The D2C marketplace trust table: the middle is the brand
19 brands. 3 rankings. A handmade marketplace leads, and ticket resellers sit at the bottom.
“On a marketplace, the brand is the promise that a stranger will keep their word.”
WCRC Intelligence Unit
The finding that frames the industry
Across WCRC's three 2026 Most Trusted D2C rankings, 19 brands come from marketplaces and platforms. They average a D2C Trust Score of 75.75. The six Australian and New Zealand brands average 75.84, the 12 American brands 75.16, and India's single entry, Urban Company, scores 82.26.
These businesses do not make what they sell. Their brand is the trust they put between buyers and sellers, hosts and guests, or customers and service workers.
Etsy at the top: what the leader proves
Etsy's 82.81 is the highest marketplace score in the rankings. It gives small makers a storefront and buyers a place to find one-of-a-kind items, backed by a purchase protection program. Consolidated revenue, including Depop, was $2,883.5M in FY2025.
The lesson is that a clear identity, handmade and unique, gives a marketplace a reason to exist beside the giants. The weakness is that same identity, as sellers complain about rising fees and mass-produced items on a site built on handmade.
Urban Company: trust for services
Urban Company (82.26, India #10) is the only Indian brand in the group. Verified, trained professionals and fixed prices brought trust to home services, a market full of informal providers. Revenue was ₹1,556 Cr in FY26.
Its brand depends on the people it sends into homes, so partner welfare and pricing disputes can quickly hurt its reputation.
America: travel, food and resale
Airbnb (80.96) collects guest payments itself and runs AirCover for guests and hosts, with revenue of $12,241M in FY2025. eBay (79.52) protects buyers with its Money Back Guarantee. Expedia (76.48) has sold travel online since 1996. Instacart (77.98) and DoorDash (77.72) deliver groceries and meals, and DoorDash turned a full-year profit of $935M in 2025.
Resale brands rely on authentication. ThredUp (76.50) sells used clothing at low prices, The RealReal (72.22) authenticates secondhand luxury goods, and 1stDibs (72.20) screens its sellers. QVC (73.04) built a loyal, mostly older audience with easy returns, but filed for Chapter 11 in April 2026.
Australia and New Zealand: online pioneers
Mighty Ape (78.80) has sold online since 1999 and is owned by Kogan.com (72.66), which also ranks. Webjet (76.80) has sold travel online since 1998 and handled 1.4 million bookings in FY2026. Airtasker (76.20) says 5 million tasks have been completed on its platform.
Oz Lotteries (75.40) has been run by its founder since 1995 and resells official lottery games. Redbubble (75.16) lets artists keep their copyrights and set their own prices.
Where the industry is exposed
Fees and counterfeits are the recurring risks. Ticket resellers StubHub (67.34) and Vivid Seats (65.20) sit at the bottom, with net losses of about $1.9bn and $721.5M in 2025. Instacart and DoorDash face complaints over fees and price markups, and Airbnb over cleaning fees and city restrictions. Mighty Ape's revenue fell 29.9% after a 2025 privacy breach, Redbubble lost trademark cases, and Kogan.com was fined over misleading discount claims.
Five things that will define the industry
- Whether Etsy can protect its handmade identity as fees and mass-produced listings grow.
- How Urban Company balances growth with fair treatment of its service partners.
- Whether QVC can rebuild after its Chapter 11 filing.
- How ticket resellers repair trust after heavy losses and fee complaints.
- Whether Kogan.com can restart growth at Mighty Ape after its privacy breach.
The groups behind the badges
- Kogan.com Ltd: 2 ranked brands (Mighty Ape, Kogan.com)
The combined table: all 19 brands by score
| # | Brand | India | US | ANZ | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Etsy | — | #9 | — | 82.81P |
| 02 | Urban Company | #10 | — | — | 82.26P |
| 03 | Airbnb | — | #13 | — | 80.96P |
| 04 | eBay | — | #22 | — | 79.52P |
| 05 | Mighty Ape | — | — | #35 | 78.80P |
| 06 | Instacart | — | #39 | — | 77.98P |
| 07 | DoorDash | — | #42 | — | 77.72P |
| 08 | Webjet | — | — | #49 | 76.80P |
| 09 | ThredUp | — | #50 | — | 76.50P |
| 10 | Expedia | — | #51 | — | 76.48P |
| 11 | Airtasker | — | — | #53 | 76.20P |
| 12 | Oz Lotteries | — | — | #55 | 75.40P |
| 13 | Redbubble | — | — | #58 | 75.16P |
| 14 | QVC | — | #74 | — | 73.04P |
| 15 | Kogan.com | — | — | #73 | 72.66P |
| 16 | The RealReal | — | #78 | — | 72.22P |
| 17 | 1stDibs | — | #79 | — | 72.20P |
| 18 | StubHub | — | #95 | — | 67.34P |
| 19 | Vivid Seats | — | #98 | — | 65.20P |
P Provisional score. Unmarked scores are published scores carried over from the World's Most Powerful 100 Brands 2026 or validated by WCRC.
The industry in full, ranking by ranking
India's Most Trusted D2C Brands 2026
1 Marketplaces & Platforms brands. See the full ranking
| Rank | Brand | Owner | Founded | Score | Latest revenue (as per company filings) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #010 | Urban Company | Urban Company Ltd | 2014 | 82.26P | ₹1,556 Cr revenue (FY26) |
America's Most Trusted D2C Brands 2026
12 Marketplaces & Platforms brands. See the full ranking
| Rank | Brand | Owner | Founded | Score | Latest revenue (as per company filings) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #009 | Etsy | Etsy, Inc. | 2005 | 82.81P | $2,883.5M consolidated revenue (FY2025, includes Depop) |
| #013 | Airbnb | Airbnb Inc. | 2008 | 80.96P | $12,241M revenue (FY2025, up 10%) |
| #022 | eBay | eBay Inc. | 1995 | 79.52P | $11.1B net revenues (FY2025, up 8%) |
| #039 | Instacart | Maplebear Inc. | 2012 | 77.98P | About $3.7B revenue (FY2025, up 11%) |
| #042 | DoorDash | DoorDash Inc. | 2013 | 77.72P | $13,717M revenue (FY2025, up 28%) |
| #050 | ThredUp | ThredUp Inc. | 2009 | 76.50P | $310.8M revenue (FY2025, up 20%) |
| #051 | Expedia | Expedia Group Inc. | 1996 | 76.48P | $14,733M total revenue (FY2025); B2C segment about $9,474M (sum of quarterly segment figures in the release) |
| #074 | QVC | QVC Group, Inc. | 1986 | 73.04P | $5,936M QxH net revenue (FY2025, QVC US and HSN; QVC Group total $9.23B) |
| #078 | The RealReal | The RealReal Inc. | 2011 | 72.22P | Total revenue $692.8M, FY2025 (+15%; GMV $2.13B) |
| #079 | 1stDibs | 1stdibs.com, Inc. | 2001 | 72.20P | $89.6M net revenue (FY2025) |
| #095 | StubHub | StubHub Holdings Inc. | 2000 | 67.34P | $1,745.2M revenue (FY2025), on $9.2B gross merchandise sales |
| #098 | Vivid Seats | Vivid Seats Inc. | 2001 | 65.20P | $570.8M revenues (FY2025) |
Australia & New Zealand's Most Trusted D2C Brands 2026
6 Marketplaces & Platforms brands. See the full ranking
| Rank | Brand | Owner | Founded | Score | Latest revenue (as per company filings) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #035 | Mighty Ape | Kogan.com Ltd | 1999 | 78.80P | A$85.6M Mighty Ape revenue (FY2026, year ended 30 Jun 2026, a segment of Kogan.com) |
| #049 | Webjet | Webjet Group Ltd | 1998 | 76.80P | A$136.4M revenue (FY2026, year ended 31 Mar 2026) |
| #053 | Airtasker | Airtasker Ltd | 2012 | 76.20P | A$57.8M revenue (FY2026, year ended 30 Jun 2026) |
| #055 | Oz Lotteries | Jumbo Interactive Ltd | 1995 | 75.40P | A$193.6M Jumbo Interactive group revenue (FY2026, year ended 30 Jun 2026), of which Oz Lotteries retailing A$103.5M |
| #058 | Redbubble | Articore Group Ltd | 2006 | 75.16P | A$408.5M Articore Group revenue (FY2026, year ended 30 Jun 2026; the group covers Redbubble and TeePublic) |
| #073 | Kogan.com | Kogan.com Ltd | 2006 | 72.66P | A$425.2M Kogan.com segment revenue (FY2026, year ended 30 Jun 2026) |
Questions people ask
- What is the most trusted D2C marketplace in 2026?
- Etsy, with a WCRC D2C Trust Score of 82.81. It ranks #9 in America's Most Trusted D2C Brands 2026.
- Which Indian marketplace is in the 2026 Most Trusted D2C rankings?
- Urban Company, with a score of 82.26 (#10 in India's Most Trusted D2C Brands 2026).
- What is the most trusted marketplace in Australia and New Zealand?
- Mighty Ape, with a score of 78.80 (#35 in Australia & New Zealand's Most Trusted D2C Brands 2026).
- How many marketplace and platform brands are in WCRC's 2026 Most Trusted D2C rankings?
- 19: one in India's ranking, 12 in America's and six in Australia & New Zealand's.
- Which owner holds more than one ranked marketplace?
- Kogan.com, which ranks itself and owns Mighty Ape.
Methodology in brief
This analysis groups every brand from WCRC's Most Trusted D2C Brands rankings of 2026 into newsroom industries and compares them on the scores, ranks and facts published in those rankings. The WCRC D2C Trust Score rates each brand from 0 to 100 across seven pillars led by Consumer Trust and Sentiment, Brand Recall, Brand Positioning and Brand Love. The detailed methodology is available on request.
About WCRC. WCRC (World Centre for Research and Consulting) is an independent research and consulting organisation. It publishes brand rankings including the World's Most Powerful 100 Brands, regional and national Most Powerful 100 Brands rankings, and national Most Trusted D2C Brands rankings, through its sites wcrcint.com, wcrcleaders.com and mostvaluablebrands.com. The WCRC Intelligence Unit publishes research briefings and industry analysis.
© 2026 World Centre for Research and Consulting (WCRC). This article may be quoted with attribution to WCRC and a link to this page.