TikTok has launched Shop Local in the United Kingdom, a support scheme for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The competition promotes the sale of homegrown goods to British consumers, with packages to help local businesses set up and start selling on the platform.

Around 50 percent of online shoppers in Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom have shopped at Temu or Shein this year. Compared to a year ago, the amount of shoppers using those platforms has not changed much. It seems that Temu’s and Shein’s growth in Europe has slowed down.

Zalando has taken new steps in Southern Europe. The German company has launched a dedicated website for Portugal. Additionally, Zalando has started selling beauty products in Spain, which have not yet been part of the offering in the neighboring country.

On average, online sellers are active on six different marketplaces. As 63 percent of consumers prefer marketplaces over brand sites, sellers need to make sure that their products are present there. However, selling on marketplaces comes with its own challenges as well.

Amazon is investing over one billion euros in the Belgian market over the next three years. The American company aims to improve the customer experience for Belgian shoppers and help small and medium-sized businesses grow both domestically and internationally.

Large international online platforms have grown rapidly in the Netherlands in recent years. However, local players still dominate the market. According to the latest Twinkle100, AliExpress, Shein and Temu are not among the ten largest online retailers in the country. Far from it. Amazon has also taken a step back, in both turnover and ranking.

Online seller of sports nutrition supplements, THG Myprotein, has recently partnered with PostNord. By doing so, the retailer could add more flexible delivery options to its online store, which strengthened its position in the Nordics. It turns out that parcel lockers became a popular delivery option, when it is given enough visibility in the checkout process.

The Belgian government is considering introducing a levy on parcels imported from outside the European Union. The 2 euro fee per parcel would affect Chinese online retailers such as AliExpress, Shein and Temu. The government intends to use the revenue to help reduce the national budget deficit.

In the first quarter of the year, ecommerce in Spain reached more than 25.7 billion euros. Compared to the same period in 2024, this was an increase of 18.7 percent. A majority of online transactions were destined for abroad, meaning that cross-border ecommerce is popular in Spain.

Ecommerce giant Amazon is launching its discount storefront, Amazon Haul, in Spain. The standalone store competes with large Asian platforms like AliExpress and Temu. The launch follows other launches earlier this year in the United Kingdom and Germany.

Amazon remains by far the largest online shop in Germany, ahead of local players Otto and Zalando. This is shown in a new top 1,000 ranking by retail institute EHI and ECDB. The combined revenue of the thousand top sellers was 3.8 percent higher last year compared to the year before. The top 10 grew the fastest. More growth is expected this year.

Only 14.77 of online shoppers return to an online store to place a second order. And even fewer customers become regular customers. Sellers should implement more well-timed measures to engage repeat customers, according to a recent study from Uptain.

Online consumer spending in Europe grew by 7 percent last year, reaching 819 billion euros. For this year, industry associations Ecommerce Europe and EuroCommerce expect another 7 percent growth. Online spending is growing particularly strongly in Eastern Europe.

The European Commission wants to simplify the use of cookies on websites. It is considering the removal of cookie banners, which are mostly seen as annoying. Visitors often click on consent, without knowing what they are consenting to.

In the first half of the year, consumers in the Netherlands spent more than 17 billion euros online. Compared to the same period last year, this represents a decline of 1 percent. Spending on services fell sharply, while spending on products increased slightly.