🌀Twitter to become AI-based Global Marketplace. Can it succeed?

🛒 Mass merchant marketplaces

• 🌎 Amazon to build $120M facility to prep Kuiper internet satellites for launch. Project Kuiper is Amazon’s plan to build a network of 3,236 satellites in low Earth orbit, to provide high-speed internet access anywhere in the world. Deep dive → CNBC

• 🇺🇸 Amazon palm-scanning payment technology is coming to all 500+ Whole Foods. Amazon One’s service has been established at more than 400 locations across the US and has reached a milestone of over 3 million uses. Deep dive → TechCrunch

• 🇺🇸 eBay Cracks Down on International Sellers in July. Numerous eBay sellers from other countries are reporting that eBay restricted their selling privileges in the US and Canada this month and is holding their funds. Deep dive → ecommerce bytes

• 🇲🇾 TikTok Shop signed a ‘buy now, pay later’ partnership. TikTok Shop will include Atome as a payment option, which would allow customers to spread deferred payments over three or six months. TikTok Shop has been aggressively expanding into e-commerce in Southeast Asia, as the company looks outside the U.S. for growth as part of e-commerce push. Deep dive → CNBC

• 🇪🇺 Dutch OLX contributes to the EU antitrust probe into Meta. The European Commission has accused Meta of gaining an unfair advantage by tying its classified advertisements service Marketplace with its social network Facebook and imposing unfair trading conditions on rival online classified ads services. Deep dive → Reuters

• 🇵🇱 Empik group with +15,5% yoy growth in revenue, +22% in GMV and EBITDA of EUR 50M. The share of online and digital channels in the group's total sales exceeded the symbolic threshold of 50% last year, driven also by the dynamic development of the marketplace platform (EmpikPlace), which is responsible for 26% of overall GMV. Deep dive → CEO.com

👗 Fashion marketplaces

• 🌎 Farfetch seeks tech that enriches the Digital Luxury Experience. The company’s innovation team spends its time sifting through myriad start-ups and early-stage companies to find tech that makes the client’s experience faster, easier and as pleasant as shopping in a luxury boutique. Deep dive → WWD

• 🌎 Cettire to dominate the luxury market alongside Farfetch. Hedge fund that has owned Cettire since at least 2021, believes it is uniquely positioned to compete in the market. Deep dive → Afr.com

• 🇺🇸 Shein spends $600K on US Lobbying as it faces Washington scrutiny about forced labour and its opaque supply chain. Deep dive → Business of Fashion

• 🇺🇸 Temu accuses Shein of starting ‘war’ over US markets. Temu sued Shein for violating antitrust laws by trying to monopolize suppliers and engaging in other allegedly illegal behavior. Shein sued Temu in Illinois federal court in December, alleging that the latter had enlisted online influencers “to make false and deceptive statements” about Shein to promote its own goods. Deep dive → Edition | TheGuardian

• 🇪🇺 Amazon joins Zalando in challenging its Designation as VLOP under the Digital Services Act. Entities designated as VLOPs must be prepared to comply with the relevant obligations by next month. Deep dive → Lexology

• 🇩🇪 Zalando offers size advice based on uploaded two selfies. First rolling out in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the tool is expected to alleviate issues with size-related returns, particularly in women's tops and dresses Deep dive → RetailGazette | TrendWatching

🍔 Food marketplaces

• 🇺🇸 DoorDash adds self-service integration with 2 point of sale providers (ItsaCheckmate and Deliverect). This will allow selected restaurants to onboard in days as opposed to weeks on the DoorDash platform. Deep dive → DoorDash

• 🇺🇸 Uber lost in court over Uber eats drivers' work-related expenses. Erik Adolph sued Uber in 2019, claiming the company misclassified UberEats drivers as independent contractors rather than employees, who must be reimbursed for work expenses under California law. Deep dive → Reuters

• 🇺🇸 Uber eats teams with Vroom to boost c-store sales. New Vertical is now at in excess of a $5 billion annualized gross bookings run rate. Deep dive → Pymnts

• 🇮🇳 Swiggy launches a tool for restaurants to expand locations. “Network Expansion Insights” is aimed at empowering partner restaurants to make informed decisions for their network expansion. 100+ partners already used the tool. Deep dive → Prokerala

• 🇬🇧 Getir seeks USD 500M in new funding and sells equipment in the UK. Getir is close to securing a deal with Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala, amid rumors that the delivery platform is heading for insolvency. At the same time, Getir is planning to sell off dozens of bikes, chiller cabinets, and delivery boxes as it closes several dark stores around the UK. Deep dive → Grocery Gazette 

• 🇬🇧 Co-op and Uber eats with a joint reward program. Co-op Members can now earn the same Membership rewards when making purchases through the Uber Eats app as they can in-store or through Co-op’s own online shop. Deep dive → Co-operative

• 🇭🇺 Wolt launched its new business unit, Wolt Drive in Hungary. Wolt in Hungary has grown from a few dozen to more than 7K couriers, and it is present in almost 60 municipalities beyond Budapest. Deep dive → Bbj

📦Various marketplaces

• 🌎 Whop, an online marketplace for digital goods, raises $17M. Whop is differentiated by its selling experience and product discovery engine. Deep dive → TechCrunch

• 🇸🇬 Novelship to expand the sneakers marketplace with Snoop Dogg from the current 30 sneaker brands and 40 apparel brands. In 2022, the company raised close to $10M funding round to further expand in Asia Pacific and explore metaverse integration. Deep dive → e27

• 🇧🇷 Etsy sells Elo7 (Brazilian Etsy) 2 years after buying it for $217 million. Etsy bought Elo7 and Depop at a time when tech valuations were sky-high. Deep dive → Business insider

• 🇬🇧 Cazaar, the marketplace of fun reports 500% growth yoy. It curates 550K products and a network of hand-picked UK-based sellers. Deep dive → ChannelX