The biggest global eCommerce marketplaces are Amazon, Alibaba's Taobao and Tmall, Walmart Marketplace, eBay, Shopee, Mercado Libre, and TikTok Shop, followed by fast-growing or regional leaders like Temu, Flipkart, Coupang, Zalando, and Etsy. Amazon alone saw an estimated $830 billion in GMV in 2025, with third-party sellers responsible for 69% of it, according to Marketplace Pulse. Each marketplace rewards a different skill set: retail media and catalog depth on Amazon and Walmart, live and creator content on TikTok Shop, logistics and localization in Latin America and Southeast Asia. For brands, the hiring question is not whether to hire marketplace talent but which marketplaces to staff for, and whether to hire specialists or a leader who can run a portfolio of them.
For most consumer brands, the marketplace question used to be simple: get on Amazon, then maybe Walmart. That is no longer the full picture. TikTok Shop has grown into a meaningful sales channel in a few years, Temu has changed price expectations in several categories, and regional leaders like Mercado Libre and Shopee now operate at a scale that rivals the biggest names in the U.S.
Every marketplace has its own algorithm, ad platform, fee structure, fulfillment model, and culture. That is why marketplace hiring has become one of the most specialized parts of eCommerce recruiting. Below is our list of the marketplaces that matter most for global brands, with a note on each about the talent it takes to win there.
The Top Global eCommerce Marketplaces at a Glance
| Marketplace | Home Markets | What It Rewards |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon | U.S., Europe, Japan, India, and more | Retail media, catalog, operations |
| Taobao & Tmall | China | Brand storefronts, livestreaming |
| Walmart Marketplace | U.S., Mexico, Canada | Retail media, omnichannel |
| eBay | U.S., UK, Germany, Australia | Pricing, collectibles, refurbished |
| Shopee | Southeast Asia, Taiwan, Brazil | Localization, mobile, promotions |
| Mercado Libre | Latin America | Logistics, payments, local teams |
| TikTok Shop | U.S., UK, Southeast Asia, and more | Creators, live shopping, content |
| Temu | Global | Price, supply chain |
| Flipkart | India | Price, mobile, regional logistics |
| Coupang | South Korea | Delivery speed, vendor relationships |
| Zalando | Europe | Fashion brand presentation |
| Etsy | U.S., UK, global | Handmade, vintage, niche brands |
The 12 Marketplaces, and the Talent Each One Needs
01 Amazon
Amazon is still the center of gravity for marketplace selling in the West. Marketplace Pulse estimates that Amazon and its sellers sold $830 billion worth of goods in 2025, with third-party sellers now responsible for 69% of that total, up from 60% in 2019. For most brands, Amazon is both the largest marketplace channel and the most complex: advertising, catalog management, inventory, pricing, and account health all need attention every day.
Hiring note: Amazon teams have split into specialties. A typical mid-size brand now needs an Amazon channel lead, an Amazon advertising manager, and someone who owns catalog and listing content. Our Amazon recruiting page covers each profile.
02 Taobao & Tmall
Alibaba's two flagship platforms remain among the largest marketplaces in the world. Taobao is the broader consumer-to-consumer and small-business marketplace, while Tmall is the home of official brand storefronts. Livestream selling, mega sales events like Singles Day, and Alibaba's own data and advertising tools shape how brands compete there.
Hiring note: Most Western brands run China through a Tmall Partner agency or a distributor, overseen by an in-house international lead. The hire that matters most is a leader who can manage that partner and hold it accountable. See our Director of International eCommerce page.
03 Walmart Marketplace
Walmart has spent years building its third-party marketplace, its fulfillment network, and Walmart Connect, its retail media business. For brands already selling wholesale to Walmart stores, the marketplace adds a second relationship with the same retailer, which brings real opportunity and real channel coordination challenges.
Hiring note: Walmart rewards people who understand both the marketplace and the retail media side. Our retail media recruiting page and our post on retail media platforms and the talent behind them cover what to look for.
04 eBay
eBay reported $79.6 billion in GMV for 2025, up 6% on an FX-neutral basis, with about 135 million active buyers. Its strengths are in collectibles, refurbished goods, auto parts, and pre-owned categories, where a fixed-price, brand-first marketplace is not always the best fit.
Hiring note: eBay is often managed by a generalist marketplace manager alongside other channels. Brands with large refurbished, resale, or parts businesses may justify a dedicated owner. Our post on resale marketplace hiring covers the overlap.
05 Shopee
Shopee is the leading marketplace across much of Southeast Asia and has built a substantial business in Brazil. It is mobile-first, promotion-heavy, and highly localized, with major sales events tied to dates like 9.9, 10.10, and 11.11.
Hiring note: Success on Shopee depends on local market knowledge. Brands usually hire regional marketplace leads in Singapore or another hub, supported by local agencies. A U.S.-based team rarely runs it well from a distance.
06 Mercado Libre
Mercado Libre is the dominant marketplace in Latin America, with GMV of $65 billion in 2025, up 26% year over year, and more than 120 million unique buyers, according to the company. Its own logistics network, Mercado Envios, and payments platform, Mercado Pago, make it as much an infrastructure company as a marketplace.
Hiring note: Brands entering Mexico or Brazil need people who know local logistics, payments, tax, and import rules, ideally with Spanish or Portuguese. This is usually a regional hire, not a U.S. marketplace manager with an extra channel. Our international eCommerce page covers the profile.
07 TikTok Shop
TikTok Shop is the fastest-growing marketplace on this list. Momentum Works estimates its global GMV reached about $64.3 billion in 2025, up 94%, with the U.S. as its largest market at about $15.1 billion. Discovery happens through creator content and live shopping, and checkout increasingly happens without leaving the app.
Hiring note: TikTok Shop needs a different profile from Amazon: affiliate and creator management, live shopping production, and fast content cycles. We are actively recruiting TikTok Shop roles right now, and our TikTok Shop hiring guide and post on TikTok's AI Shopping Assistant explain the skills involved.
08 Temu
Temu grew quickly by shipping low-priced goods directly from manufacturers, and has since added programs for local sellers and local warehouses in several markets. Even brands that never sell on Temu feel its effect on price expectations in categories like home goods, accessories, and small electronics.
Hiring note: For most branded businesses, Temu is less a channel to staff and more a competitive pressure to plan around. That makes pricing and assortment strategy talent more important. Our eCommerce analytics recruiting page covers the analysts who track this.
09 Flipkart
Flipkart is one of India's two leading marketplaces, alongside Amazon India. India's eCommerce market is mobile-first, price-sensitive, and highly regional, with major sales events around the festival season.
Hiring note: Like Shopee and Mercado Libre, Flipkart rewards local teams. Brands expanding into India typically hire an in-country eCommerce lead and partner with a local agency rather than running it from headquarters.
10 Coupang
Coupang is South Korea's largest eCommerce platform, built around very fast delivery through its own logistics network. Many brands sell to Coupang as a vendor, similar to Amazon's first-party model, rather than as a third-party seller.
Hiring note: Vendor-model marketplaces need account managers who are strong negotiators and understand retailer economics. Our eCommerce sales recruiting page covers key account and vendor management roles.
11 Zalando
Zalando is one of Europe's leading fashion and lifestyle platforms, operating across many European countries. Its Partner Program lets brands sell directly through the platform, and presentation, sizing, and returns management matter as much as price.
Hiring note: Fashion brands expanding in Europe need people who know Zalando alongside European marketplaces and their own European DTC sites. See our fashion and apparel eCommerce recruiting page and our London eCommerce recruiting page.
12 Etsy
Etsy is smaller than the giants on this list, but it is the leading marketplace for handmade, vintage, personalized, and craft goods. For small and emerging brands in those categories, it can be the primary sales channel.
Hiring note: Etsy is usually run by a founder or a generalist eCommerce manager. As a brand grows beyond it, the next hire is often an eCommerce manager who can build out DTC and additional marketplaces.
A few other marketplaces are worth knowing if you sell in their regions: Rakuten in Japan, Allegro in Poland and Central Europe, bol in the Netherlands and Belgium, Lazada in Southeast Asia, and Target Plus in the U.S., which is invitation-only.
Brands often add marketplaces faster than they add people, assuming the Amazon team can absorb the next channel. It rarely works. TikTok Shop needs creator and content skills. Mercado Libre and Shopee need local market knowledge. Walmart needs retail media and wholesale coordination. A marketplace strategy is only as good as the team built to run it.
How Should Brands Staff a Multi-Marketplace Strategy?
Start with the portfolio, then the people. Decide which marketplaces matter most to your revenue over the next two to three years. A brand that is 70% Amazon needs a different team from one splitting sales across Amazon, Walmart, and TikTok Shop.
Hire a marketplace leader before you hire a fifth marketplace specialist. Once a brand sells on three or more marketplaces, it usually needs one person who owns the portfolio: allocating inventory, budgets, and pricing across channels and keeping them from competing with each other. We are recruiting exactly this kind of role right now for a Head of Global Marketplaces at a global consumer electronics brand.
Go local for international marketplaces. Latin America, Southeast Asia, India, and Korea reward in-market talent. A U.S. team can set strategy, but day-to-day execution usually belongs with a regional hire or a well-managed local partner. Our post on hiring eCommerce leaders across the US, Canada, and UK covers how cross-border hiring changes the search.
Do not let retail media live in a silo. Amazon, Walmart, and increasingly TikTok Shop all have advertising platforms that drive a large share of marketplace sales. Marketplace managers and retail media managers need to work as one team. Our retail media manager hiring guide explains how to structure that.
The marketplaces on this list are not interchangeable. The best marketplace hires know which ones fit your brand, which ones do not, and what it takes to win on each one.
What This Means for the Talent Market
Marketplace talent is in high demand, and the market is splitting into specialists. Experienced Amazon operators are still the largest pool. TikTok Shop talent is newer and scarcer. Candidates who have run several marketplaces at once, with a P&L across all of them, are the hardest to find. That is the profile most growing brands eventually need.
When you interview marketplace candidates, ask which marketplace they would not launch on for your brand, and why. Strong candidates will have an opinion grounded in fees, category fit, and operations. Weaker ones will say yes to everything. For compensation benchmarks, see our 2026 eCommerce salary guide, and for how marketplace teams typically report, see our eCommerce org charts.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the largest eCommerce marketplace in the world?
Amazon is the largest marketplace in the West, with an estimated $830 billion in GMV in 2025 according to Marketplace Pulse, 69% of it from third-party sellers. Alibaba's Taobao and Tmall platforms in China operate at a comparable scale.
Which eCommerce marketplaces are growing fastest?
TikTok Shop is among the fastest-growing, with Momentum Works estimating its global GMV rose 94% in 2025 to about $64.3 billion. Mercado Libre reported 26% GMV growth in 2025 to $65 billion. Temu has also grown rapidly across many markets.
Should a brand hire one marketplace manager or separate specialists?
It depends on how many marketplaces drive meaningful revenue. Brands concentrated on Amazon often start with an Amazon channel lead and an advertising specialist. Brands selling on three or more marketplaces usually need a marketplace leader who owns the full portfolio, supported by specialists on the largest channels.
Can a U.S. team run international marketplaces like Mercado Libre or Shopee?
A U.S. team can set strategy, but most brands get better results with in-market talent or a well-managed local partner. These marketplaces depend on local logistics, payments, language, promotions, and regulations that are difficult to manage from a distance.
Sources: Marketplace Pulse (Amazon GMV estimate); Mercado Libre full-year 2025 results; eBay full-year 2025 results; Jing Daily, citing Momentum Works (TikTok Shop GMV). Figures reflect 2025 results or estimates as reported.