Europe

Experimenting with generative artificial intelligence like ChatGPT may rather quickly lead to faster and more creative text ‘writing’, but the technology harbours many more opportunities for ecommerce. However, not without risk. Therefore, a look at strategy and concrete examples is in order.

In terms of cross-border market share, compared to the total online market, Luxembourg is the top 1 cross-border country in 2022. Its cross-border market share is 80 percent. The country’s total cross-border turnover was 1.8 billion euros.

Consumers' pursuit of more affordable prices is fueling cross-border shopping behavior, according to a consumer study conducted by Worldline in six European countries.

Over the next three years, ecommerce giant Amazon will hire more than 5,000 refugees in Europe. It pledged to do that, together with over 40 companies. Together, they will hire, train or connect to work a total of 250,000 refugees. At least 13,680 of them will get jobs directly in the 40 companies.

TikTok Shop has been launched in parts of Asia, followed by expansions in the United Kingdom and the United States. However, there are currently no plans for a launch in continental Europe.

Ecommerce giant Amazon is implementing artificial intelligence in twelve warehouses. The technology will screen items for damage before being shipped. This will reduce the amount of damaged items sent out and speed up picking and packing.

Amazon is convinced of the added value of the digital euro, which the European Central Bank (ECB) aims to introduce. The company has built a prototype for its application in ecommerce payments.

Fashion retailer Zara is planning to expand its pre-owned clothing marketplace Zara Pre-Owned across European markets in the second half of this year. One of the selected markets is the Netherlands. The platform is currently available in the United Kingdom.

The European Commission is planning to impose import duties on goods up to 150 euros, which are currently exempted. Brussels has previously abolished VAT exemptions. These measures strengthen the position of traders within the Union.

Bol.com, the leading marketplace in the Netherlands and Belgium, had a gross merchandise volume of 1.3 billion euros in Q1. As much as 65 percent comes from third party merchants on the platform. Bol.com currently has 52,000 partners.

Amazon fills the top two spots in a new list of leading marketplaces in Europe. The ranking is made by the German Bundesverband Onlinehandel (BVOH). The interest group also made a separate top 50 for Germany. That is also led by Amazon.

The Otto Group is partnering with Covariant, a company specializing in AI-driven warehouse robots. With the partnership, Otto wants to automate its fulfilment activities and increase its operational efficiency. Otto's German fulfilment locations will be robotized first.

Dutch payment service iDeal has been acquired by the European Payments Initiative (EPI), a collaboration of European banks. Payconiq, technology provider of iDeal and Belgian payment platform Bancontact, has also been taken over. iDeal is to form the basis of a Europe-wide payment system, according to EPI.

Ecommerce giant Amazon is planning to expand its b2b division, Amazon Business, in Europe. It is unclear which countries it will target. The company is currently investing in its logistics, to supply European businesses with office supplies in bulk.

Ecommerce giant Amazon has launched a new offering called the European Expansion Accelerator (EEA). With the new feature, sellers can easily expand to nine Amazon marketplaces across Europe and the United Kingdom.