蘑菇AV

Temu and Shein won over cost-conscious shoppers in 2024: But regulatory concerns over tax loopholes, product safety, and labor practices could weigh on growth in 2025.

This tie-up defies previous concerns about the viability of funding the BNPL industry

The service could help make users feel more comfortable making payments with the digital asset

The news: Klarna is available as a payment option on eBay across Europe, rolling out in the UK, France, Spain, Austria, Italy, and the Netherlands after a pilot in Germany, per a press release. eBay shoppers will be able to pay using Klarna鈥檚 Pay in 3, Pay in 30, or big-ticket Financing option.

The UK is one of the world鈥檚 most advanced ecommerce markets鈥攁nd it was chosen as the first location outside of Asia-Pacific for TikTok Shop. But it鈥檚 still playing catch-up with social commerce. There will be 16.7 million social buyers in the UK in 2023. That鈥檚 29.4% of the population鈥攑utting the UK ahead of the rest of Europe when it comes to social buying.

PayPal has been pushing a celebrity-studded PayPal Everywhere campaign to encourage users and cardholders to use its slate of payment options鈥攄ebit, credit, and prepaid鈥攅verywhere they shop. PayPal鈥檚 Q1 results reflect strong consumer enthusiasm for its debit card: Debit card TPV grew 64% YoY, and the number of monthly active debit cardholders is up 40%.

蘑菇AV You鈥檚 highly profitable Scayle software unit is one of the fastest-growing software-as-a-service commerce platforms in the world, and will complement Zalando鈥檚 Zeos ecommerce operating system. Zalando expects to save 鈧�100 million ($104.84 million) annually through shared logistics, payment infrastructure, and commercial collaboration between the companies.

Shein鈥檚 IPO delayed due to supply-chain concerns: The UK鈥檚 financial regulator is probing the retailer鈥檚 labor practices amid pushback.

The Vipps wallet in Norway is the first to use Apple鈥檚 NFC tech, opening the floodgates for more to deploy the tech.

As merchants duke it out to drive shoppers to spend, they also need to find ways to combat fraud without pushing consumers away. Luckily there are solutions at hand. Narvar has found that relatively simple steps such as asking shoppers to provide a photo of the item and/or packaging to prove damage can help prevent fraud.

How we got here: Klarna became available to eBay shoppers in the UK, Austria, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain in December 2024. Electronics, fashion, and collectibles are some of the most popular categories where eBay shoppers are paying with Klarna, according to the companies.

The news: WhatsApp will begin showing ads for the first time since Meta鈥檚 2014 acquisition, starting with the Updates tab鈥檚 Status feature. Sponsored search placements and optional paid subscriptions will also be added to WhatsApp Channels. Ads won鈥檛 appear in encrypted chats or groups, and targeting will rely only on minimal metadata unless users opt in to link accounts. Our take: Meta is threading a careful line鈥攎onetizing WhatsApp while keeping privacy promises intact. With over 3 billion global users and deep consumer trust, the platform鈥檚 subtle shift into ads and subscriptions could deliver big returns if Meta avoids sparking user backlash over commercialization.

In 2024, a perfect storm of technology, business, and consumer behavior trends will conspire to intensify the challenges of protecting brands on digital media.

But it still isn鈥檛 available at major ecommerce sites like Amazon, eBay, or Walmart. Availability on these platforms will be crucial for Paze to start gaining significant traction. Our take: Paze could transform the digital wallet industry鈥攂ut not for some time given its slow merchant rollout. Still, other wallets like Apple Pay and PayPal will need to prepare for Paze鈥檚 influence.

Lululemon bucks China slowdown as international business gains momentum: The brand鈥檚 premium sportswear is resonating with Chinese shoppers鈥攂ut product challenges keep US consumers on the fence.

The UK鈥檚 resale economy is thriving as shoppers look to save money and live more sustainably. Retailers and brands need to act鈥攐r risk losing out.