OTTO marketplace 2026 in figures: what the growth means for sellers

The figures at a glance

On 25 March 2026, Retail-News summarised OTTO's results for FY 2025/26:

• GMV: around €7.5 bn, up 6 %. German e-commerce grew only about 3 % in the same period, according to the report.
• Marketplace: +9 %, now around 40 % of total volume.
• Partners: around 6,100.
• Active customers: 12.6 m (+4 %).
• OTTO Advertising: +49 %.
• Target: €10 bn revenue by 2028, set by new CEO Boris Ewenstein.

All figures are OTTO's own, as reported by Retail-News.

Marketplace +9 %: more demand, more sellers

The marketplace is growing faster than OTTO's own retail business (+3 % according to the report). Around 40 % of volume already runs through partners, so in many categories OTTO is primarily a platform for sellers.

What to do: growth also means new sellers competing for your search terms. Set a fixed keyword list for your key products and track their positions weekly. Active customers grew 4 % to 12.6 m, more slowly than the marketplace – more supply is meeting moderately growing demand. So also target search terms where you can realistically reach page 1, see Finding long-tail keywords on OTTO. New products need time to become visible – see Visibility of new products on otto.de.

OTTO Advertising +49 %: more ads on the search page

Retail media is the fastest-growing part of the business. As early as late 2024, OTTO Advertising reported via Retail-News that Sponsored Product Ads placements per search results list had risen from four to eleven, with a 26 % higher click-through rate (OTTO's own figures). More ad slots mean a product ranking 5th organically can appear further down the page because ads sit above it.

What to do: measure organic and ad positions separately and check your ACoS per keyword. The basics are in OTTO Advertising ad formats, SPA budget, bids and ACoS and Measuring ad position.

AI assistants: product data matters more

In March 2026 OTTO introduced an AI shopping assistant in its app (initially in beta), developed with Google and based on Gemini according to t3n; customers ask by text or voice and the assistant asks follow-up questions. Since October 2026 there has also been an OTTO plugin in ChatGPT that, according to Retail-News, advises on more than 19 million items; the purchase is still completed in the OTTO shop.

What to do: assistants answer questions such as „leiser Kaffeevollautomat für zwei Personen“ (quiet bean-to-cup coffee machine for two). Complete attributes and descriptions that answer such questions are the foundation. Details in OTTO in ChatGPT and the AI assistant.

EU opening: new partners from abroad

According to Retail-News, OTTO plans to onboard partners from several European countries over the coming years, and the opening is already under way country by country. For German sellers this adds competitors – starting without reviews, but aiming to become visible quickly.

What to do: watch for new sellers on your keywords and keep your service metrics strong. Details in OTTO opens to EU sellers.

Faster delivery: next day as the expectation

According to Retail-News, a growing share of orders is to be delivered the next day. The report gives no percentage.

What to do: review processing times and cut-off times in your shipping profiles. Once buyers are used to fast delivery, a long delivery estimate puts you at a disadvantage against offers that arrive sooner. More in Shipping and delivery times on OTTO.

A €10 bn target by 2028: what the pace implies

Going from around €7.5 bn to €10 bn means growth of just over 33 % within a few years – far more than the 6 % of the last financial year. As the marketplace is growing faster than OTTO's own retail business, much of that is likely to come from partners and advertising. That is our reading of the figures, not a statement by OTTO.

What to do: expect wider ranges and busier search results. If you document your rankings now, you have a baseline when competition shifts on individual keywords. Plan seasonal peaks with the seasonal calendar for OTTO sellers.

What to do now

1. Set a keyword list per product and measure organic position weekly.
2. Analyse ad and organic positions separately before raising budgets.
3. Complete attributes and descriptions so they answer typical customer questions.
4. Check processing and delivery times.
5. Note new competitors on page 1.

MarktRank measures overall, organic and ad position separately for each keyword, so you can see whether more ads on the page are pushing down your organic clicks.

Frequently asked questions