Arjan van Oosterhout has been contributing to Ecommerce News Europe since the spring of 2023. He writes news articles for the website on a freelance basis.
Arjan is an experienced journalist in the field of ecommerce. After his student days in Utrecht, he began his career in 2004 at the South African newspaper, the Cape Argus, in Cape Town. Upon his return to the Netherlands, Arjan transitioned into trade journalism. He worked for MarketingTribune and, since 2008, served as an editor and later editor-in-chief of Twinkle, a well-known Dutch trade publication on digital commerce. He was also closely involved with the Twinkle100, an annual study of the largest online retailers in the Netherlands.
Since 2020, Arjan has been an independent entrepreneur. Under the company name Bureau AvO, he works for various journalistic and commercial clients, contributing to articles, magazines, books, and conferences, always at the intersection of content and commerce.
Ceconomy, the parent company of MediaMarkt and Saturn, has posted revenue growth for the twelfth consecutive quarter. This growth is driven by online sales, particularly the development of its marketplace. Spending on retail media is also rising sharply.
Amazon significantly increased revenue in its two largest European markets last year. The company generated 45.9 billion dollars in Germany and 43.2 billion dollars in the United Kingdom, representing growth of 12.3 percent and 14.2 percent, respectively.
Amazon may no longer influence the prices set by sellers on its German marketplace – something the company has been doing. Amazon must change its policies and may only exert price influence in exceptional cases. It must also repay 59 million euros in economic benefits.
Nearly a quarter of German consumers use online subscriptions for products such as razor blades, shampoo, or flowers. On average, they have three active subscriptions. This is according to research by the digital industry association Bitkom among more than 1,000 German consumers.
Dutch marketplace Bol is introducing ‘a completely new ecosystem category’: third-party fulfillment, or 3PL for short. The market leader is looking for logistics companies that can help partner sellers with warehouse space and processing orders. Currently, sellers can only outsource fulfillment to Bol itself, but soon they will also be able to outsource to other fulfillment companies within the network.
The number of low-cost ecommerce parcels that the European Union received from outside the Union rose sharply again last year, increasing by 26 percent. In total, 5.8 billion parcels with a value of up to 150 euros were imported. That amounts to roughly one parcel per EU citizen per month.
Online product spending in Germany grew by 3.2 percent last year, reaching 83.1 billion euros. This growth is significantly stronger than had been forecast a year earlier. Even stronger growth is expected for the current year. “Online retail is a rare bright spot in the German economy.”
Asian companies selling on TikTok Shop in Europe can now outsource their logistics to the platform. Fulfilled by TikTok will be available to them through warehouse locations in Germany, France, Italy, and Spain. In addition to being a sales platform, TikTok is increasingly positioning itself as a logistics service provider.
Amazon has taken an important step in the field of quick commerce in Europe. The company has launched Amazon Now in London. Users can order thousands of everyday essentials, including groceries and personal care items, which are delivered within 30 minutes in selected parts of the city.
In a short period of time, Temu has become a dominant player in global ecommerce. Nearly a quarter of consumers (24 percent) made their most recent cross-border purchase on the Chinese platform. This puts Temu on par with Amazon.
Digitec Galaxus has had a strong year, with sales across its platforms up by 17 percent. This growth is partly driven by the addition of half a million new shoppers, bringing the total customer base to around 5 million. The Swiss ecommerce giant also outperformed the market in EU countries.
The European Union has published new rules on alternative dispute resolution (ADR). The revised directive marks the definitive end of the central European ODR platform. The focus is shifting to national and sector-specific ADR bodies.
Ceconomy, owner of MediaMarkt and Saturn, reports online revenue of more than 5.7 billion euros for the past financial year. This means the online channel now accounts for more than a quarter of total revenue for the first time. Growth is largely driven by MediaMarkt’s marketplace.
Online retail spending in Germany has experienced notable growth. It is expected that online spending will continue to increase over the next four years, with an average annual growth of 4.2 percent. “Online retail is gaining momentum again – and the drivers are diverse.”