Europe

Zalando is introducing a base rate for third-party sellers and brands starting July 1st. Partners will have to pay a monthly 40 euros. In addition, the fashion retailer will increase commissions per sold item for certain products.

Zalando is planning to cut up to 5 percent of its employees. The online fashion giant said in a note to staff it would eliminate hundreds of jobs. This makes Zalando part of a growing list of ecommerce companies laying off staff due to the current economic situation.

Slovenia-based startup CartFox is launching a new feature: post-purchase SMSes. The company offers automated abandoned cart text messages to online retailers. With the new function, sellers can give customers additional discounts after placing an order.

The European Union is implementing the Digital Services Act and the Digital Market Act, which impact online marketplaces and social media platforms. This package of rules will create a safer digital space for users and fight rogue sellers.

Ecommerce giant Amazon has decided to skip wholesalers in Europe. Instead, it will focus on sourcing products from brands. By doing so, it wants to ensure low prices for consumers.

Nearly 40 percent of online shops in Europe uses so-called ‘dark patterns’. These are ways of encouraging customers into making a purchase under false pretenses, such as hiding costs and false countdowns.

Online marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay and Vinted will now have to report sales made on their platforms by end users to the tax office. This is part of a new EU law. Private sellers will be reported when they make over 2,000 euros or have over 30 transactions per year.

Most European countries have an average of daily time spent using social media below the worldwide average of 2:31 hours. Romanians use it a bit more often, 2:32 hours a day. Additionally, almost 26 percent of social media users worldwide use it to find products to purchase.

Leading ecommerce platform Shopify has increased its prices for new customers in the United States. The change is expected to be implemented in Europe soon, as well. Current customers will notice the price change in three months.

In the three weeks up to Black Friday, Zalando’s product prices increased by 8 percent. At the start of Black Friday week, prices dropped again by 18 percent. At the end of the week, prices had dropped 23 percent.

Google will provide more transparency for consumers buying products through the company’s ecommerce platforms, such as the Google Store. The tech giant is doing so to comply with rules set by the European Union. However, the company still breaches EU laws on geo-blocking.

Dutch product information management platform Gepard has launched a new feature called Digital Shelf Analytics. This feature helps brands effectively track content coverage by supervising content providers, monitoring their enriched product listings on retailers’ websites, and fully controlling content completeness and accuracy. It is one of the biggest updates in 2022 which has already brought real results to their clients.

Dutch startup VonWood, a trade platform for wood, has raised 2.7 million euros. The company aims to connect wood buyers and lumbers more directly online, while offering more product transparency. With the funds, VonWood wants to accelerate growth.

Amazon has reached a settlement with the European Commission. The ecommerce giant says it will not use data from partner sellers for its own products. It will also add a second Buy Box. By doing this, the platform avoids a billion dollar fine.

The selling of pre-owned items is growing in popularity. In 2021, the European recommerce market was worth 75 billion euros. It is expected to grow 60 percent by 2025, to 120 billion euros.