In the first half of this year, Temu attracted an average of 115.7 million Europeans to its platform each month. That’s 12.9 million more than in the second half of last year. Remarkably, the growth in Temu’s top European markets was above average.
Half of European consumers shop in secret. The main reasons for stealth shopping are embarrassment and a wish to avoid arguments at home. Six out of ten secret shoppers hide their purchases from a romantic partner. Parents are the second most common group left in the dark, especially in Italy where many young adults live with their parents until around age 30. In other EU countries the average leaving age is 26, in Germany even 24.
France is urging the European Commission to take tougher action against online shopping platforms like Shein and Temu if they fail to follow the rules. According to the French government, the EU should have the option to delist such companies from search engines like Google as a sanction. Both consumer safety and fair competition are at stake.
Walmart is actively targeting potential sellers in the United Kingdom and continental Europe. The world’s largest retailer is trying to entice merchants to enter the U.S., Canadian, Mexican, and Chilean markets.
Ecommerce software provider Shopify has announced that it is upgrading its built-in fulfillment capabilities. It has new partnerships with multiple global carriers and offers more streamlined logistics workflows within its platform.
The Platform Group (TPG), the German company behind several vertical marketplaces, has significantly increased its trading volume, revenue, and profit in the first half of this year. The number of active customers and sales partners also grew strongly. By the end of this year, the group expects to have 16,500 partners, partly due to new acquisitions.
Traditionally, the sales of trucks, cargo, construction, agricultural and other machinery mostly takes place in physical stores from dealers. Reaching a wider audience is often difficult for these sellers. The Truck1 platform brings the sales of these vehicles to the online market.
Following the United Kingdom, JD.com's Joybuy has launched in France. Other countries will follow soon, according to a statement from Ochama, which will be rebranded as Joybuy. “Ochama will officially cease operations on 23 August 2025.” This has negative consequences for shoppers in 19 countries.
Faire, an online wholesale platform from the United States, is expanding its footprint in Europe. Its global network of curated brands and business tools is becoming available to independent retailers across 14 countries, primarily in Eastern Europe.
In the second quarter of this year, Shopify increased its business. Compared to the same period in 2024, the company’s gross merchandise value (GMV) grew 42 percent in Europe. Overall, its revenue increased 31 percent.
Ecommerce software company BigCommerce has announced the launch of Commerce, its new parent brand. Under Commerce, the ecommerce software will be unified with other software solutions Feedonomics and Makeswift. According to the company, it will help online sellers adapt to AI.
The European Parliament has adopted new proposals to manage the growing influx of substandard and unsafe cheap products into the European Union, from non-EU online stores. Currently, 12 million small ecommerce packages arrive in the EU every day. The new proposals could make checking their quality easier.
According to the German government, cancelling an online purchase should be as easy as placing an order. The Ministry of Justice has announced a cancellation button for online purchases of goods, services, and financial products. The perpetual right of withdrawal is being abolished.
Compared to other European countries, the Netherlands has the highest share of online shoppers. In the last quarter of 2024, at least 86.7 percent of Dutch consumers bought something online. It means that hundreds of thousands started online shopping last year.
German online beauty and perfume store flaconi has recently launched in Sweden, Finland, Denmark and the Czech Republic. Next month, it will also launch in Italy. As a result of these launches, the company is now active in 12 countries in Europe.