AliExpress becomes Europe's largest e-commerce site

Overcoming the "giant" Amazon, businesses from China are proving attractive thanks to their competitive price advantage, according to CBCE research. Alibaba-owned e-commerce site AliExpress has surpassed Amazon to become Europe's largest online marketplace according to Cross-Border Commerce Europe (CBCE), a platform dedicated to promoting cross-border e-commerce in Europe. In its annual study of the 100 best global marketplaces operating in the EU-28 (27 member states and the UK), CBCE scores e-commerce sites based on four cross-border performance parameters: number of countries covered, sales in Europe, SEO metrics and percentage of cross-border visits to the site. The results show that AliExpress rose from second place last year to take the lead, surpassing US "giant" Amazon. Other US retailers Etsy, eBay and Uber Eats also appeared in the rankings at positions 2, 4 and 8 respectively. Another AliExpress rival from China, Temu, appeared in the rankings for the first time, surpassing German retailer Zalando to take 9th place. Owned by Pinduoduo's parent company PDD Holdings, Temu was founded over a year ago and has been heavily promoted on Facebook and Instagram over the past year. AliExpress was initially intended as a B2B platform when it was founded in 2010, but later switched to a B2C business model when developers discovered 70% of users were individuals. 90% of sellers active on the site are based in China and source directly from Chinese manufacturers, contributing to low prices for consumers. Research from CBCE also revealed that third-party sellers based in China are dominant. According to the unit, many online marketplaces are also looking to increase the proportion of third-party sellers and reduce inventory to compete with rapidly expanding C2C sites. In 2022, third-party sellers in China achieved a GMV (gross merchandise value) of 200 billion USD on Amazon and 47 billion USD on AliExpress worldwide. This number is expected to double, and Amazon's share of Chinese sellers is expected to reach 65% by 2026. Tue Anh (according to Dao Insights)