🌀TODAY’S MAZE

Happy Sunday! The U.S. is cracking down on Chinese tech while Trump is threatening to hit China with sky‑high tariffs; the fallout already roils markets and your shopping cart. We explore how Washington’s moves are reshaping commerce and spotlight the biggest shifts in retail and platforms.

Maze Focus🌀
🚫 Gadget Purge
💢 Tariff Threat Escalates

Market Briefing📖
🇺🇸 Amazon cuts HR staff for AI push
🇨🇳 Alibaba’s AI investment breaks even
🇺🇸 Holiday budgets tumble 10.2%
🇩🇪 Zalando adds AI discovery feed
🇺🇸 Ulta opens invitation‑only marketplace
🇨🇳 Shein ramps up governance after fines

+ 10 other handpicked news from the last week you need to know 🔥

LET’S ENTER THE MAZE!
- Artur Stańczuk, MarketMaze Founder

🌀 MAZE STORY

🚫 Gadget Purge

The Briefing: The FCC forced Amazon, Walmart and peers to scrub millions of Chinese gadgets off their sites. These weren’t quirky kitchen tools but cameras and watches from firms Washington calls a national‑security risk.

The details:

  • On Oct 10 2025, FCC chair Brendan Carr said U.S. retailers pulled several million listings for Chinese electronics on the Covered List or lacking approvals.

  • The purge included smartwatches and security cameras from Huawei, Hikvision, ZTE and Dahua that Carr warned could spy on Americans.

  • The crackdown foreshadows an Oct 28 vote to bar devices with blacklisted components and highlights probes into nine Chinese firms.

Why it matters: U.S.–China tech tensions are no longer abstract. Scrubbing popular gadgets shows Washington will weaponise marketplaces to police national security and hints at tougher rules ahead.

📣 FROM OUR PARTNERS

Most teams don’t need more calls, they need better recall. Fathom turns conversations into searchable notes: automatic recording and transcription, instant summaries and highlights, and one-click sharing that gets action items where work happens.

✔ Record and transcribe every call automatically
✔ Get instant summaries and highlight clips
✔ Works with Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet

Let your meetings do the writing. You focus on decisions.

🌀 MAZE STORY

💢 Tariff Threat Escalates

The Briefing: Trump wants to slap China with a 100% levy next month to punish rare‑earth curbs and police critical software. Markets dived and Beijing bristled, yet talks may still happen.

The details:

  • On Oct 12 2025 Trump vowed to impose a 100% tariff on Chinese imports on Nov 1, adding to the existing 30% duty, and threatened export controls on “any and all” critical software.

  • He called Beijing’s rare‑earth restrictions a “moral disgrace,” wiping 2.7% off the S&P 500, 1.8% off the Dow and 3.6% off the Nasdaq as investors fled.

  • Treasury secretary Scott Bessent later said the levy was “not sustainable”; analysts say duties could reach about 130% even as both sides agree to meet.

Why it matters: The threat resets the U.S.–China trade truce and endangers a trade corridor worth $438.9 billion in imports and $143.5 billion in exports. It will test whether the two powers can negotiate while trading blows and whether voters will tolerate price spikes from a 130% tariff wall.

📣 FROM OUR PARTNERS

Most sellers don’t lose on traffic. They lose on price timing. Aura’s AI repricer watches Amazon and Walmart in real time and adjusts your price to win the Buy Box while protecting profit. Buy Box = the top “Add to Cart” offer. Works with FBA (Fulfilled by Amazon) and WFS (Walmart Fulfillment Services).

✔ AI strategies that react in seconds
✔ Smart floors and ceilings to guard margin and MAP (Minimum Advertised Price)
✔ Amazon + Walmart in one place, with clear analytics

Set rules, stay in control, and let the bot do the midnight price swings.

📰 ECOMMERCE PLAYER BRIEFING

🛒 General Ecommerce (Mass Platforms)

🇺🇸Shoppers buy via ChatGPT at Walmart. Walmart’s tie‑up with OpenAI lets customers link accounts, have ChatGPT plan meals and restock goods, boosting referral traffic and sending shares up 5%.

🇺🇸Amazon cuts HR staff for AI push. Amazon plans to axe up to 15% of its 10k‑plus HR division while pouring over $100bn into AI data centres and hiring 250k seasonal workers.

🇨🇳Alibaba’s AI investment breaks even. Alibaba says its 380bn yuan AI bet on Taobao and Tmall now pays for itself with a 12% boost to ad returns, though executives warn of a data‑centre bubble.

🇺🇸Holiday budgets tumble 10.2%. A JLL survey shows average U.S. holiday spending will drop to $1,133, with low‑income households cutting 24%, high earners spending 26% more, and 79% seeking inspiration on social media.

🇪🇺Temu’s EU profits jump 171%. Temu’s EU unit logged profits near $120m on $1.7bn in sales despite employing just eight people, sparking calls for tax scrutiny as 4.6bn parcels flood Europe from China.

🇨🇳Temu’s 51‑day Black Friday sale. Chinese logistics firm U‑Speed warns sellers to stock U.S. warehouses for Temu’s marathon sale starting Oct 9, projecting $9.8bn online spend and 70% of consumers caring about delivery time.

🇵🇱Allegro builds giant sorting hub. Polish marketplace Allegro is erecting a 27k m² automated hub in Piotrków to speed deliveries across Central Europe, with 144 docks, solar panels and 300 jobs.

🇨🇳Alibaba unleashes AI on Singles Day. Alibaba’s Singles Day festival features generative AI across Taobao and Tmall, 50bn‑yuan coupons and 15% discounts, aiming to fend off rivals like PDD and Meituan.

👗Vertical Ecommerce (Fashion, Home, Beauty)

🇵🇹Zalando targets Portugal & Spain. Zalando launched a Portuguese site and added beauty in Spain, offering 200k items and an AI assistant as it chases 3m new customers and entry into 28 markets.

🇩🇪Zalando adds AI discovery feed. The German e‑tailer rolled out its TikTok‑style discovery feed to 22 markets, letting shoppers follow brands and share boards as it shifts from search to inspiration.

🇺🇸Ulta opens invitation‑only marketplace. UB Marketplace debuts with 100+ vetted brands via Mirakl, integrates with Ulta’s site and app, and earns but doesn’t redeem loyalty points as it scales over 18 months.

🇨🇳Shein ramps up governance after fines. Hit with over €190m in EU fines for cookies, discounts and greenwashing, Shein is creating a Business Integrity Group and expanding audits while revenue growth slows.

🇺🇸Shein takes hit from U.S. tariff war. Shein warns that ending the $800 de minimis rule could slash shipments by 60%; profits slid 13% to $1.3bn even as revenue hit $37bn and prices jumped after May 2 tariffs.

🇸🇪IKEA sales slip despite higher volumes. IKEA’s FY25 sales fell 1% to €44.6bn after price cuts averaging 10%, yet volumes rose 3% and visits climbed as it opens 54 new stores and battles U.S. tariffs.

🇸🇪IKEA parent buys Locus logistics firm. Ingka Group acquired AI logistics start‑up Locus to own last‑mile delivery, adding route optimisation tech while online sales already represent 28% of IKEA’s turnover.

🇫🇷Showroomprive sells Bradery back. The flash‑sale firm will offload its 52.75% stake in The Bradery for €23m, valuing the brand at €43.6m after revenue surged from €21.7m to €62.9m since 2021.

🇬🇧John Lewis debuts supplier platform. John Lewis launched a Mirakl‑powered supplier platform with Russell & Bromley, adding 100 premium labels and piloting rapid delivery to become the ‘home of premium brands’.

SHARE THE MAZE

Your network thinks you’re as smart as the content you share. Share smarter stuff and help us grow. Win–win. Here’s what you get when friends join the Maze:

Here is your unique referral link to share with friends:

and link to the hub to check your progress.

THAT’S IT FOR TODAY!

Before you go we’d love to know what you thought of today's maze to help us improve!

See you next time in the maze!
MarketMaze team

Reply

or to participate