October News: Shein Lost Its Cheat Codes, ChatGPT Got a Buy Box #LTM169

51% Of shoppers that are planning to shop at Black Friday and Cyber Monday plan to use AI for deal hunting.

Let's Talk Marketplace.

The Marketplace podcast with Ingrid Lommer and Vanna V. Dichter.

Hello and welcome back to let's Talk Marketplace.

I'm Valerie Dichter.

Great to have you with us on the show.

And with me today is Ingrid.

Isn't that usually my part greeting our listeners?

I mean,.

Yeah, sure, but it's always good to switch things up a bit, isn't.

It?

And next week actually I'm off for Thailand and the studio is all yours anyway, so.

Yeah, okay.

Yeah, right, fine, Benny.

So.

So you are the host today.

So pray tell me, what will we be talking about today?

Well, I thought we could do a proper news briefing.

We haven't done this one for a while and I haven't been reading our newsletter in the.

Well, or maybe not that deep, maybe just the headlines.

So I thought I'll just ask you what happened and what was important because you are the main source of the newsletter together with our team and you know what's like really the insights behind it and that's what I want to know today.

So you didn't really produce the newsletter?

Bad, Bad Girl.

You do realize it's a punishable offense.

Well, I read it, but maybe not in depth.

I could be or should be, maybe.

But I have to.

Yeah.

I have to say I have been very busy organizing our next event season, as you very well know.

That's true.

Yeah.

And we had just had great event last week in Munich and the next one will be in January as well in Munich.

And we are bringing Marketplace Universe connect to Nuremberg for the first time.

Berlin again and Amsterdam also for the first time.

So there's.

Outside Germany too.

Yes.

So finally we heard you, our listeners, because you were like, when do you come to Amsterdam?

And then.

Yeah, we come in April.

And yeah, to be honest, like Munich is always home turf.

Right.

Berlin, we also somehow used to do events there.

But Nuremberg and Amsterdam is quite new for us as cities for events and a new city for an event and a new country is actually a lot of like extra work for the.

Yeah.

As usual for first time things.

Right.

Yeah, right, fair point.

So okay then, news update it is.

I would say so.

Okay, ask away.

Okay.

And then what we realized as well is on our event last week that so many new people joined us and they didn't know us really, what we do, who we are.

And I was like, great that they are here.

Yeah.

All of Them checking out was these two Marketplace ladies actually they're doing and who they are.

It was really.

That was nice.

Yeah,.

Yeah, that was really nice.

But actually we thought maybe we should do this introduction again here at the podcast,.

Possibly because we got a lot of listeners in the last month from different countries as well, also outside of Europe, so they might not know what we are.

Yeah,.

That's true.

So, I mean, we are both two founders, female funded bootstrap company startup for now two years, and we are fully remote but based around and in Munich in Germany.

But Ingrid, I would say let's switch it up to you.

I would say do a 30 second version of what is Marketplace Universe.

I've trained for this at the event because I did that quite a lot, actually.

So here I am.

We are the home for all Marketplace people in Europe.

We are a media and networking company that covers just one thing, and that is European B2C online marketplace platforms.

We do that on this podcast, on our website, on LinkedIn, with our online webinars, and of course the Live Connect events, and with our Marketplace Universe weekly.

Okay, and the weekly is what exactly?

Our weekly newsletter issues come out every Monday.

The Marketplace news of the week are in there.

Not just links, but what it actually means for people that are selling on Marketplaces.

Yeah, and lots of figures and updates and just the important things that you need to know and you need to read each month.

You know the thing that you did not do.

Yeah, I did not in depth.

That's true.

So, okay, then, let's find out what I missed.

But first, a very short ad break.

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Read the full portrait on marketplace min linus universe.com.

And if you're a brand and want to dig deeper, on November 18th, we're hosting the webinar How Brands Grow on Allegro.

You'll find the links to the portrait and the webinar, as always, in the show notes.

So, Ingrid, okay, back to my October briefing.

What did happen in October in the Marketplace business in Europe?

Let's start with a topic everyone is talking about.

AI shopping, agents.

What actually happened there In October.

Lots actually, really lots.

I think the biggest thing was maybe that ChatGPT now has an official buy box.

You know one retailer is being promoted per request.

So if you're asking for, I don't know, your new running shoes, you will got one offer.

But the interesting thing here that this is not always the one with the lowest price and it's not yet really clear how you get into that buy box.

So yeah, won't take too long until it can buy your way.

And that's just my two cents.

Yeah, so that was chatgpt Then we also had in Germany some news on it.

Otto, a big German marketplace has now an compatible API where you can, where ChatGPT can plug in and search the autocatalog by itself.

Basically the purchase is still completed in autos own shop but you're using ChatGPT's intelligence to search through it, which I think is an interesting idea, you know, using that convenience.

But the actual shopping takes place at Otto.

Yeah, so these are those two and maybe some figures also again for Germany.

But related to the coming peak season, 51% of shoppers that are planning to shop at Black Friday and Cyber Monday plan to use AI for deal hunting so.

Oh.

Really,.

Quite a number.

That's interesting.

And Ingrid, I also heard, I mean Otto is now, I would say making the doors open for J2P and I think Amazon is still shutting it.

Right?

Yeah, well still not so clear on that.

There seems to be going on some, you know, API openings behind the scenes but it's.

Amazon is very quiet on the topic still.

I don't really know where they're going with that.

Ok,.

So far.

Okay, so how does any of this already matters for people selling on marketplaces?

I mean getting ready for AI shopping agents is mostly a concern for the marketplace themselves, not for the sellers.

Correct.

I mean they just, I mean they need to have proper content.

But I think this story of like you need to have proper content is a story we are telling for 15 years now.

Yeah, that's partly true.

You know the problem here is that your market, that it is true that the marketplace is, is the one responsible for getting found in AIs.

But if your marketplace is not doing its homework, then you as a seller are also suffering.

Of course.

And the problem that we see here already is I saw a few numbers two weeks ago where it said that European players are very visible in AI answers.

So you do find Amazon in the usa, you find Walmart for example.

But if you're searching in Europe then what does not pop up are European marketplaces.

And so it seems they are not doing their homework and that is not good for the sellers that are listing on them.

And do I have an idea how sellers can change that?

I think sellers cannot really change that too much.

That's the problem here.

What they can do is look at their marketplaces or ask their account managers, what are you doing when it comes to AI?

What are your programs?

How are you acting on this?

So when Otto is now working together with ChatGPT, that's a good move.

And that shows people that are selling on auto that this company has understood this new world and is trying to react to it.

That's a good sign.

But if you have marketplaces that are, I don't know, not doing anything when it comes to AI, then you should maybe consider if they are even if you are selling at the moment quite well on them.

They sort of be should on a to be considered list, I.

Think.

Because it might drop quite quickly.

What I would add to the topic to close it and come to the next one is that actually we also updated our website, right.

Marketplace universe.com also to be better found in AI topics.

And that's actually what we also get actually as a feedback from our audience that they find us for events or tickets or something.

Also in the AI, it.

Works quite well.

Yeah, it works quite well.

It took a bit of time because we have been writing for, you know, with AI in mind for I think nearly six months or more, eight nearly by now.

And it took a while until, you know, you arrived in the, in the answering boxes and the AI summaries in Google search.

So it is Google search as well.

And that is Gemini.

Yeah, so but it is working.

Really nice.

Okay, so let's move on to the next topic.

Chinese platforms next.

So Shein, Taemu, AliExpress, TikTok, what's moving there?

Well, I think the biggest news there in October were the numbers from Shein.

They announced their Q2 figures and there we saw a decline, quite significant decline of minus 67% in profit.

So that was huge.

But also margins dropped and the whole European revenue dropped by nearly 14%.

So yeah, that was.

They are taking a beating and I think many people are quite surprised about that because you know, Sheen has always been this driving force that is overtaking everyone in the right lane and can't be stopped and now it seems it can.

But to be honest, I mean you said like, okay, it's profit dropped by 67% to US$228 million.

Yes, yeah, yeah.

It's still a big profit.

They are not going anywhere.

We don't.

Talk.

About turnover,.

It's.

About profit.

Yeah, yeah.

They are still a big company, don't get me wrong.

But still it has been the first drop in Shein's history.

Yeah.

And first and also the first drop in the history when it comes to revenue.

So I think that is quite, quite a news actually.

That's true.

And.

They don't have this extra add on as.

Yeah.

Advantage compared to other competitors.

Right.

Yeah, yeah.

So I think a German e commerce analyst, Stefan Wenzel, he said, he put it quite nicely when he said Shein is now becoming a normal competitor.

You know, someone that is still very relevant, very important and something to be considered but not that overwhelming force of nature that can't be stopped.

So yeah, good news on that point.

They lost their cheat codes, right?

Yeah, in a way they lost their cheat codes.

The problem is that I think the main issue for Shein is not Europe regulating or European competitors catching up.

It's mostly TEMU because they are, they are overtaking the ultra fast fashion part and they have now risen over SHE in France and are now the first ultra fast fashion retailer in France.

They are also dominating as an e commerce retailer, not just fashion, but in every category in nearly every European country where there is no large domestic marketplace or where Amazon is not strong.

So they are number one in Finland, in Croatia, in Hungary, in Slovenia.

So that's ECDB numbers and I am aware that especially for smaller countries they are not always as exact.

But still, still it is showing that some things are still moving for Temu and I think they are the main problem for Shein.

Okay, and then let's talk about AliExpress.

AliExpress did something interesting this month.

They partnered with YouTube.

They have started an affiliate partnership that is now also expanding to Germany and uk.

They did it before already in the US and there basically it's a creator's program in a way that is reminiscent of what TikTok Shop is doing so you can get, get YouTube creators to promote products that are being sold on AliExpress.

Okay,.

Interesting.

The moment it's an invite only program for top spenders.

But I thought that it was an interesting move that AliExpress is also going into the life, shopping, social commerce and using what's.

Already there.

Right.

Using what's already there with YouTube.

So interesting.

Definitely.

Okay,.

Yeah.

So that was AliExpress, I guess.

Okay.

And.

Yeah, talking about LiveCommerce maybe some interesting figures that I also found from TikTok Shop Europe which they presented at their own TikTok summit where they said 64% of their GMV is now coming via shoppable videos in Europe.

So that means shopping videos are still the main driver for anything that is going on on TikTok shop videos, you know, where you live, stream and then shop directly are still not as relevant there.

That is turned just the other way around in Asia, of course, but still Europe is not so much of a live shopping countries, but it's growing.

Okay,.

Yeah,.

That's actually quite interesting.

Okay, so shall we move on to the next topic?

Let's talk about Amazon.

What do sellers need to know before the busiest weeks of the year?

Because I mean we are already in Q4 right before Black Week, Cyber Week, also the four weeks before Christmas.

So tell us more about that one.

Yeah, Amazon.

Well, Amazon is getting more expensive.

That is not much of news.

It happens three times a year and it.

Happens.

And it's always quite nice that it's like, you know, there's Q4, everything is already calculated and packed.

Up.

We found out we need to put more charges.

Great, thank you.

In this case it's because of fuel and logistics surcharge rises from 1.5% to 2% and that actually starts today.

So when this comes out, it has started at the beginning of the week.

And the nice thing is that this whole charge surcharge, full fuel and logistics surcharge, just only introduced last this April.

So that is the second increase since seven months.

Great,.

Love it.

How like whole politics and economy is like.

Yeah,.

Yeah, great,.

Great, yeah,.

So that's that.

Then there's.

And another interesting thing that that is just an opt in but I would like to hear your thoughts on that.

That is Amazon's returnless resolutions.

They brought that now to uk, Germany, France, Italy.

That is a new feature where you as a seller can set a maximum price, say.

Something.

Between 1 and €75 and opt in into this FBA return the resolution.

If you are already using FBA and then if your customers want to return the item that they bought, you can just say, yeah, keep the item.

Here, you.

Get the money back.

Amazon decides case by case by case who gets to keep the item and who will be who has to return it.

The seller won't get any compensation for the goods.

The case still counts towards the return rate.

But you know, at least it might make a few things easier on the return area.

And as I said, that is very important.

It's an opt in.

You don't have to do that.

Is that so?

What would you say for whom is that interesting?

Well, actually I already had this because I ordered a, it's called Vandrack in German.

Something for the car.

You know, if you have an accident, you put this three angle thing out of it and it's actually cheap and quite huge to send.

And I, I bought it and then I realized, oh, I have already bought it so I wanted to send it back.

And then they were like, it was like €8 or something.

So obviously the sending was like much, much expensive than the whole product.

And then they were like, oh no, you can keep it.

And I was like, okay, nice.

I don't need it, but nice.

I've got to something to.

Play for the baby boy.

What?

I think it's already some time ago.

But the thing is, I think for many products it does make sense, especially for those cheap, very huge volume huge products which are expensive to ship.

But I think also that there is a high risk that people use this knowledge, buy it and then they share it.

Oh, you know, for this product I got a refund and I could keep it.

So I think this, this risk is really high.

If this makes like the, the round and social media share it on Reddit or whatever, then people buy it and then they want to return it because they know, okay, I can keep it and get my money back.

I think that's what Amazon is trying to prevent by saying they decide case by case.

So they can rule that out for for example, people with a higher return rate or things like that.

But what I don't like about that is that Amazon is deciding case by case for the seller and not asking the seller.

So.

If.

You opted in once, then Amazon takes over this kind of control.

That also means that it's really hard to calculate, isn't it?

Because sometimes it comes and you have to deal with the returns in the FBA Logistics center.

And.

Sometimes it doesn't.

Yeah, but I think calculating is, I mean you know your return rates already, right?

It's just if you get the product back or not and if you pay the logistic fees versus the price of the product.

So I think that's a calculation topic if of like some prediction and really compare price of logistic costs versus the product price or maybe the production price yourself.

But yeah, I think this, yeah,.

Yeah, could make sense for some.

But the opt in I think should be discussed a lot before.

You do it.

Yeah, so that was the biggest Amazon news.

Okay.

And then we come to one of my favorite topics Marketplace expansions and new beginnings.

So who opened up where while I was busy planning events.

That was a lot actually.

That.

Was good to hear.

Yeah.

I could have opened a whole new category in the weekly news just on.

And that's good actually opening.

Things.

Actually we should write a post about it because this is massive what I see here.

It is massive.

It is.

Massive.

So and.

And that is just part of it, you know because this.

Was just in October.

That just in October.

Wow.

So to put that together.

So I'm about you opened its marketplace for Romania and Cyprus.

Open to any European fashion brand.

No mini bomb turnover.

And they.

Yeah.

So that.

That is interesting also Mesomania.

Very interesting.

I think then Kaufland went live in Spain.

We already knew about that but now it's official.

They are now in nine countries.

Then Easy Shop launched in 21 countries.

If you are confused by the name that is On Buy we heard of On Buy.

Before.

And they.

I don't really know why but I think they chose to you know go under a different name when for the international expans.

On Buy is a big marketplace in the UK.

So yeah.

And now they are live in 21 countries.

Really big.

Yeah.

And then Breuninger also opened brought its online shop to from now.

From 10 to now 24 countries and the marketplace is now live in four countries as well.

That's interesting.

And Breuninger also to add that is a huge fashion marketplace.

Not a huge more selected fashion selected marketplace premium from Germany.

Yeah.

And they are also expanding their marketplace refurbed for used electronics has now launched in the UK.

Originally they come from Austria, expanded to Germany very quickly.

Are now also live in France if I'm not mistaken and have now launched in uk.

Really interesting player Zoplus also went live now in Spain for all those pet food and pet items retailers out there in we have a new Finnish marketplace with Prisma Fi Otto has opened to Austrian sellers.

Nice.

It's really.

Finally.

It took long.

We had a lot of questions on that.

Come on.

I'm just next door.

Why can't I sell on auto now?

You can.

Yeah.

So also Big and Allegro is now exporting to Ukraine.

Yeah.

So that is not like a whole own marketplace or country marketplace but they are now sending to Ukraine.

Okay.

Yeah.

So things are moving quite big.

Yeah.

And you're right, we should make a post on that.

Yeah.

Now that I look at that.

Yeah.

It's massive.

Yeah.

We could do carousel posts with like five pages.

So Ingrid, before I'm gone to Thailand holidays.

I'm so Excited.

First big trip with the baby boy.

Our next Monday question.

What should our listeners do next Monday morning?

Well, that's easy.

Subscribe to Marketplace University.

Maybe we change that to Friday evening because we had it on Monday morning.

Yeah, Friday would be better.

Yeah.

But as you see, we always have a lot, a lot of, lots of things to write about and talk about and always very interesting additions with.

And it's.

And I like to do that kind of recap after the end of a month because sometimes you are so caught up in.

What.

Is happening daily.

Or.

In that for that weekly that you sometimes oversee the.

What?

You know, the bigger picture.

Yeah.

And it's sometimes nice to take a step back and just look at the big picture and go like, wow, things are really on the move,.

To be very honest.

I mean, I'm quite grateful that you dig deep every week and summarize and select us the most important news of the week, because you could get lost in this rabbit hole of news by news, and it's really difficult to filter that one and then again, filter to what is really important for me as a seller, as a Marketplace, whatever.

So, yeah, thank you for that ingredient, Ingrid.

Yeah, that was my October briefing.

Ha ha.

Ingrid, thank you.

I feel ready to switch off now, and thanks to Allegro for supporting this episode.

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow us and subscribe to let's Talk Marketplace on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you are listening to us.

And while I'm in Thailand, Ingrid's got you covered here in the podcast and every Monday in the weekly and maybe some in between for our events and webinars.

Yeah.

Things planned there, right?

Yeah.

And if you want to tune in next week again and see what I'm up to while Walru is gone, we will have a very interesting episode on another new Marketplace.

We're talking with payback on their combination of loyalty program with Marketplace.

That's an interesting mix you might want to see.

Okay, see you then, and thanks for today and for listening.

Bye.

Bye.

Bye, bye.

You listen to let's Talk Marketplace, the Marketplace podcast with Ingrid Lommer and Vanahy Dichtel.