The Major Marketplaces in France

A market with nearly 200 billion euros in revenue

According to the industry association Fevad, French consumers spent 196.4 billion euros online in 2025, 7 percent more than the previous year. And nearly one in every three euros was spent on a marketplace.

• Products and Services: 76.1 billion euros came from products (+4 percent), and 120.3 billion from services (+9 percent).
• More orders, lower average order values: 3.2 billion transactions (+10 percent), but an average shopping cart value of 62 euros (-3 percent).
• Share of the retail market: Online retail accounts for 12 percent of total retail sales in France.
• Market Share: According to figures from Fevad, marketplaces account for about 32 percent of online retail sales of products. The top categories are electronics (25 percent of marketplace sales) and gardening (11 percent).

If you want to be visible in France, you can’t really avoid the marketplaces.

Reach Comparison: Amazon in the Lead, Cdiscount in the Middle of the Pack

Amazon.fr leads the way with 41.2 million visitors per month, reaching nearly three times as many as Cdiscount, the largest French alternative among e-commerce platforms.

Two things stand out. First, Leboncoin and Vinted—both platforms for private sellers—outrank all traditional retail marketplaces except Amazon in terms of reach. Second, reach isn’t everything: Cdiscount trails the Asian platforms in terms of visitors, but is considered one of the most important marketplaces for sellers in industry comparisons. Specialized platforms like ManoMano reach fewer customers but clearly target a specific audience.

The Big Players: Amazon, Cdiscount, Fnac Darty, and Carrefour

The French market has one undisputed market leader and a handful of domestic challengers that stand out in terms of price, product selection, or local presence. Anyone who wants to be truly successful in France usually starts with one of these four.

Amazon.fr

With approximately 41 million monthly visitors in the second quarter of 2026, Amazon is by far the most-visited e-commerce site in the country, far ahead of all others. For German retailers, getting started is relatively easy: With an Amazon seller account, you can list products on multiple European marketplaces from a single account, and logistics can be handled by Amazon itself or a partner. The trade-off is the fiercest competition in the country, not least because Amazon operates as a retailer in its own right.

Cdiscount

Cdiscount is the major domestic competitor and, according to industry comparisons for sellers, one of the most important marketplaces. With around 15 million visitors per month, it lags significantly behind Amazon, but the platform is strong in electronics, household goods, and promotional sales. To put the costs into perspective, marketplace guides cite a monthly base fee of around 40 euros plus category-based commissions in the low to mid double-digit percentage range; sellers should check the current rates on the seller portal. Of particular interest: Through its subsidiary Octopia, Cdiscount offers Fulfillment services and distributes listings to other platforms, including Carrefour’s marketplace.

Fnac Darty

The group operates two separate marketplaces: Fnac for electronics, books, games, and cultural products, and Darty for household goods and major appliances. Both are curated rather than open. For sellers, this means—according to the available guidelines—that they must register as a business, provide customer service in French, and, in most cases, go through an application process. In return, customers visit with the intention of buying, often drawn in by the brand and the stores located throughout the country.

Carrefour

With nearly 19 million monthly visitors, Carrefour is one of the most-visited retailers in France. The marketplace runs on Octopia’s technology, allowing Cdiscount sellers to display their product catalog there without having to rebuild everything from scratch. The same applies to other retailers in the Octopia network.

In summary: Amazon provides reach; Cdiscount, through Octopia, offers reach plus logistics from a single source; and Fnac Darty delivers quality in the technology sector. If you’re starting small, go with Amazon and Cdiscount first and then expand.

Unique venues: smaller stage, better audience

Businesses with a clearly defined product range often find customers who are more willing to buy on a specialized marketplace in France. Several operators are established retail brands that view their marketplace as an extension of their own product range and therefore prioritize quality.

Platform	Focus	What Sellers Should Know
Leroy Merlin	Home Improvement, Gardening, Home Goods	Marketplace since late 2020, runs on Mirakl, more than 3 million listings from third-party sellers in addition to its own product range; customer service is provided in French
ManoMano	Home Improvement and Home, B2C and B2B (ManoMano Pro)	Proprietary technology; back in the top 20 most-visited e-commerce sites in France after a two-year hiatus
Decathlon	Sports and Outdoor	A selective marketplace on Mirakl, backed by the country’s number one sports brand; customer service in French required
La Redoute	Fashion and Home	Curated catalog, onboarding via Mirakl
Veepee	Brand Sales in Promotions	In-house technology; focuses on clearance sales and campaigns rather than permanent listings
Leboncoin	Classifieds for Everything	The country’s second-most-visited marketplace, with buying and shipping features available to businesses as well
Vinted	Secondhand Fashion	Recently ranked among the top 5 in terms of visitor traffic; primarily features private sellers, making it particularly interesting for brands with a resale strategy

Mirakl. Many of these marketplaces (Leroy Merlin, La Redoute, Decathlon, Castorama, Maisons du Monde) use the same software. This is convenient for retailers: Once they’re properly connected via an API or a listing tool, they can add additional platforms with minimal extra effort.

DIY, gardening, and home improvement products are handled by Leroy Merlin and ManoMano; sporting goods by Decathlon; and fashion and home goods by La Redoute. For these niches, specialized platforms can deliver better conversion rates than a generalist like Amazon.

Temu, Shein, and AliExpress Under Pressure

Temu, Shein, and AliExpress have shaken up France’s online retail market in just a few years, and they’re huge: In the second quarter of 2026, Temu had about 21 million monthly visitors, Shein had about 15 million, and AliExpress had about 15 million. But the trend is downward: Temu lost 3.1 million visitors in the second quarter over a three-month period (-12.7 percent). In July 2026, according to Fevad and Médiamétrie, sales were down 36.4 percent year-over-year for Temu, 42.3 percent for Shein, and 10.4 percent for AliExpress.

As of July 1, 2026, a flat customs duty of 3 euros per product category applies in the EU to packages valued at less than 150 euros from third countries. The fee affects direct shipments from Asia; retailers shipping from warehouses within the EU are not affected. The French national levy of 2 euros, which was introduced as recently as March 2026, has been suspended since July because it cannot be combined with the EU customs duty. An EU processing fee will be added no later than November 1, 2026. As can be seen, the tariffs are having an effect and strengthening European retailers in the price war against China.

Benefits for European Online Stores

• The more expensive direct imports from Asia become, the better the prospects for goods that are already in the EU.
• Companies that ship to France from an EU warehouse with short lead times can stand out by offering fast delivery and easy returns.
• Quality is becoming increasingly important to customers.

What Needs to Be in Place Before the First Sale

Shipping to France isn’t particularly complicated, but there are a few requirements that need to be met before the first package is sent out.

Topic	What Retailers Need to Do	Since when
Language	Customer service and product information in French; several platforms, such as Fnac, Decathlon, and Leroy Merlin, explicitly require this	Ongoing
Product Safety (GPSR)	List the manufacturer and the responsible person in the EU in the offer and on the product; include safety instructions in French	Effective December 13, 2024
Online Cancellation	Provide an online option for cancellation, clearly labeled with wording such as “cancel the contract here”	Effective June 19, 2026
Warranty Information	Inform consumers about the statutory warranty (two years from delivery) and, if applicable, a commercial durability guarantee in accordance with the new EU regulations	Effective September 27, 2026
Environmental Claims	Use only verifiable advertising claims and labels with traceable certification	Effective September 27, 2026
Sales Tax	For sales to private customers in France, French value-added tax applies once an EU-wide delivery threshold is reached; reporting is possible via the one-stop-shop procedure	Ongoing
Packaging and Recycling	France has strict labeling and take-back regulations for packaging and products; check before launching whether registration with a take-back system is required	Ongoing

Most of these requirements apply throughout the EU and are therefore already part of running an online store. The main new additions are the French language, French customer service, and recycling requirements.

Note: You should consult a tax advisor or legal counsel to clarify tax and legal details before getting started.

Logistics: How Goods Are Reliably Shipped to France

With an average shopping cart value of 62 euros and many orders under 30 euros, every euro in shipping costs hurts, and every return eats into the margin. Sellers based in Germany have three ways to address this.

• Shipping from the EU warehouse: Direct shipping within the EU is not affected by the new tariffs on packages from third countries and therefore offers an advantage when comparing prices with direct imports from Asia.
• Marketplace logistics or partners: Amazon offers “Shipping by Amazon,” while Cdiscount provides its own Fulfillment service through Octopia, which also handles returns and can integrate with other platforms in the network. Those who want to remain independent rely on a Fulfillment partner that serves multiple channels from a single warehouse.
• Delivery Options and Returns: French customers expect a variety of options, such as home delivery, delivery to pickup locations, or in-store pickup, as well as a hassle-free returns process.

How the IDEAL GROUP Can Help

For retailers and brands looking to enter the French market from Germany, the IDEAL GROUP in Heilbronn offers a combination of several services:

• Multi-channelfulfillment: Storage, order fulfillment, and shipping for online stores and marketplaces from a single inventory.
• E-Commerce as a Service and Merchant of Record: If you want to outsource setup and processing, you can manage your online store and act as a seller through IDEAL.
• IDEAL 360 Headless Commerce Platform: Product data—including French text and safety information (GPSR)—can be managed centrally and published to marketplaces.
• Labeling and Packaging: Add any missing information to the product or packaging, and adapt the language used on the packaging and inserts.

France is a market full of opportunities

France is a market with nearly 200 billion euros in online sales, a strong marketplace share, and a favorable moment for EU retailers: Asian platforms are losing ground, while quality, service, and fast delivery are once again becoming more important. Those who start with Amazon.fr and Cdiscount—or, if they have a well-defined product range, with the appropriate specialty marketplace—can get to know the market before signing up everywhere.

Checklist for Getting Started