The United Kingdom

Payments processor Worldpay has launched a pilot scheme, which enables microbusinesses to accept payments from costumers with an app instead of needing a card terminal. What is said to be an industry first could really help small businesses with accepting card payments easily.

It has become commonplace in the United Kingdom to use a smartphone to buy goods and services online. This year, almost 59 percent of digital buyers in the UK, which corresponds to over 25 million people, will make online purchases using their smartphone.

Only one week after Ikea announced it has plans to sell its products through third-party websites, the Swedish retailer is now offering select Ikea products through Amazon. Thousands of products are available in all countries where Amazon has a dedicated online store.

Traditionally, consumers spend the most money online in December. But new predictions show that November might be overtaking December as the year's peak trading month. If the estimates are right, November will see a record 20 billion pounds (22.7 billion euros) spent online.

About four in five adults in the UK think that online food retailers should give the same kind of information about the product's country of origin on the website as there can be found on food packaging in supermarkets shelves.

Consumers in the United Kingdom spent on average 74.09 euros per online FMCG purchase in 2016, which corresponds with a decrease of over 2 percent compared to the situation a year before. But still, the online ticket was 4.5 times higher than the offline one. Globally, only in Thailand consumers spend much more online on fast-moving consumer goods than they do offline.

Some online stores tend to adjust their prices, so consumers won't go ordering something at a competitor's website. For Ecommerce News Europe, price tracking software provider Prisync looked at how many ecommerce websites in Europe change their prices daily and how high the stock-out ratio is in these countries.

Marks & Spencer has collaborated with the British store-to-door delivery platform Dropit, which provides a courier service for shoppers in London's West End. Now, customers from Marks & Spencer who don't want to carry their bags home, instead can have them delivered at their place whenever they want.

There are strong rumors that Amazon will launch Amazon Go, its checkout-free grocery stores, in the United Kingdom. And there are many reasons to believe these rumors, after the UK Intellectual Property Office has approved the company's application to trademark the slogan 'No lines. No checkout. (No, seriously.)'.

Online retailer Made.com is testing a feature which enables online shoppers to chat live with showroom employees, so they can get help with queries and shopping decisions. For the implementation of its live-chat, Made.com has partnered with live-chat company Hero.

About 40 percent of all online grocery purchases made in the United Kingdom are done using a mobile phone. Online grocery shopping in the UK is also quite popular, as 7 percent of all grocery shopping is done online. That's more than Spain, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic combined.

European logistics service provider Hermes has announced a new international shipping solution, aimed at UK-based sole traders and small and medium-sized enterprises. Online retailers with a Hermes Business Account can now send their products to cross-border shoppers in 23 European countries.

A new study has found that 40 percent of ecommerce websites in the United Kingdom have experienced some downtime during Easter and other seasonal peak periods. Also, almost half of online retailers didn't feel completely ready for seasonal peaks in website traffic.

UK retailer Marks and Spencer will start testing its own online grocery shopping service later this year, as more and more of its customers are shopping online. Just a week after M&S said it will open 36 new physical stores across the UK during the next six months, of which 34 will be dedicated to food, the retail company is now making a move towards online shopping.

Ecommerce automation platform Lengow has opened its door to the business-to-business market with its integration of Amazon Business in the UK and Germany and Cdiscount Pro in France. With the integration, business sellers now have access to the three largest ecommerce markets in Europe.