Like all things e-commerce, Asia is a dominant force in this sector. In 2022, the C2C market accounted for one-fifth of China's online retail sales. Taobao, a Chinese online shopping platform that offers C2C services, is the world's most popular online marketplace based on gross merchandise value (GMV). The company had a GMV of roughly 701 billion U.S. dollars in 2022. The success of C2C trade can also be observed in Europe. That same year, over two-fifths of cross-border marketplaces in the European Union (EU) were consumer-to-consumer.
Turning arts and crafts into billions of dollars
Etsy is a rising star in the online C2C industry. Founded in 2005, the Brooklyn-based e-commerce company specializes in craft supplies, homemade creations, and vintage items. Despite tumultuous market conditions over the last couple of years, Etsy has managed to grow exponentially since 2019. The company tripled its revenues in just four years, generating around 2.6 billion U.S. dollars in 2022. Platforms like Etsy give users the ability to create, sell, and promote their products to other consumers. The vast majority of Etsy sellers — many of whom are female entrepreneurs — run their shops from home. Moreover, over two-fifths of Etsy sellers use their online income to cover household expenses like bills, rent, and food.There is no doubt that the handicraft site is successful; etsy.com attracts over 400,000 monthly visitors. However, the increase in third-party sellers listing cheaper mass-produced items has turned Etsy, once a tight-knit community of craft enthusiasts, into the likes of eBay. The established C2C auction site eBay lists wholesale drop-shipping products as well as one-of-a-kind collector's items. The California-based company generated a revenue of 2.5 billion U.S. dollars in the third quarter of 2023.
