Inside the acceleration imperative: Key lessons from the Mirakl Summit London
Retail is moving faster than ever — and standing still isn’t an option.
This message resonated loud and clear at the second stop on the 2025 Mirakl Summit world tour, where leaders from across the UK, Nordics, MEA regions and beyond gathered in London to share how they’re driving transformation and growth in today’s rapidly evolving eCommerce market.
This year’s global summit series has been centered around a single theme — accelerate reflects the real changes playing out across the digital commerce space.
With traditional eCommerce platforms falling short of modern demands, businesses are turning to the platform economy to meet rising expectations, tap into new revenue streams and reach customers in smarter, efficient ways.
The shift isn’t just about technology; it’s about reworking the model entirely, with marketplaces, retail media and AI playing a central role in how companies move faster and compete more effectively.
A monumental shift in eCommerce
The numbers tell a remarkable story: Just 10 years ago, 40% of global e-commerce transactions happened on marketplaces; today, that figure has skyrocketed to 67%, meaning two out of every three online purchases now occur on a marketplace platform.
This monumental shift has fundamentally changed the strategic conversation for businesses.
“The conversations we’re having with people these days are not really ‘if or when marketplace,’” Simon Dyer explained while opening the summit. “It’s ‘Am I a marketplace operator? Am I a marketplace seller? Or is there a strategy where I’m both?’”
This change signals a deeper truth: Traditional eCommerce businesses simply aren't built to meet today's complexities. The platform economy has emerged as the new approach needed to fuel momentum and drive accelerated growth.
Driving growth through marketplace and dropship platforms
In the context of this rapid shift toward marketplaces, Mirakl’s platform serves as a marketplace and dropship engine that connects retailers, sellers, brands, distributors and manufacturers within a shared ecosystem. It provides a framework for growth and flexibility amid changing market dynamics.
Last year, businesses leveraging this technology achieved nearly $12 billion in gross merchandise value, growing more than 30% vs the year prior. This growth exceeded the broader eCommerce market, which remained relatively flat, demonstrating that operating at scale with the platform model not only works, but delivers exceptional results.
The platform acts as a central hub in a larger innovation cycle, bringing together marketplace functionality, retail media and innovative technologies such as AI to help businesses respond to evolving customer and market dynamics.
Beyond the core marketplace model, two technologies have become key contributors to accelerated growth:
1. AI for eCommerce
AI has shifted from a trending concept to an integral part of everyday business. It is transforming product search and discovery by utilizing richer content and better understanding user intent, resulting in more relevant customer interactions.
This shift is backed by concrete results. For instance, Mirakl’s AI-powered tools have cut support ticket resolution times by up to 90%. With ongoing investments and innovations like multimodal catalog enrichment and proactive price anomaly detection, AI is helping marketplaces operate more efficiently and grow faster.
2. Retail media
Retail media has emerged as a significant revenue stream, valued at $150 billion globally. It provides retailers with a diversified revenue source while offering brands and sellers increased visibility and additional sales opportunities.
During one session, Tanmay Jain, Partner at Boston Consulting Group, emphasized the growing strategic value of retail media as a monetization lever for retailers. He noted that leading retailers are already seeing 5% to 7% of their GMV generated through retail media, with 65% to 75% of that revenue being pure profit.
Launched two years ago, Mirakl Ads offers a self-serve platform with a relevancy engine and automated campaign management to support retailers and brands in maximizing this potential.
Summit success stories: The marketplace model in action
One takeaway resonated across every session: When executed with the right strategy, the marketplace model doesn’t just help businesses scale — it helps them transform.
At the summit, eCommerce leaders shared real-world success stories of how they’ve leveraged Mirakl-powered marketplaces to drive reinvention and rapid growth. Across industries and regions, these businesses are achieving measurable results by embracing the marketplace model.
Kingfisher’s B&Q and Castorama brands have made the marketplace central to their online strategy. Marketplace sales now account for 43% of their online revenue — and 50% of marketplace buyers are entirely new customers. This expansion into new audiences was fueled by significant SKU growth, from 50,000 to more than 2 million, allowing the company to diversify and scale into new categories without significant inventory investment.
Worten’s seven-year journey is a testament to the long-term viability of the model. With more than 8 million products available online and 95% of marketplace sales coming from long-tail items, Worten has proven that marketplaces can drive sustained growth by meeting the full spectrum of customer needs.
Other highlights from the summit reinforced this message. Secret Sales achieved 3% of GMV from retail media in just 12 days, while Stadium, one of Scandinavia’s largest sports retailers, activated 140 brands in sponsored advertising.
Together, these stories underscore a key takeaway: Growth today doesn’t come from doing more of the same, it comes from doing business differently.
Looking ahead
Success in the platform economy demands a multifaceted approach centered on deep collaboration between retailers and brands, recognizing both as vital customers within the ecosystem. This partnership generates valuable data that savvy businesses leverage to identify evolving customer preferences and market trends.
Technology plays a crucial role, as brands optimize product content for emerging search methods like conversational AI. This means providing richer, more detailed, and structured information that helps these advanced search tools better understand and surface products.
Adopting these technologies is essential for managing campaigns and scaling effectively. Yet, rapid growth must be carefully balanced with protecting brand integrity and maintaining quality control.
The platform economy represents a fundamental shift in how business is conducted online. Through marketplace models, retail media and AI technology, businesses can unlock new revenue streams, reach new customers and significantly outpace traditional growth rates.
The future of retail belongs to those who embrace change, harness technology and build partnerships that accelerate growth in the platform economy.
Start your marketplace journey today by downloading our ebook on best practices for launching.
