to the country in which the consumer is based, rather than where the merchant is based. Our definition is agnostic as to where the actual payment takes place. If an order is initiated online, we would consider that order to be an e-commerce transaction, even if the order is ultimately paid for in-store, with cash on delivery, by mail via postal cheque, or in person when turning in a ticket and associated payment at a designated ATM or branch facility. Our figures exclude consumer-to-consumer (C2C) and business-to-business (B2B) sales. Business-to-consumer sales (B2C) – in which the business is registered with the government and pays the appropriate taxes – are included. This includes B2C sales on marketplace platforms, which allow many merchants to sell on their website and process the transaction. While both businesses and consumers can sell through marketplaces, only B2C transactions are included in our coverage. Note that online sales from direct selling companies are excluded from our definition. As we are primarily concerned with tracking the importance of the direct selling model (and not where the final sale is made), all sales attributable to a direct selling company will fall into direct selling rather than E-Commerce. Credit or charge card bill payments, mortgages and other loan payments, money transfers, digital person-to-person payments, insurance payments and donations to charities and crowdfunding campaigns are excluded from Euromonitor’s coverage. For C2G transactions, consumer payments made to governments for direct consumption of services and utilities, excluding taxes, fines, and administrative fees, are included. This includes all online purchases made by a consumer to a business for either goods or services regardless of the device (PC, mobile phone, tablet, etc.) used to execute the transaction. It is subdivided into the following eight areas of E-Commerce: Retail, Foodservice, Travel, Mobility, Ticketed Entertainment, Streaming Services, Bill Payments and Other.
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