🌏 Lazada ramps up fashion category across SEA
Lazada is investing in fashion livestreaming and creator programs in Indonesia, Thailand & Vietnam.
👗 TikTok-style content + in-app checkout
📈 40% YoY growth in fashion GMV
🧩 Strategy: Compete directly with TikTok Shop
💡 Sellers: Think video-first, even for classic product categories

TikTok Shop expands to Germany, France, and Italy
🇩🇪🇫🇷🇮🇹 The platform is stepping deeper into Europe, focusing on local logistics and partnerships with domestic sellers.
📌 TikTok Shop aims to replicate its Asian success, where social commerce is already mainstream.

Top 100 marketplaces hit $3.83T GMV 📊 Over the past 6 years, the total sales volume of the largest marketplaces has nearly doubled, reaching $3.83 trillion GMV in 2024.

🔥 The market is still expanding, but competition is intensifying — new players are entering aggressively, while established ones are boosting tech and logistics.

Target Plus aims for $5B GMV by 2029 🎯 US retailer Target is building its Target Plus marketplace differently: instead of onboarding thousands of sellers, they carefully curate partners.
💡 This “curated strategy” helps maintain customer trust and avoid low-quality or counterfeit goods. By 2029, they aim to hit $5 billion in gross merchandise volume.
📌 It’s a contrast to the quantity-driven race of Amazon or Walmart.

Niche marketplaces are outpacing the giants
📈 Research shows specialized platforms are growing twice as fast as general marketplaces, especially in Europe. Since 2019, they’ve added $1.7 trillion in consumer spending.
💡 Why? They have a clearly defined target audience, stronger loyalty, and less direct price warfare with the giants. Shoppers come for expertise and unique products, not just low prices.
🎯 Examples include marketplaces focused on home goods, auto parts, or premium fashion.

Walmart declares war on counterfeits 🛡 The US retail giant is ramping up its oversight of Marketplace sellers. A new system automatically tracks suspicious items and removes them before they go live.
🎯 The goal: protect customers and safeguard the brand’s reputation. In the face of rising competition, Walmart is betting on trust — fewer fakes, more verified brands.
💡 These moves could push other platforms to tighten their own checks to avoid losing customers.

📰 JD.com Expands into Europe

Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com beat analyst expectations: Q2 revenue reached 356.7 billion yuan (~$49.7B), driven by strong online demand and the "618" shopping festival.

🔥 The twist: JD.com is moving beyond China — it made a €2.2B offer to acquire German retailer Ceconomy, signaling ambitions to expand into Europe.

🚀 Shopee Reports Record Growth

Shopee’s parent company Sea Ltd. posted its strongest sales growth in years:

📈 Q2 revenue up 38% to $5.26B

e-commerce sales grew 34%

stock price jumped +19% after earnings

💡 Shopee continues to dominate in Southeast Asia and expand in Latin America, proving the marketplace model is back in favor.

⚠️ End of De Minimis: What It Means for Sellers

Starting August 29, 2025, the U.S. will eliminate the de minimis threshold that allowed duty-free imports under $800.

❌ What this means:

prices for marketplace goods (AliExpress, Temu, Etsy, etc.) may rise,

logistics and compliance costs will increase,

small sellers will need to rethink their business models.

📊 Both global marketplaces and end consumers, long used to cheap cross-border deliveries, will feel the impact.

🛒 Best Buy launches its own marketplace

Retailer Best Buy is moving beyond electronics. The new platform now features:
🎸 musical instruments,
🧸 toys,
🍽 home goods, and more.

This is a strategic shift: instead of being narrowly specialized, Best Buy is becoming a full-fledged marketplace, ready to compete with Amazon and Walmart for customer attention.

TikTok Shop: explosive growth creates new seller opportunities

Top Amazon sellers agree: thriving in 2025 means looking to TikTok Shop. With rising competition on Amazon, TikTok’s marketplace has become a fast track for growth, especially when paired with content creators and live selling. The format, similar to QVC, has already shaken up China’s market and is rapidly expanding in the U.S. through TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram.

Marks & Spencer launches secondhand clothing store on eBay

The British retailer is opening a pre-owned clothing shop on eBay as part of its “Another Life” recycling program. Over the past decade, the initiative has collected 36.5 million items through Oxfam donation points. Now it’s even easier: customers can drop off clothes in-store or ship them for free, receiving a £5 voucher in return. Items are then refurbished and listed on eBay, with Oxfam receiving 15% of profits.

🚚 Walmart expands next-day delivery for marketplace sellers
Sellers can now offer next-day delivery in major US cities — Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Houston, and Atlanta.
👉 A strong move in the fight against Amazon: fast delivery directly impacts conversion and customer loyalty.

💄 Indian marketplace Nykaa expands to the UK
FSN E-Commerce (Nykaa’s owner) plans to enter Britain and other countries to compete with global beauty giants.
📈 India is increasingly stepping into the global e-commerce game: first Flipkart, now Nykaa. Who’s next?

🇬🇧 Walmart opens a marketplace office in London The new office will help British brands sell to the U.S. market via Walmart.com.
⚡ Walmart is building a global export network for local products — competition with Amazon and Alibaba is heating up.

💍 The Knot adds AI and new features for sellers The wedding marketplace launched updates: AI tools, trust badges, and enhanced seller-to-customer communication.
✨ Niche marketplaces continue to grow — less competition with giants, more expertise and loyal audiences.

📊 Pattern Group prepares for IPO: revenue +35% The e-commerce accelerator working with Amazon, Walmart, TikTok Shop, and Mercado Libre reported $1.14B revenue in H1 2025.
🚀 The company is going public on Nasdaq under the ticker PTRN. A strong signal that the marketplace industry is still in active growth.

Amazon of Africa Jumia strives for profit: reduction of losses and revenue growth by 25%

Jumia, formerly known as Amazon of Africa, has faced significant challenges since its IPO in 2019, including increased losses and a 70% decline in its share price. However, with the arrival of new CEO Francis Dufay in 2022, the company has reduced losses, focused on its core e-commerce business, and reduced its presence in low-demand countries.

In 2025, Jumia demonstrated revenue growth of 25% and aims to achieve profitability by 2027, despite competition from Chinese giants Temu and Shein.

📦 Important Changes in U.S. Import Rules

Starting August 29, 2025, the Trump administration closed the so-called “de minimis” loophole, which allowed goods valued under $800 to bypass customs duties and inspection.
This decision affected platforms actively involved in international trade, such as eBay, Etsy, and Shopify.
After the announcement, Etsy shares fell by 14%, eBay by 6%, and Shopify by 1%. Shoppers are expected to face additional duties and delivery delays for overseas products.

🛍️ eBay Prepares for Black Friday 2025

eBay has already announced its Black Friday sale on November 28. Significant discounts are expected on popular items including Dyson appliances, Shark vacuums, Ninja air fryers, and more.
Special attention will be given to refurbished products, offering extra savings. The platform will also participate in Cyber Monday on December 1, with additional deals likely.

⚖️ Amazon vs. eBay for Sellers in 2025

In 2025, Amazon and eBay continue to dominate e-commerce, but their selling approaches differ.
Amazon focuses on product pages and the A10 algorithm.

eBay offers more opportunities for individual sellers and auction-style sales.

According to recent data:
📦eBay has about 18 million sellers
📦Amazon has over 9.7 million sellers