If most of your e-commerce turnover comes via Amazon, you don’t have a scalable business model – you have a problem of dependency. Many retailers underestimate just how risky this one-sided strategy is: rising commission rates, price pressure and a lack of access to customers make sustainable growth difficult.

The smart approach is therefore Multichannel sales. You combine your own shop as your central hub with several external sales channels. This allows you to diversify your turnover, reduce risks and tap into additional growth potential – without losing control over your brand and your customer data.

In this post, I’ll show you why multichannel sales will be the norm by 2026, which channels are truly relevant, and how you can integrate your Shopware shop seamlessly and efficiently.

Why multichannel sales should be the norm today

The German e-commerce market grew by around 4 per cent again in 2025. This represents more moderate growth than during the boom years, but remains solid. What is particularly striking is: Marketplacesare currently driving all growth. According to HDE Online Monitor 2025 they had already done so last year 57 % of all online sales in Germany – and the trend is still rising.

By the way: If you’d like to find out more about current market trends, I’d recommend this blog post: After the boom and consolidation: What the e-commerce landscape will look like in 2026

^{Chart: E-commerce market shares in Germany in 2025}

In 2025, direct online shops continued to account for a significant 43 per cent share of the total German e-commerce market. Your own online shop remains the very heart of your business: here, you have complete control over your brand image, customer data, pricing, margins and the entire shopping experience.

A smart Multichannel strategy uses additional channels in a targeted manner to increase reach and volume – without relinquishing control over its own shop. The benefits are obvious:

• Significant risk diversification (less reliance on individual platforms)
• Increased reach and customer acquisition
• Better customer relationships and more direct access to data
• Greater resilience to changes in algorithms or market fluctuations

Important: Multichannel is not the same as Omnichannel. In a purely multichannel approach, the channels operate largely in parallel – often with their own prices, stock levels or promotions. In an omnichannel approach, on the other hand, they merge to create a seamless customer experience (e.g. ordering in-store, collection or returns via a marketplace partner). Most retailers start with multichannel and gradually evolve towards omnichannel. Both will be relevant in 2026 – depending on the maturity of your business.

Given Amazon’s strong presence, it seems obvious to many online retailers to focus almost entirely on this one additional marketplace. However, despite all its advantages, a one-sided focus on Amazon also carries considerable risks – both for individual retailers and for the market as a whole.

The risks of Amazon’s dominance

Amazon has given the German online retail sector a huge boost in recent years – thanks to its wide reach, fast logistics and a convenient shopping experience. Nevertheless, its current dominance, with a total market share of around 63 per cent (46 per cent of which is via the Marketplace), carries considerable risks.

For you as an individual retailer Above all, a heavy reliance on Amazon means:

• High fees, some of which are rising (often an 8–15 per cent commission plus additional costs),
• Limited opportunities for brand promotion and customer loyalty,
• Dependence on algorithms, Buy Box rules and potential account suspensions,
• Falling margins due to constant price pressure.

This is not a theoretical risk, but a reality: whilst retailers generate turnover via Amazon, they lose direct access to customers – and with it the foundation for long-term loyalty and profitability.

For the German e-commerce market as a whole However, too high a concentration is also problematic:

• In the long term, less competition leads to less innovation and diversity,
• Alternative marketplaces and strong independent shops are finding it harder to establish themselves,
• The market becomes more vulnerable to changes affecting a single major player (e.g. due to new charges, regulatory changes or antitrust intervention).

A more balanced ecosystem with several strong channels would not only increase the resilience of individual retailers, but also foster greater competition, improve margins and, ultimately, boost innovation across the entire sector. It is precisely for these reasons that a well-thought-out multichannel approach with a strong focus on one’s own shop is more than just an option today – it is a strategic necessity.

Which sales channels will be particularly relevant in 2026?

There is no doubt that a company’s own online shop will continue to be the crucial, stable foundation of any successful e-commerce business. Apart from external marketplaces, it is the central anchor to which all other channels should ideally lead.

^{Illustrative image: Multichannel e-commerce}

Traditional online marketplaces

In e-commerce, the term ‘marketplaces’ generally refers to platforms on which retailers offer their products and where the operators provide the entire infrastructure for product presentation, payment processing and, often, dispatch. The purchase takes place entirely on the platform. The retailer’s own shop no longer plays a role in this process. The most relevant ones in 2026 will continue to include:

• Amazon: The undisputed market leader with enormous reach. Ideal for generating quick turnover and offering a wide range of products, but with a high degree of dependency and strict requirements.
• eBay: Particularly strong when it comes to a wide range of products, second-hand goods, collectables and auctions. Many retailers appreciate the flexibility and the opportunity to successfully sell niche products as well.
• Otto: Highly relevant in Home & Living, furniture, household goods and electronics. Otto often offers better margins and targets a brand-conscious audience with higher quality expectations.
• Zalando: A leading name in fashion, lifestyle, footwear and accessories. The platform reaches a target audience with high purchasing power and an interest in fashion, and is almost indispensable for many clothing retailers.
• Other platforms such as Kaufland.de or About You: Often more favourable terms and less stringent rules – an attractive prospect for medium-sized retailers.

Tip: The ideal mix of sales channels depends heavily on your sector. Fashion retailers tend to prioritise Zalando, whilst electronics and homeware retailers often favour Otto.

Social commerce as a growing sales channel

A rapidly growing sector within multichannel e-commerce is Social Commerce. The is not a traditional marketplace, but rather the integration of sales functions directly into social networks. The key difference is that users discover products not through search functions and product listings, but through content (videos, Reels, live streams or posts).

In particular TikTok Shop has developed into a significant sales channel since its official launch in Germany. Here the entire purchasing process (including payment) actually takes place exclusively within TikTok. With the Meta Commerce Manager can Instagram and Facebook are used as sales channels. However, depending on their settings, users may be directed to make a purchase either within the app or redirected to your own online shop.

Social commerce is particularly well suited to brands with strong visual content and a younger target audience. It generally scores highly in terms of engagement and viral potential. However, it also requires frequent updates, a significant investment in content and often different feed requirements to those of traditional marketplaces. A centralised PIM system is a huge help here in keeping data and media consistent.

Google Shopping as a key performance channel

Google Shopping remains one of the most powerful channels with a high level of purchase intent. Your products appear directly in Google’s search results – exactly when potential customers are actively searching for a product. When making a purchase, the user should ideally be directed to your own shop to complete the ordering process there.

Your success with Google Shopping campaigns depends largely on the quality of your Product feeds From: optimised titles, detailed attributes, high-quality images and up-to-date prices. A poorly maintained feed quickly leads to high cost-per-click rates and low ROAS figures. This is where professional Furnishings in particular.

How to integrate Shopware seamlessly with marketplaces and sales channels

Shopware 6 already offers a solid technical foundation for multichannel sales. The biggest challenge lies with traditional marketplaces. Channels such as social commerce and Google Shopping are usually much easier to integrate technically (via feed export or Meta/Google integrations). Die The biggest hurdles you can usually expect to face as soon as you start managing several channels at the same time are:

• Reliable, real-time synchronisation of product data, prices, stock levels and descriptions
• Automatic import of orders and status updates Prevention of overselling (e.g. out-of-stock items that are still listed on Amazon)
• Performance losses due to frequent feed generation
• Different platform requirements regarding attributes, images and variants

In practice, many multichannel projects fail not because of the strategy, but because of the technical implementation. Without seamless integration and automated processes, chaos can quickly ensue – and this is precisely where tools such as magnalister crucial. It allows you to export products directly from Shopware to numerous marketplaces, automatically synchronise stock levels and prices, and import orders back into your shop. You retain full control via the Shopware backend and minimise the amount of manual work required.

By the way: With our Furnishing service You’ll save yourself the often time-consuming and error-prone task of configuring it yourself and can get started straight away with a clean, high-performance setup tailored to your Shopware shop.

PIM system: Almost indispensable for multichannel sales

Without a central PIM system (Product Information Management) Once it reaches a certain level of complexity, multichannel distribution becomes practically unmanageable. At the very least, if you are managing multiple sales channels, numerous variants or international markets, a lack of data structure will inevitably lead to errors, inconsistencies and a massive amount of extra work.

^{Illustrative image: PIM system}

A dedicated PIM system provides the necessary foundation here: not only does it make your multichannel setup significantly more efficient, but it also lays the technical groundwork for a seamless transition to omnichannel sales at a later stage. The PIM system acts as the ‘single source of truth’ for all product data – descriptions, attributes, images, translations and marketing copy. From there, you supply Shopware and all external channels with consistent, up-to-date data. This drastically reduces errors, saves a huge amount of maintenance time and enables you to scale your business. Key Advantages one PIM Systems In a multichannel context, these are:

• One-off data maintenance instead of doing the same work twice or three times
• Consistent quality across all channels (important for Google Shopping and brand perception)
• Improved scalability when expanding the product range
• A solid technical foundation for omnichannel strategies

Practical tips for a successful start

1. Start step by step – not all channels at once. Start with 1–2 additional platforms that suit your sector and product range (e.g. Zalando for fashion, Otto for home).
2. Set out clear rules for pricing, discounts and stock management, in order to avoid cannibalisation. Some retailers deliberately set slightly higher prices or offer exclusive bundles in their own shop.
3. Invest early in technology – Magnalister or PIM save significantly more in the long run than they cost.
4. Keep an eye on returns and logistics – Across multiple channels, return rates may rise and the handling of returns may become more complex. Clear processes are crucial.
5. Analyse across channels – Which channel attracts which customers? Which ones are profitable? Use the data from your own shop as your main source.
6. Optimise for each channel – The same product description rarely works equally well across all platforms. Tailor the title, bullet points and images to the requirements of each platform.

Conclusion: Diversify intelligently, building on a sound technical foundation

By 2026, a strong online shop on its own will no longer be enough to achieve sustainable growth. At the same time, blind reliance on Amazon is risky. The ideal solution is a smart multi-channel strategy in which your Shopware shop remains at the centre and you specifically increase your reach and sales volume via marketplaces, social commerce and Google Shopping.

With the right tools – in particular, a clean magnalister integration or a high-performance PIM system – this allows you to keep the workload manageable and minimise the error rate. As a result, you’ll benefit from greater reach, better margins in your own shop and a more resilient overall strategy.

Would you like to get your Shopware shop ready for genuine multi-channel sales – without hours of configuration work and with reliable support? Then please feel free to get in touch with us. We can advise you on magnalister, Google Shopping, product feeds and the right PIM solution. Drawing on our experience from over 250 projects, we’ll find the optimal strategyfor you and implement them properly.

Get in touch now!