Marketplaces

In 2022, Dutch online department store Wehkamp, made 433 million euros in turnover. This is a decrease of 9 percent compared to the year before. The company’s net loss came to 22 million euros.

Many online shoppers buy on platforms such as Amazon or Ebay. German price comparison platform Idealo conducted an analysis. The result: about 80 percent of the cases, other online shops offer better prices than leading marketplaces.

Amazon wants to open a distribution centre in the Netherlands of 100,000 square metres. The ecommerce giant has been operating there since 2015 and has a Dutch online store since 2020. Currently, it delivers most orders from a delivery centre at Schiphol Airport, while its products come from Germany.

Fashion giants About You, Yoox Net-A-Porter and Zalando are expanding their ‘Fashion leap for climate’ initiative. The climate learning platform will now be extended to 250 brand partners. Last year, in the platform’s first year, it included 55 brands.

Amazon and eBay are facing a declining number of mobile app users in the United Kingdom. According to market research agency GWS, Amazon has seen a million daily mobile shoppers disappear since the beginning of this year, eBay even almost two million. Meanwhile, Shein and Temu are storming the download lists.

Following Zalando, Amazon has also lodged a legal objection against its classification as a Very Large Online Platform (VLOP) in Europe. “Amazon does not fit this description under the DSA”, the company states.

H&M's marketplace strategy is bearing fruit, according to CEO Helena Helmersson. The Swedish fashion giant is opening its doors to include more third-party brands.

Ecommerce giant Amazon is imperceptibly tracking visitors' online behavior after they leave the marketplace. Even when they did not give permission for cookies to be placed. The Dutch Foundation for Data Protection (SDBN) is starting a mass claim, as at least five million Dutch customers have been duped.

OnBuy, dubbed by The Financial Times as the 'fastest growing ecommerce company in Europe', owes its success to its independent position towards the retailers in its marketplace.

Austrian marketplace for refurbished electronics, Refurbed, has reached a financial milestone of 1 billion euros in turnover. The company is now active in eight markets.

Over the next three years, ecommerce giant Amazon will hire more than 5,000 refugees in Europe. It pledged to do that, together with over 40 companies. Together, they will hire, train or connect to work a total of 250,000 refugees. At least 13,680 of them will get jobs directly in the 40 companies.

Alibaba is taking a major step in its international push. The Chinese e-commerce giant is introducing Tmall in Europe, starting with Spain. Michael Evans, president of Alibaba, announced this at the Viva Tech conference in Paris, France.

German fashion platform About You has removed all products of secondhand platform Mädchenflohmarkt from its ‘Second Love’ category. The move follows strong accusations made against the secondhand platform. The cooperation started three years ago.

TikTok Shop has been launched in parts of Asia, followed by expansions in the United Kingdom and the United States. However, there are currently no plans for a launch in continental Europe.

Ecommerce giant Amazon is implementing artificial intelligence in twelve warehouses. The technology will screen items for damage before being shipped. This will reduce the amount of damaged items sent out and speed up picking and packing.