What “quick success” really means on the Kaufland Marketplaces

“Quick success” is often misunderstood in the context of marketplaces. A fast start is not the same as sustainable success.

On the Kaufland marketplaces, three levels can be distinguished:

• Time-to-first-sale: First sales can happen quickly – as in the case of Schuhhaus Hittcher, within just two days
• Initial traction: Visibility, traffic, and first conversions
• Scalable growth: Expansion across multiple countries and assortments

Operational access is low-threshold: registration, onboarding, and even expansion into additional countries can be done with relatively little effort.

The real bottleneck, however, is not the entry – but the execution that follows.

Hack #1: Start broad – but refine quickly

Kaufland Global Marketplaces offers access to around 6,400 product categories. It therefore makes sense to start with a broader assortment initially in order to test demand.

The key point: Breadth is only the first step – not the strategy.

Successful sellers:

• use reports such as competitive benchmarking
• quickly identify high-performing SKUs
• clean up their assortment early

Those who simply “list everything” risk low visibility, weak conversion and unnecessary operational complexity.

Hack #2: The BuyBox decides – and so does pricing

As on almost all marketplaces, the same applies on the Kaufland marketplaces: Without competitive pricing, there are no sales.

The BuyBox is primarily determined by:

• total price (including shipping)
• delivery time
• seller performance

With features like Smart Pricing and Smart Pricing Plus, prices can be automatically adjusted to the competitive landscape.

According to Kaufland Global Marketplace-data, sellers using Smart Pricing Plus achieve on average up to 28% higher revenue. This figure is based on an analysis of more than 3,384 sellers over a six-month period, comparing performance before and after activating the tool.

Important: The actual impact depends heavily on category, competition, and demand. Smart Pricing is therefore not a guaranteed growth driver – but a key lever to remain competitive in the first place.

Hack #3: Visibility is not random – it can be controlled

Organic visibility does not happen automatically. Especially at the beginning, Sponsored Ads are a key lever.

Real-world data from specific seller cases shows:

• Sellers such as Songmics and eazzzy mattress toppers achieved around 169% more traffic and nearly 70% revenue growth through Sponsored Product Ads
• The seller Genius achieved 61% more traffic on the product detail page through targeted campaigns
• In the Electronics & Computers category, the average ROAS is around 1,100% on Kaufland.de (April 2025 to March 2026)

The figures are based on selected seller cases and platform analyses and cannot be generalized across all categories. However, these results demonstrate the potential and require active campaign management and competitive offers.

Sponsored Product Ads (SPA) are therefore less a scaling tool and more a visibility accelerator for market entry.

Hack #4: Pricing and Ads only work together

A common mistake: sellers treat pricing and advertising separately.

Individual seller cases show that traffic can be significantly increased through targeted campaigns.
However, whether this translates into revenue (e.g. nearly 70% growth for Songmics and eazzzy) depends directly on whether the offer is competitive – especially in terms of price.

This confirms a core dynamic:

• Ads drive demand
• Pricing determines monetization

Without competitive pricing ad spend is wasted, without ads even strong offers remain invisible. The combination of both is the real growth driver.

Hack #5: Think international early – but act selectively

A key advantage of Kaufland Global Marketplace is the ease of expanding into multiple European markets.

Sellers can:

• launch in multiple countries within around 2.5 hours
• use automated translations
•  outsource payment processing and parts of customer support

This significantly lowers entry barriers. At the same time: Internationalization amplifies existing performance – it does not replace it.

Recommendation: Identify what works first, then scale it selectively across additional markets.

 Hack #6: Use automation where it matters

Kaufland Global Marketplaces offers a range of tools and services that simplify operational processes – from pricing automation to campaign features.

These can help to:

•  reduce repetitive tasks
•  react faster to market changes
•  enable operational scaling

However: Automation delivers the most value when the fundamentals (pricing, assortment, content) are already properly set up.

Hack #7: Use AI as operational support

With solutions like the intelligent chat assistant called “Ailora”, Kaufland Global Marketplace is increasingly integrating AI-driven support into the seller workflow.

Current use cases include:

• performance analysis and KPI insights
• automatic translation of content and communication
• product data optimization
• support with delivery time accuracy

 In the future, AI is expected to take on a more active role in operational processes: suggesting actions and executing them after seller approval.

Classification: AI can significantly speed up execution, but it does not replace strategic decision-making.

Hack #8: Leverage external reach – but don’t rely on it

Kaufland Global Marketplace also supports sellers through external traffic channels such as:

• Google Shopping
• price comparison platforms
• social media
• its own reach channels

However, marketplace experience shows that external reach works best when offers are already performing well internally. The same principle applies: Reach alone is not enough, it only amplifies existing performance.

Marketplace Universe Insight

The biggest advantage of Kaufland Global Marketplace is not the entry, but the combination of reach, infrastructure, and scalability.

The case studies (e.g. ~169% traffic growth, ~70% revenue increase, or ROAS of 1,100% in certain categories) clearly show that growth is the result of deliberate execution.

At the same time, a clear pattern emerges:

• Access is easy
• Tools are available
• Reach is substantial

 The decisive factor is therefore not whether sellers start, but how consistently they use the available levers.

Quick success happens where:

• pricing is managed with discipline
• visibility is actively built
• successful setups are scaled quickly

Or put differently: The barrier to entry is low, but operational excellence remains the real competitive advantage.

Key Learnings

• Automation and AI support execution, but do not replace solid fundamentals
• A fast start is possible, but sustainable success requires active management
• Pricing and ads are the core growth levers
• Internationalization is a multiplier, not a shortcut

Want to learn more about Kaufland’s marketplaces? Then check out our podcast with Doreen Schumm from Kaufland Global Marketplace or read the blog post “How to sell internationally on Kaufland Global Marketplace”.

Der Beitrag 8 Hacks for Quick Success with Kaufland Global Marketplace erschien zuerst auf Marketplace Universe.

TikTok Shop grows rapidly in Germany
One year after its launch, around 15% of German online shoppers have already purchased via TikTok Shop, according to NielsenIQ. Depth of usage is also increasing. The average purchase frequency rose from 2.3 to 3.3 purchases per year, while spending per buyer increased by around 32%. TikTok is thus increasingly evolving from a discovery channel into a transaction platform. Find out more at NielsenIQ 

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Temu owner PDD misses expectations
PDD Holdings reported revenue of $12.6 billion in Q4 2025, falling short of analyst estimates. The company cites intensifying competition in China as well as growing global uncertainties, such as tariffs in the US, as key factors weighing on its business – also impacting the international growth of Temu. Read more at Retailgazette 

OnBuy expands into eight new markets
The marketplace OnBuy is launching in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Poland, Hungary, Romania, the Czech Republic and Switzerland, bringing its presence to 21 European markets. The expansion follows strong growth, with quarterly sales increasing by 152% last year. See more at Ecommercenews 

Otto begins international rollout with the Netherlands
Otto Group is opening its marketplace to international sellers in phases. Partners from the Netherlands will be onboarded first in the first half of the year. Poland, Austria, France, and Spain will follow by the end of 2026, Denmark is planned for early 2027. At the same time, the business continues to grow, with GMV reaching €7.5 billion (+6%). The marketplace is expanding faster (+9%) than the 1P business (+3%) and now includes around 6,100 sellers. See the full story at LinkedIn 

Kaufland bundles retail media in its own platform
Kaufland is launching “Kaufland Interact”, a central retail media platform that bundles all advertising offerings – from online shop to in-store screens. This includes display units at store entrances as well as checkout screens. The goal is unified booking across all channels. Read more on Invidis 

Kingfisher posts strong growth
Kingfisher plc reported a pre-tax profit of £378 million for FY 2025/26, up 23% year-on-year. The increase was driven by cost-saving measures and strong performances from B&Q in the UK and Screwfix in the UK and France. See more on HarwichandManningtreestandard 

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#BookTok drives book sales in Europe
More than 50 million books were sold across Europe in 2025 through the #BookTok community, generating around €800 million in revenue. Germany is the largest market ahead of the UK, with 28 million books sold and €482 million in revenue linked to the trend around TikTok. See the full story at ChannelX 

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Der Beitrag Marketplace Universe News 30.03.2026 – TikTok Shop grows rapidly in Germany / EU Extends Processing Fee for Packages / Otto start with Sellers from Netherlands erschien zuerst auf Marketplace Universe.

CEE is not Western Europe light

Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) is not “Western Europe light.” Our partner, the integrator base, supports many sellers on their marketplace journey into these markets and therefore has in-depth insights. Together, we have summarized the most important findings. This is because the region follows its own structural, operational, and cultural logic. Anyone who sees CEE merely as a low-cost extension of existing Amazon strategies underestimates the dynamics of these markets.

Marketplaces often play an even more dominant role here than in Western Europe. Consumers rely on them as primary commerce infrastructure – for payments, delivery and buyer protection. At the same time, the region is not dominated by one pan-European player but by strong national market leaders with deeply rooted ecosystems. Add to this higher price sensitivity, an aggressive comparison culture, the strong relevance of parcel lockers, and an operational pace that leaves little room for slow learning curves.

The 5 Most Important Marketplaces in CEE

In many CEE countries, local heroes play a strong and often market-leading role. Many of these platforms are evolving beyond pure marketplaces into full ecosystems. Based on ECDB data, the following players rank among the most relevant in the region by total GMV 2024:

1. Allegro (Poland) – GMV €13.3bn

Poland is the largest e-commerce market in the region – and Allegro is its clear leader. With €13.3 billion in GMV, Allegro is far ahead of international competitors. For many Polish consumers, Allegro is the default entry point into online shopping.

A mature advertising system and a highly catalogue-driven structure make the platform extremely competitive. Poland therefore often functions as a “gateway to CEE.”

2. Alza.cz (Czech Republic & Slovakia) – €2.55bn

Alza is the market leader in the Czech Republic with €2.05 billion in GMV and ranks second in Slovakia with €503 million. High operational maturity, strong logistics capabilities and strong brand recognition define the platform.

Originally built as an electronics retailer, Alza continues to expand its assortment. It operates a partner/marketplace structure that allows third-party sellers to distribute products via the platform. However, this is not a pure 3P marketplace model: in many cases Alza acts as the contractual partner and manages central processes such as payments and customer service. Due to this hybrid structure, its classification as a marketplace is not always clear-cut.

3. Heureka Group (Czech Republic & Slovakia) – €2.18bn

Heureka is the central and leading platform in both the Czech Republic (€1.6 billion GMV) and Slovakia (€579 million GMV). Initially launched as a price comparison engine, it has increasingly developed into a transactional infrastructure. The platform is highly search- and performance-driven; price and availability are particularly decisive here.

4. eMAG (Romania & Bulgaria) – €1.55bn

In Romania, eMAG clearly dominates the market with €1.3 billion in GMV and is also the leading player in neighbouring Bulgaria (€249 million GMV). The model combines marketplace and retail infrastructure. eMAG invests heavily in fulfillment, logistics and regional expansion and has positioned itself as a platform ecosystem.

5. Kaufland Global Marketplace – €183m GMV (excluding Poland)

Kaufland Global Marketplace plays a special role. Originating from Germany, it has built a strong cross-border scaling model. Since 2023, the online marketplace has gradually launched in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland.

Although GMV remains relatively moderate due to its still young marketplace presence, Kaufland Global Marketplace is experiencing rapid growth. It can therefore be seen as a bridge between Central and Eastern Europe and the DACH region – making it attractive for Western brands, also due to Kaufland’s strong brick-and-mortar retail presence in CEE.

Success Factors and Typical Pitfalls in CEE

Operational performance matters more than brand awareness. Markets react sensitively to price and service deviations.

1.  Price as a lever: Lower purchasing power and high price transparency require competitive, dynamically managed pricing. Transferring Western European price levels 1:1 leads to margin erosion or loss of visibility.

2.  Logistics as a ranking factor: Parcel lockers and local carrier models are standard. Marketplace fulfilment programmes directly influence filterability and ranking.

3.  Service KPIs as a multiplier: Response times, cancellation rates and delivery reliability feed directly into seller ratings and placement. Operational strictness is often underestimated.

4.  Localisation: Visibility depends on structured parameters, full catalogue integration and market-specific requirements. Simply translated listings without technical adaptation cost ranking

5.  Retail media: Programmes such as Allegro Ads act as accelerators but do not compensate for structural weaknesses in pricing, logistics and service levels.

6.  Platform logic: CEE marketplaces follow their own mechanics (e.g. the “Top Offer” on Allegro). Generic Amazon strategies often fail.

Deep Dive: Allegro

Allegro is not just the market leader in Poland – it is market infrastructure. Since 1999, the platform has shaped payment habits, delivery expectations and the overall understanding of online commerce in the country. A large share of product searches starts directly on Allegro, not on Google.

The “Top Offer” – the central lever

Unlike many Western marketplaces, Allegro does not distribute visibility evenly across multiple sellers. For each product, a so-called Top Offer is highlighted – a single offer prominently displayed that captures the majority of clicks.

The Top Offer frequently appears with increased visibility in search results and is displayed as the primary purchase option on the product detail page, with price, delivery time and Smart! participation clearly highlighted.

Selection is algorithmic and based on multiple factors:

• Total price (including shipping)
• Delivery speed
• Participation in Allegro Smart!
• Conversion history
• Seller KPIs
• Offer quality and catalogue compliance
• Performance in Allegro Ads

The objective is therefore not a “Top 5 ranking” but winning this position. Whoever controls the Top Offer often controls the majority of volume within a product cluster.

Allegro Programmes in Detail

Allegro Smart!

Allegro Smart! is a subscription-based shipping and loyalty programme comparable to Prime. Customers pay a monthly or annual fee and receive free shipping above a certain order value, along with additional benefits.

For sellers, Smart! means better filterability in search results, higher conversion rates, and increased competitiveness in price-sensitive categories. Participation is also a relevant factor in winning the Top Offer. In many categories, Smart! participation is effectively a prerequisite for scaling.

Fulfilment by Allegro

Fulfilment programmes allow sellers to store inventory in local warehouses. International sellers in particular benefit from local storage, as delivery performance is a key ranking factor.

The advantages include faster delivery times, higher service levels, a positive impact on ranking, and reduced operational complexity.

Allegro Ads

Allegro Ads acts as a visibility accelerator. Ads improve placement in search results and support the fight for the Top Offer. However, ads primarily amplify existing competitiveness – without a competitive price and strong service levels, the effect is limited.

Brand Zone

The Brand Zone enables stronger differentiation within a highly performance-driven environment. It offers additional brand space, content opportunities and greater control over presentation – particularly relevant for established brands that do not want to compete solely on price.

Why Classic Amazon Strategies Often Fail on Allegro

Allegro is more catalogue-driven, more price-sensitive and more operationally strict than many Western platforms. Competition concentrates on a single winning position – the Top Offer.

Successful sellers strategically integrate pricing, shipping and Smart!, closely monitor service KPIs and rely on automation. Allegro is not an Amazon clone but an independent, performance-driven ecosystem.

Key Learnings from the Top 5 Marketplaces in CEE

CEE is not a side market. The region is driven by strong national platforms deeply embedded in local consumer habits. International strategies only work when adapted.

Poland – with Allegro – remains the structural heavyweight and often the strategic starting point. However, Romania, the Czech Republic and Slovakia also offer relevant volumes and scaling potential.

Key Learnings:

• CEE is fragmented, not homogeneous.
• Local market leaders are structurally well protected.
• Price and delivery logic determine visibility.
• Operational excellence outweighs brand awareness.
• Allegro is not an “Amazon clone” but its own performance-driven ecosystem.

Anyone serious about CEE needs more than a copy of Western strategies – they need a dedicated marketplace logic.

Der Beitrag CEE Deep Dive: Top 5 Marketplaces Many Brands Overlook erschien zuerst auf Marketplace Universe.

1. Agentic Commerce: The War for User Choice (Perplexity vs. Amazon)

In 2025, AI agents became transactional. While OpenAI’s deep integrations with Shopify and Stripe created a seamless “Headless Commerce” backend, the year ended in a legal showdown. In November 2025, Amazon sued Perplexity, alleging that its “Comet” shopping bots were covertly accessing accounts and bypassing security to automate purchases. Perplexity countered, framing the lawsuit as a threat to “user choice” and the right to have an AI assistant.

• The Bigger Picture: We are seeing the first major conflict between “Closed Gardens” (Amazon) and “Open Agents” (Perplexity). The battle is over who owns the customer relationship: the platform or the AI agent.
• 2026 Impact: Success in 2026 will depend on your “Product Knowledge Graph.” Brands must decide whether to optimize for platform-specific AI (like Amazon’s Rufus) or universal agents that may soon be legally restricted.

2. The Regulatory Wall: The End of “Tax-Free” Imports

The dominance of Temu and Shein met its match in EU regulation. In December 2025, the EU finalized a €3 flat-rate custom duty on all small parcels from non-EU countries, effective July 1st, 2026. This complements the French Anti-Fast Fashion Law (passed June 2025), which introduces a €5 eco-tax per item and a total ban on fast-fashion influencer marketing starting January 1st, 2026.

• The Bigger Picture: The “Wild West” of tax-free, direct-from-China shipping is officially ending. The EU is re-asserting sovereignty to protect local, compliant competition.
• 2026 Impact: Domestic sellers will see a “fairness dividend.” As the €3 fee and €5 eco-tax narrow the price gap, delivery speed and local compliance will replace “absolute lowest price” as the key conversion drivers for 2026.

3. The TikTok Shop Invasion: Polarized Realities & Hard Data

The 2025 rollout of TikTok Shop in Central Europe (DE, FR, IT) moved past the hype and into hard data. In France alone, the platform generated €53 million in October 2025 with over 35,000 active shops. However, the experience was highly polarized. While brands like Blissim saw record engagement, About You pulled its integration just four weeks after the June launch, citing a mismatch between the platform’s high operational intensity and their existing fulfillment structures.

• The Bigger Picture: TikTok is successfully attacking Amazon’s convenience moat with “Fulfilled by TikTok,” but it requires a fundamental shift in seller DNA – from static listings to high-frequency content creation.
• 2026 Impact: “Discovery-led Commerce” is now a primary consumer habit. In 2026, the gap will widen between “content-ready” brands and traditional retailers who fail to entertain.

4. The Internationalization Paradox: Expansion vs. Retreat

2025 saw a massive wave of cross-border growth. OnBuy expanded into 12 European countries in September, and B&Q (Kingfisher) made a surprise move in November 2025 by opening its UK marketplace to German sellers, offering a specialized “Cross-Border Turbo” for DIY brands. The consolidation of the European fashion market was finalized on November 6th, 2025, with the legal squeeze-out of About You by Zalando. Conversely, the year proved that scale isn’t everything: Wayfair completed its exit from the German market in January 2025 to focus on profitability in its core strongholds.

• The Bigger Picture: Internationalization is no longer about geographic “land grabs” but about “unified scale.” Platforms are either going all-in on a pan-European model or retreating to core markets.
• 2026 Impact: For sellers, the “barrier to entry” for cross-border trade has dropped, but the competition is now truly global and focused on localized excellence.

5. Platform Consolidation: Quality over Quantity

The consolidation wasn’t just corporate, but also internal. Amazon’s “Project Bend the Curve” led to the removal of billions of low-quality or inactive listings to save on massive AWS infrastructure costs. Simultaneously, platforms like Otto increased seller fees to prioritize high-volume, professional partners over low-margin churn.

• The Bigger Picture: 2025 was the year marketplaces stopped chasing “infinite shelf space” and started prioritizing “curated quality.” They are cleaning up their databases to reduce the “noise” for both customers and AI crawlers.
• 2026 Impact: Marketplace SEO is shifting. It’s no longer about keyword volume but about performance health, returns ratios, and delivery reliability.

6. Circular Economy 2.0: Re-Commerce as a Standard

Sustainability has moved from a marketing claim to a business pillar. Vinted became a dominant force in the broader retail conversation, while Kaufland and Back Market launched integrated “Second Life” programs, allowing customers to trade in electronics and appliances directly on the platform.

• The Bigger Picture: “Circular as a Service” is becoming a standard marketplace feature. Consumers now expect a “sell back” button next to the “buy” button.
• 2026 Impact: Brands must develop a “Second Life” strategy. In 2026, marketplaces will likely reward (or require) products that are certified as repairable or part of a formal buy-back program.

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Der Beitrag 2025 Marketplace Year in Review: The Great Re-Architecture erschien zuerst auf Marketplace Universe.

Second-Hand: The Most Important Marketplaces in Europe

The second-hand online market is booming with a volume of 21.6 billion euros and an expected growth of an additional 2 billion euros by 2025 (CEBR study commissioned by Amazon). The trend is clear: the market is growing across all categories. Large marketplaces are expanding their second-hand sections, while traditional C2C platforms are increasingly allowing professional dealers to sell their goods.

The following classification focuses on the most important generalists and specialists in Europe that enable independent traders to offer goods.

1. Generalists

Generalists serve multiple categories simultaneously and range from classic 3P marketplaces with shop logic to ad-based C2C platforms.

Generalist Marketplaces with Second-Hand Segments

These platforms offer structured seller accounts and integrate second-hand, B-stock, and refurbished products alongside new goods:

• Amazon Renew / Second Chance: Focuses on used, checked, and refurbished products with strict quality requirements. (Active in DE, FR, IT, ES, UK, NL, PL, among others).
• eBay / eBay Refurbished: Established ecosystem, highly relevant for electronics, auto & parts, fashion, and collectibles in almost all European core markets.
• bol (NL/BE): Generalist with strong refurbished sections for electronics and a robust seller program.
• National Champions:
  • Allegro (PL): Largest Polish marketplace with an established second-hand segment and growing EU reach.
  • Kaufland Global Marketplace (DE, CZ): With its own recommerce program and a growing share of B-stock/refurbished electronics.
  • Cdiscount (FR) / Fnac/Darty (FR, ES): Important French generalists with designated areas for reconditionné / occasion or Seconde vie (CE and household goods).

C2C-based Classifieds Platforms with Seller Option

These platforms are often strongly locally rooted and C2C-driven, but are increasingly opening up to professional sellers. Transactions mostly take place outside the platform (no checkout), which means good reach but limited scalability.

• Key Players: Kleinanzeigen (DE), Leboncoin (FR), Marktplaats (NL), Gumtree (UK), Milanuncios (ES), and Subito (IT). They dominate their local markets, and commercial listings are permitted or strongly tolerated.
• Nordic Countries: Blocket (SE), FINN.no (NO), and DBA (DK) are the leading classifieds models with business areas (Blocketbutik, Bedrift).

Auction Platforms

Auctions are relevant for surplus stock, B-stock, collectibles, and specialized categories.

• Aukro (CZ): Mix of generalist and auction model.
• BVA Auctions / TBAuctions (NL, EU-wide): Focus on returns, B2B second-hand goods, and company liquidations.
• Tradera (SE) / Troostwijk Auctions (NL, EU-wide): Sustainability-oriented marketplace and specialist for industrial goods, respectively.

2. Category Specialists

Many second-hand platforms focus on specific categories and develop particularly strong ecosystems in their niches.

Fashion & Accessories

The pre-owned segment in fashion is traditionally strong.

• Vinted: Dominant European second-hand fashion marketplace, which is increasingly opening up to professional sellers via “Vinted Pro” in DE, FR, AT, ES, and is developing into more of a generalist (alongside fashion, also toys, home).
• Vestiaire Collective: International marketplace for premium and luxury fashion with a curated offering and structured options for professional boutiques.
• Grailed / Depop: Specialized in designer, streetwear, vintage, and individual styles, particularly popular with younger target groups (UK, IT, D, FR, NL).
• Chrono24: World’s largest, highly professionalized marketplace for pre-owned luxury watches.

Electronics

Electronics is considered one of the most professionalized and fastest-growing second-hand categories due to standardized testing processes (Refurbished ecosystems).

• Back Market: EU-wide leader for refurbished electronics with strict quality requirements and a large seller network.
• refurbed: Fast-growing marketplace for refurbished electronics with high-quality standards in D, AT, IT, FR, ES, NL, and PL.
• MediaMarktSaturn Marketplace: Offers professional refurb and B-stock programs in cooperation with qualified partners.

Sports & Leisure

A dynamically growing category due to high purchase prices and stable resale values.

• BikeExchange / buycycle: Specialists for bicycles and accessories (especially high-end bikes and e-bikes) with a strong seller base.
• Decathlon Marketplace: Combines new, used, and refurbished offers through “Second Life” programs.

Special Interest

Deep niche segments that are often highly professionalized and supported by active collector communities.

• Cardmarket: Largest European marketplace for trading cards (TCG, CCG).
• Discogs: International marketplace for records, mainly used.
• BrickLink / Brick Owl: Leading marketplaces for new and used LEGO parts and sets.
• Catawiki: Curated auction marketplace for collectibles, art, and luxury goods.

Conclusion: Key Insights and Market Patterns

The European second-hand market is highly fragmented and dynamic. The most important patterns are:

• Hybrid Models: Many formerly pure C2C platforms (e.g., Vinted, classifieds platforms) are evolving into hybrid marketplaces through business programs.
• Regional Dominance: Unlike in traditional e-commerce, strong local classifieds platforms dominate in many countries (e.g., Kleinanzeigen, Leboncoin, Allegro).
• Growth Drivers: Fashion and electronics lead the market, while sports & leisure (especially bikes) and highly specialized niche markets are professionalizing and growing strongly.
• Market Volume: Online second-hand volume is €21.6 billion with an expected increase of +€2 billion by 2025.

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When we talk about international expansion, we often focus on market research, business models, channel strategies, and high-level decisions. So what does expansion really look like for brands and sellers in day-to-day practice? And how can going cross-border be made as simple and efficient as possible? Kaufland Global Marketplace is good example for a marketplace that really tries to help its sellers on their road to internationalization. Because this marketplace operator has achieved something that’s still rare in the European marketplace landscape: a unified, cross-country system. With just a few clicks, sellers can go live in up to seven European markets simultaneously – significantly reducing both technical and operational complexity. Here is their guide “How to sell international on Kaufland Global Marketplace”.

Seven Markets, One System: Why Kaufland is Worth Considering

Over the past few years, Kaufland Global Marketplace has focused on simplifying international expansion. Through a central platform, sellers can currently access marketplaces in seven countries: Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Austria – and starting in late summer 2025, also France and Italy. In total, this means access to up to 139 million potential online shoppers.

The Seller Portal is the command center: it allows sellers to manage and translate everything from product data and legal texts to shipping rules – all tailored to the relevant country. Even after-sales service can be handled centrally across markets.

One Registration – Many Channels to sell international

Sellers only need to register once to access all Kaufland marketplaces. At onboarding, they can choose to launch in one or multiple countries – and additional markets can be added at any time without re-registration.

Requirements to get started:

• Valid business registration
• EAN (GTIN) for all products
• No products from  prohibited categories
• Compliance with country-specific rules, e.g., EPR regulations

The Pricing

Kaufland Global Marketplace treats its multi-market offering as a unified package – and this is reflected in the fee model. Sellers pay a flat monthly fee of €39.95 (Basic) or €59.95 (Plus), plus a category-based commission. The big advantage: adding additional countries incurs no extra cost. Listing products is also free and unlimited across all marketplaces.

How the Operational Rollout Works

Especially valuable for sellers with existing system landscapes: the rollout can be largely automated. Kaufland offers free tools for data transfer and translation, and over 130 integration partners ensure smooth connectivity with popular ERP and shop systems.

The Seven Steps to Internationalization

In its guide, Kaufland Global Marketplace clearly walks sellers through the onboarding steps with dashboard screenshots and explanations:

1. Activate sales channels:
   Add additional marketplaces directly from the Seller Portal.
2. Enter tax details:
   Submit your OSS number or country-specific VAT ID depending on your location.
3. Transfer legal texts:
   Create once, automatically translate and apply to all relevant markets.
4. Define shipping groups:
   Set up country-specific or unified shipping settings across multiple regions.
5. Adjust offer data:
   Integrate via API, CSV, manually or via software partners – don’t forget to set local currency.
6. Translate product data:
   Use the automated service for translating texts and images.
7. Go live:
   Publish with a single click – or wait for automatic activation within 24 hours.

Conclusion: Less Complexity, More Reach

For many brands and sellers, internationalization is no longer optional – it’s essential for growth. And while marketplaces promise fast access to new markets, the reality often involves complex tech setups, fragmented structures, and inconsistent policies. Kaufland Global Marketplace takes a different approach: one platform, one logic, one interface – across seven markets. This drastically lowers the barrier to entry and enables scalable growth from day one. A compelling model – and one that other marketplaces would do well to learn from.

The complete guide with all its practical tips that shows how to sell international on Kaufland Global Marketplace is available free of charge here:

Der Beitrag How to sell international on Kaufland Global Marketplace erschien zuerst auf Marketplace Universe.

About You opens marketplace for new partners
Fashion platform About You has overhauled its onboarding process, aiming to make it easier for small brands, start-ups, and independent labels to join. The seller center has also been revamped as part of the update. More at Ecommercenews.eu 

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TikTok Shop US challenges Amazon Prime Days with “Deals for You Days”
TikTok Shop positions itself as a serious alternative to Amazon with a major summer sales event. The “Deals for You Days” will run in the U.S. market from July 7 to 19, directly overlapping with Amazon’s Prime Days. The highlight of the campaign is a live price match feature that offers cashback when products are found cheaper elsewhere. TikTok Shop introduced its Deals for you Days last September in the UK market but didn’t challenge Amazon directly – until now.  Read more at Retail Dive 

Kaufland tests TikTok Shop with private label campaign
Kaufland is running its first trial with TikTok Shop. It offers two drugstore product boxes from its private label Bevola for just €5 each. The goal is to test new digital sales channels. Kaufland is following the example of sister company Lidl, which has also piloted TikTok Shop. See more at Onlinehändler News (German) 

Amazon Prime Day extended to four days for the first time
Malte Karstan saw it coming, and now it’s official. Amazon is extending the event to four full days, from July 8 to 11. This makes this year’s 10th anniversary event the longest yet. Read more at ChannelX  

Amazon halves Prime fee for 18–22-year-olds
Just in time for Prime Day, Amazon targets younger users by offering a 50 % discount on Prime memberships for 18 to 22-year-olds. The move significantly expands its previous “Prime Student” program. Read more at ZDNet 

Otto allowed to exclude unwanted sellers
Otto has won a legal dispute at the Higher Regional Court of Hamburg, securing the right to exclude sellers from its marketplace for rule violations. Two affected sellers had filed a lawsuit – without success. The ruling reinforces Otto’s curated marketplace strategy.  Read more on LinkedIn (German) 

Anti-regulation News: 

Bevh criticizes strict EU platform regulation
Germany’s e-commerce association Bevh is calling for a review of EU rules for large marketplaces. The group argues that major online platforms are being overregulated. This leads to disadvantages compared to offline competitors, affecting players like Amazon, Zalando, and Otto. Read more on Ecommercenews.eu  

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Der Beitrag Marketplace Universe News 23.06.2025 – About You seeks new sellers / TikTok Shop’s Deal Days / Amazon makes Prime cheaper erschien zuerst auf Marketplace Universe.

The German Retail Association HDE has filed a complaint with the Federal Cartel Office against Temu for anti-competitive behavior. The accusation: Temu deprives retailers who sell on Temu of the sovereignty to set prices. Eulerpool

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Temu and the German parcel service DHL have agreed to cooperate, with Temu providing local shipping support in Europe as a partner of DHL. At the same time, DHL has announced that it will add a further 0.50 cents to the already increased parcel price during the peak season for the two Cyber Week weeks at the end of November/beginning of December this year. The Chinese-influenced Singles’ Day on November 11 is not affected. The BVOH trade association is calling for the additional fee to be waived. Ecommercenews (Temu)   Ecommercenews (parcel price)   BVOH

The German ecommerce solution provider PlentyONE is also partnering with Temu and connecting its solution to the Chinese platform. ChannelX

Kaufland Global Marketplace continues to expand: After Austria and Poland, the marketplace will launch in Italy and France in the third quarter of 2025 – two countries in which Kaufland has not yet established a brick-and-mortar presence. Kaufland

Since its foundation, the refurbished platform Refurbed has generated a total GMV of two billion euros. Accordingly, the platform presumably now generates well over 500 million euros in annual revenue. Irishtechnews

German online retailer Zalando has acquired London-based 3D and augmented reality company DeepAR, as part of its investment in 3D technology. Drapersonline

Zalando wants to improve profitability and is therefore tightening its free returns policy: customers who return an extremely large number of items will be blocked for up to 12 months. Ecommercegermany

News from spain

In the third quarter of last year, the online turnover in Spain reached 24.6 billion euros, a plus of 12.6 percent year-on-year. 57.2% of ecommerce turnover was reached cross-border, according to the Spanish CNMCData portal. Ecommercenews

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Der Beitrag Marketplace universe News 14.04.2025 – Antitrust complaint against Temu / Kaufland goes to IT and FR / Spain market growth erschien zuerst auf Marketplace Universe.

Marketplaces are a popular choice for many retailers and brands looking to expand into international markets. Wiltec, a specialist retailer in DIY, garden, and pet supplies, leverages several platforms for its cross-border commerce strategy – including Kaufland Global Marketplace. This best practice showcases how Wiltec scales internationally with Kaufland.

Launch on Kaufland in 2019

Wiltec has been present on the platform for over five years. The company launched on the German marketplace in October 2019 – back then still operating under real.de. Kaufland acquired real.de in 2020 and rebranded it as kaufland.de in April 2021. Since then, Kaufland has added four more countries to its marketplace portfolio. Wiltec has followed every launch: in spring 2023, the company expanded to the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and in late summer 2024 to Austria and Poland. Italy and France are planned for Q3 2025.

Wiltec lists its entire product portfolio – approximately 8,000 items – across all Kaufland marketplaces. The assortment spans DIY, garden products, pond and water technology, outdoor equipment, pet supplies, and photography accessories. Wiltec’s motto: “If it fits in a box, we can sell it.” The wide range appeals to a broad audience, though the core target group consists of male shoppers aged 35 to 65.

Active on Many Marketplaces

Wiltec has been operating its own online shop for over 20 years – now available in eight languages. The goal is to serve customers across Europe. Beyond Kaufland, Wiltec is also active on marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay, Hood, ManoMano, Leroy Merlin, CDiscount, Galaxus, Carrefour, OnBuy, and Zooplus in France.

Wiltec chose Kaufland because it is a key player in several important European markets – and because it’s easy to use. Seamless data synchronization – including product, offer, and order data – was crucial for the initial integration. Thanks to Kaufland’s interface, this was relatively simple to implement, with only minor support needed in terms of data structure and formatting.

Straightforward International Expansion with Kaufland

Expanding to new Kaufland marketplaces proved to be straightforward: Kaufland automatically transferred Wiltec’s product data and provided automated translations. Wiltec only needed to adapt legal texts, define shipping groups, and set up returns processes. Merchants can connect to Kaufland using three options: CSV files, the Kaufland API, or through an integrator. Wiltec currently uses CSV files, which can be submitted regularly and imported by Kaufland automatically. However, the company is also considering building a direct interface between Kaufland and its proprietary ERP system to enable more flexible and faster inventory updates.

Language barriers are one of the main challenges in internationalization. Wiltec initially uses Kaufland’s automated translations and later replaces them with versions provided by its own translation team. The 30-person customer service team is multilingual, which greatly facilitates international operations. For phone support, English usually works well, and written inquiries are handled using tools like DeepL.

Over 4 Million euros in GMV

Wiltec has seen strong performance on the Kaufland marketplaces. “It’s been a fun journey, and we’re happy with the results – we’re excited about the new markets to come,” says Platform Manager Patryk Heppding-Gonsior. In 2024, Wiltec generated over 4 million euros in GMV across all Kaufland marketplaces. Germany is the top-performing country, followed by the Czech Republic and Poland, then Austria and Slovakia. The average shopping cart value is 70 euros.

Wiltec takes advantage of all available advertising options on Kaufland, including vouchers, Sponsored Product Ads, Sponsored Brands Ads, and sales promotions. The advertising budget mirrors that on other marketplaces, amounting to approximately 8% of marketplace revenue.

“Just give it a try – it really is that easy”

Patryk’s advice to merchants considering international expansion with Kaufland: “Just give it a try – it really is that easy.” AI tools and translation services like DeepL are now highly reliable and help overcome language barriers. For him, the most critical success factor is aligning international shipping processes with logistics partners, including the correct display or inclusion of freight rates. Additionally, merchants must ensure their ERP systems can handle foreign currency invoicing, especially for markets like Poland or the Czech Republic. He also notes that fees may apply when payouts in foreign currencies are booked into a German bank account.

His conclusion: “The automated transfer of our products and automatic translation have been the most helpful aspects. This allows us to expand to new Kaufland marketplaces much faster than on other platforms,” says Patryk. He also appreciates the close cooperation with Kaufland’s Key Account Management, which provides direct access to contacts via email or phone.

Want to know more about Kaufland? Then come to our Connect event with Kaufland on June 23 in Berlin! Spaces are limited, so reserve your spot here. 

Der Beitrag Best Practice: How Wiltec Scales Internationally with Kaufland erschien zuerst auf Marketplace Universe.

Regardless of the uncertain future in the US, TikTok is apparently continuing to expand TikTok Shop. According to reports, TikTok Shop is set to launch in Italy in March or April. Germany, France, Brazil and Japan are to follow later in the year. Meanwhile, Lidl has launched initial sales attempts on TikTok Shop in the UK. SCMP (launch)   Watson (Lidl)

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Otto is eliminating 480 call center positions and lays off hundreds of customer service employees. Several customer service locations will be closed. EcommerceNews 

The struggling marketplace aggregator SellerX is cutting 170 of its more than 800 jobs, a fifth of its workforce. The aim is to increase profitability by reducing costs. EcommerceNews  

Amazon is discontinuing its “Inspiration” feed launched in 2022, which was designed to enable product discoveries in the style of TikTok. Apparently, the compensation for the videos was not attractive enough for influencers. TechCrunch  

Zalando has extended the deadline for the sale of About You shares to March 6, as expected. On February 17, the previously applicable cut-off date, Zalando was already in possession of around 85 % of the About You shares. Exciting Commerce

In response to an EU fine of nearly 800 million euros at the end of 2024, Meta opened its Facebook marketplace to third-party providers in the EU. eMarketer 

Amazon is testing shorter delivery times with a number of Prime members: if you order by 9 p.m., you will receive your goods by 7 a.m. the next day at no extra charge. Giga

Category Leader News

Decathlon has become one of the world’s leading sports equipment retailers, offering a wide selection of sports equipment for more than 70 sports. A SWOT analysis shows Decathlon’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Businessmodelanalyst

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Der Beitrag Marketplace Universe News 24.02.2025 – TikTok shop coming soon in Italy / Otto cuts service jobs / Meta opens Facebook marketplace erschien zuerst auf Marketplace Universe.