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The European Payment Initiative’s (EPI) mobile wallet, wero, aims to solve cross-border payments fragmentation across Europe. But even wero has its limits since it can’t be used outside of Europe and needs to build up consumer uptake before it can benefit from a network effect.

OTT video viewing is about to get a boost in the UK, as traditional TV viewing gets a broadband delivery option next year.

Offering a seamless returns process can help merchants win repeat shoppers.

Why it matters: EPI is a coalition of major European banks, credit institutions, and other payments firms developing a unified, real-time payments system throughout Europe to challenge US-based players like Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal. While it’s had to scale back its ambitions due to financing concerns, wero could still shake up digital payments in Europe.

UK consumers see economic storm clouds ahead: That’s driving them to splurge on small luxuries such as high-end perfumes and cosmetics.

The French retail ecommerce market is much less mature than the UK’s, but there’s more enthusiasm for online sales than in Germany. Digital advertising in the sector is largely driven by ecommerce. As a result, France’s retail ad spending growth will benefit. Travel’s turnaround will see it rise up the rankings. The sector’s digital ad spending will grow by double digits throughout our forecast.

While it still faces hurdles, the company’s finances have improved markedly—setting it up for a strong IPO in 2025

An EU court upholds decision that Google unfairly boosted its shopping services, likely influencing future cases under EU and UK competition laws.

It follows earlier exits from the Denizen fashion line and a European footwear business. The backdrop: As khakis lost favor in the US, Dockers tried to expand into more tops and bottoms—bringing it into direct competition with Levi’s and weakening the parent brand’s focus.

UK mobile P2P payments usage growth has a case of the doldrums—but bank and digital wallet providers can explore several options to give it a boost.

While the Italian Competition Authority’s probe is unlikely to cause most consumers to stop shopping at Shein, it is one more black mark against the company. There is a finite number of those types of stories that Shein can withstand before its proverbial bucket spills over.