Let's talk Marketplace

If you follow the marketplace news item by item every week, it’s easy to lose sight of how much is shifting at the same time. That’s why Ingrid and Valerie take a step back in this episode and put October’s developments into context – partly for Valerie, who admits she has mostly just skimmed the news in recent weeks.What mattered:AI shopping: ChatGPT gets an official buy box, OTTO opens its catalogue via an interface, and European marketplaces still barely show up in AI answers.Shein and Temu: Shein reports its first-ever decline in both profit and revenue, while Temu rises to number one in several European countries.Amazon in Q4: The logistics surcharge goes up, and Returnless Resolutions bring a new opt-in. Who is it worth it for?Expansion wave: new marketplace launches, from ABOUT YOU in Romania and Kaufland in Spain to OTTO opening up to Austrian sellers.An episode for everyone who wants to keep the big picture in view amid the day-to-day business.Note from the sponsor Allegro:Planning your expansion across Europe? Then it’s worth looking east as well. Allegro is the leading marketplace in Poland and now also operates in Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary, with around 21 million active buyers in total. For 2026, Allegro expects its international business to grow by 65 to 75 percent. In our marketplace portrait, we show which sellers the move pays off for, how shipping with Smart! and One Fulfillment works and which onboarding programmes are available. 👉 Read the full Allegro portrait! For brands that want to dig deeper, we’re hosting the webinar “How Brands Grow on Allegro” on November 18. 👉 Register for the webinar – or watch the recording later.

Glass is one of the least forgiving products to sell online: it’s fragile, often heavy and not particularly expensive per piece. On top of that comes the question of who actually decides where your glasses show up online, at what price and next to which lookalike. Valerie and Ingrid discuss this with Bettina Proft. She heads e-commerce at Stölzle Lausitz, a glassmaker since 1889, and after years in the French e-commerce scene, she is bringing a B2B brand to private customers.How Stölzle manages its brand when retailers set the prices and its glasses end up on more than 100 marketplacesWhy lookalikes are a bigger problem than counterfeitsGlass breakage, infrequent repeat purchases and logistics being rebuilt for D2CHow to bring e-commerce into a traditional company with a small team – and what AI assistants change about itFor everyone bringing a long-established brand to marketplaces and wanting to stay in charge of it there.Note from the sponsor Allegro:Planning your expansion across Europe? Then it’s worth looking east as well. Allegro is the leading marketplace in Poland and now also operates in Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary, with around 21 million active buyers in total. For 2026, Allegro expects its international business to grow by 65 to 75 percent.In our marketplace portrait, we show which sellers the move pays off for, how shipping with Smart! and One Fulfillment works and which onboarding programmes are available. 👉 Read the full Allegro portrait: https://marketplace-universe.com/marketplace-portrait-allegro/For brands that want to dig deeper, we’re hosting the webinar “How Brands Grow on Allegro” on November 18. 👉 Register for the webinar – and watch the recording later: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_0glR_zzBQ8mELj9swRFtNA#/registration

When people talk about Turkey and Europe, they usually mean exports to Europe. Yaman Alpata of MegaMerchant sees business increasingly flowing the other way as well. He knows the market from his time at Trendyol, Hepsiburada and AliExpress, and today as a seller. With Ingrid, he discusses why Turkey is becoming attractive for European brands right now – and what they need to prepare for.In this episode:Market size, growth and a young, mobile customer base: why Turkish e-commerce is structurally interestingThe lira’s real-terms strength: a tailwind for imports – and how long it is likely to last politicallyCampaigns, brand awareness, “Made in Europe” and low return rates: how Turkish shoppers buyTrendyol, Hepsiburada, Amazon – and entering the market via a local partnerFor anyone looking for a new sales market for their brand on Europe’s doorstep.

Medisana sells on around 30 marketplaces across Europe. In Benelux, however, the brand first had to learn how high Dutch customers' expectations for delivery times really are. Ingrid and Valerie talk with Martijn Paas, who knows Medisana's marketplace business inside out from his time in the Benelux team, and Patricia Lay, who helps international sellers get started on bol.In this episode:Why moving the top sellers to bol's logistics service increased turnover fivefold, according to MartijnHow Medisana found the right logistics provider after a partner went bankruptHow the vendor and seller businesses run in parallel – and why your own resellers can turn into competitorsWhat customers in Benelux expect beyond fast deliveryWhy you should realistically expect at least a year before seeing successThis episode is for every brand looking to enter Benelux via bol.Note from the sponsor TikTok Shop:Thinking about joining TikTok Shop but not sure where to start? Unlike many traditional marketplaces, TikTok Shop's account management team is genuinely easy to reach directly – so don't hesitate to ask them questions. If you'd rather read up first, the free TikTok Shop Seller Academy covers exactly what sellers ask most: how to register, what your first 30 days should look like, what to sell, and how to run your first live session without panicking. It also includes a Growth Center with seller missions, guidance on affiliate marketing, and practical tips on avoiding stockouts once orders pick up. Get started with TikTok Shop here: TikTok Shop Academy and Contact to the Business Development.

Does EU Regulation Work Against Shein & Temu? We Agree to Disagree — Live from DMEXCO #LTM165 A year ago, many retailers were calling on the state to rein in Temu and Shein. Valerie and Ingrid were sceptical at the time. Now the first EU rules are in force, and the question is back on the table: Is regulation actually working after all? In their first-ever live episode, recorded right in the middle of DMEXCO, the two assess the first signals – and reach different verdicts.What it's about:What changes with the flat customs duty of €3 per product category and the handling fee from November – and what the planned European Product Act could mean for marketplacesFirst effects: fewer parcels in Hungary and France, Shein's slowing growth and the expansion of its marketplace businessWhy small and mid-sized brands, of all players, could end up among the losers of regulationWhy TikTok Shop is being celebrated while calls for stricter rules on Temu and Shein are growing louderFor everyone in the European marketplace business who needs to assess what the new EU rules mean in concrete terms for competition, margins and expansion.

Twelve-plus in-house brands, more than 20 marketplaces, more than 20 countries – and right in the middle of it, a deliberate overhaul of the brand portfolio. Ingrid talks to Elena Cardellini of expondo about how a multi-brand business built up over years is adjusting to a new requirement: agentic commerce. It's changing how brand authority gets evaluated.How you actually steer a multi-brand business at this scale is where Jorrit Steinz comes in, CEO of ChannelEngine – the partner Expondo relies on to keep its feeds and pricing in sync. Together, they discuss why Expondo is consolidating its brands now, how consistent pricing prevents self-cannibalization, and what kind of logistics discipline heavy, bulky products demand.This episode shows the point at which grown structures turn into a systems question – and when gut feeling stops being enough.Note from the sponsor Spring GDS:Cross-border shipping is complex - and international returns are often even more so. Spring Global Delivery Solutions, part of the PostNL Group, has developed a solution specifically for this. As a specialized provider of cross-border shipping, Spring GDS delivers to 190 destinations worldwide - with 17 operational hubs across three continents. And here’s what makes it special: Returns with Spring GDS cost exactly the same as the initial shipment. No separate contract, no surprises. You can find more details in our blog post on marketplace-universe.com Note from the sponsor Kaufland Global Marketplace:Kaufland Global Marketplace is now also available in the Netherlands and Spain. And for sellers, this means: nine country marketplaces with just one registration. If you’d like to learn more about how international sales work on the Kaufland Global Marketplaces, be sure to join our next webinar on September 29. Together with Doreen Schumm from Kaufland Global Marketplace, we’ll explain how the all-in-one setup works and how the individual marketplace countries differ. In addition, Etienne Sahin from FTT Distribution will share his experience of entering these new markets from a seller’s perspective - the specific steps, the specific questions, and the specific timeline. Join us on September 29 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. CET - online, in English. Click here to register

What happens when a marketplace can't forecast its own inventory? Too Good To Go's Parcels business sells surplus food that only exists once it's already there – unpredictable in volume, and racing against a best-before date. In this episode, Ingrid talks to Katharina Hauke, who leads Too Good To Go Germany, and Stefan Böhler, who runs Spring GDS Germany, the logistics partner making this possible.They dig into:Why Too Good To Go deliberately keeps its assortment small instead of expanding it – and how that decision makes the whole operation manageableHow real-time coordination between marketplace and warehouse replaces traditional forecasting, from goods-in to same-day saleWhy best-before dates shape everything from prioritization to picking – and how first-in-first-out logistics have to work under pressureWhat happens to the food that still doesn't sell in time, and why that part of the process matters as much as the sale itselfHow a purpose-driven business scaled to 2.5 million rescued parcels – and where the growth ceiling actually sitsA strong listen for anyone who assumes scale always requires more complexity.

An iPhone, delivered in 15 minutes – not because it's urgently needed, but simply because people don't want to wait. This exact shift sits at the centre of part 2 of our China double episode: Ingrid goes deep into Instant Retail, China's answer to quick commerce, with China expert Ed Sander.The conversation covers:Why Instant Retail now accounts for 30% of Alibaba's total domestic commerce – and why that's no longer a niche phenomenonThe three competing models behind it: store-plus-warehouse (Hema), dark stores (Dingdong Maicai), and pure marketplace solutions with players like Decathlon or WalmartWhy the real driver isn't cheap labour but population density – and what that means for transferability to EuropeConcrete entry points for Europe: from a possible JD/Ceconomy deal to margin-rich categories like electronics launches and fashion dropsThis episode is worth it for anyone who wants to understand why delivery time is no longer just a logistics topic – it's increasingly shaping customer expectations and purchase decisions.Part 1 of the double episode on Temu's private label strategy: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4lg6FROpluFX2lwyxPQZAtApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/temus-next-move-copying-amazons-most-controversial/id1637079843?i=1000786190031YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByvOepAGO14Note from our sponsors: Marketplace Universe Webinars in Fall 2026Four free webinars with our partners to sharpen your marketplace know-how this fall:September 17: Deep Dive TikTok Shop for Brands – with Max Burianek (Head of TikTok Shop Germany) and Florian Bein (Co-Founder, Bedrop). How to tap into a network reaching 200 million people across Europe every month, in time for peak season. → Register here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/3017834950141/WN_dqKfxbW4RjCETT-iT9sHPASeptember 29: Kaufland Global Marketplace across Europe – with Doreen Schumm (Head of Marketplace Sales, Kaufland) and Etienne Sahin. The expansion across nine countries, from both a platform and a seller perspective. → Register here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/8817834176445/WN_05pP6JTyRZe1HIQV6d9o2g#/registrationOctober 13: Marketplace Seller Trends with ChannelEngine – with Valerie Dichtl and Jorrit Steinz (CEO & Founder, ChannelEngine). The findings from the 2025 Marketplace Shopping Behavior Report. → Register here: https://www.channelengine.com/en/blog/marketplace-seller-insights-and-trends-webinar?utm_campaign=Marketplace-Seller-Report_Sep-Dec_2026&utm_source=Marketplace%20Universe%20SRL&utm_medium=referral_partner&utm_content=webinarOctober 27: CEE markets with BASE – the follow-up to last year's hugely successful session, this time going even deeper into how to successfully expand into this highly interesting but highly competitive market. → Register here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/5317845621934/WN_Ie4XIW_xSu653-xOlmSRKA#/All dates also at marketplace-universe.com/webinars

In Europe, Temu is synonymous with cheap goods – but that's exactly the image its parent company Pinduoduo now wants to shed. In this episode, Ingrid talks to China expert Ed Sander about Xinpinmu, a new private-label division with a planned investment of 100 billion yuan over three years. They discuss why Pinduoduo is hitting growth ceilings both internationally and in its home market in China, how the model differs from Amazon Basics, and why a room full of European tool manufacturers visibly flinched at Ed's warning about Temu's competition. This episode is part one of a two-parter – part two next week covers quick commerce in China. Essential listening for anyone tracking European supply chains and marketplace strategy.Note from our sponsors: Marketplace Universe Webinars in Fall 2026Four free webinars with our partners to sharpen your marketplace know-how this fall:September 17: Deep Dive TikTok Shop for Brands – with Max Burianek (Head of TikTok Shop Germany) and Florian Bein (Co-Founder, Bedrop). How to tap into a network reaching 200 million people across Europe every month, in time for peak season. → Register here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/3017834950141/WN_dqKfxbW4RjCETT-iT9sHPASeptember 29: Kaufland Global Marketplace across Europe – with Doreen Schumm (Head of Marketplace Sales, Kaufland) and Etienne Sahin. The expansion across nine countries, from both a platform and a seller perspective. → Register here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/8817834176445/WN_05pP6JTyRZe1HIQV6d9o2g#/registrationOctober 13: Marketplace Seller Trends with ChannelEngine – with Valerie Dichtl and Jorrit Steinz (CEO & Founder, ChannelEngine). The findings from the 2025 Marketplace Shopping Behavior Report. → Register here: https://www.channelengine.com/en/blog/marketplace-seller-insights-and-trends-webinar?utm_campaign=Marketplace-Seller-Report_Sep-Dec_2026&utm_source=Marketplace%20Universe%20SRL&utm_medium=referral_partner&utm_content=webinarOctober 27: CEE markets with BASE – the follow-up to last year's hugely successful session, this time going even deeper into how to successfully expand into this highly interesting but highly competitive market. → Register here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/5317845621934/WN_Ie4XIW_xSu653-xOlmSRKA#/All dates also at marketplace-universe.com/webinars

Ten years after the Brexit referendum: what did leaving the EU actually do to British e-commerce? The surprising answer from Chloë Thomas – someone who has worked in every conceivable corner of UK online retail for over 20 years, from the agency side to the client side – is that hardly anyone noticed.Cross-border trade has admittedly become noticeably more complex since Brexit – customs, VAT, new returns logistics. Yet the already extremely domestic-focused British market has barely changed: under 8% of GMV goes abroad, and Amazon still holds around 80% of marketplace sales. The real structural shift is happening elsewhere – established retailers like John Lewis, Next, B&Q, Argos and OnBuy are becoming marketplaces themselves to find additional growth at home.This episode is a must-listen for anyone weighing up whether the UK is still worth it – and if so, what actually matters when you get there.