There are strong indicators that 2020 was a banner year for growth in the B2B marketplace market.

One big indicator is forthcoming from Mirakl, a provider of B2B and B2C online marketplace software. Last year was a banner one for the company, whose software powers online marketplaces for clients ranging from Hewlett Packard Enterprise to 1-800 Flowers.com and The Kroger Co. supermarket chain.

In 2020, Mirakl says the growth in transactions on the business-to-business and business-to-consumer marketplaces that operate on Mirakl’s technology was up 110% to $3.1 billion, the company says.

Mirakl signed up 73 new marketplace customers last year and launched 55 new marketplaces, the company says. For business-to-business marketplaces, the new clients include ABB, Airbus Helicopters, Maykers, TetraPak, Thales, and Z-Tech (part of AB InBev).

For business-to-consumer the new marketplace customers include Carrefour France, Changi Airport, Decathlon Belgium, H&M Home, La Poste, Leroy Merlin France, Maisons du Monde, The Kroger Co., and Verishop.

“Ecommerce accelerated dramatically in 2020, with marketplaces capturing a disproportionate share of that growth,” says Mirakl co-founder and CEO Philippe Corrot. “(We added) to Mirakl’s product capabilities to further expand and grow B2B enterprise marketplaces. This includes enhancements to help operators comply with new tax regulations, connect their large customers’ e-procurement systems, and offer products with pricing per unit of weight, volume, or length.

$300 million in new venture capital

In September, Mirakl raised $300 million in venture capital, bringing Mirakl’s capital raised so far to $400 million and valuing the company at over $1.5 billion, Mirakl’s executives said.

Mirakl—which sees its software-as-a-service (SaaS) marketplace platform as a way for companies to compete against marketplace giants including Amazon.com Inc. and Alibaba Group—says it will invest the capital in its “technology and partner ecosystem” and expand its teams of technology engineers, customer service and sales agents to “meet the rapid adoption of the marketplace model.”

The fact that a major vendor such as Mirakl is adding clients and a big new amount of working capital is a strong indicator that B2B marketplaces are now a mainstream ecommerce sales channel, says Paul do Forno, managing director, Deloitte Digital. “It’s an indicator these B2B marketplaces are coming of age,” he says.

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