Posts by Pleuni

Fashion retailer Zara is planning to expand its pre-owned clothing marketplace Zara Pre-Owned across European markets in the second half of this year. One of the selected markets is the Netherlands. The platform is currently available in the United Kingdom.

Most online companies in Germany are located in the Western regions North Rhine Westphalia (22 percent) and Bavaria (17 percent). Only 1.75 percent come from the Eastern regions Thuringia and 1 percent from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

For years, purchasing on account was the most popular payment method in Germany for online shoppers. However, in 2022, PayPal took over that place. At least 29.6 percent of online purchases were paid for with this payment method.

On January 1^st, the Netherlands had more online stores than brick-and-mortar stores. The number of online stores was 84.1 thousand, while the number of physical stores was 82.1 thousand. In a year, the number of online stores rose 4.1 percent.

Online fashion marketplace Secret Sales has secured 10 million dollars in a Series B funding round. The capital injection will be used to accelerate expansion into Europe, with 12 new markets. By 2025, the platform wants to be the go-to destination for non-full price retail in all main European markets.

The total ecommerce turnover in Italy is estimated to have been worth 75.89 billion euros in 2022. This is a growth of 18.6 percent, when compared to a year earlier. However, most of that growth was caused by price increases.

Ecommerce giant Amazon is planning to expand its b2b division, Amazon Business, in Europe. It is unclear which countries it will target. The company is currently investing in its logistics, to supply European businesses with office supplies in bulk.

Fashion platform Zalando is going to launch a fashion assistant powered by ChatGPT on the website and app. It will start with a beta version, which will be available to selected customers in Germany, Ireland, the United Kingdom and Austria by Spring.

Ecommerce giant Amazon has launched a new offering called the European Expansion Accelerator (EEA). With the new feature, sellers can easily expand to nine Amazon marketplaces across Europe and the United Kingdom.

Ecommerce platform Floodlight has raised 6.4 million dollars in a seed funding round. The company offers a smart business account where ecommerce business owners can manage and optimize their finances. “This seed round is an exciting validation of our platform and its potential to meet the needs of unserved SMEs”, says Noam Bernstein, CEO and co-founder.

Ecommerce software provider Shopline is expanding into Europe. The Singapore-based company is launching a European headquarters in London. It raised 182 million dollars last year in order to accelerate its global expansion.

During a plenary session, the European Parliament approved revised rules on product safety of non-food consumer products. According to the new rules, products from outside the EU can be sold on the market if an economic operator in the EU is responsible for its safety.

Cross-border ecommerce in Europe was worth 179.4 billion euros in 2022. This is an increase of 4.8 percent compared to a year earlier. In total, European online stores achieved a record-high turnover of 105.5 billion euros across borders, a 5.5 percent increase compared to 2021.

Ecommerce international expansion software provider Glopal has raised 20 million euros in a Series A funding round. The startup will expand its operations in Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States with a recruitment drive. Additionally, it will use the funding to invest in its technology.

B2B shipping software provider LetMeShip, owned by the ITA Consulting Group, is acquiring Dutch shipping platform ParcelParcel. LetMeShip can accelerate its expansion across Europe thanks to the acquisition. The software provider will now also offer more flexible business-to-consumer shipping solutions.