The United Kingdom

Online shoppers in the United Kingdom are four times more likely to order from online marketplaces than direct from retailers. Over half of the 69 percent of shoppers who regularly buy online, do so via online marketplaces.

It's the end of an era for Argos fans. The retailer will stop printing its famous catalogue after almost 50 years. Of course, this is the result of its focus on ecommerce. The most recent Argos catalogue accounted for 3.9 million printed copies.

Department store chain John Lewis will almost double its number of click and collect points across the United Kingdom. The extension is the result of a partnership with the Co-op. For John Lewis, this is another effort to support growth in ecommerce.

Online consumers in Europe think the Brexit will lead to slower online delivery from the United Kingdom. They also think it will lead to less choice of British goods to buy online.

Amazon has introduced Amazon Shipping in the United Kingdom. It's the first market outside the US where Amazon offers its premium shipping service for ecommerce retailers. Amazon Shipping picks up parcels and delivers them to the end customer.

British online supermarket Ocado has plans to raise over 1 billion pounds (1.12 billion euros) in capital. The company wants to further expand its online grocery delivery business.

Online fashion retailer Boohoo has acquired PrettyLittleThing. The company already owned 66 percent of PrettyLittleThing's shares, but now Boohoo also owns the remaining 34 percent of shares. These shares come from Umar Kamani, the son of Boohoo co-founder Mahmud Kamani, and business partner Paul Papworth.

Lidl has installed lockers in 24 of its stores across the United Kingdom. This enables the supermarket customers to collect and return online orders from other retailers, such as JD Sports and Boohoo. The in-store lockers are the result of a new partnership with InPost.

Asda has launched a new online platform where it sells food boxes. With this initiative the UK supermarket chain wants to reach out to vulnerable shoppers and the elderly so they can have access to food.

The online grocery market in the United Kingdom is predicted to increase by 33 percent this year. It's set to reach an estimated value of 19.2 billion euros, up from 14.5 billion euros last year. It would mean a significant development after four years of slowing growth.

EKM, a large hosted ecommerce provider from the UK, has introduced a new product for helping small business reach their local customers. The solution is called Obodo and offers a free online shop for local brick and mortar businesses.

Online fashion retailer Boohoo saw its revenue increase by 44 percent to over 1.4 billion euros last year. There was strong revenue growth across all regions, with international revenue now accounting for 45 percent of the group's total sales.

More and more consumers in Europe are buying fresh food products online. Although many shoppers still tend to buy a lower volume online than they do-instore. The only exception seems to be the United Kingdom, where 42 percent buys more online than in-store and 32% percent buy less online.

Whistl has launched a local test in the United Kingdom to help online retailers with low volumes. These retailers now get the opportunity to get their parcels to customers with a wider range of delivery options, including 24 and 48 hours services.

Aldi has launched its first online grocery service in the United Kingdom. The German discounter offers a box with 22 essential items to help consumers who are in isolation during the coronavirus pandemic.