easyJet founder launches easyShop across 21 European markets

easyJet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou has launched easyShop.com across 21 European countries, offering retailers access to international customers through a single seller account.

Hundreds of retailers are already using the multi-category marketplace following a staged introduction of its local websites, as reported by BusinessCloud on 14 October 2026. The business is positioning itself as an alternative to Amazon ahead of the Christmas trading period.

What happened

Sellers can select which of the 21 markets they want to serve without establishing a separate company in each country. That removes one organisational requirement that could otherwise make overseas expansion too costly or complicated for smaller retailers.

The platform also calculates VAT automatically. The feature puts tax administration for marketplace sellers within its cross-border service, rather than leaving retailers to calculate the tax on each sale themselves.

Its commercial model excludes direct retailing: easyShop does not own inventory or offer products under its own label. Products listed on the site belong to participating retailers, and orders are sales for those businesses rather than for a competing retail operation run by the platform.

The background

OnCommerce supplies the technology and operates easyShop. The business is also behind OnBuy and the forthcoming Comet marketplace, placing the new service alongside two other marketplace projects within its operations.

The launch brings Haji-Ioannou’s easy brand into multi-category online shopping. He is using its established emphasis on straightforward services, price and choice to support a marketplace whose stated distinction is its relationship with sellers.

The competitive issue identified by the founders is the dual role of some marketplaces as both sales channels and retailers. For businesses using those services, the platform providing access to customers can also be a rival for their orders.

What people are saying

Haji-Ioannou argued that greater competition benefits both shoppers and businesses, particularly where they feel dependent on a single provider. He said the marketplace was intended to support retailers’ expansion and that there was scope for another approach to online retail.

Cas Paton, founder and chief executive of OnCommerce, made the absence of direct competition with sellers central to his case for the launch. He said retailers should not have to build their businesses through platforms that also compete against them, and committed easyShop to remaining outside that model.

Paton also pointed to the easy brand’s 30-year history of challenging established businesses as part of the rationale for entering the market. His stated aim is to offer sellers a fairer commercial relationship, rather than add another platform-owned retail business.

What happens next

The marketplace is seeking further sellers from the UK, continental Europe and international markets. Recruitment is focused on giving those businesses access to additional customers for Black Friday and Christmas, following the initial rollout.

Comet is also due to launch as a marketplace supported by OnCommerce. No launch date for that separate project was given in the announcement.