Marketplace Talk: August ecommerce news 2025

Ana Scarabelli
26 August 2025
Ready to catch up on August ecommerce news? We’ve got you covered!
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Marketplace Talk: August ecommerce news 2025
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⚠️ Amazon drops variation themes ahead of Q4

Amazon is retiring a large batch of variation themes between September 2 and November 30, 2025. Any listings still using deprecated themes will be locked: sellers won’t be able to update titles, pricing, keywords, or images.
While affected products will remain live, updates will trigger the error “the value specified is invalid.” To avoid being blocked during peak season, sellers must rebuild product families using valid themes.

"The risk here is timing. If sellers don’t migrate their catalogs before Q4, they could see best-sellers frozen at the most critical moment of the year."

 

🚚 Amazon scales same-day grocery delivery

 

Amazon is rolling out same-day delivery for fresh groceries and nonfood products in 1,000+ U.S. cities and towns, with plans to reach 2,300 locations by end of 2025.
For Prime members, orders above $25 are free, while smaller orders cost $2.99. Non-members can also access the service for $12.99 with no minimum.

This expansion strengthens Amazon’s grocery play, leveraging Whole Foods and Amazon Fresh. For marketplace managers, it shows how Amazon keeps tightening its grip on everyday shopping — pushing competitors to rethink speed, convenience, and bundled offerings.

 

🌐Kaufland goes live in France

Kaufland has launched its marketplace in France, its sixth active market, offering shoppers access to 3M+ products across 6,400 categories.

The German retailer, part of the Schwarz Group, continues its rapid European rollout. After expanding to Austria in 2023, it confirmed Italy and France for 2024 — with Italy set to launch later this summer.

For marketplace managers, this shows how fast pan-European expansion is accelerating. Kaufland’s mix of scale and cross-border logistics makes it a growing competitor to watch in continental ecommerce.

"Kaufland is quickly building a pan-European marketplace footprint. With France live and Italy next, they’re positioning to challenge established cross-border platforms."

🛒 Best Buy goes big with marketplace launch


Best Buy has officially launched its third-party marketplace, more than doubling its product assortment online.

The retailer is expanding beyond electronics with categories like appliances, seasonal décor, furniture, and musical instruments, while adding well-known brands such as Martha Stewart and Beach Camera. Sports merchandise from Fanatics is coming soon.

A key move: customers can return marketplace purchases in-store, giving Best Buy a physical edge over many online-only rivals. For ecommerce managers, this signals how traditional retailers are using marketplaces to scale assortment fast — while leveraging store networks to win customer trust.

👗 Shein’s fast growth in the UK


Shein’s revenue in the UK hit €2.3 billion in 2024, a 32% increase compared to 2023.
The fashion platform is already a strong competitor in Germany and France, and this UK performance confirms its rapid European momentum.

With European financial results still to come, Shein’s growth trajectory shows how fast-fashion players are reshaping the ecommerce landscape — and why local retailers need to sharpen pricing, logistics, and customer engagement strategies to keep up.

"Shein’s 32% jump in the UK shows how fast-fashion giants are eating into European market share. Local retailers need sharper pricing strategies and faster supply chains to compete."

 

🤖 Agentic commerce: From search to zero-click shopping 


The era of search bars is ending. Agentic commerce is shifting shopping from reactive clicks to proactive, AI-led experiences where intelligent systems anticipate customer needs and act on their behalf.
Retailers are moving along a maturity curve — from simple nudges and predictive bundles to delegated actions, where AI completes purchases or negotiates offers. This trend challenges traditional search and funnels, making brand visibility in agent-driven environments critical.
With players like Walmart testing super agents, OpenAI exploring checkout inside ChatGPT, and PayPal predicting 25% of ecommerce spend could be agent-driven by 2030, the stakes are high. For ecommerce leaders, being AI-indexed and agent-ready is quickly becoming a necessity, not an option.

Source: CIO

More on Agentic commerce in our article Agentic commerce: The next leap in marketplace automation

👥 Zalando adds 3M new customers 

Zalando gained 3.1 million new customers in Q2, now serving 52.9 million consumers across Europe. Revenue and profit both rose, marking another strong quarter.

The company is bouncing back after post-COVID declines, with its ecosystem strategy — marketplace functionality and partner services — driving growth.

With its acquisition of About You, Zalando is aiming higher: positioning itself as a B2B powerhouse in European ecommerce, while rolling out new engagement tools like a personalized feed to boost retention.

"Zalando is showing the next phase of marketplace evolution. It’s no longer just about selling products — it’s about providing infrastructure for partners, a clear step toward B2B leadership in Europe."

 

🌍 MediaMarkt expands marketplace to Switzerland & Hungary

 

MediaMarkt is taking its marketplace model to new markets, with Switzerland and Hungary set to launch soon, following Turkey.

The marketplace is proving central to growth: trading volume rose 90% year over year, boosting profitability for parent company Ceconomy. Online sales hit €1.14 billion in Q3, up 12.2%, making up nearly a quarter (24.6%) of total revenue.

For ecommerce managers, the takeaway is clear — marketplaces are becoming a key driver of revenue and scale, even for established retail giants. Expansion into new geographies shows how quickly the model is reshaping digital strategies across Europe.

 

🇳🇱 Bol stays on top in Dutch ecommerce

 

Bol remains the largest online seller in the Netherlands, according to a new ECDB ranking based on gross merchandise value (GMV).

The top 10 mix includes four Dutch players and three Chinese platforms, with the latter showing much faster growth. ECDB’s new calculation method combines first-party and third-party sales, giving a fuller picture of total GMV including VAT.

For marketplace managers, this ranking highlights two things: Bol’s continued dominance in Dutch ecommerce, and the growing pressure from Chinese platforms rapidly gaining share in Europe.

"Bol remains dominant in Dutch ecommerce, but the real story is the acceleration of Chinese platforms. Their growth speed is a warning sign for local players."

 

 

📈 Shopify surges in Europe

 

Shopify’s GMV in Europe jumped 42% in Q2 compared to last year, with overall company revenue up 31%.
The US-based ecommerce software giant is seeing strong traction across Europe. In Germany, nearly 40% of small and mid-sized online shops already run on Shopify.

For marketplace managers, this growth underlines how SaaS platforms are powering ecommerce expansion — and how Shopify is cementing itself as a core infrastructure player in Europe’s digital retail scene.

 

🔻 Otto exits Dutch market after 46 years

 

German retailer Otto is shutting down operations in the Netherlands, ending a presence that began in 1979. Around 70 employees will be affected.

Despite its success in Germany, Otto’s marketplace model never gained traction across the border, leading to significant losses and no viable growth prospects.

For marketplace managers, this highlights the risks of international expansion — even established players can struggle if the model doesn’t resonate locally.

 

Published on 26 August 2025
Ana Scarabelli
Ana Clara Scarabelli is a Social Media Specialist at ChannelEngine. Ana is passionate about communication, branding, and marketing. She has a background in Journalism, coupled with content marketing experience.
Ana Scarabelli
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