Tradebyte has published a report on changes in luxury eCommerce. It says growth across its luxury and premium ecosystem slowed to 1.8% in 2025.
The findings point to a shift in how luxury goods are discovered and bought online, as algorithmic discovery, price transparency and marketplace distribution reshape the sector. The slowdown marks the end of the recent period of rapid expansion, even as demand patterns change across Europe.
According to the report, luxury digital commerce is entering a phase defined less by reach and more by tighter control over pricing, product presentation and operations. Brands are reassessing how they sell online as AI-driven tools make it easier for shoppers to compare products and prices across multiple platforms.
That shift is prompting many companies to move away from traditional wholesale arrangements in favour of marketplace or hybrid models. Brands are seeking greater oversight of pricing, product data and presentation as retail platforms and algorithms increasingly shape customer journeys.
Growth rebalances
Tradebyte’s data also suggests European demand is shifting. Germany remained the largest market in its ecosystem, accounting for 48% of EU luxury eCommerce gross merchandise value, while Greece, Portugal and Romania recorded the fastest growth rates in 2025.
Those three markets grew by 78%, 58% and 42% respectively. By contrast, the UK saw a sharp decline in gross merchandise value over the same period.
The report presents this as a broader rebalancing rather than a simple drop in appetite for luxury goods. It also notes that accessibility, digital maturity and perceived value are driving performance further down the price spectrum, blurring older distinctions within the premium and luxury market.
Four pressures
Tradebyte identifies four pressures shaping the sector: AI-driven discovery, curated ecosystems replacing brand-led navigation, radical price transparency and rising operational complexity. Together, these changes are shortening comparison and purchase decisions while weakening the influence brands once held through their own channels.
The report argues that AI assistants are increasingly steering shoppers towards the lowest available price. In that environment, pricing consistency becomes closely tied to brand value, while brands absent from marketplaces risk losing visibility over how their products are presented and compared.
It also highlights practical challenges in the shift towards marketplace-led distribution. Managing inventory exposure, pricing signals and fulfilment across several platforms can create gaps in product data and put pressure on margins if systems are not aligned.
Tradebyte argues that brands need more unified oversight across channels to avoid fragmented data and inconsistent presentation. The report presents that operational burden, rather than consumer demand alone, as one of the key issues facing luxury sellers online.
A separate comment in the report comes from Dr Achim Berg, Founder & Managing Director of FashionSIGHTS.
“During the frenzy, brands were dreaming the dream of reaching full direct-to-consumer. This meant eliminating wholesale and avoiding platforms. The idea was: full customer control, channel control and pricing control,” Berg said.
“But now, in a world of declining sales, managers are more pragmatic. We see few brands pulling out of platforms these days. They cannot afford to. They want to reach broader customer groups,” he added.
Tradebyte, which is owned by Zalando, connects brands with online marketplaces and retailers across Europe. Its network includes more than 1,000 brands and more than 90 marketplaces, giving it a broad view of sales trends, pricing and distribution patterns in fashion and lifestyle eCommerce.
The report’s conclusions underline how luxury brands are adjusting to a market where control over data, pricing and placement matters as much as brand image. Germany still leads by scale, but the strongest momentum is coming from smaller European markets as the shape of online luxury commerce changes.
