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Marketplace Trends 2026 Report by the numbers
The Marketplace Trends 2026 Report gathers early signals from online marketplace operators and consultants on the challenges, priorities, and technology investment areas shaping marketplaces in 2026. This first edition also summarizes the trends expected to have the highest impact over the next 2-3 years.
We created this report to provide valuable insights on how marketplace strategies are shifting in 2026. It is intended to help teams align on decisions around strategy, operating model, and technology investments – and to establish a repeatable benchmark that will be refined with each new edition as the data set grows.
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What will you learn from the Marketplace Trends 2026 Report?
Gain clarity on the trends shaping digital commerce in 2026. The 2026 edition draws on input from 30+ marketplace operators and consultants working across different industries and marketplace models.
Compare your own marketplace direction with what teams across the market are already doing. The report brings together 43 insight-driven pages into a focused format that addresses the questions marketplace businesses are dealing with right now. After downloading, you’ll find:
- Top investments areas in 2026
- Predictions & market research: What 2026–2029 could look like for digital commerce?
- Concrete framework for designing vendor onboarding as a supply-side operating system
- Checklist for marketplace operators about vendor onboarding
- Automation as the main path in marketplace strategies
- Which online marketplace trends will drive growth or disruption?
- Where marketplaces are evolving fastest, and where they risk falling behind?
- The rise of vertical/niche models in marketplace sales
- The B2B marketplace boom and what it means for procurement
How the Marketplace Trends 2026 Report is structured
The report is divided into 3 clear parts. The first section presents a skimmed overview of responses across challenges, goals, investment areas, and trends in the marketplace expected to shape 2026. The data highlights where marketplace teams align and where opinions start to diverge.
The second section adds deep context through practitioner input. Marketplace experts expand on their responses and explain constraints they face in production environments and marketplace sales.
The final section takes a closer look at one leading marketplace trend and a couple of marketplace leaders' showcases.
- Introduction: Marketplace Trends 2026 – shaped by practitioners
- Executive summary: Global outlook and data landscape
- Challenges: Where execution breaks first?
- Goals: What leadership is optimizing for?
- Investments: Where budgets go in 2026?
- Future impact: What changes the game in 2-3 years?
- Zoom-in implication: Vendor onboarding is the 2026 scaling constraint
- Marketplace leaders: Reference set
- What to do next: Strategic takeaways for 2026
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Who is this Marketplace Trends 2026 Report for?
Top insights from the Marketplace Trends 2026 Report
As marketplaces move into 2026, teams face growing pressure to turn scale into sustainable results. Ambitions around growth often collide with operational limits and rising cost expectations.
The data in this report point to a trending marketplace shift away from short-term expansion toward decisions that support retention and repeat purchases. Marketplace growth strategies increasingly center on execution: onboarding quality, process automation, and control over core workflows.
At the same time, marketplace leaders are becoming more selective. Technology choices are weighed more carefully, and investment decisions are driven by measurable impact rather than long-term vision alone.
The insights below highlight the pressures and priorities shaping marketplaces in 2026 and the years that follow.
20% of reported challenges relate to vendor onboarding complexity & retention.
32% of respondents name vendor onboarding and portal automation as their main investment area for 2026.
25% of participants expect competitive advantage to shift toward specialization and deeper vertical focus.
Ready to level up your marketplace growth strategy in 2026?
Expert-backed insights, growth strategies, and real-world marketplace data. Use the report to benchmark priorities or book a 30-minute call to review scope, constraints, and delivery approach.
✔️ Free to download
✔️ 43 pages of expert-backed insights
✔️ Built on 3 months of trend analysis and market research
✔️ 10 key marketplace trends for 2026
