Want to Increase Online Sales? Take Advantage of the 2025 Market Trends

Marketplaces are a dream come true for modern consumers. With just a few clicks or a tap of the screen, they can browse thousands of products and offers. Like their traditional counterparts, marketplaces have become part of everyday life and are even more profitable for retailers, as they are always accompanied by spontaneous purchases.

According to a study by ChannelEngine conducted in the U.S., 59% of consumers browse marketplaces for entertainment, while 56% sometimes make unplanned purchases.

The question arises: how can brands and sellers maximize this shopping opportunity?

We will introduce you to the Top 5 Trends for Marketplaces in 2025 to see what e-commerce brands should expect this year.

1. Social Commerce as a Factor in Increasing Sales on Marketplaces

The development of social commerce will continue and will remain a major trend in 2025, both for marketplaces and online stores. Although social commerce currently occupies a small part of the total e-commerce market, it will continue to grow steadily over the next five years.

According to research, social commerce will expand to approximately 33% worldwide between 2025 and 2033, with individual spending in this sector expected to double during this period.

While 45% of buyers are millennials and Gen Z, social commerce is not limited to young consumers. Brands have numerous opportunities to target different demographics by leveraging the right social commerce channels and tailored marketing strategies.

2. The Power of User-Generated Content

User-generated content (UGC) is a powerful marketing tool, combining social trust and the bandwagon effect to drive sales.

Research shows that 45% of consumers trust a brand recommended by a content creator they follow and like.

The challenge with UGC is that its narrative is difficult to control—no one can predict exactly what content creators will post. However, when used effectively, it can be an invaluable (and free) way to grow your brand.

To harness UGC, brands should actively encourage engagement through contests, targeted campaigns, and interactive promotions. Additionally, by offering an exceptional customer experience, you can ensure positive reviews from content creators, further boosting your brand’s credibility.

3. Managing the Omnichannel Shopping Process

The consumer shopping journey has become more complex, involving multiple touchpoints. While marketplaces remain central to purchases, the shopping experience now spans social media, brand-owned websites, apps, and the marketplaces themselves.

Omnichannel shopping presents two major challenges:

●      Content management – To provide a consistent customer experience across all platforms, content must be adapted and managed centrally. Automation is key to keeping product listings, promotions, and information up to date.

●      Omnichannel order management – The e-commerce market is shifting towards a decentralized ecosystem, where software simplifies the complexities of multi-channel sales. Orders can now be automatically routed across different platforms, ensuring seamless fulfillment.

4. The Growing Importance of Customer Experience

Customer experience (UX) is a fundamental element of e-commerce success and remains a key marketplace trend in 2025.

Without a strong UX, platforms and sales channels risk high cart abandonment rates and low conversions.

Product content plays a crucial role—titles, descriptions, and images directly impact click-through and conversion rates. These, in turn, influence a brand’s ranking in marketplace search results.

A clear and compelling product listing is essential. AI-driven recommendations and personalization further enhance UX, but their effectiveness depends entirely on the quality of your product content.

5. AI Platforms as the New Marketplaces

AI is increasingly integrated into e-commerce, transforming traditional search engines into unified shopping platforms.

AI-powered platforms allow consumers to purchase products directly from search interfaces, eliminating the need to visit individual seller websites. These platforms also provide personalized product recommendations and AI-generated descriptions, streamlining the shopping process and improving conversion rates.

As these technologies advance, the lines between search engines and marketplaces will blur, impacting the future of digital commerce.

AI-driven customer service and CX solutions are also gaining traction. Research shows that 63% of market professionals recognize AI’s benefits, and 80% of e-commerce teams plan to adopt it by 2025. Now is the time to integrate AI into your business operations.

What Does This Mean for Brands and Retailers?

These trends indicate that shopping platforms are now an integral part of the consumer journey, but modern shopping is about more than just making purchases.

For shoppers, the experience will become increasingly seamless and channel-independent, making it challenging for brands and retailers to keep up.

To stay competitive in 2025, businesses must adopt a unified strategy and leverage the right tools to simplify, manage, and optimize customer experience across multiple channels.