The German Trade Association HDE has raised its annual forecast: online retail growth is expected to be around 4% in 2025, with total sales climbing to €92.4 billion. Looking closer into the numbers, it is clear that “market growth” is actually “marketplace growth” in Germany: All marketplaces active in Germany realised a turnover growth of 8.8 per cent, with the lion share going to Amazon. The market share currently stands at 57%, recommerce at 7%. Einzelhandel.de

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In an effort to curb low-cost shippers Temu and Shein, the EU is planning to introduce a so-called processing fee on parcels with a value of less than €150 that are shipped directly from third countries to EU consumers. There is no concrete timetable yet. But the fee could come sooner than the end of the duty exemption for such shipments, which is scheduled for 2028. Reuters 

Thanks to positive marketplace business, the Otto Group returned to profitability in fiscal year 2024/2025: GMV rose by 9% to more than €7 billion, and the number of active customers increased by 4% to 12.2 million. GMV is expected to break the €10 billion mark by 2030. Ecommercenews

Pelion, one of the largest companies in the healthcare sector in Poland, has become a strategic investor in DocMorris. DocMorris

Polish market leader Allegro is also growing in the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia: 6 of the 21 million active users come from these countries, and GMV in these countries increased by 80%. Forbes

In addition to its own payment solution planned for Q3, The Platform Group intends to launch its own fulfillment service with TPG Fulfillment by the end of the year. The Platform Group

Returners News

After a five-year absence, Nike is returning to Amazon: in order to boost its recently declining sales, the sporting goods brand is once again starting to sell its products on the marketplace. But this time the strategy is much more gated and restricted. LinkedIn

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Der Beitrag Marketplace Universe News 26.5.2025 – Better forecast for online retail for 2025 / Otto is profitable / EU plans fees for Shemu erschien zuerst auf Marketplace Universe.

In the US, this accusation led to the imminent demise of TikTok: The EU has fined TikTok €530 million for transferring user data to China. TikTok now has six months to bring its app into compliance with EU regulations. Fortune

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Amazon generated revenue of $155.7 billion in Q1 2025, exceeding analysts’ expectations. However, Amazon warned for the first time that the new US tariff policy is likely to cause revenue in Q2 to fall short of analysts’ estimates. Forbes

The US government has responded harshly to Amazon‘s plans to list price increases resulting from the new tariff policy. Amazon then backtracked and stated that this plan had only been intended for Amazon Haul and never for Amazon itself. And that the plan had been abandoned. Reuters

eBay generated revenue of $2.6 billion in Q1, with GMV at $18.8 billion – a meager increase of 1% in both cases. eBay is also struggling to stabilize the number of active sellers. This has had consequences for personnel. Chief Financial Officer Steve Priest and Chief Product Officer Eddie Garcia have resigned. The new CFO is Peggy Alford, former EVP Global Sales at PayPal. The CPO function will be consolidated and divided between Jordan Sweetnam (new SVP Chief Commercial Officer) and CTO Mazen Rawashdeh. Valueaddredresearch

Vinted recorded a 36% year-on-year jump in revenue to €813 million in 2024, with net profit rising 330% to €76.7 million. New categories such as electronics and luxury fashion fueled growth. In addition, Vinted benefited from its expansion into new markets. AIMgroup

The Platform Group is benefiting from numerous acquisitions and has raised its profit forecast for 2025 from €40 million to €42 million to €47 million to €50 million. Wallstreet Online 

What the Federal Court of Justice ruling on the ban on the sale of pharmacy-only products on Amazon means for brands and sellers – detailed explanation by pharmaceutical expert Gregor Leopold. LinkedIn 

AI-Shopping News

Open AI is launching an attack on Google and Amazon: The new version 4o of ChatGPT features improved purchasing advice designed to help users select products. To do this, ChatGPT lists images, reviews, recommendations, and links to relevant offers.Initially, the feature will be limited to a few categories such as fashion, beauty, household goods, and electronics. Techcrunch

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Der Beitrag Marketplace Universe News 05.05.2025 – EU penalty against TikTok / Amazon’s problems with customs duties / ChatGPT attacks shopping giants erschien zuerst auf Marketplace Universe.

DHL Express is suspending deliveries worth over US$800 from companies in all countries to US consumers. It is a reaction to a “significant increase” in red tape at customs following the introduction of Donald Trump’s new tariff regime. BBC

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There are technical problems on the Otto marketplace, resulting in API connections via integrators being cut off. Users of Rithum and JTL are affected. Tools such as Tradebyte and Brickfox are also likely to be affected. LinkedIn

The payment service provider Adyen has suffered a massive DDOS attack – and a lot of marketplaces went down with it. LinkedIn

While Amazon has expanded its range in Europe to include its own category for skin cosmetics and premium beauty brands, mail-order pharmacies have temporarily suspended the sale of over-the-counter medicines on Amazon following a ruling by the Federal Court of Justice. Retail-News (beauty category)   Handelsblatt (Pharmacies)

The Düsseldorf-based Platform Group has secured a majority stake in Joli Closet, a platform for pre-owned luxury fashion. The aim is to strengthen existing luxury brands such as fashionette and Chronext and expand into new markets. Retail-News

The French baby and kids marketplace Vertbaudet is expanding into Germany this year. LinkedIn  

Amazon is lowering its package fees for several product groups in its Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) program in Europe. Ecommercenews

EGG News

Happy Easter from the Greek marketplace Skroutz: Compared to 2024, sales around Easter increased by almost 23%, and by as much as 34% via the Skroutz app. The average Easter basket weighed in at €66. Ekathimerini  

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Der Beitrag Marketplace Universe News 28.04.2025 – DHL is suspending US deliveries / Technical Issues on Otto marketplace / Amazon starts Beauty Category erschien zuerst auf Marketplace Universe.

Marketplaces are driving sales growth in German e-commerce: After two years of declining sales, online retailing is expected to grow by 1.1 percent in 2024, according to the bevh. This growth stems from marketplaces, which grew by 4.7 percent. Online pure players continued to suffer a decline of 3.6 percent and omnichannel retailers a decline of 2.0 percent. For this year, the bevh expects an increase of 2.5 percent. bevh

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eBay.de is now restricting access to the top position in the search results to items advertised with a premium campaign strategy. Items from a basic campaign strategy are no longer displayed there. At the same time, eBay dealers are criticizing the flood of ads on the item detail pages. Some of which are said to disrupt the item display. eBay (new regulations) Onlinehaendler-News (criticism)

The German online marketplace Kaufland is restructuring its fulfillment service “Fulfillment by Kaufland.” The current version will be discontinued on February 28. Until then, the company is working hard on a new flexible modular system. It is designed to better serve the cross-border needs of retailers, as Kaufland told us. LinkedIn

The Platform Group‘s shopping spree continues: With the acquisition of Lyra Pet, the company is entering the pet supplies industry for the first time. Retail News

Correction: In our last newsletter dated January 20, 2025, we incorrectly reported that Chrono24 was acquired by The Platform Group. The correct information is that Chronext was acquired.

DocMorris was able to increase its revenue by 6.7 percent to around 1.15 billion euros in 2024, but it still lags far behind its competitor RedCare, which saw an increase of 69 percent. Handelsblatt

As part of its turnaround strategy to stem financial losses, ASOS plans to migrate independent boutique and vintage sellers from its ASOS Marketplace to its main ASOS.com website by April 2025. Sellers will benefit from increased visibility, improved tools and flexible fulfillment options. The Industry Fashion

French marketplace La Redoute has rolled out its premium subscription program La Redoute + in Switzerland. Swiss subscribers will get free delivery (including all furniture items) and price advantages. LinkedIn

AI News

eBay is increasingly relying on AI and has announced a collaboration with OpenAI. For example, the AI will act as a virtual assistant to help potential buyers with online shopping and guide them to specific eBay offers. LinkedIn

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Der Beitrag Marketplace Universe News 27.01.2025 – Marketplaces drive growth / eBay’s new ad rules / Kaufland is reorganizing its fulfillment erschien zuerst auf Marketplace Universe.

The Platform Group (TPG) acquired 100 per cent of CHRONEXT, a German retailer and marketplace for luxury watches which filed for insolvency in August. LinkedIn

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TikTok Shop will likely expand to Spain in December, brands which were approached by TikTok’s mother ByteDance reported. Some merchants have also been encouraged to join TikTok Shop in Ireland, though it’s unclear when that platform would launch. SCMP

German marketplace provider Otto is happy with its new AI-based semantic search. Customers were presented with a lot more relevant Sponsored Product Ads, which led to significantly high click-through rates. Otto

MediaMarktSaturn has expanded its retail media offering to include InStoreAds. Advertisers and marketplace sellers can now also advertise in 650 bricks-and-mortar shops in Germany, Austria, Hungary, Luxembourg, Turkey and the Netherlands. MediaMarktSaturn

Alibaba establishes a new e-commerce business group that unites all of the company’s platforms for the first time. The new unit includes platforms such as Taobao, Tmall, AliExpress, Alibaba.com, Lazada, Trendyol, 1688 and Idle Fish. The aim is to optimise global supply chains. Retail News

Investor News

PSG Equity has made a strategic investment in the ERP software platform provider PlentyONE, which connects brands and retailers to over 150 marketplaces. The PSG investment will be used for international growth and an enhanced product and services portfolio. PSG Equity

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Der Beitrag Marketplace Universe News 02.12.2024 – The platform group acquired Chronext / TikTok Shop in Spain / New Investor for PlentyONE erschien zuerst auf Marketplace Universe.