The United Kingdom

Starting on September 18^th, ecommerce giant Amazon will charge Prime members for same-day delivery in the United Kingdom. The fee will apply to orders under 20 British pounds (23.5 euros). Other delivery options will remain free for Prime members.

Amazon is making a fresh start with Amazon Shipping, the shipping service that online retailers can also utilize for orders beyond the platform. The service has been reintroduced in the United Kingdom and is now also accessible to online retailers in France, Italy, and Spain.

Less than half (41 percent) of shoppers in the United Kingdom think that artificial intelligence (AI) is having a positive impact on their retail experiences. However, over two-thirds (70 percent) do prefer brands with personalized recommendations, which is how AI is often used in online retail.

In June and July, consumers in the United Kingdom spent a total of 21.5 billion euros (18.6 billion British pounds) online. This is a year-on-year growth of 1.6 percent when compared to the same period last year. It is the first growth in seventeen months.

TikTok started providing logistics services to sellers in the United Kingdom. The company is introducing a program called 'Fulfilled by TikTok', or FBT for short. Interested sellers will hand over a volume of their stock.

Ocado has returned to profitability on a group level. The British online supermarket and solutions provider reported a gross profit (EBITDA) of 16.6 million pounds for the first half of this year. According to CEO Tim Steiner, Ocado demonstrates 'the potential for our international ambitions'.

Amazon and eBay are facing a declining number of mobile app users in the United Kingdom. According to market research agency GWS, Amazon has seen a million daily mobile shoppers disappear since the beginning of this year, eBay even almost two million. Meanwhile, Shein and Temu are storming the download lists.

OnBuy, dubbed by The Financial Times as the 'fastest growing ecommerce company in Europe', owes its success to its independent position towards the retailers in its marketplace.

PayPal is offering passkeys outside of its US home market for the first time. The user-friendly login feature becomes available in Germany and the United Kingdom.

Amazon has launched a flexible financing solution for small and medium-sized businesses in the United Kingdom. Amazon sellers in the country can apply for a cash advance, which will be repaid based on their sales. Loans can range up to two million euros.

German fulfillment company for DTC ecommerce brands, Alaiko, is launching in the United Kingdom. With its solution, the company wants to help British brands scale domestically and across Europe. In order to do so, they are partnering with a local state-of-the-art fulfillment center.

British fashion platform Asos has successfully raised 75 million pounds (86.7 million euros) from institutional investors. Additionally, it has launched an equity raise of 5 million pounds (5.8 million euros) from retail investors. With the capital injection, the company wants to improve stock control and reduce costs.

Online fashion marketplace Secret Sales has secured 10 million dollars in a Series B funding round. The capital injection will be used to accelerate expansion into Europe, with 12 new markets. By 2025, the platform wants to be the go-to destination for non-full price retail in all main European markets.

Fashion platform Zalando is going to launch a fashion assistant powered by ChatGPT on the website and app. It will start with a beta version, which will be available to selected customers in Germany, Ireland, the United Kingdom and Austria by Spring.

Ecommerce platform Floodlight has raised 6.4 million dollars in a seed funding round. The company offers a smart business account where ecommerce business owners can manage and optimize their finances. “This seed round is an exciting validation of our platform and its potential to meet the needs of unserved SMEs”, says Noam Bernstein, CEO and co-founder.