🌀 Amazon under fire. Allegations from FTC and class action suits

🛒 Mass merchant marketplaces

• 🌎 Amazon shoppers can buy products on Facebook and Instagram without leaving the apps. Meta users can connect their accounts to Amazon for easy purchases of goods promoted on their feeds. Meta is looking for new ways to bolster ad revenue after Apple’s iOS privacy changes in 2021 made it more difficult for social media companies to target users. Deep dive → CNBC

• 🌎 Wish releases Inaugural counterfeit report. Wish has released its first “Anti-Counterfeiting Report” to provide an overview of the strategies used to combat the listing or sale of counterfeit goods. Wish has processed 9,000 reported IP violations in the last six months, processed 98 percent of all listing removal requests within 24 hours, and blocked fake listings or banned their providers in 700,000 cases. Deep dive → Wish.com

• 🌎 Alibaba is testing its own AI “Aidge”. Alibaba launch pilot for an entire suite of programming interfaces under the collective name “Aidge,”. The APIs based on large language models will in the future analyze customer feedback, simplify the search for content, chat with customers in multiple languages, suggest designs for product advertising, extract important marketing messages, and automatically optimize texts for search engines. Deep dive → ZDnet | Alizila

• 🌎 eBay implemented new feedback enhancements. eBay made changes to the default sort to highlight the most relevant feedback for potential buyers and started rolling out images on feedback to select sellers who have listings with multiple quantities. Starting this month, sellers will be able to preview feedback images on their own sold items. Deep dive → ecommercebytes | eBay

• 🇪🇺 AliExpress asked for details on anti-counterfeiting measures by the European Commission. In line with the Digital Services Act (DSA) Alibaba needs to take action to prevent the trade in illegal products such as counterfeit medicines. Recently, X, Meta and Tiktok received requests for comment from Brussels regarding the fight against disinformation. Deep dive → Reuters

👗 Fashion marketplaces

• 🌎 Shein targets up to US$90 billion valuation in US IPO. Shein was the world’s third-most valuable startup in 2022, when a funding round valued the company at US$100 billion. Its valuation has since dropped along with that of other startups and technology companies as investors grew wary of risky assets amid an uncertain economic outlook and higher interest rates. In private trades, Shein’s valuation has dropped below US$66 billion. Deep dive → TheBusinessTimes

• 🇺🇸 Ole (an on-demand fashion app) delivers luxury fashion items in 50 minutes. Ole secured $500,000 from Y Combinator last year. Ole makes it easy for last-minute shoppers to purchase outfits in time for special occasions, vacations or events. Regarding Ole’s business model, the company takes a 25% commission from retail partners for every order and 5 USD from customers for delivery. Deep dive → TechCrunch

• 🇬🇧 Zalando launches a beta version of its AI shopping companion in UK. Accessible through the Zalando app and web platforms, this conversational interface allows customers to make inquiries about specific brands or styles they are interested in. Deep dive → Apparelresources

• 🇬🇧 Vinted unveils an item verification service in the UK. An optional paid service to check the authenticity of selected designer items is carried out by Vinted’s own experts. The service costs £10 an item for eligible brands listed at £100 or above. It’s paid for by buyers but is free for sellers. The fee includes the verification service fee and shipping costs from the seller to the verification hub. Deep dive → FashionNetwork

• 🇬🇧 Shoppy launches a mobile app builder in the UK. The platform for creating apps on Shopify claims to be the first European no-code mobile app builder for e-commerce. It’s potentially a key development, particularly for smaller sellers who don’t have access to the tech that larger companies can use. Deep dive → FashionNetwork

🍔 Food marketplaces

• 🇺🇸 Getir buys Freshdirect to strenghted US position. Getir hastook over the New York fresh food supplier Freshdirect from Ahold Delhaize, which had to pay 271 million euros for 80 percent of the shares in 2021. Getir took over Gorillas in December 2022, only to drastically slim down in August. In Germany, the company is only active in six of the previous 23 cities. Deep dive → TechCrunch

• 🇺🇸 Amazon is expanding Fresh grocery deliveries to all non-Prime members in US states where Fresh is available. Amazon will get a chance to reach even more customers when it expands grocery delivery and free pickups for non-Prime members at Whole Foods, which is planned for the near future. Deep dive → TheVerge

• 🇮🇳 Swiggy launches photoshoot to help restaurants create better menu images. The photoshoot feature, baked into the Swiggy Owner app, leverages AI to validate, enhance, and refine restaurant menu images. The unicorn’s image AI model rapidly validates images to ensure they meet guidelines and reduce the likelihood of image rejections. Deep dive → INC42

• 🇳🇬 Bolt Food to pull the plug on Nigeria operations in Dec 2023. Bolt cited strategic reasons (streamlining of the resources and maximizing overall efficiency) for shutting down in the country.  Deep dive → TechCabal

• 🇩🇪 Delivery Hero was imposed a fine by the German regulator BaFin. Delivery Hero must pay EUR 630K because it violated the Market Abuse Regulation and did not publish insider information. Deep dive → Finanzen.at

📦Various marketplaces

• 🌎 Amazon is working on its own ChatGPT competitor. The new model, which is codenamed "Olympus," is reportedly twice the size of OpenAI's GPT-4. Amazon is doubling down on AI, investing $4 billion in Anthropic and unveiling an AI-powered Alexa. Deep dive → Businessinsider | ZDnet

• 🌎 BrickLink (Popular Lego marketplace) went offline after a ‘ransom’ demand. The site has been detecting “limited suspicious activity” since mid-October, where unauthorized sellers fraudulently attempted to collect money through unrealistically discounted listings. After coming back online, BrickLink asked all users to change their passwords. Deep dive → TheVerge

• 🇪🇺 Refurbed received another EUR 54 million in investment in a Series C financing round. Refurbed offers refurbished smartphones, laptops, tablets, household appliances, and e-bikes. The Austrian company, founded in 2017, is active in several European countries and plans to expand deeper into the wider European market. According to the company, it is profitable in two countries: Austria and Germany. Deep dive → Forbes

•  🇬🇧 Trouva has launched its first social commerce feature. The online marketplace for independent boutiques and brands has launched “Explore on Trouva” a shoppable short video feed that brings to life the characters, personalities, and faces behind sellers on the platform. It will also guide and inspire customers through their shopping experience by giving them access to expert tips, try-ons, and styling sessions. Deep dive → TheRetailBulletin

🌟Funding/new marketplaces

• 🇬🇧 Cult Mia (London-based online fashion marketplace) raised €2.8 million to lead the way in online conscious luxury fashion. Founded in October 2019, Cult Mia has developed a marketplace model with an unparalleled gross margin in the top 1% of the industry. The company will use the investment to further advance its platform technology, increase efficiencies in acquiring and retaining customers, and expand the core team to cover new product and service offerings planned to roll out in 2024.  Deep dive → Eu-startups

• 🇮🇳 Vaaree (home furnishing & décor marketplace) raises $4 million in a seed round led by Peak XV’s Surge. The new funding will ramp up investments in hiring and enhancing the user experience for its online platform. The startup claims to have delivered 150,000 products to homes across India within a year of launch and grew its offerings to more than 20,000 products. Deep dive → INC42

• 🇪🇸 Vivra gets EUR 145K to make the Airbnb of sport from several relevant business angels in the sector. Vivra's goal is to make it much easier to find your ideal class or teacher for the sport or activity you prefer. Deep dive → ElReferente