After 17 years, Amazon has dethroned retail chain Walmart: With around $717 billion in annual revenue, Amazon is now the highest-revenue company in the United States. However, Amazon’s growth today stems less from retail and more from its comprehensive ecosystem of platform, logistics, cloud business, and advertising.
In 2025, TikTok Shop grew at a rapid pace. According to estimates, its GMV doubled year over year to reach $64 billion. After its home market China, the largest markets are the United States ($15 billion), Indonesia ($13 billion), and Thailand ($11.5 billion). In Europe, only the UK is currently significant, with a GMV of $2.4 billion.
Amazon is reportedly in talks with OpenAI about an investment of up to $50 billion. OpenAI is seeking a total of around $100 billion in fresh capital. SoftBank also said to be among the potential investors. OpenAI has also set the price for its new ads on ChatGPT at $60 per 1,000 impressions. That’s about three times as much as Meta.
OpenAI is making its “ChatGPT Instant Checkout” a paid service and charging a 4% sales commission – initially from Shopify merchants. The reason for this is the high pressure to monetize due to the high investments. At the same time, OpenAI is changing the retail landscape: those who don’t pay lose convenience and thus sales – a clear signal that agentic commerce is no longer a free traffic channel.
Google has introduced a new open standard called the Universal Commerce Protocol (UPC). Its goal is to accelerate the AI-platform shift in commerce by standardizing processes such as product search and checkout via AI bots. Platforms and retailers including Walmart, Etsy, Shopify, Shopee, Carrefour, Target, Macy’s, and Wayfair were involved in its development, as they seek to secure their position within the customer journey.
From July 2026, the EU plans to levy a flat-rate tax of €3 on all imported small parcels worth up to €150. The tax is intended as a transitional measure. From 2028, all imports will be subject to customs duty from the first euro. The abolition of the de minimis rule will primarily affect low-cost platforms such as Temu, Shein, and AliExpress.
Our first Second Hand Quadrant is here – and it clearly shows how rapidly the European second-hand market is professionalizing. Generalist marketplaces are expanding their offerings, C2C platforms are opening up to sellers, and specialized players are strengthening their positions in niche segments. The result is a hybrid ecosystem that offers significant opportunities for merchants.
Live shopping is becoming a key trend in European e-commerce – and eBay Live has now brought its own version to Germany. Other European markets will likely follow soon. The new feature lets sellers stream, interact, and sell in real time through the eBay app, combining entertainment and commerce.
OpenAI and Perplexity on the Road to an AI Marketplace
Both OpenAI and Perplexity are pushing strongly toward becoming a marketplace with their agentic commerce projects: OpenAI introduced Shopping Research, a product search for ChatGPT that generates personalized buyer’s guides. Merchants can apply for greater visibility through an allow-list process. Perplexity also enables lightweight product data placement via a Merchant Program. What’s still missing for the marketplace transition is checkout.
Following the US and UK, eBay is bringing its live shopping format to Germany. eBay Live enables curated live shows in which retailers, brands and influencers can present products and offer them for auction or immediate purchase. Live commerce is a rapidly growing retail segment that is already well established, particularly in China.
You need to load content from reCAPTCHA to submit the form. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.
More InformationYou are currently viewing a placeholder content from Active Campaign. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.
More InformationYou are currently viewing a placeholder content from Vimeo. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.
More InformationYou are currently viewing a placeholder content from YouTube. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.
More InformationYou need to load content from reCAPTCHA to submit the form. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.
More InformationYou are currently viewing a placeholder content from Instagram. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.
More InformationYou are currently viewing a placeholder content from Google Maps. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.
More InformationYou are currently viewing a placeholder content from Google Maps. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.
More InformationYou are currently viewing a placeholder content from X. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.
More Information