The United Kingdom

eBay UK has announced several upgrades and features to eBay Shops, the branded storefronts to attract more buyers on the online marketplace. eBay gave the edit shop page a new look, redesigned the categories page and introduced the possibility to create newsletters.

Ecommerce delivery company InPost has announced the deployment of its 2,000^th automated parcel machine in the United Kingdom. The company's locker coverage has almost doubled over the last six months.

Subscription box services are becoming increasingly popular in the United Kingdom. Driven by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and associated lockdowns more and more Brits have signed up for one or more subscription box services.

DPD UK has announced the acquisition of CitySprint, the largest same-day delivery company in the United Kingdom. The acquisition takes place for an undisclosed sum and is still subject to regulatory clearance.

Even though subscription commerce is very hot, most brands are having problems with retaining their customers. Research shows that a staggering 98 percent of consumers in the United Kingdom cancel their product subscription services within the first year.

Royal Mail has introduced its Sunday delivery service. Bloom & Wild is the first company to take advantage of this service. This means consumers across the United Kingdom can now have flowers delivered on a Sunday.

eBay will roll out a new service in the United Kingdom: eBay fulfilment by Orange Connex. This is an end-to-end fulfillment service for eBay business sellers located in the UK. It offers same-day handling, late cut off times and the option of next-day or standard delivery to end customers.

Omnichannel beauty retailer Sephora has signed an agreement to buy Feelunique, an UK online retailer of prestige beauty products. The transaction is expected to complete later this year.

While 45 percent of British consumers say that next-day delivery would make them more likely to shop with a merchant, 66 percent of retailers offer this kind of service. Also, some retailers fail to meet consumers' needs regarding free delivery.

Online electrical retailer AO wants to more than double its turnover in five years' time. In this time frame, the UK company also aims to be active in five different markets. "Our mission is to be the global destination for electricals", AO stated during its full year results presentation.

Decathlon UK has opened its website to external vendors. The sports retailer invites new partners to join its marketplace, so customers get access to thousands of more sporting goods.

Online fashion marketplace Secret Sales has secured 10 million euros in a Series A funding round. The UK company wants to use the money to improve data mining capabilities and to launch in other countries this year.

Booste, a Polish financing platform for ecommerce merchants, has raised 12 million euros in a Series A funding round. The fintech company will use the money to expand its services to the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the Netherlands.

Scurri, a delivery management platform from Ireland, has secured 9 million euros in a new funding round. The software provider wants to use the money to accelerate its growth in the United Kingdom.

Logistics company Whistl has announced it will open three new fulfillment sites in the United Kingdom. To accelerate its expansion into online fulfillment, Whistl opens depots in Lutterworth, Northampton and Plymouth.