In partnership with

Welcome to MarketMaze, the #1 newsletter for staying on top of the latest in Ecommerce & Marketplaces. Get all the insights you need in just 5 minutes!

🧠 Big Story: 
Zalando ‘25: What’s Next?⏭️

📊 Key Data:
Luxury Marketplaces in Trouble?😰

+ over 20 handpicked hot news from the last week you need to know 🔥

We're ditching news.marketmaze and consolidating everything under marketmaze.com. Why? Because less is more — and frankly, chasing full-article content isn't where we shine.

Instead, we’re doubling down on what we do best: insights. Expect sharper takes, actionable data, and curated links to the best content out there. No fluff, no filler — just the stuff that moves the needle.

Next up? Our Wednesday report will dive into live commerce

Zalando ‘25: What’s Next?

The numbers are in:
Zalando is gearing up for 4–9% growth in 2025.

The financial strategy outlines a clear path from 2020–24 with targeted growth ranges between 4% and 9%.

It’s a calculated expansion: steady growth blended with ambitious targets.

Some tailwind coming from underlying eFashion marekt

EU fashion e-commerce penetration has had its ups and downs:

→ 12% in 2015
→ 19% in 2019
→ COVID surge to 29% in 2020–21

After peaking, penetration dipped slightly to 26% in 2023 but is projected to recover to 28% in 2024, aligning with the pre-COVID growth trend.

By 2028, Zalando predicts penetration to hit 34% — a sign of stable, predictable growth.

Zalando’s B2C strategy in 2025 revolves around three strategic pillars:

1️⃣ Quality Shopping Experience
→ Expanding the Zalando Plus loyalty program to most markets in 2025 (already live in Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Netherlands, Switzerland, and Austria).
→ Launching in Portugal, Greece, and Bulgaria to reach new markets.
→ Strengthening local convenience with their proprietary “try before you pay” solution — a hit in Germany, now expanded to 8 more markets.

2️⃣ Lifestyle Destination
→ Boosting categories like Fashion, Lounge by Zalando, Beauty, Kids & Family, and Sports with broader assortments, personalised inspiration, and seamless convenience.
→ Expanding Beauty to Spain and Finland (now serving 13 markets).
→ Expanding Lounge by Zalando to 5 new markets, reaching 22 markets in total.

3️⃣ Inspiration & Entertainment
→ Expanding Stories on Zalando, their content hub for fashion and culture trends.
→ Since its late 2023 launch:
✅ 500+ stories
✅ Featuring 700+ brands
✅ Highlighting 7,000+ products

Zalando’s ZEOS is transforming its B2B operations by offering logistics infrastructure, software, and services to brands and retailers — on or off Zalando’s platform.

In 2025, ZEOS is scaling fast:

→ Now active in 12 markets following expansion to Switzerland, Poland, and Spain.
→ Merchants can sell on 10 different channels, including their own websites and 9 major marketplaces (covering 85% of Europe’s total marketplace volume).
→ Enhanced logistics control via ZEOS.ONE, the all-in-one control panel.

NEXT Partnership:
→ In 2025, Zalando will become the fulfilment partner for UK-based retailer NEXT, managing its online direct-to-consumer orders across continental Europe (similarly to Pepe Jeans).
→ This partnership unlocks new features like:
✅ Virtual bonded warehousing
✅ Improved onboarding and inventory management
✅ Expanded ZEOS services in 10 additional markets

Despite the buzz around B2B, B2C still drives over 90% of Zalando’s revenue and EBIT.

The challenge?

Sustain momentum in B2C while strategically building B2B revenue streams.

(Think: playing offense and defense — all at once.)

Excited to see how 2025 unfolds.

Luxury Marketplaces in Trouble?😰 

Luxury platforms like Farfetch, Vestiaire Collective, Poshmark, and The RealReal are facing challenges despite moving billions in transactions as reported by ECDB.

💰 Big GMV Doesn’t Mean Profitability

• Farfetch leads with $2.9B GMV but just 2.6% growth.

• Vestiaire Collective is growing fastest at 11.5%, yet GMV is only $474.8M.

• Despite high sales, none have reported positive operating profit in recent years.

🔎 Costly Operations & Disputed Acquisitions

• Authenticating luxury items is labor-intensive and expensive.

• Farfetch and Poshmark were recently acquired by Coupang and Naver, sparking concerns about whether non-luxury giants can maintain their exclusivity.

⚖️ The Big Question:
Can these marketplaces survive by balancing affordability with luxury's exclusivity?

The RealReal is betting on AI for faster, cheaper authentication — and it's seeing rising engagement from budget-conscious shoppers.

Are luxury marketplaces adapting — or are they stuck in the middle, losing both exclusivity and growth?

🇺🇸 Amazon Eyes Global Expansion for Discount Platform Haul. Amazon is expanding Haul to Europe and Mexico in 2025. Launched in the US in Nov 2023, it sells items under $20, like $1 eyelash curlers and $2.99 rings. 👉 CNBC

🇧🇷 TikTok Shop Enters Brazil and Japan for 2025 Rollout. TikTok Shop will launch in Brazil in April and Japan in June 2025. It offers curated shopping content with QR codes for top brands. 👉 Dao Insights

🇺🇸 Amazon Grounds Drones in Texas Over Noise and Crashes. Amazon halted drone flights in College Station, TX, after noise and safety complaints. Two crashes and resident outcry forced a software update pause. 👉 Wired

🇵🇱 AliExpress Unveils Best Price Guarantee in Poland. AliExpress now offers a best price guarantee for Polish buyers. If a cheaper price is found within 7 days, buyers get a refund on 'Big Save' items. 👉 Antyweb

🇺🇸 Walmart May Raise Prices Amid Trump Tariff Threats. Walmart's CFO warned prices may rise if tariffs hit imports from China, Canada, and Mexico. Egg shortages and high inflation add pressure for consumers. 👉 Quartz

🇩🇪 Joyn Launches On-Demand Channel with Otto. Joyn and Otto teamed up to launch a branded on-demand channel in Feb 2025. The channel offers 7+ hrs of shopping shows with QR codes for easy buys. 👉 PR-Agent

🇩🇪 Shopify Merchants Boost Loyalty Programs for Growth. A study shows 88% of Shopify merchants value loyalty programs. 65% use them and 48% plan to add one soon to drive sales in 2025. 👉 Retail News

🇬🇧 Swap Secures $40M to Aid Global Cross-Border Trade. London startup Swap raised $40M Series B to build tools for merchants facing tariffs and logistics issues. It serves 500 brands and plans to expand to US, EU, AU, and CA. 👉 TechCrunch

🇲🇽 Mexico Imposes 19% Import Tax; Resellers Hike Prices by 20% in MX. Mexico added a 19% tariff in Dec on imports from China and others. Resellers now raise prices 15–20% as local textile jobs dropped by 20K and $4.5B in textiles came from China in '23. 👉 Rest of World

🇬🇧 UK Shoppers Embrace Social Media for Luxury Fashion Buys. A YouGov survey of 2K UK consumers shows 27% buy luxury via TikTok and Instagram. In-depth reviews (49%) and UGC (32%) drive buys as 24% trust micro-influencers. 👉 FashionUnited

🇬🇧 PrettyLittleThing Rebrands to Elevate Luxe. Boohoo’s PrettyLittleThing launched a rebrand titled “A Legacy in Progress.” Co-founder Umar Kamani now leads the shift from fast fashion to modern, customer-inspired style. 👉 FashionUnited

🇰🇷 Farfetch Boosts Coupang Rev, Yet Sees Q4 Profit Hit Loss Margin!!. Farfetch helped Coupang’s Q4 net rev jump 21% to $8B with a Developing Segment up 296%. However, a $118M loss in that segment dragged Q4 net income to $131M and FY to $66M. 👉 FashionNetwork

🇩🇪 Global Fashion Group Cuts Loss, Aims for Stable NMV & Rev Growth!. GFG cut its loss in 2024 with €743.5M in rev (down 11.3%) and €1.14B NMV (down 10.7%). Q4 NMV was nearly flat at –0.3%, showing progress amid a tough market. 👉 FashionUnited.de

🇬🇧 ASOS Debuts Arrange, A New Premium Brand for Luxe Essentials Now!. ASOS launched Arrange, a premium brand with a capsule of dresses and luxe essentials priced £25–£325. Exec Vanessa Spence highlights bold design and fine craftsmanship in the new line. 👉 The Retail Bulletin

🇺🇸 Grubhub Cuts 20% Workforce After 650M Wonder Acquisition Shake-up. On Mar 1, 2025, Grubhub fired 500 staff after being acquired by Wonder. The cut slashes layers to trim costs. 👉 Tech in Asia

🇮🇪 Just Eat Drone Delivery Takes Off in Dublin, Cutting 3-Min Waits. On Mar 7, 2025, Just Eat launched drone delivery in Dublin with Manna Drones. Orders reach customers in 3 mins, sparking a fast, low-cost service shift. 👉 Euronews

🇦🇪 Talabat Boosts Market with $32M InstaShop Buy, Expands Reach now. On Mar 6, 2025, Talabat acquired InstaShop for $32M to boost its grocery GMV over $2.5B. InstaShop stays independent as it serves UAE and Egypt markets. 👉 Menabytes

🇺🇸 Instacart Upgrades Tech with FoodStorm Kiosk Integration. On Feb 28, 2025, Instacart added FoodStorm kiosks for real-time tracking in stores. The upgrade lets customers order interactively and ups sales during busy hours. 👉 Chain Store Age

🇺🇸 DoorDash Settles $16.75M Pay Dispute with 63K NY Drivers. The settlement ends claims of misusing tips to cover base pay from 2017–2019. 👉 Smart Cities Dive

🇺🇸 Instacart Rolls Out AI to Scan Shelves and Boost Grocery Ops Fast. On Mar 6, 2025, Instacart began testing AI to scan shelves using Caper Carts and NVIDIA Jetson. CEO Fidji Simo cited 300M AI swaps in 2024 with a 95% satisfaction rate. 👉 Grocery Dive

❤️ Your Opinion matters!

Share your thoughts on today’s email with just 1 click in the poll—it’s quick and helps us improve.

For questions or more feedback, reply to this email.

Best,
MarketMaze team