Germany

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.

Last year, one out of four packages were returned in Germany. This comes to an estimate of 530 million parcels, with 1.3 billion items. Returning goods is part of consumer protection. On the other hand, the amount of returns brings high costs for sellers, as well as a large carbon footprint.

In online shops, 16 percent of products are out-of-stock. The United Kingdom and the Netherlands have the best product availability. Google Shopping, Facebook Product Ads and Amazon are the top three advertising channels for ecommerce sellers worldwide.

eBay Germany is launching a financing solution with online loan provider Iwoca. The loan service is called eBay Flexi-Kapital by Iwoca. Sellers on the marketplace will get access to funds within 24 hours after their request.

Lisa, a startup from Berlin, raised 2.7 million euros in funding. The company, which offers social shopping solutions, will use the money to accelerate growth and develop its software service. Social shopping is still in its infancy in Europe.

German fashion and lifestyle retailer Breuninger is expanding again. Customers in the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium, Spain and Italy can now orders goods and have them delivered by post. The retailer is now active in nine markets in total.

Popular German drugstore Drogerie Markt (DM) has announced that it is installing automatic pick-up lockers in its stores. Customers can easily collect online orders at the pick-up stations. It will install the lockers in at least 700 stores.

Just months after expanding to Germany and Ireland, Canadian ecommerce investor Clearco is cutting 25 percent of its staff. This comes down to 125 employees. The company points to ‘the current macroeconomic environment’.

Ecommerce fashion giant Zalando is planning to launch in the US next year. To do so, it will invest at least one hundred million euros. However, current disappointing financial results have put the plan on hold.

Secondhand fashion marketplace Vinted wants to acquire competitor Rebelle. The company offered 30,2 million euros for the acquisition. The deal received a positive response from commission members and shareholders of Rebelle.

JohnBeerens.com, the online beauty retailer from the Netherlands, is launching in France and Germany. The company is also working on its own product label and customer loyalty program.

Over 40 percent of online stores close customer care after 5 pm, according to surveys in Germany and the Netherlands. Almost half of German shops are not reachable at night. However, the evenings are a peak time for online shoppers.

Ecommerce fulfillment company Huboo is planning to launch in Germany. The expansion follows a launch in the Netherlands last year. The company was founded in the UK and is also active in Spain.

Berlin Brands Group, which became a unicorn last year, has to let go ten percent of its staff. In total, the German aggregator will fire about a hundred employees. Where ecommerce has grown exponentially during the pandemic, the growth now is slowing down. Instead of aggressive growth, Berlin Brands Group will focus on profitability.

Amazon Fashion Luxury Stores is launching in 5 countries in Europe. The ecommerce giant will offer 8 brands at launch, planning to add more in the future. But the competition for luxury fashion retail in Europe is fierce.