Retailers Shift Holiday Sales Away From Owned Channels
Brands are deprioritizing owned sites in favor of third-party marketplaces to secure sales for the upcoming holiday season.
Updated on Oct. 26, 2026 in Retail
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Retail brands are planning a significant shift away from owned e-commerce sites and physical storefronts for the 2026 holiday season. This pivot marks a major departure from 2025 channel strategies as operators increasingly lean into third-party marketplaces and social commerce platforms.
Why it matters
The retreat from owned channels suggests that brands are prioritizing access to external customer bases over full control of the digital or physical shopping experience. Operators must evaluate whether the reach provided by third-party platforms justifies the loss of brand-owned customer data and margins.
A survey of brands shows 46% plan to use owned e-commerce sites for the 2026 holidays compared to 69% in 2025, while 60% plan to use owned stores down from 84%. Meanwhile, 33% of brands now intend to utilize Amazon and 21% plan to leverage TikTok Shop for seasonal sales.
The players
Amazon
A global e-commerce and cloud computing corporation that operates the world's largest third-party marketplace.
TikTok Shop
An integrated social commerce feature that enables merchants to sell products directly within the short-form video platform.
The details
The shift reflects a strategic reallocation of resources toward platforms that offer built-in traffic, such as Amazon and TikTok Shop, despite 67% of retailers still acknowledging the growing importance of physical stores. For businesses, this requires re-engineering fulfillment and customer acquisition strategies to align with the requirements of third-party ecosystems rather than their own native digital or retail storefronts.
Timeline
2024: Owned sales channels held top spots in retail strategy.
2025: Owned e-commerce usage reached 69% and physical store usage hit 84%.
2026 holiday season: Planned usage of owned channels drops significantly.
Market Landscape
This decline in owned channel reliance reverses a multi-year trend where direct-to-consumer control was the primary retail objective since 2024. The pivot signals a return to third-party marketplaces as a dominant tactical requirement for seasonal volume.
Operators should audit their seasonal reliance on third-party referral traffic versus owned-site margins before finalizing holiday inventory. If moving toward Amazon or TikTok Shop, adjust operational workflows to satisfy external platform fulfillment standards and fee structures.
The takeaway
The move toward third-party marketplaces suggests that customer acquisition costs have likely made owned channels less viable for seasonal spikes. Track the conversion rates of your owned sites against third-party channel fees to determine if your platform mix remains profitable for next year.
Further reading
For broader trends in seasonal strategy, visit the Retail section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Glossy.
Live Poll
Do you prefer buying holiday gifts directly from brand websites over using large online marketplaces?
