Amazon Retail’s Quiet Takeover🚚

🇨🇳 Pinduoduo ramps up AI hiring in e-commerce. Pinduoduo is recruiting AI experts to build new e-commerce tech, focusing on multimodal algorithms for product recognition and content. The move signals its push into AI, joining peers like Alibaba and Tencent in an AI race. 👉 Yicai Global

🇺🇸 Amazon Autos now sells used cars online. Amazon Autos lets customers buy used and certified pre-owned cars online, starting in Los Angeles and expanding to 130+ US cities. The platform offers 3-day return, 30-day warranty, and pricing transparency, making car buying easier. 👉 About Amazon

🇺🇸 eBay launches new vehicle checkout solution. eBay rolled out "Secure Purchase," a digital checkout that bundles payment, financing, registration, and title transfer for car buyers and sellers. 👉 eBay Inc.

🇨🇳 Taobao debuts six-tier loyalty program. Alibaba’s Taobao launched a free loyalty scheme with six levels, giving 1 billion users perks like 20% discounts and Hilton/Marriott hotel status for top spenders. 👉 SCMP

🇳🇱 Otto exits Dutch market after 46 years. German retailer Otto is closing operations in the Netherlands, affecting 70 jobs after years of losses. The brand will focus on its profitable marketplace model in Germany as classic retail struggles in Dutch e-commerce. 👉 Ecommerce News EU

🇰🇷 Coupang posts record sales, expands in Taiwan. Coupang’s Q2 2025 revenue hit $8.5B, up 19% in KRW, with net income swinging to a $310M profit. Growth is fueled by fast delivery, a surge in Taiwan, and new AI tools for logistics and content. 👉 ZDNet Korea

🇺🇸 Amazon brings back star-only ratings, sellers react. Amazon will again let buyers leave star ratings without written reviews, hoping for more feedback and higher averages. Sellers are upset since star-only feedback can’t be appealed or explained. 👉 Value Added Resource

🇮🇹 Shein fined €1M for greenwashing in Italy. Italy’s AGCM hit Shein with a €1 million fine for misleading eco-claims about its “evoluSHEIN by Design” range. The watchdog cited exaggerated messaging as Shein faces global scrutiny, following a €40 million fine in France for similar issues. 👉 Euronews

🇺🇸 Shein’s $10B Q1 sales surge before US tariffs. Shein pulled in nearly $10 billion in Q1 2025, earning $400 million profit as US buyers rushed orders before new tariffs in May. The boom is fading fast as daily active users drop and new rules squeeze Shein’s cross-border playbook. 👉 Retail-News

🇬🇧 Vinted expands pickups with Royal Mail & Collect+. UK Vinted buyers can now collect parcels at over 2,000 Royal Mail lockers and 8,000 Collect+ points, joining 22,000+ total locations. 👉 ChannelX World

🇮🇪 Primark app debuts in Ireland and Italy, letting shoppers browse collections, check store stock, and get notifications. The move blends online and in-store, with UK launch planned within 18 months. 👉 Drapers Online

🇩🇪 Zalando raises 2025 outlook after About You deal, with Q2 revenue up 7.3% to €2.8B and 52.9M active users. The company is launching AI-powered tools and expanding B2B services to drive growth. 👉 The Retail Bulletin

🇪🇺 Zalando adds 3 million new European customers, reaching 52.9 million users. Q2 GMV rose 5% to €4.1B as Zalando bet on its marketplace, B2B tools, and AI-powered shopping feeds to fuel growth. 👉 Ecommerce News EU

🇮🇳 Decathlon India targets $1B sales in 5 years. Decathlon India, with 132 stores, aims for ₹7,500–8,000 crore (~$1B) sales by 2030, doubling store count and ramping local sourcing to 90%. FY24 revenue hit ₹4,008 crore with ₹197 crore profit. 👉 Business Standard

🇨🇳 JD.com and IKEA China launch flagship store. JD.com and IKEA China joined forces to open a virtual home store with 6,500 products in 168 categories, using 3D tech for a better shopping experience. Orders are shipped nationwide via JD Logistics as part of IKEA's omnichannel push. 👉 The Retail Bulletin

🇺🇸 Serve Robotics, Little Caesars launch robot pizza. Serve Robotics and Little Caesars are rolling out autonomous pizza delivery robots in Los Angeles via Uber Eats. The robots carry up to four pizzas and other items, aiming to expand robot deliveries and boost convenience. 👉 Serve Robotics

🇺🇸 DoorDash Q2 revenue jumps 25% to $3.28B. DoorDash’s Q2 revenue grew to $3.28 billion and net income hit $285 million, with orders up 20% to 761 million. Gross order value rose 23% and the company expects strong Q3 numbers as delivery demand stays high. 👉 CNBC

🇳🇱 Ahold Delhaize online sales turn profitable. Ahold Delhaize made its e-commerce unit profitable for the first time as online sales rose 14% to €2.5 billion and total revenue hit €23.1 billion. 👉 RetailDetail

🇺🇸 Uber Q2 profit beats with $0.63 EPS, $12.7B revenue. Uber posted Q2 revenue of $12.65 billion, a rise of 18%, and earnings of $0.63 per share, plus a $20 billion stock buyback. Bookings climbed 17% as Uber expanded rides, delivery, and robotaxi plans. 👉 CNBC

🇬🇧 Deliveroo lifts profit forecast after strong H1. Deliveroo expects full-year core profit between £170M and £190M, the top half of its guidance, after higher orders and volumes. The DoorDash acquisition is on track for Q4, pending final approval. 👉 LSE

🇮🇳 Swiggy launches DeskEats for Indian offices. Swiggy’s new DeskEats offers food delivery to over 7,000 offices in 30 cities, with 700,000 menu items grouped into work-friendly choices. 👉 Economic Times

🇵🇱 InPost builds Europe’s largest parcel locker network. InPost is expanding fast, aiming for over 70,000 out-of-home parcel lockers across 9 countries by 2025. In 2023, it handled 892 million parcels and earned more than €1.5 billion, partnering with top e-commerce brands to strengthen its European reach. 👉 logistyka.rp.pl

🇩🇪 DHL Group revenue slips, holds profit guidance. DHL posted €41.3 billion in H1 2025 revenue, down from €42.7 billion last year, and EBIT of €3.2 billion. CEO Tobias Meyer says cost discipline and automation are priorities as DHL keeps its 2025 profit target despite global slowdowns. 👉 group.dhl.com

🇺🇸 US import rules could cut DHL profit by 3%. New US policy lowering the $800 de minimis threshold could reduce DHL’s profits by 3%. The move threatens fast parcel flows from China and raises compliance costs for DHL’s $7B US business, potentially hitting e-commerce sellers and consumers. 👉 freightwaves.com

🇨🇦 Cargojet & DHL sign $2.3B Canada-US air deal. Cargojet and DHL have renewed their multi-year air cargo partnership, valued at over CAD $2.3 billion, to keep e-commerce deliveries fast across North America. 👉 newswire.ca

🇺🇸 UPS raises shipping prices for big, light packages. UPS will round up dimensions to the next inch for shipping charges starting October 2025. Up to 30% of parcels could cost more, hitting e-commerce sellers as UPS aligns with FedEx and urges smarter packaging. 👉 supplychaindive.com

🇬🇧 eBay UK & DHL launch discounted Simple Delivery, giving sellers discounted, tracked delivery for parcels up to 15kg. The August 2025 launch aims to help sellers compete with Amazon and Vinted on delivery speed and cost. 👉 valueaddedresource.net

🇺🇸 Amazon plans ads in Alexa conversations. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy wants to add ads to Alexa’s voice assistant. The goal is to let brands target users based on what they say, blending ads into regular conversations. This move follows a $47B ad business in 2024 and comes as Amazon faces losses in Devices & Services. 👉 TechCrunch

🇺🇸 Instagram blocks Live for small accounts. Instagram will stop public accounts with under 1,000 followers from going Live. The change, starting August 2025, aims to reduce spam and abuse. Instagram says it will help safety, but some small creators might struggle. This follows similar Meta moves on Facebook. 👉 Engadget

🇩🇪 Germany weighs raising social media age. A German expert panel will review if the legal age for social media should go up from 16. The move, backed by the Ministry for Digital and Transport, comes after new reports of mental health risks for minors. The commission will share results by the end of 2025. 👉 T3N.de

🇩🇪 OTTO launches keyword targeting for ads. Early results show higher click-through rates and better ad performance. This puts OTTO in direct competition with Amazon Ads and Zalando Marketing Services. 👉 OTTO

🇺🇸 TikTok tests price check for sellers. TikTok is rolling out a price check tool to show sellers the average price of similar products before they list. The new feature, live in the UK and US, uses AI to help sellers compete and lower return rates. Over 500,000 merchants are on TikTok Shop. 👉 ChannelX

🇺🇸 TikTok tracks user activity after ads. TikTok is testing “Engaged Session” to track what users do on brand websites after clicking ads. Advertisers get better data on what drives sales. The test is live in the US and UK, and more brands are spending on TikTok ads. 👉 TheKeyword

🇺🇸 Meta’s AI boosts Instagram ad conversions. Meta says Instagram ad conversions rose 5% in Q2 2025, thanks to AI-powered ad targeting. The company earned $36.7B from ads, up 12%. 👉 Storyboard18

🇺🇸 Google gives advertisers more PMax controls. Advertisers get better placement data, budget pacing, and ways to exclude low-performing channels. 👉 Search Engine Journal

🇺🇸 ChatGPT Queries Indexed by Google. Some public ChatGPT conversations are getting picked up by Google and other search engines, making user questions and sensitive info visible to anyone online. OpenAI says public links are opt-in, but experts warn of data privacy risks as AI chat sharing grows. 👉 TechCrunch

🇮🇱 Wix Launches Financial Services Suite with business bank accounts, cards, and capital tools for SMBs, integrating Stripe and Payoneer. CEO Avishai Abrahami says it helps businesses manage money and boosts Wix's role as a one-stop shop. 👉 Wix

🇨🇦 Shopify Rolls Out Universal Cart and AI. Shopify now lets shoppers buy across multiple stores with a Universal Cart and uses new AI tools for recommendations and smarter search. Merchants can expect higher conversion rates and easier cross-shop sales as Shopify fights for global e-commerce share. 👉 PYMNTS

🇪🇺 Shopify GMV Up 42% in Europe, beating growth in North America and Asia. SMEs in Germany, UK, and France drive the surge, helped by new localization tools, payments, and logistics partners like DHL. 👉 Ecommerce News Europe

🇸🇪 Klarna Eyes September 2025 IPO, after improving financials and growing BNPL use. CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski and banks like Goldman Sachs watch market sentiment as Klarna targets one of Europe’s biggest fintech listings this year. 👉 TechCrunch

🇨🇦 Descartes Buys Inventory Platform for $40M, adding advanced stock tracking for over 2,000 online sellers. 👉 FreightWaves

🇩🇪 Spryker Launches B2B Self-Service Portal. Spryker rolled out a B2B self-service portal letting buyers handle orders, invoices, and catalogs online. 👉 The Paypers