🌀 Shopify on Black Friday Cyber Monday. What’s the shopper perspective?

🛒 Mass merchant marketplaces

• 🌎 Amazon to launch ultra-fast drone deliveries in Italy, the UK, and a third location in the U.S. The Prime Air drone delivery system is expanding to international locations, and adding a third city in the United States by the end of next year. In addition to the new delivery sites, Prime Air is unveiling the new MK30 drone design, which is quieter, smaller, and lighter, than previous models. Deep dive → Amazon | TheGuardian

• 🌎 Amazon announces 2 new ways it's using robots to assist employees and deliver for customers. The new robotic solutions, Sequoia (integrated multiple robot systems) and Digit (humanoid-like robot that can move, grasp, and handle items in spaces and corners of warehouses), will support workplace safety and help Amazon deliver to customers faster. Deep dive → Amazon

• 🇺🇸 Walmart is banking on its third-party online marketplace to boost holiday sales. Online sales for Walmart U.S. rose sharply recently, while other major retailers such as Macy’s and Target reported declines. So far, Walmart does not carry third-party marketplace items in its stores, which means customers can’t get those online orders through curbside pickup or ultra-speedy delivery to their homes. Deep dive → CNBC

• 🇬🇧 eBay UK convenes a new circular economy council for furniture and homeware. Major retailers, including Ikea and Dunelm are participating in a new ‘Circular Change Council’ intended to boost re-commerce and reduce waste in the furniture and homeware industry. Deep dive → Edie.net

• 🇿🇦 Amazon plans to open its South African marketplace in 2024. Independent sellers in South Africa, including small and medium-sized enterprises, can register their companies on the Amazon seller portal. Deep dive → TechPoint Africa | Amazon

• 🇵🇱 OLX aims to expand into new markets and enhance collaboration with brick-and-mortar retail, focusing on the ROPO (research online, purchase offline) model, according to Dawid Fabiś, the head of sales at the platform. With nearly 13 million users, including almost 8.5 million using the mobile app, OLX sees opportunities to leverage its strong position in re-commerce to benefit retail networks. The platform proposes an "inverted flyer effect," allowing users to search for products and find them at specific network locations, generating increased traffic for those stores. Deep dive → Inwestycje.pl

👗 Fashion marketplaces

• 🌎 Poshmark closes down in Australia, India, and UK. The company said the decision to close was 'to focus our energy and increase our investments' in core markets in the US and Canada. Deep dive → DailyMail

• 🇺🇸 Macy’s debuts the ‘Mstylelab’ digital fashion platform. The retailer built the space using the metaverse technology platform Journee. In the online space, users can create a profile, design and personalize digital fabric, explore the virtual environment, and browse the digital renderings of the retailer’s On 34th brand. They can also create a personalized digital T-shirt to match Mstylelab’s digital fabric, per the press release. Deep dive → RetailDive

• 🇪🇺 Zalando introduces fulfillment for third-party retailers. Zalando has introduced ZEOS Fulfillment, a solution that enables affiliated brands and retailers to efficiently manage their logistics through a unified interface. Affiliated partners can send their products to one of Zalando’s twelve distribution centers. ZEOS has integrated with over 40 European carriers, collectively offering more than 160 localized delivery and return options across 23 European markets. Over 30 brands and retailers are currently making use of this service. Deep dive → Zalando | Apparelresources

• 🇪🇺 Vinted launches its product verification service. the roll-out of product verification services for products priced over €100 in order to attract high-end apparel and accessory vendors. This system is the result of months of experimentation. The service is available for €10 as an optional add-on for qualified items. Deep dive → Vinted | Apparelresources

• 🇫🇷 Vinted Go signed a strategic partnership with smart locker provider Bloq.it. The new agreement expands the existing relationship that launched Vinted Go’s Smart Locker network in France. Under the terms, Bloq.it becomes the exclusive provider of Smart Lockers and Smart Locker software through Bloq.it OS for the Vinted Go network. Deep dive → Parcel Tech

• 🇧🇷 Shein plans to ship Brazil-made products around Latin America from 2026. The firm started manufacturing clothes in Brazil earlier this year, its first production center outside China. It aims to have 85% of its sales in Brazil, including sales by vendors on Shein's marketplace, produced locally by 2026. Deep dive → Reuters

🍔 Food marketplaces

• 🇺🇸 Getir bets big on the U.S. even as it bleeds cash. Getir has lost 80% of its valuation since spring 2022. The company laid off 2,600 people and shuttered operations in Italy, Spain, and Portugal. Getir is maintaining its US operation, but incurs roughly $100 million in costs per month. Deep dive → RestofWorld

• 🇺🇸 Instacart is down 26% since its IPO. Most Wall Street brokerages, including J.P.Morgan and Goldman Sachs, kicked off coverage on Instacart with a bullish view, betting on the grocery delivery app's growth amid a shift to online shopping. As of Friday, the six brokerages that were not involved in the IPO started coverage with an average rating of "hold", LSEG data showed. Instacart trades at 54.4 times its forward earnings, according to LSEG data. Deep dive → Reuters

• 🇮🇳 Swiggy hiked the platform fee on food delivery orders to ₹3 per order (+50%). Platform fee is considered a measure to improve unit economics. Swiggy reported an 80 percent on-year jump in losses to around $540 million in 2022. Deep dive → Mint

• 🇨🇦 Uber Eats expands into 50 small cities and towns across Canada. Uber Eats is taking a big step into small towns. In most of the towns, Uber isn’t operating its rideshare service. Deep dive → TheStar

• 🇬🇧 Just eat to launch the in-app ‘AI assistant’ feature. The feature will begin appearing in early November to a random selection of app users and will be able to respond to voice and text instructions. The AI assistant was built by an in-house tech team over the past three months, who will continue to make upgrades to the feature using customer feedback and “safeguarded” data. Deep dive → GroceryGazzete

📦Various marketplaces

• 🌎 Spotify is launching a personalized in-app merch hub in partnership with Shopify. Merch Hub provides personalized merch recommendations based on your listening habits. Once you’re in the hub, you can browse and click on merchandise to learn more about them. If you’re ready to make a purchase, you can do so through the artist’s Spotify. Deep dive → TechCrunch

• 🌎 Discord expands online marketplace. The company’s new in-app Shop will eventually be available to all users instead of just subscribers to its membership program, allowing them to buy digital goods. Deep dive → CNBC

• 🌎 Etsy guarantees on-time delivery during the holidays via the Purchase Protection program. The e-commerce company is offering full refunds for gifts not delivered by their estimated date. Etsy is also introducing a deal "hub" exclusively on its app to showcase personalized deals throughout the season. Additionally, the company recently grew its team of style experts, which curate “Etsy’s Picks” for customers. Deep dive → RetailDive

• 🇺🇸 BuyCycle expands to the US. BuyCycle is a Munich-based marketplace for used high-value bicycles. The company, which managed to become a market leader in Europe within two years of its launch, currently operates in 30 countries and has more than 15,000 bicycles in its inventory. It offers guaranteed buyer protection, first-class services, and insurance. Deep dive → EU startups

• 🇨🇦 Airbnb and other short-term rental platforms to be affected by Canada government, which is trying to ease a rental-unit shortage. The government is examining options to ensure more short-term rentals become available as long-term rentals. Deep dive → Reuters

🌟Funding/new marketplaces

• 🇪🇸 Webel (service marketplace) raises €2.1 million primarily for expansion purposes. Through this funding round, they aim to deliver over 1 million services per year and expand into new markets like Italy and the UK. Webel has been growing 10x yearly for two consecutive years already, currently delivering over 100,000 services per year. Deep dive → EU-startups

• 🇳🇱 Skoon Energy (AI-powered clean mobile energy platform) secures €5M funding. Skoon Energy aims to reshape on-site energy supply by connecting users of traditional fossil fuel-powered generators with suppliers of clean mobile energy systems, such as batteries, hydrogen, and solar generators. Skoon’s online marketplace has more than 150 verified suppliers, and the platform is used by rental companies across Europe, including Atlas Copco, Volta Energy and Morillo Energy, as well as large-scale energy users such as Vattenfall, the Dutch Ministry of Defence and the Port of Amsterdam. Deep dive → Tech EU

• 🇺🇾 Vopero (clothing resale marketplace for Latin America) closed $4 million round. Sellers download the Vopero app and request a Vopero kit that includes a bag with a QR code that will hold about 30 garments. Once filled, the seller scans the QR code to schedule a pickup from their home. Similar to how ThredUP, Poshmark and The RealReal operate, Vopero processes the garments and uploads images to the platform, where sellers can monitor the sales process. Deep dive → TechCrunch