Breaking News
Meta Takes Aim at eBay With New Facebook Marketplace Seller App
Meta has launched a dedicated Seller App for Facebook Marketplace alongside Facebook Verified, a free trust badge for authentic profiles – a clear step toward professionalising a platform long seen as a place for informal, local sales. The app targets margin-conscious power sellers who form the core of eBay‘s business. And while eBay charges 13-15% commission plus fixed fees, Meta monetises through its ad network instead – a considerably cheaper environment for resellers. See more on Goldesel and Yahoo Finance
More News
The European Commission has fined AliExpress €550 million – the largest penalty ever issued under the Digital Services Act. The charge: the platform failed to adequately control counterfeit and unsafe products. That surpasses the previous DSA fine against fellow marketplace Temu (€200m) by a wide margin. Read more on Retail Gazette
Zalando Puts AI Into the Warehouse, Not the Chatbot
Zalando is joining Stuttgart robotics firm Sereact as a strategic investor. Sereact’s AI software enables robots to respond flexibly to different products and packaging – for instance in returns processing. Unlike most retail AI announcements, this investment targets not the customer interface but the margin directly. Get more details on Luzern.co
About You Launches AI Photo Studio Tayla
About You and Scayle are now marketing Tayla, an in-house AI photo studio, as a standalone SaaS product. It generates product images for shops, social media and campaigns in minutes rather than weeks, at up to 90% lower cost, according to About You. The solution already counts more than 100 customers. Find out more on Fashion Network
YouTube Launches Shopping Affiliate Programme in the UK
YouTube is launching its Shopping Affiliate Programme in the UK: creators in the YouTube Partner Program can now earn commission on products they promote, while retailers gain a new sales channel through creator reach. Launch partners already include M&S, Boots, Currys, Next, Debenhams, Wayfair and Etsy. See more on ChannelX
Consumer Association Takes Action Against Bol and Amazon
The Dutch Consumentenbond has issued a cease-and-desist letter to Amazon and bol, demanding they stop offering misleading discounts. Of 1,142 tracked products with World Cup discounts, nearly one in three was miscalculated. Pressure from the association has already prompted changes at Coolblue and Wehkamp – and it warns legal action could follow here too if compliance fails. Read more on Ecommerce News
War News
Drone War Reaches Russia’s Largest Online Retailer
Ukrainian drones have repeatedly struck Wildberries warehouses since mid-July – Russia’s largest online marketplace. Wildberries says more than 10% of its logistics capacity has been affected, and several attacks have killed employees. Ukraine says the strikes target the supply of drone components through the warehouses; the EU had shortly before sanctioned Wildberries’ banking arm over its financial contribution to the Russian state budget. Find out more on NBC News
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