Marketplaces

Secret Sales, the UK-based off-price marketplace, has acquired the Spanish online fashion retailer Dreivip. Brands and retailers on Secret Sales will have quick access to millions of new clothing customers.

The European online fashion and beauty market generated a turnover of 122 billion euros in 2022. And 45 billion euros of that turnover was cross-border. The market is projected to reach sales of 144 billion euros by 2026.

Amazon has a massive impact on retail spending in Germany, both online and offline. More than one-third of all purchases in physical stores are preceded by a search for information on Amazon.

eBay sellers in Germany can no longer accept cash payments from customers when they pick up their orders. Click & collect is still available, but payments must be made through the "existing standard payment processing”.

Online marketplace Zalando has removed product reviews from its platform. Instead of posting a review about a product, customers can now answer a survey about the product information featured on a page.

TikTok will cease TikTok Storefront and its associated Shopify integration within the next two weeks. European merchants will need to sell directly on TikTok Shop in the future to attract customers on the rapidly growing platform.

Online luxury sneaker marketplace Laced is expanding into Europe, with dedicated language websites for several countries. The United Kingdom-based company is first expanding to Germany and France. It is also planning to launch in Italy and the Netherlands at a later stage.

Starcart has secured funding to explore new markets in Europe. The Finnish startup offers an ecommerce platform powered by AI that is revolutionizing online shopping.

Belgian partner sellers on Dutch platform Bol.com have complained about coercive contracts and the abuse of power by the platform. The platform is said to ask for information about suppliers and a large revenue share. A member of the federal parliament has called for a hearing.

Starting on September 18^th, ecommerce giant Amazon will charge Prime members for same-day delivery in the United Kingdom. The fee will apply to orders under 20 British pounds (23.5 euros). Other delivery options will remain free for Prime members.

Amazon is making a fresh start with Amazon Shipping, the shipping service that online retailers can also utilize for orders beyond the platform. The service has been reintroduced in the United Kingdom and is now also accessible to online retailers in France, Italy, and Spain.

There were 1,060 external sellers active on the MediaMarkt marketplace at the end of July. Ceconomy, the owner of MediaMarkt and sister chain Saturn, welcomes the ‘significant increase’ in marketplace sales, as stated in the reporting on its third-quarter results.

German wine retailer, Hawesko Group, is launching an online marketplace. The marketplace will operate in addition to its current online shop. With the marketplace, it wants to offer a one-stop shopping experience for premium wine purchases.

Ecommerce giant Amazon has announced that it will make changes to its payout period. Sellers in the United Kingdom and Europe will have to wait until a week after the delivery of an item to receive their proceeds. The change will come into effect in phases in the upcoming month, until September 6^th.

Marketplace solution provider Mirakl has secured 100 million euros in debt financing. The funding will be used to enhance its technology and to finance acquisitions. The company was already valued at over 2,92 billion euros in 2021, after a Series E funding round of 468 million euros.