The United Kingdom

Online furniture retailer from the UK, Made.com, has announced an acquisition of Trouva. This lifestyle marketplace sells products from over 700 independent boutiques and brands. Through the acquisition, Made.com wants to grow its marketplace business.

Dutch fulfillment company Active Ants has announced that it is opening its fifth distribution center in September. After two sites in the Netherlands and an expansion to Belgium and Germany, the company will now take on England. "Coming to Northampton will allow us to increase our presence. Ultimately, we want to become the best fulfillment company in Europe", says co-founder Jeroen Dekker.

British startup Olsam, an ecommerce aggregator, has acquired US-based competitor MarketFleet. It's the second time that the company acquires another aggregator, after its acquisition of Flywheel Commerce in November last year. The company hopes to consolidate the market with this move.

Same-day delivery courier Gophr is integrating with Metapack, a delivery management software company. The partnership offers ecommerce retailers more same-day delivery options across the United Kingdom.

Due to the outbreak of the coronavirus, eTail Europe had to be postponed for 18 months. This month it is returning for a two-day in-person event on April 25 and 26. So far, the organizers expect thousands of retailers to attend, visiting the keynote presentations and panel discussions.

This week, Amazon UK announced that it no longer packs products in single-use plastic delivery bags. The company has switched to recyclable paper delivery bags and cardboard envelopes for orders shipped from its own fulfillment centers.

British online shoppers face more identity checks from now on. By subjecting consumers to a two-factor authentications the government wants to reduce fraud. More card payments will probably be declined. It is the biggest change to card payments in 16 years.

Online furniture retailer Made.com has shared its full year results for 2021. The cross-border seller reports a loss before tax of 37.8 million euros. This is a further decline of 18.8 million euros when compared to the year before. According to the company, this is a result of global supply chain challenges and inflation.

Dutch-British meal delivery company Just Eat Takeaway is now available on Order with Google within the UK. Consumers can now place an order directly through Google Search and Maps. Just Eat Takeaway says that restaurants will reach new customers and grow their revenue.

Households in the United Kingdom are increasingly using subscription boxes. In 2020, 65 percent received these parcels, while last year this number rose up to 81 percent. The strong growth means that the subscription box market was worth 473.1 million euros in 2021.

Retailers within the UK have terminated contracts worth 8.3 billion euros with suppliers that didn't meet ethical and sustainable standards in 2021. The demand for ethical and sustainable products from customers has led to a shift in how retailers shape their supply chain.

AO, the online electrical retailer, is considering leaving the German market. The company from the United Kingdom launched there in 2014 but is struggling due to fierce competition, increasing costs and supply chain issues.

Amazon Logistics has won the top spot in MoneySavingExpert's (MSE) annual UK parcel delivery poll. It's the first time that Amazon Logistics is considered the best carrier by consumers in this poll. The company replaces last year's winner DPD Local.

Ecommerce giant Amazon and credit card issuer Visa are continuing to try to solve their dispute over payment fees. This means that payments with millions of credit cards will still be accepted. The announcement came two days before previously announced ban on Visa credit cards.

Amazon customers from the United Kingdom can now pay later for their orders through a partnership with Barclays, the British bank. The new payment service called ‘Instalments’ was already introduced in Germany last year. ‘Buy now, pay later’ is becoming increasingly popular in Europe.