A solid own e-commerce setup is the foundation of any modern fashion brand. It’s where you control the experience, customer relationships and gain more profit. But let’s be realistic: marketplaces and multi-brand retailers still play a huge role in visibility and sales volume. Scaling across Europe requires operational clarity and a seamless customer experience, which means fine-tuning logistics, integrating with marketplaces and staying agile enough to meet demand. So, how do brands future-proof their own e-commerce strategy while tapping into the best of both worlds? Let’s dive in.
The growing power of own e-commerce in Europe
Selling fashion in Europe? It’s a fast-moving, high-stakes game, and brands that play it right are reaping the rewards. The fashion e-commerce market in Europe is forecast to grow by nearly $99 billion between 2024 and 2029, reaching a projected $271.7 billion in revenue by the end of the period – a 57% increase in just five years (Statista). While marketplaces remain an important part of the mix, brands are doubling down on their own digital storefronts to secure greater control and long-term growth.
“While marketplaces and department stores help you raise awareness for your brand and cover a wider audience, your own channels are the place to build your core loyal customer base.”
Why brands are investing in their own e-commerce
More and more fashion brands are taking the reins by selling directly to customers. Why? Because the perks are too good to ignore:
Bigger margins: Fewer middlemen taking a cut means more profit in your pocket.
Stronger customer relationships: You own the data, the insights and the connection, meaning better personalisation and higher loyalty.
More control over pricing and branding: No need to compete for attention in a crowded marketplace. Your site, your rules. This freedom is one of the standout benefits of a direct to consumer approach, where your brand sets the tone, pricing and narrative.
Global reach without the heavy costs: Expanding internationally? A direct online presence lets you scale faster and stay flexible.
Right now, up to 70% of online fashion transactions happen via brands’ own e-commerce stores, and DTC sales are expected to grow at a CAGR of 24% by 2029. This surge reflects the growing importance of direct to consumer models, where brands cut out the middleman to take full control of the customer experience.
The takeaway? A strong e-commerce setup isn’t just a nice-to-have – it’s a must. That said, marketplaces aren’t the enemy. Smart brands use both to their advantage. The trick is making them work together, not choosing one over the other.
Own e-commerce & the omnichannel experience
If own e-commerce is the cornerstone of a brand’s digital presence, then omnichannel is the glue that holds everything together. Today’s shoppers don’t just buy – they browse, compare and switch between channels seamlessly. They might spot a product on Instagram, check reviews on a marketplace, try it in-store and then complete the purchase via a brand’s website. An effective omnichannel retail strategy makes sure all of these touchpoints feel like one seamless brand experience.
Instead of choosing between own e-commerce and marketplaces, brands should use them together strategically:
Drive traffic from marketplaces to your store: Use marketplace visibility to introduce customers to your brand, then encourage direct purchases through exclusives or loyalty perks.
Adapt to local preferences: Different regions have different shopping habits. Some prefer marketplaces, others trust brand websites. Flexibility is key.
Unify stock management: A single stock pool keeps operations smooth across channels.
Connecting digital and physical shopping
An own e-commerce strategy doesn’t mean going all-in on digital while ignoring brick-and-mortar stores. In fact, the most successful brands treat their own e-commerce store as the hub and build around it:
Click & collect and reserve in-store: Shoppers expect a frictionless transition between online and offline. Click & Collect and in-store reservations are actually driving omnichannel success. These features are pillars of a strong omnichannel retail strategy, giving customers the flexibility they now expect.
Immersive showrooms: Instead of purely transactional stores, brands are using physical spaces for brand storytelling, styling sessions and immersive shopping experiences.
Real-time stock visibility: Customers want to know what’s available, where, and how fast they can get it.
Using data to personalise the experience
Your own e-commerce platform isn’t just a store – it’s a data gold mine. While marketplaces provide sales volume, you don’t always have all the deep insights you need as a brand to build lasting relationships. Still, raw data alone won’t do the trick. The real power lies in how well it's structured, accessed and activated. Brands need a tech foundation that’s built for speed and adaptability – one that keeps up with constant change and gives access to real-time insights across every touchpoint, from checkout to courier. Data shouldn’t be viewed as a by-product, but as a strategic asset that drives daily decisions. That means creating a culture where insights take the lead, replacing guesswork with evidence, and ensuring data flows cleanly through every system.
With a direct online store, brands can:
Analyse shopping behaviours: Which products get the most views? Where do customers drop off?
Customise promotions: Send targeted discounts based on browsing habits.
Enhance customer service: Offer faster support with order history at your fingertips.
With data-driven insights, brands can improve their online store and also fine-tune their marketplace and physical retail strategies.
Tech that drives efficiency
Behind every smooth e-commerce experience is a tech stack that quietly does the heavy lifting. From fulfilment to forecasting, the right tools are what turn ambition into scale. But for many brands, especially those shifting from traditional retail, getting that foundation in place isn’t always straightforward.
Legacy systems often hold brands back, making it difficult to localise, adapt or even just keep up. Building everything in-house might seem like a solution, but it’s usually costly, complex and slow to scale. Instead, success often comes from selecting modular, composable platforms that can plug into a broader ecosystem of apps and partners without requiring endless customisation. What really makes a difference is integration. Systems need to talk to each other in real time. That includes logistics, inventory, customer data and payment systems, all synced to provide a seamless end-to-end experience for the shopper.
And while tech matters, it’s only part of the puzzle. Operational excellence means aligning tools, teams and processes, all moving in sync. Brands need the flexibility to serve different geographies, offer personalised experiences and meet high expectations around convenience and speed. That requires real-time data visibility, nimble supply chains and the right people behind the screens. Automation helps lighten the load, handling the repetitive tasks so teams can focus on growth. But none of it works without a clean data foundation at the core.
Building a strong operational backbone to support own e-commerce
A great e-commerce store isn’t just about sleek design and smooth checkout. Behind the scenes, it needs a rock-solid operational setup to keep things running efficiently, especially when scaling across multiple markets. But even the best-designed e-commerce websites need robust infrastructure behind the scenes—covering everything from inventory to localisation, to scale successfully. From logistics to tech, with the right setup, brands stay agile, save money and keep customers happy.
The key pillars of a scalable operation
To succeed in their e-commerce, brands need to get a few fundamentals right:
Flexible supply chains: Seasonal trends, sudden spikes and unexpected slowdowns happen. Brands need the ability to scale up or down without breaking their operations.
Real-time inventory management: Few things annoy customers more than seeing ‘Sold Out’ when they’re ready to buy. A smart system keeps inventory in check across all channels.
Fast, cost-effective fulfilment: The gold standard? Reliable delivery, easy returns and optimised shipping costs.
Achieving own e-commerce excellence
Scaling your e-commerce is about more than just selling – it’s about building a resilient, efficient backbone that can handle growth. Brands that succeed don’t do it alone. They partner wisely, invest in flexible solutions and stay agile as they grow. The key? Find the right balance between in-house expertise and external support. Established e-commerce platforms and third-party services that are digital first can provide a flexible offering and help maximise reach so that brands can focus on what they do best: creating great products and engaging with customers.
At the end of the day, own e-commerce is the heart of a brand, while marketplaces help expand reach. A well-executed direct to consumer strategy helps brands grow globally while staying closely connected to their audience. Brands that build a strong operational backbone, unify their channels and stay adaptable will be the ones leading the future of fashion e-commerce.
