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🧠 Big Story: 
Omnichannel is the new black 🖤

📊 Key Data:
Digital Commerce Platforms 💻

📖Ecommerce players news:
🛒 🇺🇸 TikTok goes offline in the U.S. amid legal chaos
🛒 🇺🇸 eBay acquires Caramel to simplify car sales process
👗 🇿🇦 FARO raises $6M for recommerce expansion in Africa
👗 🇩🇪 Wayfair exits Germany, cuts 730 jobs to refocus growth
🍔 🇬🇧 Tesco Marketplace hits 300,000 SKUs in bold expansion
🍔 🇺🇸 DoorDash now delivers hemp-based products in the U.S.

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

Thank you all for the amazing support and feedback! 🙌

We’re constantly fine-tuning things to keep you hooked. In our latest poll, AliExpress stole the spotlight—so next week, expect a deep dive into its world. 🛍️ After that we are going to have another poll so we can cover the most interesting aspects for you. Feel free to write me on Linkedin with any ideas/thoughts you have.

Last week, we tackled Shein's sustainability in "How Sustainable is Shein? Let’s Look at the Data! 💔" post on Linkedin based on insights from our research hub. You can check the full post here.

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Omnichannel is the new black 🖤

📚Sources: resources.shipbob.com

80% of ecommerce brands sell in 2+ channels. TikTok Shop is a major growth driver in 2025. Data from Shipbob report, surveyed 554 ecommerce executives, mostly U.S.-based.

📊 Omnichannel is Key

Omnichannel sales are now mainstream.
Over 55% of brands sell in 2+ channels.
In 2024, 25% of brands sold via 3 channels, 22% via 4+.
In 2025, 37% of brands plan no changes to sales channels.
Still, most will add B2B or DTC channels for growth.
This reflects the shift to meeting customers everywhere.

🚀 TikTok’s Rise Continues

TikTok Shop is growing fast among ecommerce brands.
In 2025, it’s among the top 4 sales channels to grow.
Only branded websites, Amazon, and B&M surpass it.
Brands see TikTok as key to capturing younger buyers.
TikTok Shop builds on its massive 2024 engagement.
Expect this to lead in driving omnichannel adoption.

💡 Revenue Outlook

Revenue growth expectations for 2025 stay consistent.
50% of brands expect growth over 50% in 2025.
8% of brands doubled revenue from 2023 to 2024.
Brands remain cautious compared to pre-pandemic levels.
In 2021, 30% expected growth >75%; this is now just 15%.
Economic uncertainty drives a more measured outlook.

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Digital Commerce Platforms 💻

📚Sources: gartner.com | linkedin.com

The 2024 Magic Quadrant ranks digital commerce platforms. Salesforce, Shopify, & commercetools lead, while challengers & niche players make bold moves.

📊 What is the Magic Quadrant?

Gartner’s Magic Quadrant is a benchmark for tech evaluation.
It categorizes platforms as Leaders, Challengers, Visionaries, & Niche Players.
The rankings assess execution & long-term strategic vision.
The report helps businesses navigate risks & maximize ROI in commerce.
It’s a critical tool for digital commerce decision-making in 2024.

🏆 Spotlight on Leaders

Salesforce leads with global reach & seamless native integrations.
Perfect for large B2C & B2B enterprises, but its monolithic design poses challenges.
commercetools ranks high for its modular, scalable design for high-volume businesses.
Shopify’s move to the Leaders quadrant in 2023 stems from its ease of setup & omnichannel support.
Spryker joined the Leaders in 2024, while SAP & Adobe are slightly losing ground.

📈 Rise of Challengers

Kibo & VTEX advanced from Visionary to Challenger status.
VTEX’s composable architecture excels in combining B2B & B2C, despite limited customization.
BigCommerce remains a Challenger, excelling in flexibility for mid-market companies.
Its modern, cloud-native architecture is a plus, but global execution lags behind.
Challengers are stepping up with strong operational performance in 2024.

🌟 Visionaries & Niche Players

Only Oro & HCL remain in the Visionary quadrant.
Sanam Scayle & Shopware lead the Niche quadrant in 2024.
Scayle’s rapid growth this year signals a strong upward trajectory.
These platforms serve focused needs, showing potential to scale further.
The Niche quadrant is proving fertile ground for future disruptors.

🛒 Mass Platforms

🇺🇸 TikTok goes offline in the U.S. amid legal chaos. Following a Supreme Court ruling, TikTok shut down before a U.S. ban began. A proposed merger with Perplexity AI could bring the app back soon.

🇺🇸 eBay acquires Caramel to simplify car sales process. eBay is buying Caramel, a car sales startup, to streamline online car transactions and reduce risks. The deal, closing in Q1 2025, enhances eBay's auto marketplace.

🇮🇳 Amazon acquires Axio for $150M to boost BNPL. Amazon buys Axio to expand financial services in India. Axio serves 10M users with a $260M loan book, bridging India’s credit gap.

🇺🇸 Amazon's Alexa AI delays due to technical issues. Amazon's AI lead cites hallucinations and latency as major hurdles for Alexa's generative AI upgrade, pushing the launch to 2025 with no confirmed release date.

🇺🇸 Best Buy reboots marketplace for mid-2025 launch. Best Buy's upcoming marketplace, launching in mid-2025, targets a broader product range beyond electronics, leveraging its 200M+ loyal customer base and Mirakl tech.

🇺🇸 Walmart reveals a bold brand refresh for 2025. Walmart’s updated look honors its roots while embracing modernity. The changes include a custom font, bold colors, and digital-first design to enhance customer experience. We looked at couple of marketplace rebrandings here.

🇺🇸 Walmart brings luxury resale to its marketplace. Walmart partners with Rebag, offering 27K pre-owned luxury items online. The move boosts site traffic, sales, and luxury brand accessibility for Walmart shoppers.

👗 Fashion & Beauty

🇩🇪 Wayfair exits Germany, cuts 730 jobs to refocus growth. Wayfair plans to cut 730 jobs, 3% of its workforce, as it exits Germany. Savings will fund international markets, physical retail, and new initiatives.

🇨🇳 Shein boosts eco-friendly denim by 90% in 2024. Shein’s Cool Transfer Denim printing cut water use by 70.5% and saved 19,500 metric tons of water. It’s part of its push to innovate and reduce fashion’s footprint.

🇺🇸 Amazon phases out 'Try Before You Buy' feature. Amazon will end its Try Before You Buy program on Jan. 31, citing AI-powered sizing tools and cost concerns. Free returns on apparel remain available for shoppers.

🇿🇦 FARO raises $6M for recommerce expansion in Africa. FARO, a South African startup, raised $6M to refurbish surplus clothing, addressing global waste. Plans include 1,000 stores in 10 years, with AI boosting operations.

🇩🇪 DM confirms online pharmacy plans for 2025. DM will launch an online pharmacy in mid-2025, selling OTC products previously exclusive to pharmacies. Shipments will originate from the Czech Republic to Germany.

🇺🇸 JCPenney merges with SPARC to form Catalyst Brands. Catalyst Brands now oversees $9M revenue, 1,800 stores, and 60K employees. Former JCPenney CEO Marc Rosen leads the new powerhouse. Details from Jan. 8 merger.

🇬🇧 Superdrug celebrates 5.1% sales jump in Christmas 2024. Superdrug’s own brand sales and online growth drive record-breaking Christmas. Gift set sales soared, with one sold every second in December.

🇬🇧 ASOS shuts U.S. warehouse after Chinese competition rises. ASOS closes its Atlanta hub to cut losses, hit by Shein and Temu. Facing $231.9M costs, it shifts U.S. operations to save $12.4M yearly.

🍔 Food Delivery & eGrocery

🇬🇧 Tesco Marketplace hits 300,000 SKUs in bold expansion. In just 8 months, Tesco's online marketplace grew over 3,000%, reaching 300,000 SKUs. Tesco aims to be a ‘one-stop shop’ with a vast product range.

🇺🇸 DoorDash now delivers hemp-based products in the U.S.. Expanding into hemp-derived products, DoorDash offers low-THC gummies and drinks under 0.3% THC via DashMart and partners like Total Wine & More.

🇺🇸 Instacart expands smart carts with key tech deals. Instacart partners with Dumac & Truno to bring smart Caper Carts to independent grocers. This expansion aims to modernize shopping & boost retailer tech.

🇦🇹 Lidl Austria expands Parkside sales online via Kaufland. Lidl Austria now offers 1,000+ Parkside tools online via Kaufland. Customers in Austria can access Kaufland's 5.5M items & 6,400 categories. Details below.

🇮🇳 Swiggy forms sports arm to diversify revenue streams. Swiggy Sports Pvt. Ltd. aims to expand into sports management, leveraging pickleball’s rise. The out-of-home consumption business earned ₹45.8 crore in Q1 FY25.

🇺🇸 Grubhub expands with Olo Dispatch network integration. Grubhub now supports delivery for restaurant orders via Olo Dispatch, enabling merchants to scale delivery and enhance customer service on their own platforms.

🇷🇴 Wolt completes acquisition of Tazz in Romania. Wolt’s acquisition of Tazz marks its entry into Romania, leveraging Tazz's strong local presence and operations across 35 cities.

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