Marketplace or Your Own Online Store: What Makes More Sense for European Sellers in 2026?
Online marketplaces have made e-commerce accessible to almost any business. Sellers no longer need to build their own sales infrastructure from day one, attract an audience from scratch, or develop a complex online store before testing demand.
Platforms such as Amazon, Zalando, eBay and other regional marketplaces give merchants access to millions of potential customers and an established purchasing experience.
But in 2026, the limitations of relying entirely on marketplaces are becoming increasingly clear.
Seller fees, advertising costs and competition continue to grow, while businesses have limited control over customer relationships, platform rules, product visibility and long-term brand development.
This raises an important question:
Should marketplace sellers build their own online store?
For many businesses, the answer is yes — but not necessarily instead of marketplaces.
A stronger strategy is often to combine both channels.
Marketplaces can help acquire new customers, while an independent online store helps turn those customers into a long-term audience for the brand.
Why relying on marketplaces alone can be risky
The main limitation of a marketplace is simple: the seller operates inside someone else's ecosystem.
The platform controls many important parts of the business, including:
seller fees;
fulfilment and logistics options;
advertising formats;
product ranking;
catalogue requirements;
promotional tools;
communication with customers;
access to customer data.
Conditions that work well today can change tomorrow.
At the same time, completely leaving marketplaces is not realistic for many merchants. Large marketplaces offer enormous reach, established logistics networks and a checkout experience that customers already trust.
The real problem is not selling on marketplaces.
The problem begins when a marketplace becomes the only sales channel a business depends on.
Marketplace customers are primarily customers of the platform
Imagine a typical situation.
A customer buys the same brand several times through a marketplace. They like the product, the quality and the price.
Where will they make the next purchase?
Most likely, they will open the same marketplace again and search for the product.
At that moment, dozens of competing offers may appear next to it.
This creates a difficult situation for merchants.
A company can spend years building sales and investing in marketplace advertising, but the customer relationship largely remains within the platform.
An independent e-commerce store works differently.
It allows the business to develop:
customer accounts;
loyalty programmes;
personalised offers;
email marketing;
repeat purchases;
product recommendations;
content marketing;
subscriptions;
direct customer support.
The customer gradually begins to remember not only the product listing, but the brand itself.
Does this mean sellers should leave Amazon or other marketplaces?
No.
The traditional question of "marketplace or online store?" is becoming less useful.
The two channels serve different purposes.
A marketplace is particularly effective for reaching customers who are already searching for a product and are ready to buy.
An independent store is better suited to building long-term customer relationships, controlling the shopping experience and creating a stronger brand.
A more sustainable model can look like this:
Marketplace → first purchase → brand awareness → independent store → repeat purchase
Naturally, merchants must respect the rules of each marketplace as well as European consumer protection, privacy and marketing regulations.
But even without directly moving customers from one platform to another, having an independent store reduces dependence on a single sales channel.
Isn't running your own online store expensive?
A few years ago, this was one of the strongest arguments against launching an independent e-commerce website.
Businesses often had to hire developers, create a design from scratch, integrate payment systems, configure delivery, manage hosting and connect several third-party services before the first order could even be placed.
For a small merchant, starting on a marketplace was significantly easier.
Today, an online store does not necessarily have to be developed from the ground up.
Modern e-commerce platforms can already provide:
product catalogue management;
checkout;
customer accounts;
payment integrations;
delivery options;
SEO functionality;
multilingual support;
integrations with external systems.
As a result, launching an independent store can become less of a major IT project and more of a practical addition to an existing sales strategy.
That is how businesses should increasingly think about it.
When does an independent online store make the most sense?
A dedicated e-commerce channel is especially valuable when a merchant already has stable sales and customers who are likely to purchase again.
Examples include:
cosmetics and beauty products;
fashion;
food and speciality products;
automotive products;
home and garden;
pet products;
electronics;
jewellery;
tools and equipment;
B2B catalogues.
The more repeat purchases matter to the business, the more valuable a direct customer relationship becomes.
A dedicated store can also be especially useful for businesses with a large or specialised product catalogue.
On a marketplace, customers often interact with individual product listings.
On an independent website, the business can build a complete shopping environment with categories, filters, collections, related products, bundles and personalised recommendations.
This can help increase average order value without relying entirely on discounts.
What does an independent online store give a seller?
The biggest advantage is control.
The business decides how the catalogue is structured, how products are presented and how customers move through the purchasing process.
It can choose payment methods, delivery providers and integrations that match the markets it operates in.
The store can also be connected to:
ERP systems;
CRM platforms;
warehouse management;
accounting systems;
marketplace integrations;
external APIs;
marketing tools.
Businesses can develop their own SEO strategy and attract customers through Google and other search engines.
They can run paid campaigns directly to their own product pages.
They can introduce loyalty programmes, mobile applications, push notifications, intelligent search and AI-powered product recommendations.
Most importantly, these investments contribute to a digital asset the business controls.
What about website traffic?
This is where marketplaces continue to have a major advantage.
Launching an online store does not automatically generate sales.
An independent store needs traffic.
However, an established marketplace seller often already has assets that a completely new business does not:
proven products;
professional images;
product descriptions;
customer reviews;
social media audiences;
advertising experience;
existing brand awareness;
repeat customers.
An independent online store gives the business a place where these assets can work together.
SEO can also become an important acquisition channel.
Every category, product, brand page and useful article can potentially attract organic search traffic.
SEO usually takes longer to produce results than paid advertising, but high-quality pages can continue generating visitors for months or even years.
Your online store should not simply copy a marketplace
One common mistake is to export a marketplace catalogue to a new domain and expect customers to start using it.
That is rarely enough.
Customers need a reason to buy directly.
That reason could be:
a wider product range;
exclusive products;
loyalty rewards;
better product advice;
specialist customer service;
bundles and product sets;
useful content;
subscription options;
more flexible delivery;
personalised recommendations.
An independent store should offer something that a general-purpose marketplace cannot easily provide.
This is what gives customers a reason to return.
What does an online store need in 2026?
For most European merchants, the basic requirements are relatively straightforward:
mobile-friendly design;
fast product search;
clear catalogue navigation;
secure checkout;
popular local payment methods;
reliable delivery options;
customer accounts;
SEO-friendly pages;
multilingual capabilities where required;
transparent information about returns, delivery and privacy.
Depending on the business, additional integrations may be added later.
These can include warehouse systems, marketplace synchronisation, mobile apps, AI search, personalised recommendations, ERP connections and automated product feeds.
There is no need to build everything from the beginning.
The first objective should be simpler:
create an independent and reliable sales channel that the business controls.
Everything else can be developed gradually.
Marketplace + independent store instead of choosing only one
In 2026, the more relevant question is no longer whether a business should sell on a marketplace or through its own website.
A stronger e-commerce strategy often uses both.
Marketplaces provide reach, existing demand and established infrastructure.
An independent online store provides control over the brand, catalogue, customer experience and long-term customer relationships.
The two channels do not have to compete with each other.
Used together, they can make an e-commerce business less dependent on changes made by any single platform.
For sellers that have moved beyond their first orders and want to build a sustainable e-commerce business, an independent online store is increasingly becoming not an alternative to marketplaces, but the next stage of growth.
How to launch your own online store
Building an e-commerce website from scratch is not always necessary.
Ewonta provides ready-to-launch online stores based on PrestaShop, with the core functionality businesses need to start selling online.
The platform can include product catalogue management, checkout, payment and delivery integrations, as well as tools for further development.
Because the store remains a fully independent e-commerce platform, it can be extended over time with additional modules, integrations, mobile applications, intelligent search and AI-powered commerce tools.
This approach can be particularly suitable for European brands, manufacturers, distributors and marketplace sellers that want to build an independent sales channel while continuing to use existing marketplaces.
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