Launch

Apple Pay is coming soon to the Netherlands. And the first partner is known. Major bank ING will be the one introducing Apple Pay on the Dutch market. It's not exactly clear when consumers will be able to pay with Apple Pay in the Netherlands.

Ikea is testing the rental of its furniture in all of its main markets. The furniture retailer first said it was looking to lease its products in February, but it now revealed more details about the furniture rental project it will run across Europe and other markets.

BigCommerce has announced the roll out of BigCommerce for B2B. As the name suggests, it's software suite that's tailored for business-to-business retailers who want to sell their products online. BigCommerce for B2B is aimed at wholesalers, manufacturers and distributors.

Swedish furniture store chain Ikea has launched its offical online store for the Luxembourgian market. The launch in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg follows one year after Ikea opened an online store in Belgium.

The Austrian trade association Handelsverband has an ambitious goal: in the next two years, it wants to double the share of Austrian retailers that operate an online store. In order to achieve this, the association has put together a toolkit, which enables small and medium-sized businesses to start with ecommerce in a simple and reliable way.

Swiss online furniture retailer Beliani not only wants to sell its entire range of around 3,000 pieces of furniture, the company also wants to rent them out. With this initiative, Beliani is responding to the upcoming subscription culture, in which more and more people rent stuff instead of buying it.

ReBuy, an online platform for buying and selling refurbished consumer electronics, has expanded in Europe. The company has launched its online store in both Italy and Spain. The company already runs its online platform in German, the United Kingdom, France, Austria and the Netherlands.

The popular French online shop Vente-Privee has merged with five other brands to form a new online store called Veepee. This new name will now be used in fourteen different countries in which Vente-Privee, Vente-Exclusive and the three other European brands are active.

Google Pay has continued its global expansion and is now also available in France. Customers from six different banks in France can start using Google's mobile payment service. Google Pay can also be used at several online services and retailers in France.

Fiverr.com has launched in Germany. The online marketplace for creative and digital services now has a localized website with country-specific functions for Germans. This launch marks the first European branch of the Israeli tech company.

Russian tech platform Yandex has launched two new services aimed at ecommerce. It now provides an online marketplace, called Beru, and offers Bringly: an ecommerce platform that is dedicated to enhancing cross-border shopping for consumers in Russia.

Klarna has launched its own financing program for SME retailers in Europe. The new initiative is called Boost and is aimed to further support retailers in accelerating their growth. The company promises the application process will be simple and straightforward.

Migros, the largest supermarket chain of Switzerland, is bringing back the famous Migros wagons, but with a digital twist. In the Bern region, the company is testing Miacar, a new delivery service that resembles the Dutch online grocery startup Picnic that's currently shaking up the German market.

Jingle, a startup from Vienna, wants to be a local alternative to major online retailers. With its marketplace app, consumers can easily browse and find products from local retailers. This month, Jingle has received a six-digit investment from Umdasch, an Austrian company that realizes stores for retail companies.

Zalando, the personal styling service of Zalando, has expanded to Sweden. The company has also made a French version of its service available to its customers in Belgium and Switzerland. Zalon by Zalando is now available in six markets across Europe.