More Prime Day Hype, Less Bite🛒

Prime Day 2025 promised fireworks but delivered fog. While Amazon blasted headlines about deals, the data shows most shoppers ran in place on a treadmill of fake discounts, rising prices, and selective perks. Meanwhile, Shein found unexpected fuel for its comeback: boomers. Let's unpack what really moved the needle this week in e-commerce.

INSIGHTS🧠
🛒 More Prime Day Hype, Less Bite
📊 Shein’s Seniors Surge, Temu’s Tumble
🌍 Amazon’s EU Footprint Visualized
📉 Who Really Wins on Price?
🇩🇪 E-Comm Is Back in Germany

NEWS📖
🇺🇸 Amazon bets on AI to power global product info
🇬🇧 AliExpress brings hourly delivery to London
🇨🇳 Shein files for Hong Kong IPO amid London hurdles
🇫🇷 Shein fined €1.1M for fake discounts in France
🇨🇳 Temu enters the European food market
🇬🇧 Amazon expands UK grocery via Gopuff

+ 15 other handpicked news from the last week you need to know 🔥

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

Prime Day 2025 was supposed to be the ultimate shopping frenzy. Instead, the data tells a story with more smoke than fire. Using fresh analysis from John T. Shea (Momentum Commerce), Sander Roose (Omnia Retail), and DataWeave, we cut through the marketing noise to see what shoppers really got for their clicks. If you love myth-busting and hard numbers, you’re in the right place.

Prime Day ’25 delivered more deals than ever—25.3% of products got marked down, up 7% from last year. But here’s the twist: while the sale tags multiplied, the average discount shrank. Non-logged-in users saw just 21.6% off, down 11%. Prime members? They cleaned up, with double the 50%-off offers. Amazon also doubled the deal variety from Day 1 to Day 2, keeping shoppers guessing. More deals, yes, but you had to be a Prime insider to score the real gold.

Prime Day ’25 in Europe looked like a classic retail magic trick: electronics prices spiked weeks ahead of the sale, only to “drop” back to their starting point for Prime Day. The 3-day average price circled right back to where it was a month before. The end result? Those headline discounts often just reset an earlier price hike. Shoppers felt the thrill of a deal—but the savings were mostly déjà vu.

Prime Day ’25 came with heavier price tags across the board. Apparel jumped 10%, health & beauty climbed 8%, and electronics rose 5%—all far above EU inflation at 2% and US at 2.4%. Out of 11K+ SKUs, 47% cost more than last year, with just 40% holding flat. Bottom line: While Amazon sold the idea of a deal, shoppers were running on a retail treadmill—paying more in nearly every aisle.

Amazon’s splashy 29% off for AirPods Pro 2 in the Netherlands looked like a steal, but dig deeper and the real discount was just 7% off last month’s price. Why? The headline number used the manufacturer’s RRP, not Amazon’s own recent price. According to EU rules, retailers must reference their lowest 30-day price—making this deal less of a bargain and more a masterclass in marketing smoke and mirrors.

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Trade tensions are back and the July 9th tariff deadline is looming, but the real plot twist comes from the latest Consumer Edge, US Transaction Data, July 2025 and the "Shein’s Shine Matures, Temu’s Troubles Persist" article. Shein is staging a US comeback just as Temu flatlines, thanks to bigger baskets and a gray wave of shoppers. This is a data-driven look at how Shein turned its fortunes—and left both Temu and Gen Z in the rearview.

Both Shein and Temu crashed hard in April and early May, but only Shein managed a Hollywood ending. Temu’s US spend growth collapsed from +40% to -40% growth year over year and flatlined as trade fears rose. Meanwhile, Shein turned the tide—going from a brutal -25% in mid-May to solid positive territory by late June. As tariffs loom, Shein’s adaptability leaves Temu out in the cold.

The fuel behind Shein’s rebound? Order size. Average ticket values at Shein jumped 20–30% YoY since mid-May, the result of well-telegraphed price hikes. Transaction counts were still down—falling as much as -35% YoY—but steadily climbed back, closing June only slightly negative. This wasn’t about getting more shoppers through the digital door, but making sure every shopper spent more per trip.

Move over, Gen Z. Shein’s US comeback is powered by a gray wave. Shoppers aged 65+ ramped up spend over 50% YoY in the last 35 days, while those 55–64 also drove gains. Younger buyers sat on the sidelines. This shift suggests grandparents are buying for kids and grandkids—an edge for Shein heading into back-to-school season. H&M and Zara saw nothing like this, proving Shein’s silver surge is the real outlier in fashion right now.

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Claudiu Clement built an interactive tool that reveals how Amazon dominates Europe — Italy leads with a 72% penetration rate in H2 2024, followed by Luxembourg and Germany at ~65-70%. Poland, Denmark, and Ireland are still under 10%. Big takeaway? Amazon isn’t pan-European… yet. 👉 e-Comas via Clement

This chart maps price vs. value across retail. IKEA, Aldi, and Walmart live in the “Strength Zone” — cheap and differentiated. Amazon, Costco? Middle of the pack, but balanced. Shein? A price pit, low on loyalty. Big Lots? RIP. Value ≠ price — differentiation drives survival. 👉 Neil Saunders on LinkedIn

Online sales in Germany hit €39.8B in H1 2025, up 3.5% YoY after 5 quarters of decline. Growth was led by shoes (+7.6%), home textiles (+10.5%), and D2C brands (+5.6%). Asian platforms (Temu, Shein, AliExpress) now drive 1/3 of growth — their share hit 6.4% of orders. 👉 BEVH Report

Tmall is bleeding GMV share in China while Douyin and Kuaishou take the lead. By May 2025, Douyin’s GMV growth spiked past 45% YoY, while JD and Tmall barely climbed into double digits. Livestreaming isn’t a trend — it’s the new mall. 👉 Chart via Eugene Ng

Deloitte’s 2024 Global Retail Outlook shows European retailers scrambling for talent. The best performers (top ⅓) are 7x more likely to invest big in upskilling and tech. 46% will use generative AI for hiring and workforce mgmt. Demographic cliff incoming — automation is survival. 👉 Deloitte Insights

🇺🇸 Amazon bets on AI to power global product info. Amazon’s Project Starfish uses AI to pull product data from 200,000+ websites, aiming to create the world’s ultimate product catalog. The system is expected to boost Amazon Marketplace sales by $7.5 billion in 2025 as it fills gaps and fixes listing errors. 👉 Business Insider

🇬🇧 AliExpress brings hourly delivery to London. AliExpress launched a one-hour delivery service for groceries and essentials across Greater London. Local warehouses and a new courier partnership enable fast same-day service, with plans to expand to more UK cities by year-end. 👉 ChannelX

🇹🇷 Temu launches one-day local delivery in Turkey. Temu opened an operations center in Istanbul and offers one-day delivery via local warehouses, avoiding customs delays and lowering costs. To comply with Turkish regulations, Temu registered locally, moved payment systems from Dublin to Turkey, and runs promotions with free shipping to quickly gain market share. 👉 Sina

🇺🇸 Costco rewards premium members with early entry. Costco now opens U.S. stores an hour early for Executive members, who pay $130/year versus $65 for standard access. The new perk aims to ease crowds and encourage upgrades, covering all 628 U.S. locations. 👉 Fast Company

🇺🇸 99 Ranch Market goes national via Temu. 99 Ranch Market joins Temu’s platform, making Asian grocery staples available nationwide. The partnership helps 99 Ranch break out of its regional footprint and supports Temu’s push into fresh and packaged foods. 👉 Retail TouchPoints

🌍 China’s e-commerce giants pivot to Africa’s Jumia. Chinese sellers from Shopee, AliExpress, and SHEIN are expanding to Africa through Jumia as markets in Asia mature. Jumia’s platform is attracting sellers in fashion, home goods, and electronics, with Nigeria as a major entry point. 👉 ChinaGlobalSouth

🇩🇪 Germany requires online “cancel” button for all. Starting July 2025, German e-shops must add a prominent, one-click “Cancel Contract” button for online orders. The rule boosts consumer rights and brings new compliance costs for e-commerce players. 👉 EcommerceNews.eu

🇵🇱 Allegro offers UK sellers a gateway to CEE. Allegro is helping UK merchants reach 20 million buyers in Central and Eastern Europe by simplifying logistics, payments, and language barriers. New parcel lockers and local partnerships are part of Allegro’s expansion push. 👉 ChannelX

🇵🇱 Allegro and InPost clash over delivery costs. Allegro’s delivery spend jumped 23% to PLN 2.84 billion in 2024, prompting the company to expand its own locker network and cut reliance on InPost. With their deal ending in 2027, both firms are preparing for a new phase in Polish e-commerce logistics. 👉 Business Insider Polska

🇨🇳 Shein files for Hong Kong IPO amid London hurdles. Shein, valued at up to $66 billion, filed for a Hong Kong IPO after regulatory and political delays blocked its London listing. The move comes as Shein faces scrutiny over labor practices and aims to tap Asian capital for what could be Asia’s biggest listing. 👉 CNBC

🇫🇷 Shein fined €1.1M for fake discounts in France. French regulators fined Shein €1.1 million for misleading shoppers with inflated original prices to promote fake discounts. The DGCCRF’s investigation found widespread deceptive practices, pushing Shein to update its promotional rules. 👉 Fashion Dive

🇺🇸 Google launches Doppl app for virtual outfit try-ons. Google rolled out Doppl, an AI app letting shoppers see how clothes fit on their own photos before buying. Doppl partners with brands like Levi’s and H&M, aiming to cut returns and boost online sales with realistic try-on tech. 👉 TechCrunch

🇳🇱 Secret Sales acquires Dutch rivals to grow in Europe. UK’s Secret Sales bought The Little Green Bag and Winkelstraat.nl in a multi-million euro deal, doubling its reach in Benelux and adding 1.2 million customers. CEO Chris Griffin plans more acquisitions in Germany and France to drive €200M sales by 2026. 👉 Internet Retailing

🇪🇺 Zalando partners with Circ on recycled fashion line. Zalando teamed up with Circ, a US recycling tech firm, to launch fashion collections made from fiber-to-fiber recycled textiles. The first exclusive line drops late 2025, with Zalando aiming for 25% recycled content in private labels by 2027. 👉 Ecotextile

🇩🇪 Club L London launches German site as global sales jump. Club L London launched a German-language website after orders from Germany surged 40% year-on-year. CEO Al Ashworth says international sales now make up 60% of revenue, with plans to launch sites for France and Spain next. 👉 365Retail

🇨🇳 Temu enters the European food market. Temu, the Chinese online giant, now sells food and FMCG items in Europe, focusing on local sourcing to cut delivery times and meet regional tastes. The company’s 2024 revenue for Temu and Shein reached nearly €100 billion. 👉 RetailDetail

🇬🇧 Amazon expands UK grocery via Gopuff. Amazon UK launched instant grocery delivery through Gopuff, offering delivery in as fast as 15 minutes across several UK cities. The partnership includes price-matching to Aldi, discounts on essentials, and covers thousands of grocery items. 👉 ChannelX

🇨🇳 Meituan sets new delivery order records. Meituan broke its own record, reaching 150 million orders in a single day amid fierce e-commerce competition in China. Over 80% of these were food orders, with the surge fueled by discount wars and subsidy campaigns from rivals like JD.com and Alibaba. 👉 SCMP

🇬🇧 Just Eat launches summer membership. Just Eat UK introduced “Just Eat+,” a summer subscription for unlimited free delivery from 90,000 restaurants for £5.99. The move targets rivals with broad coverage from pizza to groceries, aiming for more loyalty and higher order frequency. 👉 Retail Gazette

🇺🇸 Instacart adds instant wage access for shoppers. Instacart’s new debit card, launched with Branch and Mastercard, lets shoppers access earnings instantly and get cashback on fuel. The move supports gig workers with perks like priority batches and free Instacart+ membership. 👉 PYMNTS

🇪🇸 Judge rejects Just Eat complaint against Glovo. A Barcelona court dismissed Just Eat’s €295 million claim against Glovo for unfair competition, stating Glovo’s rider model is legal and doesn’t harm Just Eat’s market share. The court noted Glovo’s model gave riders more autonomy after 2019. 👉 Catalan News

🇺🇸 Seattle has highest DoorDash delivery fees in US. Seattle now leads the country in DoorDash delivery prices, with fees over double those in Denver and San Francisco. The hike follows new city regulations and marks the third increase this year, making delivery expensive for locals. 👉 KOMO News

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MarketMaze team