Austria

Kaufland, one of the larger ecommerce platforms in Germany, is expanding to Poland and Austria this coming late summer. Schwarz Gruppe, the owner of Kaufland and supermarket chain Lidl, has more online plans: it is allocating 200 million for Lidl's ecommerce activities.

Pineca has launched an Austrian online store. This is the fourth new market that the online supplier of prefabricated wooden buildings has targeted in the last 14 months. The company now operates in nine European countries in total.

Only a fraction of online retailers in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland offer free delivery for online orders. The largest group of sellers charges shoppers an average of between 2 and 5 euros for shipping.

Niceshops, an online retailer and ecommerce service provider from Saaz, Austria, is saying goodbye to 20 percent of its workforce. Cost savings are necessary to "economically stabilize" the company.

Preventing returns is a significant focus for online retailers in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. On average, a return costs them between 5 and 10 euros, with some exceeding this range. Detailed product information is seen by entrepreneurs as the key solution.

French cosmetics company Yves Rocher is closing all of its branches in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. With the company’s current business model, it is no longer possible to operate sustainably and successfully. It will continue operating in those markets, but online only.

Zalando launches a body measurement feature to assist customers in the DACH region in finding their right size. They receive size advice based on their measurement by taking two pictures of themselves. With this tool, size-related returns should be reduced.

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.

While other flash delivery companies are downsizing or merging, Wolt is expanding its coverage area. With its launch in Vienna and Reykjavik, the Finnish company is now active in 25 countries, almost all of them in Europe. Wolt delivers orders for both restaurants and retailers.

Fashion platform Zalando is going to launch a fashion assistant powered by ChatGPT on the website and app. It will start with a beta version, which will be available to selected customers in Germany, Ireland, the United Kingdom and Austria by Spring.

Furniture and houseware retailer Home24 is expanding its marketplace to more European countries. The platform for third-party sellers launched in Germany this summer. By the end of 2022, it will enter Austria, France and Switzerland.

Austrian fulfillment company Byrd has raised 53.07 million euros in a Series C funding round. The company will use the capital injection to offer next-day delivery within Europe. It is currently active in seven European markets and will expand into three more.

The top 10 of Austria's 250 biggest online stores had a successful year in 2020. Together, the top 10 made up almost half of the top 250's total online sales. Though there are new online retailers in the top 10, Amazon.de remains undefeated.

Galaxus, a major online department store from Switzerland, launches in Austria today. With a range of half a million products, it will start out as a wide-range store immediately. It wants to be one of the top 5 online retailers in Austria. The company is now active in Switzerland, Germany and Austria.

Refurbed, an online marketplace for refurbished electronics, has raised 45 million euros in a Series B funding round led by Evli Growth Partners and Almaz Capital. With the money, Refurbed wants to expands to three new markets before the end of the year.