Berlin-based food delivery company Delivery Hero has acquired Berlin-based food delivery company Foodpanda. And both companies are backed by Rocket Internet. With the deal, the German incubator will increase its Delivery Hero stake to 37.7 percent.

One in five Dutch consumers who shop online used their smartphone to order something online at least once during the third quarter of this year. This means 2.17 million Dutch shopped online via their smartphone. One year ago, 14 percent of the Dutch online shoppers used their smartphone for ordering something online.

Paydirekt, the online payment method set up by major (saving) banks in Germany, has attracted another top retailer. From now on, customers of online pharmacy DocMorris can pay for their online order with Paydirekt.

Zalando has plans to hire 1,000 engineers throughout the course of next year. If this really happens, it would be a major increase of the German fashion retailer's technology team, that currently counts 1,600 people.

Apple has launched its mobile payments service Apple Pay in Spain. It supports cards from Banco Santander, Carrefour, Ticket Restaurant and American Express. At the moment, Apple Pay in Spain can be used at 27 major retailers, including Media Markt and Bershka.

The Greek ecommerce association GRECA (which is short for Greek Ecommerce Assocation) has launched the first ecommerce trustmark from Greece. The organization launched the trustmark in cooperation with Ecommerce Europe and the E-Business Research Center. Awardees will be subject to an audit to make sure they comply with European consumer law.

European online furniture store Home24 has acquired Returbo, a German ecommerce company that sells overstock, promotional and second-hand goods and returns. The two companies already worked together since last year, but now Rocket Internet's portfolio company took over Returbo.

A new year is around the corner and we might see some new things in 2017. Four CEOs of leading Nordic ecommerce companies share their thoughts on what they think will be the key ecommerce trends in 2017.

The European Commission has proposed a plan to improve the VAT rules for cross-border ecommerce in Europe. With this proposal it should be easier for consumers and companies to buy and sell goods and services online.

There are so many different ecommerce platforms available. So which ecommerce solution best fits your needs? That's a tough question to answer. ESV Digital partnered with NBS System to help retailers, brands, pure players and B2B companies choose the best ecommerce platform.

Luxury fashion retailer Matches Fashion has introduced a 90-minute delivery service across London. Customers who live within the M25, the road that encircles almost all of Greater London, can place an order at 6.30 AM and have their order delivered to their homes at 8AM already. The service will launch next Monday.

The European member states today reached a common position on the European Commission's proposal to address geo-blocking and other forms of discrimination. Online stores in Europe are now no longer permitted to offer different prices to customers from other European countries.

Ecommerce Europe is concerned that the proposed one-size-fits-all approach to authentication undertaken by the European Banking Authority won't help the ongoing fight against online fraud. The European ecommerce association thinks it will only damage the European ecommerce sector and opts for a risk-based approach.

Some leading online stores in Switzerland have collapsed under a rush of customers who visited their websites during Black Friday last week. Microspot, Manro, Interdiscount and Melectronics were among the online stores that couldn't handle the many visitors looking for hot deals.

Gourmondo, a German online distributor of unusual foods, is expanding in Europe. After launching in Germany and the Netherlands, the ecommerce website is now also available in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Austria. Consumers from these countries can now also buy wines and specialty foods online.