🌀 Exploring future of marketplaces. What are the key trends?

🛒 Mass merchant marketplaces

• 🌎 eBay is rolling out a new AI tool for marketplace sellers that can generate a product listing from a single photo. The tool builds on eBay’s other efforts to inject AI into the selling process, including AI-generated product catalog descriptions and a background removal tool for listing photos. “The ‘photo-to-listing’ tool was built internally, and the team will use the listing data generated to ‘train’ the model internally. Deep dive → TechCrunch

• 🇺🇸 Alibaba eyes B2B expansion in the US with the Las Vegas 2 day Co-Create Conference. During the event, Albaba, showcased new features (new improved image search and speech-to-text features). Deep dive → Retail Times | PYMNTS

• 🇪🇺 Alibaba launched the Super September B2B sales event. Super September will connect 40M+ buyers and 200K suppliers from around the world. 70M+ products will be featured in this sales event, including (for the first time) 1.5M with EU certification in a dedicated ‘European pavilion’ for buyers from the EU and UK. Deep dive → Retail Times

• 🇵🇭 Temu expands into Southeast Asia, starting with the Philippines. Marketplace will compete with rivals in the region, including Lazada, Shopee, and TikTok Shop. To mark its debut in the Philippines, Temu has offered up to 90% discounts on various products. Deep dive → InsiderRetail

• 🇵🇱 Allegro launched a cheap shipment option in collaboration with Poczta Polska. Allegro clients can send small items (less than 32.5cm X 23 cm x 2 cm) with Allegro Mini Parcel for less than 1 EUR within Poland. Deep dive → Bankier.pl

👗 Fashion marketplaces

• 🌎Pinterest has launched new industry-first body type technology to increase body representation on its social media platform for users living in the UK, Ireland, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, ahead of roll out to additional international markets. Technology will shape how its algorithms increase representation in search results and related feeds for women’s fashion and wedding-related content. Deep dive → FashionUnited

• 🇪🇺 Amazon to enable more 3D content on their Amazon product listings in Europe. Fashion brands can now partner with Amazon-certified 3D content providers to seamlessly integrate and enhance their product detail pages with 'View in 3D' and VTO. Deep dive → Amazon Fashion

• 🇪🇺 Zalando removed customer reviews, replacing them with a survey. Only 3% of customers leave reviews, and the vast majority of our products do not get a single review. The new survey asks whether the product description helped the customer make a purchase decision. Deep dive → RetailDetail

• 🇪🇺 Zalando and Sephora end their partnership. 1. Initially launched in Germany, then implemented in 2022 in Italy, this scheme, which was to be rolled out across Europe, enabled the LVMH group's selective perfume retailer to sell products from 300 brands on the German sales portal. Deep dive → FashionNetwork

• 🇬🇧 Sainsbury’s launches a third-party fashion brand offering in-store. It plans to create at least 50 third-party brand fashion destination hubs in its stores alongside its own Tu clothing range to meet customers’ evolving needs. Sainsbury's has ambitions to become a leading physical and digital destination for inclusive family fashion in the UK. Deep dive → JustStyle

🍔 Food marketplaces

• 🌎 Getir value drops to USD 2.5B (vs USD 11.8B it was worth 18 months ago) as shoppers move away from convenience. The company is raising $500m in a funding round that is expected to close later this month. Deep dive → TheGuardian

• 🇺🇸 Grubhub pilots on-demand delivery for self-delivery restaurants. Operators that use in-house delivery can request a Grubhub driver for $5 per order whenever needed. Deep dive → RestaurantDive

• 🇺🇸 Instacart announces new omnichannel and AI solutions for grocery. The new Instacart Storefront, featuring AI-powered conversational search and In-Store mode. The new Instacart for Shopify app, developed in partnership with Shopify, enables CPG brands selling on the Shopify e-commerce platform to advertise their products via Instacart Ads. Deep dive → PRnewsWire | ChainStoreage

• 🇬🇧 Deliveroo upgraded its app to allow grocery and takeaway delivery in one order and partnered with Gopuff to expand its grocery delivery offering across the UK. Over 3,000 of Gopuff’s everyday essentials, such as fresh produce, soft drinks, and household items, will be added to Deliveroo’s website, with customers able to receive the groceries in as little as 20 minutes. Deep dive → GroceryGazette | TimeoutDubai

📦Various marketplaces

• 🌎 X/Twitter sets its sights on LinkedIn with a job listing feature. Some verified organizations, including Workweek have been able to post job listings in the form of scrolling cards under their bios. Elon Musk previously hinted at the feature in May, and X purchased a job-matching tech startup called Laski in May - the company's first acquisition under Musk. Deep dive → Engadget

• 🌎 Etsy enables off-platform sales. The new program “Etsy Share & Save“ rewards sellers for bringing sales to their Etsy shops from other sources. Etsy provides participating sellers with unique links they can share digitally outside of Etsy to promote their items. On those sales, Etsy takes 4% commission. Deep dive → ChainStorakeage

• 🇱🇹 Clevon launched Europe’s first driverless delivery robots on public roads in Lithuania. Clevon robots are delivering groceries in partnership with delivery platform LastMile for free from the supermarket directly to customers. Deep dive → TheNextWeb

🌟Funding/new marketplaces

• 🇪🇺 SaaShop (SaaS marketplace) raises 1.2 million euros to drive growth and international expansion. SaaShop doubled its turnover during the last fiscal year, and this year it increased its customer base by more than two hundred businesses in the United States alone. The company's goal is to triple sales in the US and European markets by the end of 2024. Deep dive → Benzinga

• 🇮🇳 Pepperfry (Indian furniture marketplace) raises USD 23M from existing investors. The funds will be used to strengthen the retailer's omnichannel presence, improve the supply chain, and drive technology innovation, the company said. The capital infusion is also expected to help the Mumbai-based furniture company inch towards profitability. Deep dive → Yourstory

• 🇭🇰 Markato (retail wholesale marketplace) to launch in Hong Kong. Markato will connect Asian retailers and other wholesale customers with more than 200 brands and 5,000 products from independent businesses in markets in the US, Europe, and Australia. Markato has reportedly raised US$5 million in a seed funding round led by Venture capitalist Lightspeed, its first investment in Hong Kong. Deep dive → InsiderRetail