Europe

The EU aims to curb the influx of unsafe products entering the European market via ecommerce platforms such as Temu, Shein, and Amazon. Brussels wants to make these platforms liable for dangerous or illegal products sold online. There are also plans to establish a new EU customs authority.

At least 47 percent of shoppers start their product search on marketplaces. The share of shoppers doing that is even higher in the United Kingdom, with 54 percent. This means that marketplaces are more often used to find products than search engines or brand websites.

Chinese online marketplace Temu has recently started using local warehouses in Europe. In the future, the company wants 80 percent of all European orders to be shipped from local warehouses.

OnBuy, a popular cashback marketplace from the United Kingdom, has quietly begun its European expansion. The business reports 30 percent day-on-day sales growth in key European markets, with a rapidly growing backlog of retailers.

Ecommerce giant Amazon has released a study indicating that joining the Climate Pledge Friendly program results in a 12.5 percent increase in sales for sellers on the marketplace. Especially products with low visibility profit from the program.

After two years of declining revenue, Zalando has regained its growth path. Revenue grew by an estimated 3.9 percent to 10.5 billion euros last year, setting a new record. The company has again revised its profit forecast upwards.

Whatnot, a livestream shopping platform competing with TikTok Shop, is preparing for further European expansion. The U.S.-based company announced this move following a fresh capital injection. The video platform is also aiming to expand into new categories.

A new European regulation imposes strict requirements on products sales in the EU market. Many online stores and marketplaces sellers in the United Kingdom lack sufficient arrangements and have opted to stop selling to customers in the EU altogether.

If Zalando acquires About You, the company will not only strengthen its position in the consumer market but also become the new owner of Scayle, a provider of ecommerce software. This acquisition would create "the next B2B powerhouse for the ecommerce industry in Europe".

With 16.3 million monthly users, Temu is more popular in Germany than anywhere else in the European Union. The more well-known Shein attracts more attention in France, Spain, and Italy, but generates the most revenue in Europe in Germany.

According to Eurostat figures, 58.1 percent of all consumers in the European Union made a recent online purchase last year. Ecommerce is most established in the Netherlands and least in Bulgaria. In many parts of Southeast Europe, adoption remains below 35 percent.

Ecommerce giant Amazon is currently having capacity problems in its logistics centers in Europe. It is now warning sellers that it cannot accept all shipments. This means that merchants might have issues getting their inventory to the marketplace in time for the holidays.

The Platform Group collaborates with approximately thirteen thousand sales partners, the German company behind several vertical marketplaces reports. In the first nine months of this year, trading volume increased by 30 percent. Profits grew even more significantly.

Of the thousand largest online sellers in Europe, 49 percent have their headquarters on the continent. A majority are based elsewhere, primarily in the United States or China. The share of online traffic for these non-European companies is even higher.

Click and collect is becoming a standard option for online shoppers. A majority (54 percent) of the top thousand European online retailers offer a pick-up option, enhancing their appeal to shoppers.