Online marketplaces are a crucial channel for growth in Europe. But brands need a nuanced strategy to navigate the complex, fragmented landscape.

AI shopping assistants are boosting discovery and personalization, but trust issues and fulfillment challenges could limit their impact on channel migration.

OpenAI is preparing to turn ChatGPT into an advertising platform, posting a new role for an engineer to build systems for ad integration, campaign management, and attribution. The move could position ChatGPT as a new challenger to Google, Meta, and Amazon’s ad businesses. Already a major driver of referral traffic to retailers like Walmart, Etsy, and Target, ChatGPT has clear potential to evolve into a commerce and ad engine. But execution will be critical: Poorly integrated ads risk undermining user trust, even as AI-driven ad formats are projected to grow at triple-digit annual rates in the coming years.

Marketplaces have been driving US ecommerce growth. But established players face a shake-up from new entrants and advances in AI and agentic commerce.

Trading card mania is proving to be a profitable tailwind for Target, eBay, and Walmart, as high-profile releases and collector enthusiasm drive spending. The market for toys is increasingly being driven by demand for collectibles like Labubus and trading cards. That demand is strongest among adults, who see these items both as fun indulgences and investment opportunities.

Resale platform Depop launched its biggest US marketing campaign to date as it looks to expand its audience beyond its core Gen Z user base and capitalize on surging demand for secondhand goods. Growing global demand for resale presents challenges and opportunities—both for marketplaces that trade in secondhand goods, like Depop and eBay, as well as for traditional retailers.

Etsy and eBay see opportunity to gain share as tariffs burden their competitors and consumers adjust their spending habits. Both companies are well-positioned to benefit from renewed interest in resale as tariffs make buying new more expensive for shoppers. The two platforms also now face less competition from Shein, Temu, and Amazon in online ad auctions—allowing them to be more efficient with marketing spend and reach more potential customers. While neither eBay nor Etsy is fully immune from the effects of tariffs—and their potential drag on the economy and consumer confidence—they are less exposed than most other retailers.

Consumer spending will be restrained during the 2025 holiday season as shoppers remain cautious amid ongoing economic uncertainty. That means retail and ecommerce will see the slowest growth since we started tracking the metrics.

Online fashion sales are stable and growing slowly, but they lag wider ecommerce. Consumers are concerned about sustainability, but price is a bigger priority.

Online fashion sales growth in France is stabilizing as global competitors capture market share and social platforms become more influential.

Retail media ad spending in France, Germany, and the UK continues to rise, outpacing all other ad formats. The space is developing rapidly despite fragmentation and a lack of standards.

Turbulence in trade relations is changing how China’s ecommerce platforms do business in the US, with spillover effects on US retail and advertising.

The BNPL provider is racking up partners in a major expansion push before its now-delayed IPO

This is the Q1 2025 installment of our quarterly “Ad Spending Benchmarks” series, which helps ad buyers and sellers calibrate their spending and revenue mix against the market.

Retailers that aimed to be media giants are hitting headwinds as ad growth slows. To stay competitive, retail media networks must rethink org structure, sharpen media skills, and plan smartly to thrive in a more challenging landscape.

Retail ended 2024 on a high note as mobile shopping drove ecommerce sales and stores staged a comeback. Will the 2025 holiday season be as fruitful?

Amazon and Walmart dominate the landscape, but the other half of US ecommerce sales is still up for grabs.

In our exclusive survey with ESW, data from shoppers in 18 countries reveals new twists in the path to purchase, the rising momentum of marketplaces, and the resilience of age-old fundamentals.

Retail media’s rapid growth has spurred nonretail verticals to harness their first-party data to fuel their own commerce media networks. Retail media spending still dominates the commerce media landscape, but distinct challenger cohorts are finding their footing.

The expanded partnership boosts merchant acceptance for both Fastlane and Pay with Venmo