🛍️ Amazon announces Prime Big deals days return for October 2024
Amazon has confirmed the return of its Prime Big Deal Days in October 2024. Designed to kick off the holiday season, this sale will feature exclusive deals for Prime members across 19 countries. By leveraging these seasonal sales, Amazon continues to drive record-breaking ecommerce numbers, solidifying its position as the dominant marketplace. This latest move emphasizes Amazon’s strategic focus on maximizing engagement through well-timed shopping events.
Jordi Vermeer,
📖 Gain an advantage over your competitors this peak season. Download our free preparation checklist and Q4 2024 ecommerce calendar today!
📌 MediaMarkt's marketplace sales double as Ceconomy posts strong growth
Ceconomy, the parent company of MediaMarkt and Saturn, reported strong third-quarter results, with online sales up nearly 10%. MediaMarkt's marketplace played a significant role, doubling its trading volume compared to the previous year. The company’s marketplace strategy, which has expanded across several European markets, is on track to achieve its goal of €750 million in GMV by 2026.
Alongside marketplace success, Ceconomy saw profitability improvements and reported its highest-ever Net Promoter Score (NPS). CEO Karsten Wildberger credits the growth to factors like retail media and the boost in TV sales from the European Football Championship.
📈 Dutch online sales set for 8% growth amidst retail shifts
Online sales in the Netherlands are expected to increase by 8% in 2024, driven by pure online sellers who are outpacing multichannel retailers. This growth comes as total retail revenue is predicted to rise by just 2%, with supermarket sales declining due to a tobacco ban. Despite inflation and rising costs leading to a spike in bankruptcies, the shift to online shopping remains strong as Dutch consumers continue to favor the convenience of ecommerce.
Dex van Hofwegen,📲 TikTok Shop to raise UK seller fees as it pushes live commerce
TikTok Shop will increase its UK seller fees from 5% to 9% starting September 2, 2024, as part of its efforts to build the "marketplace of the future."
To help sellers mitigate these higher fees, TikTok is launching a "seller missions" program, which allows sellers to reduce their fees by creating a target number of live or shoppable videos. Additionally, TikTok plans to launch a co-funded free shipping model to boost order conversions. The platform aims to incentivize content creation and collaboration with influencers, further enhancing its live commerce focus.
📖 Want to learn about social commerce?
Get our free ebook Social Commerce: Insights, examples, and top channels!
🤖 Zalando invests in AI and records double-digit B2B expansion
Zalando continued to see strong growth in its sports, designer, and beauty categories during Q2 2024, contributing to a 2.8% rise in gross merchandise volume (GMV) to €3.8 billion. With revenue up 3.4% and profitability improving, Zalando’s strategy of expanding its lifestyle offerings and focusing on AI-powered inspiration tools is paying off.
The company is also making significant investments in generative AI, collaborating with OpenAI to enhance its fashion recommendations and customer experiences. Furthermore, Zalando’s B2B segment, powered by its ZEOS platform, grew by 10.3%, showcasing the company’s dual focus on Business-to-Consumer (B2C) and Business-to-Business (B2B) as key growth drivers.
Niels Floors,📈 Turkey increases customs taxes to curb cross-border ecommerce
Turkey has introduced higher customs taxes to limit the impact of foreign online stores on its domestic market. Import duties on European goods will rise to 30%, with non-EU duties doubling to 60%.
Additionally, the exemption threshold will drop from €150 to €30, making more foreign purchases subject to taxation. These measures aim to protect local ecommerce businesses from growing competition abroad and to encourage domestic online spending, reflecting a broader trend toward economic protectionism in global ecommerce.
📦 eBay enhances flexibility with new cancellation policy
eBay is rolling out a new cancellation policy that gives buyers more flexibility to cancel orders, provided the seller hasn’t marked them as shipped. Starting August 28, customers will have the ability to cancel purchases at any time before shipping. This change is expected to improve customer satisfaction, with tests showing only a minimal increase in cancellation requests, from 0.9 to 1.1 per 100 transactions.
Sellers are encouraged to accommodate these requests, as doing so has been shown to improve customer loyalty and reduce return requests. eBay will also protect sellers by removing negative or neutral feedback on declined cancellation requests.
🆕 Temu declares European marketplace open
Temu is expanding into Europe, inviting local merchants to join its platform. Sellers can manage their inventory and shipping while benefiting from Temu's growing customer base. The marketplace is offering an introductory period with no fees or commissions to attract new sellers. Temu has quickly gained popularity across Europe, particularly in Germany, and is looking to strengthen its presence by providing European sellers with an opportunity to tap into the competitive ecommerce market.
