🌀 AI reshapes ecommerce. How AI strategies of industry giants differ?

Internet Retailing

🛒 Mass merchant marketplaces

• 🌎 Amazon faces FTC lawsuit over alleged use of secret algorithm to manipulate prices. The algorithm tracked competitors' price movements, adjusting Amazon's prices accordingly. If competitors didn't respond, the algorithm reverted Amazon's prices. Deep dive → Forbes

• 🌎 Walmart Commits to carbon emission reduction by 2040 amidst regulatory changes. Walmart aims to decarbonize operations and promote clean energy access for customers and suppliers in line with evolving EU, U.S., and California carbon emission reporting rules. Deep dive → TechTarget

• 🌎 Shopify and WPP collaborate to support brand scaling. The partnership leverages WPP's 13,500 commerce expert network and Shopify's platform to develop products and insights for brand growth. Deep dive → FashionUnited | WPP

• 🌎 Walmart explores AI and AR for enhanced shopping. Walmart is investing in GenAI-powered online search and shopping experiences, incorporating voice, AR, and virtual commerce technologies. Deep dive → PYMNTS | Walmart

• 🇬🇧 eBay UK introduces Authentication Guarantee for fine jewellery. In collaboration with GIA, eBay's 'Authenticity Guarantee' expands to cover unbranded and renowned fine jewelry, including Chopard, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Cartier.. Deep dive → eBay

• 🇧🇪 Alibaba faces accusations of 'possible espionage' in Belgium. Belgium's intelligence service is reportedly monitoring Alibaba's main logistics hub in Europe amid suspicions of espionage linked to China's economic presence in the west. Deep dive → Financial times

• 🇵🇱 Allegro plans expansion to 4 new markets in 2024. Leading Polish B2C marketplace Allegro eyes Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, and Hungary for expansion, drawing on experience from launching Allegro.cz in 2023 and the acquisition of Mall Group in April 2022. Deep dive → Cashless

👗 Fashion marketplaces

• 🌎 Shein new executive aims to expand supply chain outside china. The company now seeks to source fabrics and build supply chains in other markets where they operate to be closer to customers. This would shorten the delivery time and, in some cases, save production and logistics costs. The move has put Shein in more direct competition with e-commerce stalwarts like Amazon.com and Temu. Deep dive → CaixingGlobal

• 🇬🇧 Boohoo fails to lure shoppers with discounts as rival Shein takes a bite. Boohoo expects annual sales to fall by between 12% and 17% as buyers return to high street. The company is also facing heavy competition from Shein, which uses social media to push cheap garments, as well as sites such as Vinted and Depop that have popularised secondhand clothing. Deep dive → TheGuardian

• 🇩🇪 fashionette launched a new platform for luxury fashion. Fashionette is a leading e-commerce group for luxury products in Europe. The most important brands on the fashion platform include Gucci, Prada, Burberry, Balenciaga, Dolce&Gabbana, Bottega Veneta, Valentino Garavani, and Moncler. Platform connects over 150 locations for luxury fashion into software with mapping of all products. Fashionette wants to expand its platform activities in the future, while striving to reach higher profitability through its platform activities. Deep dive → FashionNetwork

• 🇪🇸 Mango shuts down the marketplace after two years of operation. Mango decided not to continue offering these complementary brands to its offering with the aim of further enhancing its proprietary sales channel and technological capabilities to provide better customer experiences. Deep dive → FashionNetwork

• 🇳🇱 Vinted acquires Dutch delivery service Homerr. Homerr was founded in the Netherlands in 2016 and currently has a network of social and commercial pick-up and drop-off points. This allows consumers in the Benelux region to easily drop off or have their items delivered to these points. Deep dive → FashionUnited

🍔 Food marketplaces

• 🇺🇸 DoorDash tests a feature that rewards users for dining out, not ordering in. “Dine Out,” allows users to earn credits by swiping to “check in” while they’re at a restaurant. Deep dive → TechCrunch

• 🇺🇸 Instacart is broadening its food-as-medicine efforts. The grocery delivery company is expanding its Fresh Funds program and launching its first Medicare Advantage Plan. Instacart Health Fresh Funds are now available to recovering post operative and post-partum patients who are insured by a Mount Sinai Solutions customer health plan. Deep dive → FoodServiceDirector

• 🇬🇧 Tesco to relaunch its marketplace. The retailer is understood to have been working on the technology underpinning the marketplace for the past two years. It is now building a team that will be responsible for recruiting sellers and working with them on “range, merchandising and promotional strategies”. For customers, third-party seller products will be available “seamlessly” alongside their “core grocery basket” on Tesco.com. Deep dive → Grocer

• 🇬🇧 Amazon in talks with Waitrose to sell groceries on the marketplace to lure in more shoppers and claw back market share. Iceland launched on the Amazon website in mid-September. Amazon also has third-party deals with the Co-op and Morrisons, selling their groceries on its website and delivering them from local branches. Waitrose and Amazon declined to comment on a potential partnership. Deep dive → TheGuardian

• 🇵🇱 Carrefour expanded 3 times the area of quick-commerce service. Carrefour Polska has extended its partnership with Glovo to deliver orders in less than an hour to more cities and by adding additional 73 stores to the service in 2023. Deep dive → Carrefour

• 🇭🇷 Wolt introduced a new service Wolt+ in Croatia. The Wolt+ service, with a monthly subscription, offers users of the platform an unlimited number of free deliveries from restaurants and shops within a defined zone, with the possibility of free cancellation. Deep dive → Tockanai

📦Various marketplaces

• 🌍 Amazon launches its first internet satellite prototypes. Amazon’s first pair of prototypes for its Project Kuiper satellite internet system launched on Friday. Project Kuiper is Amazon’s plan to build a network of 3,236 satellites in low Earth orbit, to provide high-speed internet access anywhere in the world. Deep dive → CNBC

• 🇺🇸 Uber introduces a package return service. Uber will collect up to five prepaid and sealed packages and drop them off at a local post office or at UPS or FedEx stores. Uber will charge a flat fee of $5 for the service or $3 for its Uber One members. Deep dive → LATimes | Uber

• 🇺🇸 Artisans Cooperative marketplace launches in challenge to Etsy. The platform, which focuses on selling handmade goods, was formed as a result of the Etsy strike last year over seller fee hikes. On its first day, the platform had more than 70 merchants and 1,200 items available for consumers. The site was built using Shopify, according to the announcement. Deep dive → RetailDive

• 🇪🇺 Fnac Darty and CEVA Logistics to create a joint venture dedicated to e-commerce logistics, SaaS Marketplace. The new player is called Weavenn and offers a fully integrated service combining the best marketplace technology solutions with high-performance logistics. Deep dive → FnacDarty | Ceva

🌟Funding/new marketplaces

• 🇫🇷 Scnd (marketplace solution to sell services online) snaps €4M. It is a marketplace building solution specifically developed for services that provides features such as user management, listing creation, booking management, calendar management, dashboards, workflow management, and full-featured search. With this addition of funds, scnd will further expand in these territories together with their partners, including consulting firms, integrators, and payment service providers. Deep dive → TechFundingNews

• 🇩🇪 Smath (off-price B2B fashion marketplace) attracted €2.5M funding. The company’s founders and managing directors are former About You Director of Revenue & Growth Dr. Max Groberg and former McKinsey manager Dr. Hans-Martin Vetter. Smatch is addressing the significant problem of overstock in the fashion industry with a B2B fashion marketplace for international trading. Deep dive → RealTimes

• 🇬🇧 Anymoment (curated experiences marketplace) launches. The platform has been created to transform the way companies and individuals discover and enjoy diverse, curated experiences in offices, homes, and private venues. For creators, it’s a new venue to market services, potentially opening the doors to corporate clients or consumers. Deep dive → ChannelX