EasyGroup, which owns budget airline easyJet, has launched a new online marketplace called easyShop, which the group's founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou has positioned as a challenger to Amazon.

The platform, which is powered by marketplace technology company OnCommerce, is designed to give retailers access to customers across Europe without competing against them through own-brand products or direct retail operations.

Unlike some online marketplaces, the group said, easyShop does not hold inventory or sell its own products. Instead, it acts solely as a marketplace, with all products supplied by third-party retailers.

Retailers can sell into all 21 markets through a single account, while the platform automatically calculates VAT, which the company said removes the need to establish separate businesses in each country.

Hundreds of retailers are already trading on the platform following a phased rollout, and easyShop said is inviting more UK, European and international sellers to join ahead of Black Friday and the Christmas shopping season.

The marketplace offers shoppers millions of products from third-party retailers, alongside free delivery on selected products, rewards on purchases, flexible payment options and verified reviews, EasyGroup said

The launch expands the easy brand into ecommerce, almost 30 years after the launch of easyJet.

Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou said: ”Competition is good for consumers and it's good for businesses. No market benefits when everyone feels they have only one place to go.

“easyShop brings together the values the easy brand has always stood for, simplicity, value and choice, with a marketplace model that's designed to help retailers grow rather than compete against them.”

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