a market still growing

The total online and in-store fashion, beauty and luxury market is valued at €719 billion and is expected to grow by 2% by 2025. Online, this fashion and beauty market including luxury achieved a turnover of 213 billion euros in 2023 in the EU (27 + United Kingdom) including 82 billion euros of cross-border sales. This market is expected to reach 224 billion euros by 2025, marking a growth of 5%..

This growth would be supported by the strong presence of the “pure players” of online beauty and luxury, the new Chinese entrants Shein and Temu and the “Global C2C Marketplaces” in constant progression. Online fashion, beauty and luxury would thus dominate e-commerce, with a turnover of 1.5 billion euros:

The TOP 500 cross-border retailers and marketplaces in the fashion, beauty and luxury sector generated €71 billion in GMV (Gross Merchandise Value or gross volume, Editor’s note). Marketplaces represent 51 billion euros (72%), while C2C marketplaces contributed 12 billion euros (17%), with growth forecasts of 15 billion euros by 2025.

Total European online and in-store trade in fashion, beauty and luxury is valued at 719 billion eurosincluding 541 billion euros for fashion including luxury and 178 billion euros for beauty including luxury. The luxury segment alone is valued at 84 billion euros.

The share of e-commerce in the total fashion and luxury trade is 27%, so online fashion and luxury trade represents 145 billion euros. Fashion alone contributes 125 billion euros to this figure.

Top 500 Cross-Border Fashion, Beauty & Luxury Retailers & Marketplaces

The Top 500 ranking reveals the world’s leading players operating in 30 countries (including the 27 countries of the European Union) through online platforms, mainly B2C and C2C sellers. The main players in the cross-border fashion, beauty and luxury sector are Amazon, Zalando, TEMU, Shein, Ssense, Sinsay, eBay, AliExpress, Vinted, Notino, The Ordinary, Cerave, Oriflame and ELF Beauty.

Amazon: Cross-border leader in fashion, beauty and luxury (eRank TOP 1)

Despite fierce competition from Shein and Temu, Amazon remains the largest retailer and online marketplace in 2024For the second year in a row, Amazon Fashion & Beauty has made significant progress in cross-border expansion, leveraging its robust platform to appeal to a broader range of consumers.

As Shein and Temu expand their global footprint, their ability to navigate the complexities of a globalized marketplace will be crucial. Amazon’s recent foray into the discount shopping segment, which mirrors Temu and Shein’s models, underscores a strategic pivot toward leveraging China’s manufacturing capabilities. This move is intended to improve product accessibility and selection, competing directly with established players in the low-cost e-commerce space. The challenge for Amazon is not only to penetrate this fiercely contested market, but also to convince consumers to abandon established platforms.. This shift requires competitive pricing, expanded product offerings and confidence-building measures in a competitive landscape shaped by the established market presence of Temu and Shein.

Recently, Amazon launched its luxury stores in the United States in collaboration with Oscar de la Renta. Under the leadership of Sally Singer, Amazon Fashion has achieved significant cross-border success in the luxury sector, focusing on “understated luxury,” a trend characterized by minimalist designs and high-quality materials. This initiative has now expanded to Europe, allowing buyers to access ready-to-wear collections from established and emerging luxury fashion and beauty brands..

TOP 10 rankings

• Mode : Amazon, AliExpress, TEMU, eBay, Etsy, Shein, Zalando, Trenyol, Vinted et Cider.
• Beauty : Notino, The Ordinary, Fragrantica.com, Cerave, Makeup, Oriflame, E.L.F Cosmetics, Allbeauty, Avon et Byrdie.
• An intriguing finding is the ubiquity of players such as Skims (by Kim Kardashian), Beyoncé, Marc Jacobs, Rare Beauty and Fenty Beauty (by Rihanna). They represent the Top 10 of the manufacturers-creators/stars/influencers in the Luxury category: Skims, Beyoncé, Rare Beauty, Marc Jacobs, Armani, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Dior and Fenty Beauty.

“With fashion being the leading vertical in the cross-border online retail market, I would like to thank our market research team for this third edition of the TOP 500 Fashion, Beauty and Luxury Retail Europe report. It makes the online sale of fashion, beauty and luxury products in Europe more transparent and sheds light on cross-border trade for the entire sector.“, concludes Carine Moitier, founder of CBCommerce.EU.