- European marketplaces are now worth a combined €685B
- Fintech-enabled marketplaces have EV/Sales of 6.7x, compared to 5.3x and 4.6x for other marketplaces and financial services, respectively
- Record investment in online marketplaces (€78B in 2021YTD) means that marketplaces have significant dry powder available to invest
- Online marketplaces sales now account for 19.5% of all consumer spending, compared to 13.6% in 2019
Barcelona and London, 22 September 2021: As consumer spending continues to shift rapidly online, and also developing new revenue streams, according to a new Adevinta report on fintech-enabled marketplaces in partnership with DealRoom and Speedinvest.
Data from our Fintech-enabled Marketplaces report, the second in a series of reports on marketplaces trends, shows that pairing financial services with online marketplaces creates outsized returns, that the lines are blurring between fintechs and marketplaces, and that there is still a lot of room for mutual growth.
Fintech unlocks significant value for online marketplaces
European marketplaces are now worth a combined €685B. While fintech is the most funded vertical on the continent, fintech-enabled marketplaces are proving to provide the best value for shareholders. According to the report, fintech-enabled marketplaces have EV/Sales of 6.7x, compared to 5.3x and 4.6x for other marketplaces and financial services, respectively.
Online marketplaces are now accelerating and taking advantage of “plug and play” embedded fintech solutions, while also building fintech products in house. They are creating new monetization streams, improving user experience, and boosting customer retention.
Jordi Iserte, Investment Director at Adevinta Ventures says: “The long-term success of marketplaces depends on their ability to adapt and integrate fintech solutions into their platforms. This will allow for a seamless, frictionless experience, and ultimately benefit customers. Fintech-enabled marketplaces are becoming the new norm and we are excited to take an active role in this growing market.”
Mathias Ockenfels, General Partner, Speedinvest, comments: “At Speedinvest, we have dedicated investment teams funding both marketplaces and fintech startups. Collectively, we’ve observed a clear trend: The merging of these two worlds. As the report shows, it’s proving to be an attractive proposition for founders and investors, alike.”
Yoram Wijngaarde, founder of Dealroom.co, adds: “The line between marketplaces and fintech is blurring. As we spend more of our time and money online, it seems a no-brainer that these two behemoths should work hand-in-hand, but this report shows exactly why. The outsized returns created by fintech-enabled marketplaces are a big incentive, for startups and VCs alike, to build and back full-stack marketplaces focussed on improving consumer experience.”
Buy Now Pay Later
Soaring valuations of fintech products aimed at marketplaces, such as, ‘Buy Now Pay Later,’ confirm the fintech-enablement trend. In addition, huge potential remains in serving unbanked and underbanked global communities.
Record investment in online marketplaces (€78B in 2021 YTD) indicates that marketplaces have significant dry powder available to invest in building or acquiring new financial services in-house
Online sales, accelerating adoption
Online marketplaces sales now account for 19.5% of all consumer spending, vs. just 13.6% two years ago. While this has been accelerated by the pandemic, it is a trend that was already well underway, with both online marketplaces and fintechs, already benefiting from features such as payments, ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ or escrow, and enabling new revenue streams.
Looking ahead
Unbanked and underbanked populations in rapidly growing and digitizing markets offer additional growth opportunities for the combination of marketplaces and fintechs in emerging markets. However, even in the most established markets, online marketplace sales have a long way to grow. In groceries for example, a $2 trillion industry in Europe, online penetration has reached just ~5% in 2020 (up from 2% the year before). This offers a great opportunity for both marketplaces, and their enablers.