DDoS attack takes eBay offline
eBay was targeted by a large-scale global DDoS attack, claimed by the Iranian hacker group 313 Team. At the end of April 2026, this led to repeated disruptions – with estimated revenue losses of up to USD 200 million per day. Sellers were affected by limitations in sales operations and transactions. eBay refers in this context to its seller protection, which is intended to safeguard affected merchants in case of platform-related issues. Find out more on Cybersecurity (DDoS) and Wortfilter (seller protection)

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eBay significantly increases revenue and GMV
eBay generated revenue of USD 3.1 billion (+19%) and GMV of USD 22.2 billion (+18%) in Q1 2026. eBay also reports 136 million active buyers and points to strategic progress in advertising and payments. Read more on eBay 

Cloud business and advertising drive Amazon growth
Amazon also significantly increased revenue to USD 181.5 billion (+17%) and operating income to USD 30.3 billion in Q1 2026. Key growth drivers remain AWS (+28%) and advertising, while investments – particularly in AI infrastructure – continue to rise sharply. See more on Stocktitan 

Etsy beats expectations
The handmade marketplace Etsy exceeded revenue forecasts in the first quarter and increased Gross Merchandise Sales (GMS) by 5.5% to USD 2.5 billion. Growth was mainly driven by more active buyers and a 2% increase in GMS per buyer. More on Fashionnetwork

Vinted further connects DACH markets
Vinted continues to link its country marketplaces. Together with Austrian Post, it has now connected Germany and Austria for the first time. Previously, German users could trade with France, Italy, and the Netherlands, while Austrian users were connected to France and Italy. Find out more on Ecommercenews  

Zalando prepares launch in Bulgaria
Zalando continues its expansion in Europe. After launching in Portugal and Greece, the market entry in Bulgaria is expected on August 1. More on Worldef 

B&Q expands marketplace with Tech & Home Office
The British DIY marketplace B&Q continues to grow and adds a new “Tech & Home Office” category – ranging from furniture to monitors and printers. This addresses rising home office demand and gives sellers access to over 20 million monthly visitors. See more on ChannelX

Wild News

GameStop wants to acquire eBay
The gaming platform GameStop has made an unsolicited takeover bid for eBay worth $55.5 billion. The offered price is about 20% above eBay’s current share price. If eBay rejects the proposal, GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen plans to take the offer directly to eBay shareholders. With this move, GameStop aims to build a stronger competitor to Amazon, while also planning significant cost reductions following a potential acquisition. Read more on BBC

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Der Beitrag Marketplace Universe News 04.05.2026 – Gamestop wants to buy eBay, and eBay Under DDoS Attack erschien zuerst auf Marketplace Universe.

Zalando shuts down Connected Retail
Zalando is consistently pushing its platform strategy and is discontinuing its Connected Retail programme – at the expense of its partners: all Connected Retail retailers must decide by May 15th whether to transition into Zalando’s Partner Programme by June 2027. If not, the partnership will already end this August. At the same time, Zalando is adjusting its fee structure, which could have significant implications for retailers’ margin calculations. The move itself is understandable – but the way it is being executed is not. See the full story on LinkedIn

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Better figures for Asos
The turnaround at Asos is slowly taking hold: In the first half of 2026 GMV declined again by 9% to £1.17 billion and revenue fell by 14% to £1.11 billion. However, operating profit improved from £42.5 million to £64 million, and margins increased from 45.2% to 48.5%. For the first time since autumn 2021, Asos also recorded new customer growth of 9% in March. Read more on Fashionnetwork 

Temu and Shein cost the German economy €2.4 billion
Competition from China costs the German economy around €2.4 billion in value creation each year, including €1.3 billion in retail alone. Specifically, the German state loses around €429 million in tax revenue, and approximately 40,000 jobs are affected. The reason is unfair competition due to violations of applicable EU regulations. And the momentum continues: In Portugal, Temu has been named the leading international marketplace for the first time. See more on Einzelhandel (competition) und Fashionnetwork (Portugal)  

EU reviews Ceconomy acquisition over Chinese subsidies
EU competition regulators are reviewing the $2.5 billion acquisition of electronics retailer Ceconomy by Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com for potential state subsidies from China. If concerns are confirmed by May 25, the EU could launch an in-depth investigation and demand concessions from JD.com. Find out more on Retail-Insight-Network 

CMA reviews eBay–Depop deal in the UK market
The planned acquisition of Depop by eBay is also facing scrutiny. In the UK, the competition authority CMA has launched a public consultation to assess potential impacts on competition and consumers. Submissions are open until May 8, 2026, after which the CMA will decide whether to proceed with a formal investigation. Find out more on ValueAddedResource 

Etsy adjusts operating fees
The handmade platform Etsy is adjusting the regulatory operating fees it charges sellers across several European markets. In France, Spain, Italy and the UK, fees have in some cases more than doubled, while they are being introduced for the first time in Hungary. In Turkey, however, fees are decreasing. Read more on ValueAddedResource 

Success News

9 success factors behind Decathlon
While competitors struggle with shrinking margins and market share losses, sporting goods retailer Decathlon has developed strongly in recent years – its network of 1,800 stores across 79 countries alone is remarkable. According to Swiss consultancy Carpathia, key success factors include an excellent price-performance ratio, a strong omnichannel experience, and powerful private labels. Read the full story on Carpathia

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Der Beitrag Marketplace Universe News 27.04.2026 – Zalando kicks out retail partners, and Shemu erodes value erschien zuerst auf Marketplace Universe.

TikTok Shop Expands into Europe
ByteDance appears to see opportunities for e-commerce even in smaller European markets: TikTok Shop is currently preparing to launch in Poland, the Netherlands, and Belgium. This is indicated by job postings and seller platforms that have already been set up. Meanwhile, QVC has filed for bankruptcy in the U.S. The home shopping channel has recently been suffering increasingly from the shift to TikTok Shop and Whatnot. Read the full story on Ecommercenews (TikTok Shop) and CNN (QVC)

More News

eBay sales directly in the Facebook feed
Meta Platforms has added eBay to its new affiliate partner programme. It allows Facebook users to integrate eBay listings directly into their feeds and sell them for a commission. The programme is still in beta, with a broader rollout expected in the coming months. More on ChannelX 

Temu joins IACC
Temu has joined the International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition (IACC), which includes around 250 companies and organisations across more than 40 countries dedicated to fighting counterfeiting and piracy. In recent years, Temu has repeatedly faced criticism for the widespread distribution of counterfeit and imitation branded goods. Read more on Yahoo

Mirakl positions itself as middleware
Marketplace software provider Mirakl is expanding its integration solution “Mirakl Connector” into a broader middleware layer, enabling connections to additional marketplaces such as Amazon, Walmart, Target, Kaufland and TikTok Shop. More marketplaces are expected to follow. The new solution includes cross-platform campaign planning, automated content adaptation, and financial services. Find out more on LinkedIn

bol opens checkout for third-party shops
The Dutch marketplace bol is opening its checkout technology to additional shops. Following a pilot phase, bol.checkout is now used by more than 300 online stores, allowing customers to pay using their bol account. Access for shops that are not bol partners will follow later. See more on Retaildetail

Rent the Runway enters the marketplace business
The rental and subscription platform Rent the Runway launched its own online marketplace in March. The goal is to expand its designer and eveningwear offering to include accessories and items for complete looks. In 2025, Rent the Runway generated nearly $330 million in revenue, up 7.7% year-on-year. Find out more on RetailDive

Allegro still holds its ground against Temu (for now)
The Polish marketplace Allegro managed to increase both the average product price and basket size in 2025, clearly outperforming Temu in terms of basket value. However, the Chinese competitor is catching up in order volume. Despite Temu’s growing popularity, users still spend around 2.5 times less there than on Allegro. More on ITWiz

Customer Fees News

eMAG introduces additional order fee
Since April 17, the leading Romanian marketplace eMAG has introduced an additional fee for customers. It ranges from approximately €0.29 to €0.78 per order and applies to purchases both from eMAG itself and from marketplace sellers. eMAG justifies the fee with investments in technical infrastructure and improvements to the shopping experience. See more on Antena3

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Der Beitrag Marketplace Universe News 20.04.2026 – QVC files for insolvency, TikTok expands erschien zuerst auf Marketplace Universe.

Vinted Achieves Over €10 Billion GMV
In 2025, sellers sold goods worth more than €10.8 billion through the second-hand marketplace Vinted, marking a nearly 50% increase compared to 2024. While net profit declined by 19% to €62 million, Vinted remains profitable for the third consecutive year. The company attributes the profit decline to the expansion of the German market, the logistics service Vinted Go in Spain and Portugal, as well as the launch of Vinted Pay. See more on Ecommercenews 

More News

TikTok Shop Achieves Record Sales During Spring Sale
TikTok Shop UK saw a 23% increase in total sales compared to the previous year during its Spring Sale. In just eight days, sellers generated $53.5 million, driven mainly by live sessions and Shoptab offers. Read more on TikTok

Amazon Switches FBA Removal Fees to Per-Unit Charges
Starting May 1, Amazon will charge FBA removal and disposal fees on a per-unit basis, instead of the previous practice of charging a single fee for the entire order. This means that sellers will now have to reconcile up to 500 individual invoices for 500 removed items, instead of a consolidated bill, with their inventory and accounting. Find out more on ChannelX 

Sephora Relies on ChatGPT for Personalized Product Recommendations
The cosmetics chain Sephora has launched a ChatGPT integration in its app in the US, enabling customers to receive personalized product recommendations directly through chat requests without leaving the app. A global rollout is likely. In the future, the approximately 80 million members of the Sephora community will also be able to make payments directly within the app. Read more on LinkedIn 

Shopping Stop News

Galaxus Introduces Tool for Expense Overview
Galaxus will now allow its customers to monitor their purchase history and budget directly on the marketplace and set personal spending limits. If the limit is exceeded, a warning will appear, but the purchase will still be possible. The new feature aims to promote more conscious consumption and provide greater transparency in shopping behavior. See the full story on Logistik heute 

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Der Beitrag Marketplace Universe News 13.04.2026 – Vinted Breaks the €10 Billion Mark / TikTok Shop Doubles Growth / Sephora builds ChatGPT Integration erschien zuerst auf Marketplace Universe.

The silo trap: when strong Amazon performance hides weak business performance

Marketplace performance — particularly within Amazon advertising — often looks convincing on paper.

• Revenue is growing
• Campaigns are scaling
• Efficiency metrics such as ROAS remain stable or improve

From a channel perspective, everything appears to be working.

And yet, many teams encounter the same pattern over time:
budgets increase, but growth does not follow proportionally.

This is where the silo trap becomes visible.

When optimisation is confined to Amazon’s own reporting logic, success is defined by what the platform can measure. Campaigns are evaluated based on how well they convert within Amazon — not on whether they generate additional demand.

At first, this works.

As long as there is enough untapped demand, performance improves. But as competition intensifies and budgets scale, the question changes. It is no longer about conversion efficiency. It is about contribution.
Which activities actually create growth — and which ones merely capture what is already there?

→ The numbers are not wrong — they are just incomplete.

At this point, the limitation of standard reporting becomes obvious. It can tell you what converted — but not what caused the conversion.
This is where the distinction between attributed and incremental performance becomes critical.

Why attributed performance is no longer enough

Attributed performance answers a relatively simple question:
Which campaign was involved in the conversion?

Incremental performance asks a more demanding one:
Would this conversion have happened without the campaign?

The difference matters because the Amazon customer journey is no longer linear — and rarely confined to one platform.

Data provided by Front Row shows that:

• around 40% of Amazon branded searches are driven by off-Amazon media
• roughly 36% of Amazon sales are influenced by off-Amazon advertising, often with significantly higher returns

In other words, a substantial share of what looks like Amazon performance is actually initiated elsewhere.

If teams optimise only within Amazon, they systematically overvalue lower-funnel activities and undervalue the channels that created the demand in the first place.

Marketplace Universe Insight
Attribution tells you where a sale happened.
Incrementality tells you why it happened.

This is exactly the gap that Amazon Marketing Cloud is designed to address.

To understand why, it’s worth briefly looking at what AMC actually is — and what makes it different from standard reporting.

What AMC is — and what it makes visible

Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC) is a secure analytics environment provided by Amazon Ads. It allows advertisers to analyse anonymised, event-level data across Amazon touchpoints — including impressions, clicks, and conversions.

Unlike standard reporting, AMC makes it possible to analyse how interactions unfold over time and how different campaigns influence each other. As a result, it shifts the perspective from isolated attribution to actual contribution.

“AMC is no longer optional. It’s essential for brands that want to understand consumers through data, remove friction from the path to purchase, and drive repeat buying.”
— Simone Vobejda, Director Performance Marketing, Front Row

For many brands, Amazon Marketing Cloud is becoming a central tool to better understand the Amazon customer journey, improve retail media performance, and evaluate incremental growth beyond standard Amazon advertising metrics.

In practice, however, many teams are still only using a fraction of its potential.

Marketplace Universe Insight
The value of AMC is not in more data — but in seeing connections that weren’t visible before.

From channel optimisation to Connected Commerce

Once these interactions become visible, the limitations of a channel-centric approach are difficult to ignore.
Amazon is not an isolated system. It is part of a broader ecosystem that includes search, social media, CRM, and D2C channels.

Front Row describes this broader approach as Connected Commerce — an operating model in which data, decisions, and execution are connected across channels.

Connected Commerce is not about adding more tools.
It is about changing how commerce is run:

• aligning teams around shared metrics such as incrementality and customer value
• connecting insights from Amazon with decisions in media, CRM, and merchandising
• shifting from channel performance to business performance

In this model, Amazon does not lose relevance.
But it is no longer treated as a standalone growth engine — and that shift is where most organisations struggle.

Marketplace Universe Insight
Marketplace performance is no longer about who captures demand best — but who understands where it actually comes from.

What changes when you look at the data differently

When AMC is used to analyse interactions rather than isolated results, performance starts to look different.

Incrementality and campaign interaction

AMC analyses often reveal that multiple campaigns reach the same users across different stages of the journey.
In standard reporting, each campaign may appear successful on its own.

But when viewed together, it becomes clear that some of this spend does not generate additional demand — it simply reinforces or intercepts demand that already exists.

Part of what looks like growth is therefore not new demand, but the result of multiple campaigns influencing the same conversion.
Understanding this allows brands to reduce inefficiencies and reallocate budgets towards activities that actually expand their customer base.

Rethinking ROAS in context

ROAS remains a useful operational metric — but AMC data highlights its limitations when used as a proxy for growth.

High-ROAS campaigns often target users who are already close to conversion or have interacted with the brand before.
This makes them efficient — but not necessarily growth-driving.

A campaign with lower ROAS that introduces new customers may create significantly more long-term value.

Case study: what customer-level data actually changes

One of the clearest ways to see this shift in practice is to look at how performance changes once customer-level data is introduced.

What the data actually revealed

In an analysis conducted by Front Row for Wella, AMC was used to examine how different campaigns contributed to customer acquisition versus retention.
The findings were striking.

• Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) was approximately $30, while the average order value was around $15 — meaning long-term value was roughly 2x higher than initial purchase value
• The top 20% of customers generated 48% of total revenue, with 27% higher purchase value than the average

At the same time, the analysis revealed something even more important.

Campaigns that appeared highly efficient were often heavily skewed towards existing customers. They performed well because they targeted users who were already familiar with the brand.

Meanwhile, campaigns that seemed less efficient at first glance played a disproportionately important role in acquiring new customers.
Even more telling:

• 52% of new customer journeys started with shampoo or conditioner — not hairspray, as initially assumed

This insight led to concrete changes in media allocation, creative strategy, and product prioritisation.

The data didn’t just refine decisions.
It corrected them.

Marketplace Universe Insight
The biggest performance gains don’t come from better optimisation — they come from correcting the wrong assumptions.

From insight to action

The value of AMC lies in how it changes decision-making.

The first shift is conceptual.
Instead of asking how efficient campaigns are, teams need to understand which activities actually create incremental growth.

The second shift is technical.
AMC insights become significantly more valuable when combined with other data sources — such as CRM systems, D2C performance, and margin structures. Only then can performance be evaluated at a business level.

Some organisations are already building more integrated data environments to support this. In this context, tools such as Catapult, Front Row’s analytics platform, help connect signals across brand, demand, D2C, and Amazon — making it easier to identify patterns and translate them into actionable decisions.

The third shift is organisational.
Marketplace teams, performance marketing, and CRM functions need to work with shared objectives and a common understanding of success. Without this alignment, insights remain isolated and underutilised.

Finally, there is a shift in how success is measured.
The goal is not to build more metrics, but to focus on fewer metrics that actually drive better decisions — such as incrementality, customer lifetime value, and contribution to overall growth.

Want to identify your blind spots and move beyond siloed optimisation?
The Connected Commerce self-check offers a practical starting point.

Why this shift is becoming unavoidable

The relevance of this shift is increasing.

• Retail media is expanding rapidly.
• Competition on Amazon continues to intensify.
• At the same time, margins are under pressure.

In this environment, optimising within a single channel is no longer sufficient.
What matters is understanding how different activities contribute to overall growth — and making decisions accordingly.

Amazon remains a critical part of that system.
But it is only one part.

Key Learnings

• Strong Amazon performance can mask a lack of true business growth
• Attributed performance and incremental performance measure fundamentally different things
• AMC makes customer journeys, campaign interaction, and customer value visible
• Connected Commerce links marketplace data with broader business decisions
• Competitive advantage increasingly depends on cross-channel understanding, not channel-level optimisation alone

Marketplace Universe Insight
The challenge for marketplace teams is no longer just execution.
It is understanding what their data actually reflects — and what it doesn’t.

10.04.2026 – Written by Ricarda Eichler, Journalist and Author for OHN

Der Beitrag The Amazon Silo Trap: Why Marketplace Performance Doesn’t Equal Growth erschien zuerst auf Marketplace Universe.

A structural demand peak – not a short-term hype

In the Netherlands, employees are entitled to Vakantiegeld – an additional payment of at least 8% of their annual salary. This amount is accrued over the year and typically paid out in a lump sum in May. For many consumers, this effectively equals an extra month’s salary.

The effect is not driven by more income, but by the timing of liquidity. Larger purchases are postponed – and then bundled around the payout.

This is where the market dynamic begins. “We see a clear increase in both GMV and average basket size around the payout,” says Dennis van Evert, Manager Retail Campaigning at bol.

The demand effect is clearly visible – and not limited to a single day:

• The strongest peak occurs in the payout week
• Demand remains elevated for another two to three weeks

This is not a short spike, but a concentrated demand phase over 2–3 weeks.

Notably, this does not create new growth, but a predictable shift in demand. And the pattern is stable: according to bol, neither the intensity nor the timing has changed significantly – despite inflation, increasing competition, and evolving platform dynamics.

What consumers actually buy: bigger, more expensive, more planned

The additional liquidity does not just increase demand, it changes how consumers buy.

1. Larger baskets and broader demand

With the payout of Vakantiegeld, the number of purchases increases significantly.

More importantly, the average order value (AOV) grows disproportionately, as many consumers deliberately postpone larger purchases to this moment.
At the same time, they use the additional budget for purchases that would otherwise not have been prioritised.

The result: larger baskets and broader demand at the same time.

2. Winning categories: everything expensive or seasonal

According to bol, demand is particularly strong in the following categories:

• Garden furniture & outdoor products
• Premium electronics
• Outdoor toys
• Seasonal summer products

The pattern is clear: Vakantiegeld is not used for everyday consumption, but for larger purchases.

“Although we do see an increase in buying and spending patterns across the platform, we see the biggest increase in higher-priced (electronics) categories, such as laptops and televisions,” Dennis explains.

Why visibility becomes critical in this phase

More demand may sound like easy growth. In practice, something else happens: competition for visibility increases significantly.

bol highlights three key levers:

1. Retail Media becomes a critical factor

More traffic does not automatically translate into more revenue. Retail Media plays a key role in staying visible during this period. In simple terms: those who don’t invest risk losing out – even when demand is strong.

2. Promotions become more aggressive

Even though overall revenue increases, promotional pressure is above average. Deals are not mandatory, but a clear differentiator.

3. Availability remains the silent winner

As in any peak phase, fast delivery and high availability remain the most important conversion drivers.

Campaigns as demand multipliers

bol actively amplifies the Vakantiegeld effect through two key campaign formats:

• Bol 10-daagse: a strongly deal-driven campaign with high discount density and strong visibility for participating products
• Summer campaign: more focused on inspiration and seasonal relevance, highlighting assortments related to holidays, outdoor, and summer

Both formats serve different purposes: The Bol 10-daagse drives short-term activation and additional purchase impulses, while the summer campaign directs demand toward seasonally relevant categories.

For sellers, this means: these campaigns not only amplify existing demand – they actively structure it. As a result, they play a decisive role in which products gain visibility and ultimately benefit.

What international sellers should do

bol outlines three key success factors for the Vakantiegeld phase:

1. Align assortment strategically

Not all categories benefit equally. Demand varies – so sellers should coordinate early with their account manager to identify relevant assortments and focus areas.

2. Optimise availability and delivery times

High demand is useless if products are not available. Short delivery times – e.g. via local fulfilment solutions like LvB – remain a key conversion factor.

3. Stay price competitive

In a phase with high promotional pressure, price plays a stronger role in both visibility and conversion.

Key learnings

• Vakantiegeld is a structural demand peak in the Dutch market – not a short-term effect
• The main lever is the increase in basket size, not just order volume
• Higher-priced and seasonal categories benefit disproportionately
• Competition for visibility and deals increases significantly
• Platform campaigns further amplify the effect
• For international sellers, the timing is predictable – and therefore strategically actionable

If you want to learn more about bol, check out episode 119 of our podcast: Hassan Imran from gardening specialist Neudorff and Patricia Lay from bol explain how you can get started on bol in just 3 weeks. You can find the episode here!

Der Beitrag Vakantiegeld: How an Extra Month’s Salary Boosts Dutch E-Commerce erschien zuerst auf Marketplace Universe.

Amazon Imposes 3.5% Logistics Surcharge
Due to rising energy prices caused by the ongoing war in Iran, Amazon is requiring its marketplace sellers in the U.S. and Canada to pay a 3.5% fuel and logistics surcharge. The policy is set to take effect on April 17. It remains unclear whether it will be implemented in other countries. More on CNBC 

More News

Decathlon Reports 7% Increase in GMV
In fiscal year 2025, the Decathlon Group achieved a GMV of €20.7 billion. This represents a 7.1% increase over the previous year. Revenue climbed 5.6% to €16.8 billion, while net profit rose 16% to €960 million. The digital share stands at around 20%.  See more on Fashionnetwork 

Breuninger launches in the Netherlands
Following its launch in Austria, the German premium marketplace Breuninger has now expanded its platform to the Netherlands. With this move, Breuninger continues its international growth strategy. Read more on Retailnews

eBay Introduces Video Ads for Premium Listings
Following a test in Australia, eBay is now rolling out video ads as a new format for its premium listings in several countries, including Germany and the UK. This is expected to benefit products that require explanation, such as electronics, fashion, and household goods. Billing will continue to be based on cost-per-click. Find out more on ChannelX

Blockage News

Austria Hesitates to Approve the MediaMarktSaturn Acquisition
JD must continue to be patient regarding the acquisition of MediaMarktSaturn. The Austrian Ministry of Economy has expressed concerns and does not want to commit to whether or when it will approve the deal. However, the parent company Ceconomy remains confident regarding the approvals from Spain and Germany, which are also still pending. Find out more on Exciting Commerce 

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Der Beitrag Marketplace Universe News 07.04.2026 – 3.5% surcharge for Amazon logistics / Decathlon sees significant growth / Breuninger expands into the Netherlands erschien zuerst auf Marketplace Universe.

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 

More News

EU tightens rules for low-value imports
The EU is stepping up its actions against low-cost imports from China and plans to introduce a €2 handling fee in addition to the uniform €3 customs duty. The customs duty will apply from July 2026, while the handling fee is planned to be introduced from November 2026. See more on Transport-online 

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 

Hype News

#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.

When Wish became a global meme

For a few years, Wish defined how Western consumers experienced Chinese e-commerce. The platform became a meme, a shopping app and a global marketplace at the same time — reaching more than 100 million monthly users and shipping products to over 100 countries.

Then, almost as quickly as it had risen, it disappeared. And as Wish was fading from the spotlight, a new platform emerged that looked strikingly familiar: Temu.

• Same pricing logic.
• Same supply chains.
• Same aggressive marketing.

But while Wish collapsed, Temu scaled. Somewhere along the way, their trajectories diverged. But where?

The rise — and quiet disappearance — of Wish

Wish was founded in 2010 by Piotr Szulczewski and Danny Zhang and operated by the San-Francisco-based company ContextLogic, the technology company behind the marketplace.

Szulczewski, a former Google engineer, designed Wish not as a traditional online shop, but as a mobile discovery platform. Instead of searching for products, users scrolled through an endless feed of algorithmically recommended items — an experience closer to social media than to classic e-commerce.

Behind this interface sat a large cross-border marketplace connecting Western consumers directly with merchants, most of whom were based in China. This structure enabled extremely low prices and rapid assortment expansion.

For a time, the model scaled: According to ContextLogic’s SEC filings around the company’s 2020 IPO, Wish reached more than 100 million monthly active users globally and operated in over 100 countries.

But the decline came quickly. User numbers dropped from over 100 million to roughly 74 million within a short period after the IPO, according to subsequent ContextLogic filings. As marketing spend was reduced, traffic followed. What initially looked like massive scale proved to be fragile.

In 2024, ContextLogic exited the business entirely, selling the Wish marketplace to Singapore-based e-commerce group Qoo10 for approximately $173 million, as reported in the company’s 2024 annual disclosures.

Today, Wish still exists under Qoo10 ownership — but at a dramatically smaller scale. According to ECDB projections, the platform’s GMV may reach around €43 million by 2026, a fraction of what its early trajectory once suggested.

The question is why such a large platform lost relevance so quickly.

The cracks in the model

Several structural weaknesses of the Wish model became visible over time.

Dependence on paid growth
Wish invested heavily in digital advertising to drive app installs and traffic. When marketing spend declined, user numbers dropped almost immediately. The platform struggled to convert initial attention into sustained engagement.

Erosion of trust
The meme culture surrounding Wish reflected a deeper issue: inconsistent product quality, misleading listings and long delivery times. The humor generated visibility — but also defined the brand.

A fragile logistics model
Wish relied heavily on direct cross-border shipping from Chinese merchants to Western consumers. This resulted in long delivery times and complex returns. While the company attempted to improve logistics, the model remained fundamentally cross-border.

More importantly, this approach would have struggled under today’s conditions. Rising tariffs, stricter customs enforcement and geopolitical tensions have made ultra-cheap cross-border shipping significantly more complex — putting pressure on exactly the structure Wish depended on.

Limited marketplace evolution
Wish never developed into a broader marketplace ecosystem. Initiatives such as Wish Local were discontinued, and the platform struggled to attract a meaningful base of international sellers. The merchant structure remained largely China-centric, limiting its ability to evolve into a more resilient global marketplace.

By the time the company attempted to address these issues, momentum was already lost.

Temu — another marketplace as “bought on Wish”?

When Temu entered Western markets, the similarities were hard to ignore. The platform combined three core elements that had already defined Wish:

• extremely aggressive marketing
• ultra-low prices
• direct manufacturer access.

Both platforms connected Western consumers directly with Chinese supply chains. Both scaled through visibility. And both positioned themselves around price. Yet Temu did not simply repeat the model — it extended it. The platform has already reached more than 75 million monthly users in the EU, qualifying as a Very Large Online Platform under the Digital Services Act, according to the European Commission.

Where Temu corrected Wish’s weaknesses

Temu entered the market with a model that looked similar to Wish — but addressed the same structural challenges more systematically.

From attention loops to retention systems
Wish relied on behavioral triggers such as endless scrolling and flash deals to drive impulse purchases. These mechanisms optimized for attention. Temu builds on this logic with more explicit gamification systems — including rewards, incentives and repeat-visit triggers — designed to increase retention and frequency.

From unmanaged inconsistency to controlled risk
Both platforms struggle with trust. But while Wish let merchants handle customer complaints with widely different outcomes, Temu manages them more systematically through centralized policies, refund mechanisms and tighter platform control. The problems remain — but are less visible to the customer.

From cross-border dependence to hybrid fulfillment
Wish remained fundamentally dependent on direct China-to-consumer shipping. Temu, by contrast, is actively transitioning toward hybrid fulfillment models that combine cross-border supply with regional warehousing and local inventory.

This shift is partly strategic and partly reactive. Rising tariffs and stricter trade controls have made pure cross-border models harder to sustain. Temu has responded by building infrastructure that Wish never developed.

From a China-centric seller base to a gradually global marketplace
While both platforms started with a heavy focus on China-based merchants, Temu managed to evolve from that and is actively expanding its seller base to include European and American merchants. This transition is still ongoing — but marks a clear strategic shift. 

The difference in scale reflects this evolution. ECDB data highlights the scale of this divergence: Temu could reach around €110.6 billion in GMV by 2026, while Wish is expected to remain at roughly €43 million.

A divergence that reshaped the China marketplace narrative

After all, Wish and Temu did not quite represent the same marketplace model. Wish built a viral discovery app that connected Western consumers with Chinese merchants — but failed to build the infrastructure required for long-term growth. 

Temu started from a similar foundation, but evolved into a much more complex global platform. The difference lies less in pricing than in execution and evolution. While Wish mostly stayed true to its nature, Temu simply managed to adapt.

But it is also important to consider the historical context when comparing the two. Because Temu is not just executing better — it is also operating under conditions that force a more mature version of the same model. Conditions that Wish did not experience during their prime. 

The result remains: in global marketplaces, scale alone is not enough. Infrastructure decides who survives.

Key Learnings

1. Viral growth does not guarantee platform stability
2. Logistics is becoming a structural advantage
3. Marketplace success depends on seller diversity
4. Trust is not solved — it is managed
5. Execution matters more than the model

25.03.2026 – Written by Ricarda Eichler, Journalist and Author for OHN

Der Beitrag From Meme to Market Leader: Why Wish collapsed while Temu exploded erschien zuerst auf Marketplace Universe.