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🧠 Big Story:
Who’s Eating Up the US Food Delivery Market? 🍽️

📊 Key Data:
State of AI adoption: US vs EU 🤖

📖 Ecommerce ecosystem news:
🇺🇸 Meta begins testing ads on Threads in US and Japan
🇺🇸 Amazon Ads debuts Brand+ AI for smarter ad targeting
🇯🇵 Shirofune integrates LinkedIn Ads, enhancing campaign management.
🇬🇧 UK Investigates Apple and Google's Mobile Dominance
🇺🇸 Amazon sued for secretly tracking user locations
🇺🇸 Microsoft Ads adds LinkedIn targeting to Performance Max

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

Huge thanks to all who’ve subscribed to MarketMaze+—your support fuels our deep dives into the future of commerce! 🚀 As promised, here’s the Social Commerce Report you’ve been waiting for. China is miles ahead, with social commerce driving 47% of e-commerce sales. Meanwhile, the U.S. is catching up (6.6% by 2025), and Europe is still lagging (5%).

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DoorDash's rise to the top was fueled by logistics, suburban expansion, and aggressive execution. Its market share soared past 50% during COVID and continues growing.

In 2016, Grubhub dominated food delivery. By 2024, DoorDash flipped the script, capturing the largest share. It focused on controlling logistics, giving it an edge over rivals like Uber Eats. By 2019, it surpassed Grubhub, and by 2024, it controlled over 50% of the U.S. market. Uber Eats held 30%, while Grubhub collapsed to less than 10%. DoorDash didn’t just win—it pulled off a historic steal.

DoorDash made five critical moves:
1️⃣ Built a delivery-first model instead of just listing restaurants.
2️⃣ Expanded into suburbs, avoiding urban competition.
3️⃣ Executed at lightning speed, launching DashPass and tracking features first.
4️⃣ Raised over $1B, outspending rivals.
5️⃣ COVID timing—when the pandemic hit, it was already set up to dominate suburban markets while competitors struggled.

Probably worth writing a full report on that!

In 2019, DoorDash had 30% of the market. By 2021, it surged past 50%, fueled by lockdowns and consumer habits shifting online. Uber Eats gained but couldn’t keep up, while Grubhub collapsed. DoorDash’s suburban dominance proved critical, as it had already built a network in areas where demand exploded when dining out stopped.

DoorDash isn’t slowing down. In 2019, it took 8.5% of every order’s value. By 2024, that figure hit 14%, driven by ad revenue and logistics efficiency. It’s expanding into groceries, pet supplies, and ride-sharing with Lyft. The company isn’t just delivering your burritos—it’s making sure you never leave the app.

US employees are using generative AI at a rate three times higher than leaders predict. A McKinsey survey reveals a major perception gap between executives and employees.

A McKinsey survey shows that 13% of US employees already use Gen AI for 30%+ of their tasks. Meanwhile, executives estimate only 4% do. Employees also believe AI will play a bigger role in their work sooner. While 47% expect AI to automate at least 30% of their work within a year, only 20% of leaders agree. This gap suggests executives may underestimate AI’s real impact on workflows.

AI adoption in EU enterprises jumped from 8% to 13.5% in 2024. Denmark (27.6%), Sweden (25.1%), and Belgium (24.7%) are leading the charge. Meanwhile, Romania (3.1%), Poland (5.9%), and Bulgaria (6.5%) trail far behind. Nordic nations saw the biggest increases, with Sweden up 14.7 percentage points and Denmark up 12.4 points. The trend shows a widening digital gap within Europe.

AI for text mining (6.9%), speech recognition (4.8%), and natural language generation (5.4%) nearly doubled in adoption across EU enterprises. Text mining saw a 2.4x jump, while natural language generation rose 2.6x. AI-based automation, image recognition, and machine learning also gained traction. Businesses are integrating AI to process language, improve automation, and enhance decision-making.

Nordic countries dominate AI growth, with Sweden (+14.7pp) and Denmark (+12.4pp) seeing the biggest spikes. The EU average growth was 5.5pp, but Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) saw minimal increases. Portugal (+0.8pp) and Romania (+1.6pp) lagged in AI adoption. The divide raises concerns over digital competitiveness within the EU.

🇺🇸 Meta begins testing ads on Threads in US and Japan. Meta is rolling out ads on Threads, testing them with select advertisers in the US and Japan. The company aims to monetize its 300M-user platform while maintaining user engagement.

🇺🇸 Amazon Ads debuts Brand+ AI for smarter ad targeting. Brand+ leverages AI to optimise video ads on Amazon DSP. Beta tests showed a 10% sales boost and 70% more site traffic.

🇯🇵 Shirofune integrates LinkedIn Ads, enhancing campaign management.. On January 29, 2025, Shirofune announced its integration with LinkedIn Ads, allowing advertisers to manage LinkedIn campaigns alongside platforms like Google and Facebook.

🇬🇧 UK Investigates Apple and Google's Mobile Dominance. The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is examining Apple and Google's control over mobile ecosystems, focusing on operating systems, app stores, and browsers, to assess potential anti-competitive practices.

🇺🇸 Amazon sued for secretly tracking user locations. A lawsuit claims Amazon's Ads SDK collected and sold user data without consent. The complaint, filed in San Francisco, alleges violations of California's privacy laws.

🇺🇸 Microsoft Ads adds LinkedIn targeting to Performance Max. Microsoft is testing new Performance Max features, including LinkedIn targeting, granular reporting, and smart conversion tracking in six major markets.

🇺🇸 Google launches Meridian for marketing measurement. Google's open-source tool, Meridian, helps brands measure ad performance more effectively. It integrates with Google's MMM Data Platform for deeper insights.

🇺🇸 OpenAI's Operator automates online tasks for users.. OpenAI's new AI agent, Operator, can autonomously perform tasks like booking travel and shopping online, enhancing user convenience.

🇬🇧 Linnworks launches Temu integration for sellers. Linnworks now supports Temu, allowing retailers to manage inventory, pricing, and orders seamlessly. This move follows Temu’s rise to the world’s second most visited e-commerce site.

🇬🇧 Checkout.com targets 2025 profit, skips IPO for now. Checkout.com turned profitable in late 2024 and aims for full-year profitability in 2025 but has no IPO plans, says Chief Product Officer Meron Colbeci.

🇸🇪 Stadium boosts digital sales with Mirakl Ads expansion. Stadium integrates Mirakl Ads to enhance e-commerce sales, increase ad revenue, and expand into Finland after initial success in Sweden.

🇺🇸 Wix enables direct product sales on YouTube.. On January 23, 2025, Wix announced an integration with YouTube Shopping, allowing merchants to tag products in videos and live streams, enhancing social commerce capabilities.

🇺🇸 Shopware partners with Human Element to enter U.S. market. On January 27, 2025, Shopware announced a partnership with Human Element to expand its open-source ecommerce platform into the U.S., aiming to leverage Human Element's expertise to support American businesses in adopting Shopware's flexible solutions.

🇻🇳 Viettel Post deploys 200 robots, processes 4M parcels daily. In January 2024, Viettel Post introduced 200 automated guided vehicles (AGVs) in its Hanoi warehouse, reducing delivery times by 8–10 hours and increasing processing capacity to 4 million parcels daily, meeting 50% of Vietnam's e-commerce demand.

🇺🇸 UPS slashes Amazon deliveries, forecasts $89B revenue. UPS plans to cut Amazon deliveries by 50% by 2025, aiming for profitability. Revenue forecast falls short at $89B, missing analysts' $94.88B estimate.

🇺🇸 FedEx, UPS raise rates 5.9% as surcharges grow in 2025. FedEx and UPS shipping rates will rise by 5.9% in 2025, with lightweight and bulky packages facing higher surcharges. Experts say pricing pressure will impact e-commerce shippers.

🇦🇪 Temu, EMX expand delivery in UAE with PUDO services. Temu partners with EMX to expand sea shipping and PUDO services in the UAE and Middle East, improving logistics coverage and lowering costs for customers.

🇦🇪 Arvato opens 3,300 sqm warehouse in Dubai. Arvato expands its logistics network with a new hub in Dubai's CommerCity, enhancing supply chain efficiency in the MENA region, projected to hit $160B by 2029.

🇩🇪 DHL Freight opens 5,200 m² Berlin terminal with 48 docks. The new facility boosts capacity and sustainability with solar power, EV charging, and optimized last-mile logistics, strengthening DHL's European network.

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