That of selling online is not a foregone decision: Starting a new website or e-commerce property from scratch can be financially expensive and discourage businesses that want to grow and expand through marketplaces and Digital Export.
Still, Italian companies cannot let a steadily increasing phenomenon pass them by. In fact, in 2021, e-commerce saw a growth of 33%, reaching 64 billion euros in sales. Not only that, according to Netcomm, the trend will continue through the rest of 2022. Specifically, the number of Italians who made online purchases in the first quarter of this year was more than 33 million, thus growing by 14% compared to 2021.
In other words, the boom in online commerce continues not only as a positive consequence of the pandemic, but also as a real trend for the future of Italian businesses. But for companies in which sectors are the best opportunities on marketplaces? Digital export favors which products?
Interestingly, the product market came to a total value of 34 billion in 2022, an increase of 10% over the previous year.
Leading the way is food, which is confirmed as the industry with the highest growth (+17% is the annual increase from 2021), followed by apparel, with 10% growth, and the IT and electronic components industry (+7%).
Also noteworthy is the increase registered by services: after the slump related to restrictions from Covid-19, the sector has returned to regrowth, led by the recovery of events and exhibitions (+35% compared to 2021) and tourism-related services (+33%).
In addition, another finding from the research conducted by Netcom during the first part of 2022, online purchases are paid for directly online at the time of order in almost 90% of cases: only in 10.4% of times are such purchases paid for at the time of delivery.
These numbers thus highlight how digital commerce has entered the habits of Italian consumers on a daily basis. The sale of products and services online is here to stay, and it was not just a flash in the pan due to the pandemic. For businesses, it is therefore necessary to think about targeted Digital Export strategies, such as the implementation of external marketplaces.
Marketplaces assume the function of true online marketplaces for all intents and purposes. The logic is quite similar to that of supermarkets: customers visit a marketplace site to buy (and sell) a good or service, within which goods from different sellers are grouped.
A marketplace is therefore A viable solution for the Digital Export strategies of Italian companies that want to sell abroad: it is in fact an opportunity to rapidly grow your business, showcasing products or services to millions of users at home and abroad, without the worry of excessive expenses.
At this point the question arises: which marketplaces are most popular? Which ones should be adopted?
Below are the updated marketplace rankings most popular and visited for Italian companies that want to expand abroad. If, on the other hand, you are looking for which marketplace is best for your company, then we recommend reading this article, in which we described the characteristics of the perfect marketplace.
The most popular marketplaces for Italian companies that want to sell abroad are Amazon, Subito, eBay, AliExpress, and Etsy. Amazon is the largest, with over 50 million unique visitors in Italy in 2022. Subito follows closely with over 16 million and eBay with over 15 million users.
A marketplace is an online market that, like a supermarket, groups the products of many sellers on a single website. For Italian businesses it is a solution for Digital Export because it allows them to display products or services to millions of users in Italy and abroad, growing rapidly and without excessive costs.
The sector with the highest growth is food, with an annual increase of 17% compared to 2021. Following are clothing (+10%) and information technology and electronics (+7%). Among services, events and exhibitions grow (+35%) and tourism (+33%). The online products market reached 34 billion euros in 2022.
In 2021, Italian e-commerce grew by 33% and reached 64 billion euros in revenue. According to Netcomm, the trend continued in 2022: in the first quarter, more than 33 million Italians made online purchases, 14% more than in 2021.
Almost 90% of online purchases in Italy are paid for directly at the time of ordering, while only 10.4% are paid upon delivery. This data, revealed by Netcomm’s research in the first part of 2022, shows that digital commerce is now a consolidated habit for consumers and not a passing trend.
The average dwell time is high on all the major platforms. It registers the highest value immediately, at 14:13 minutes, followed by Amazon with about 12:40 minutes and eBay with 12 minutes. These are useful data for evaluating how well a marketplace is able to retain users and display products.
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