Amazon Extends Its Lead in Australia as eBay Slips Further Behind
Pattern’s 2026 Australia Marketplace Consumer Report confirms a structural shift in Australian ecommerce: Amazon is consolidating demand, Temu and Shein are strengthening, and eBay is no longer the market anchor it once was.
According to the report, marketplace participation in Australia is near universal, with ninety-three percent of surveyed consumers purchasing on a marketplace in the past 12 months - but preferences for specific marketplaces continue to shift, exposing interesting trends in certain categories.
Amazon now reaches 60% of Australian shoppers, while usage has fallen for eBay from 62% in 2023 to 51% in 2026. Temu has expanded to 47% penetration, and Shein to 30%, underscoring how quickly competitive ground is shifting.
From Market Leader to Secondary Player
Three years ago, eBay led marketplace usage in Australia. Today, penetration has fallen from 62% in 2023 to 51% in 2026, while Amazon has climbed from 52% to 60%. Forward intent widens that gap further, with 66% planning to buy from Amazon in the year ahead.
Liz Morton
More telling than usage is traffic. Since 2021, Amazon has lifted its baseline from ~40 million monthly visits to consistently exceeding 60 million during peak periods. eBay has moved in the opposite direction — from the mid-90 million range to the high-20 millions by late 2025.
The Market Has Moved On From “Deal Hunting”
The research shows Amazon purchase decisions are broadening and no longer price-led, with price as a motivator falling by 42%. Shoppers now point to speed (35%), Prime benefits (31%) and overall preference for Amazon (28%) as key reasons for purchasing on the platform.
The growing role of product reviews, now cited by 24% of shoppers, highlights Amazon's advantage in trust and community validation, an edge eBay has struggled to match.
"Amazon has moved beyond competing purely on cost. While price still matters, its advantage today is also about removing friction at every stage of the shopping journey. Faster delivery, trusted reviews and habitual usage are what has made it the dominant marketplace in Australia and what keeps customers coming back," Managing Director for Pattern Australia, Merline McGregor, said in a press release.
eBay’s model was built around price discovery and secondary inventory, but when delivery speed and return simplicity become the deciding factor, infrastructure wins - and eBay doesn’t control that infrastructure at scale.
Over the past year, Temu recorded a 50% increase in product quality and trust perception, while Shein saw a 36% uplift. With trust rising, these platforms are narrowing the gap with incumbents at the exact moment eBay’s usage is declining.
"Temu and Shein have worked hard to shed their reputations as low-cost disruptors and are now emerging as serious players in the marketplace landscape," said McGregor. "Temu now serves 4.7 million Australians, with its customer base growing at 24% annually."
Discovery Fragments As Conversion Consolidates
Forty-one percent of consumers now go directly to Amazon after seeing a product on social media, and nearly half visit a brand’s website after first discovering it on Amazon.
When preferred brands are unavailable, shoppers increasingly substitute on-platform rather than search elsewhere - demand that once may have spilled into eBay is being absorbed inside Amazon’s ecosystem.
Google remains the dominant starting point at 54%, but social media is accelerating upstream influence, with a 67% year-on-year increase in consumers beginning their research on social platforms.
"Social platforms are collapsing the long bridge between inspiration and transaction," said McGregor. "With the imminent launch of TikTok Shop in Australia, this shift will accelerate. Brands that invest in creator-led content and seamless in-platform shopping will be best positioned as social becomes a central pillar of modern product discovery."
eBay Live launched in Australia in late 2025, but livestream commerce remains additive rather than structurally transformative for the platform. Meanwhile, TikTok Shop is rapidly catching up to eBay’s total GMV in other markets.
Liz Morton
Category Distinctions
Pattern's research reveals clear category distinctions across marketplaces, with each platform establishing dominance in specific shopping categories, reinforcing where competitive strength is concentrating - and where it is thinning.
- Amazon leads in Books & eBooks (30%), Electronics & Computer (25%), and Clothing, Shoes & Accessories (22%).
- eBay shows strength in Clothing, Shoes & Accessories (17%), Automotive Parts (15%), and Electronics & Computer (14%).
- Temu captures consumer interest in Clothing, Shoes & Accessories (22%), with notable investment in Home & Kitchen Products (13%).
- Shein's primary appeal lies with Clothing, Shoes & Accessories (21%), but is beginning to spark interest beyond this in Home & Kitchen (7%) and Toys, Kids & Baby Products (7%).
If usage, traffic and forward intent are leading indicators, the trajectory is clear: eBay built Australia’s early ecommerce era, but it is no longer defining the next one.
Download the full report please from Pattern here: '2026 Marketplace Consumer Report'
