If you follow the marketplace news item by item every week, it’s easy to lose sight of how much is shifting at the same time. That’s why Ingrid and Valerie take a step back in this episode and put October’s developments into context – partly for Valerie, who admits she has mostly just skimmed the news in recent weeks.

What mattered:

• AI shopping: ChatGPT gets an official buy box, OTTO opens its catalogue via an interface, and European marketplaces still barely show up in AI answers.
• Shein and Temu: Shein reports its first-ever decline in both profit and revenue, while Temu rises to number one in several European countries.
• Amazon in Q4: The logistics surcharge goes up, and Returnless Resolutions bring a new opt-in. Who is it worth it for?
• Expansion wave: new marketplace launches, from ABOUT YOU in Romania and Kaufland in Spain to OTTO opening up to Austrian sellers.

An episode for everyone who wants to keep the big picture in view amid the day-to-day business.

Note from the sponsor Allegro:

Planning your expansion across Europe? Then it’s worth looking east as well. Allegro is the leading marketplace in Poland and now also operates in Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary, with around 21 million active buyers in total. For 2026, Allegro expects its international business to grow by 65 to 75 percent. In our marketplace portrait, we show which sellers the move pays off for, how shipping with Smart! and One Fulfillment works and which onboarding programmes are available. 👉 Read the full Allegro portrait!

For brands that want to dig deeper, we’re hosting the webinar “How Brands Grow on Allegro” on November 18. 👉 Register for the webinar – or watch the recording later.