As ecommerce gains concentrate among a few dominant players, smaller retailers have an opening if they can carve out share in an increasingly uneven market.

To capture a share of limited holiday gains, retailers and brands must zero in on pockets of opportunity across mobile commerce, social platforms, and consumer adoption of AI for shopping.

Workforce reduction signals tighter discipline as it integrates Depop and leans on AI.

The secondhand marketplace is being snapped up by eBay to bolster its standing among Gen Z shoppers.

On February 20, eBay’s updated user agreement goes into effect, banning third-party AI agents that autonomously buy for consumers, targeting the emerging “buy-for-me” tools designed to handle discovery, decisioning, and checkout.

A new policy bans buy-for-me bots without permission, as the retailer looks to control the agentic shopping experience.

Mobile will account for nearly half of US online sales in 2026 and become the dominant channel in 2027. To make the most of this shift, retailers and brands should enhance integration of their shopping apps and loyalty programs.

TikTok Shop is now almost as large as eBay, according to EchoTik. The marketplace’s global gross merchandise value (GMV) hit $19 billion in Q3, not far off eBay’s $20.1 billion. Between $4 billion and $4.6 billion of those sales took place in the US, up 125% QoQ, making it TikTok Shop’s largest single market. TikTok’s ability to blend shopping and entertainment is turning the platform into an ecommerce powerhouse. While price concerns and value are top of mind for consumers this holiday season, so too is the desire to shop for fun—an itch that TikTok Shop is perfectly placed to scratch.

This benchmark covers how ad buyers can calibrate their retail media ad spending and budget allocations against the market, and how publishers and solution providers can assess whether their ad revenues align with industry trends.

ThredUp posted its strongest revenue growth in nearly four years in Q3 as rising price sensitivity fuels interest in online resale. Active buyers surged 26% YoY as ThredUp touted its “best quarter for new buyer acquisition” in company history. Resale is having a moment. The end of de minimis import exemptions and new tariffs on apparel are making buying secondhand more appealing to price-sensitive consumers, while younger generations are embracing resale for its affordability and creative possibilities. We expect fashion online resale platform sales to expand 10.4% this year, nearly double the rate of online apparel, footwear, and accessories sales.

Online marketplaces are a crucial channel for growth in Europe. But brands need a nuanced strategy to navigate the complex, fragmented landscape.

AI shopping assistants are boosting discovery and personalization, but trust issues and fulfillment challenges could limit their impact on channel migration.

OpenAI is preparing to turn ChatGPT into an advertising platform, posting a new role for an engineer to build systems for ad integration, campaign management, and attribution. The move could position ChatGPT as a new challenger to Google, Meta, and Amazon’s ad businesses. Already a major driver of referral traffic to retailers like Walmart, Etsy, and Target, ChatGPT has clear potential to evolve into a commerce and ad engine. But execution will be critical: Poorly integrated ads risk undermining user trust, even as AI-driven ad formats are projected to grow at triple-digit annual rates in the coming years.

Marketplaces have been driving US ecommerce growth. But established players face a shake-up from new entrants and advances in AI and agentic commerce.

Trading card mania is proving to be a profitable tailwind for Target, eBay, and Walmart, as high-profile releases and collector enthusiasm drive spending. The market for toys is increasingly being driven by demand for collectibles like Labubus and trading cards. That demand is strongest among adults, who see these items both as fun indulgences and investment opportunities.

Resale platform Depop launched its biggest US marketing campaign to date as it looks to expand its audience beyond its core Gen Z user base and capitalize on surging demand for secondhand goods. Growing global demand for resale presents challenges and opportunities—both for marketplaces that trade in secondhand goods, like Depop and eBay, as well as for traditional retailers.

Etsy and eBay see opportunity to gain share as tariffs burden their competitors and consumers adjust their spending habits. Both companies are well-positioned to benefit from renewed interest in resale as tariffs make buying new more expensive for shoppers. The two platforms also now face less competition from Shein, Temu, and Amazon in online ad auctions—allowing them to be more efficient with marketing spend and reach more potential customers. While neither eBay nor Etsy is fully immune from the effects of tariffs—and their potential drag on the economy and consumer confidence—they are less exposed than most other retailers.

Consumer spending will be restrained during the 2025 holiday season as shoppers remain cautious amid ongoing economic uncertainty. That means retail and ecommerce will see the slowest growth since we started tracking the metrics.

Online fashion sales are stable and growing slowly, but they lag wider ecommerce. Consumers are concerned about sustainability, but price is a bigger priority.