China's market regulator summoned major e-commerce platforms like Alibaba, JD.com, and Pinduoduo over marketing malpractices, including misleading ads and inadequate rule disclosures, as the "618" shopping festival approaches. This is part of an effort to curb "involution-style" competition.
South Korea's Personal Information Protection Commission fined Coupang 624.68 billion won for violating safety obligations and illegally collecting personal data, leading to a leak affecting 37.5 million users.
A report by the German Retail Association shows online retail in Germany continues to grow, projected to increase by 4.3% in 2026, outpacing physical retail's 1.6% growth. This trend is driven by consumers seeking cost savings and convenience, with older demographics also contributing significantly.
A consumer commission has ordered FirstCry to pay Rs 50,000 compensation and refund Rs 2,130 with interest to a customer. The retailer cancelled an order, withheld payment, and internally labeled the user as 'fraud' without due process.
German online retailer Mytheresa has successfully integrated luxury fashion brands like Gucci, Prada, Versace, Saint Laurent, and Cartier, becoming one of the world's largest online luxury fashion shops.
Consumer group CHOICE warns that online retail giants like Amazon, Temu, AliExpress, and eBay are exploiting legal loopholes to sell banned or unsafe products in Australia, including dangerous toys and flammable garments. The ACCC is investigating and taking action, but CHOICE urges the government to introduce a general safety provision.
The European Union fines Temu €200m for selling illegal, dangerous products (baby toys, faulty chargers) due to systemic risk failures; Temu disagrees, considering the fine disproportionate.
A survey ahead of Father's Day in the UK reveals that one in five Britons would swap their dad for a better model, and one in three pretend to have a better relationship than they do. Online retailer Thortful has launched a campaign challenging the "Best Dad Ever" stereotype with honest cards.
Amazon's dominance in e-commerce stems from its first-mover advantage, aggressive reinvestment, and use of AWS profits to subsidize retail. Its platform model and Prime service create a sticky ecosystem, making competition difficult. Antitrust lawsuits allege unlawful practices to maintain this dominance.
Amazon introduces Alexa for Shopping, a personalized AI shopping assistant replacing Rufus, offering voice and touch-enabled experiences across platforms, providing personalized recommendations, product comparisons, price tracking, and automated shopping capabilities, including purchases from other online retailers.
Taking on its US rival in Britain is expected to lead to ‘collateral damage’ for UK retailers“We’re here to shake up the UK e-commerce market,” says Matthew Nobbs, the UK boss of Joybuy which is spearheading a European charge by China’s version of Amazon.“I see our competitors as everyone,” he adds, reflecting the scale of ambition of the online retailer that sells home appliances, groceries, makeup and more. Continue reading...
Shares of eBay are soaring before the opening bell after Ryan Cohen's GameStop announced an attempt to take over the company for about $56 billion, seeing it as a vehicle to compete with online retail giant Amazon
