#224 – De Minimis is Dead, Temu goes domestic, & Amazon’s rumor

by Shopifreaks | May 5, 2025 | Recent Newsletters

Hi Shopifreaks

Have you tried OpenAI's new shopping feature in ChatGPT? (Read more about that in story #4.) I've dabbled with a few test product searches today and it's — okay.

For example, when searching for “laptops great for video editing, but light enough for travel,” it recommended a Dell model that has been discontinued for several years, and then directed me to third-party websites that I've never heard to check out Asus and Apple laptops, instead of taking me to the manufacturers' websites themselves or other reputable sites like Best Buy, Amazon, or Newegg.

So, still a ways to go before it becomes a Google Shopping or Amazon killer, but hey, it's only day one.

In this week's edition I cover:

The big AI mistake
De minimis is dead
Temu goes domestic in the US
Amazon's rumor reached the White House
OpenAI launches shopping
commercetools' Spring 2025 Compilations
Kohl's fires its CEO
France fights back against Shein & Temu
Affirm launches AdaptAI
Visa, Mastercard, & PayPal embrace agentic AI
Meta's standalone AI app
Amazon's logo refresh

All this and more in this week's 224th Edition of Shopifreaks. Thanks for subscribing and sharing!

PS: For the next few weeks, I'll be replacing my weekly joke at the end of each edition with a comic strip from this ecommerce life by Datch Haven. If you work in the industry, you'll definitely appreciate his humor! Be sure to scroll to the end.

Stat of the Week

55% of business leaders that replaced employees with AI admitted that the move was a mistake, according to a recent survey by Orgvue of more than 1,000 executives. Issues they subsequently experienced included lack of awareness on how to implement AI and not knowing which roles would benefit the most from AI.

1. The de minimis exemption is officially over!

President Trump has officially ended the de minimis exemption, which previously allowed Temu, Shein, Amazon Haul, and other retailers to send packages valued under $800 duty-free from China to the US. Those same packages are now subject to tariffs as high as 145%. Trump initially announced the new tariffs in early April, set the begin May 2nd, and subsequently increased the duty rate between then and now.

The import charges differ depending on how the goods are shipped. For example, if they come on an express carrier like DHL or FedEx, they'll be subject to tariffs as high as 145%, while shipments through USPS will face a tariff of 120% or a fee of $100 per package (which will increase to $200 in June).

Here are a few examples of how the new tariffs are impacting industries:

Adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden warned that prices of almost all of its products will go up in the US because the company “currently cannot produce almost any of our products in the US.”
Coca-Cola's CEO James Quincey said that the effects of tariffs on the beverage company are “manageable” because most of the ingredients used at its bottling facilities are sourced locally; they only import machinery.
Hasbro CEO Christian Cocks said that the tariffs could hit toy sales with a force “consistent with what happened with the 2008 and 2009 recession” and that they could hit Hasbro's net profit by between $60M and $180M this year.
Analysts across 12 major brokerages raised their price targets on eBay because they see the second-hand goods market growing in the near future.
E-commerce shipment volume on cargo charter flights from China has dropped by approximately 50% since mid-April compared to the same period last year, according to freight forwarder Dimerco. The company also said that major Chinese carriers were considering cancelling services.
Meta CFO Susan Li warned investors that its infrastructure investments, particularly in AI, could end up costing the company as much as $72B this year due to suppliers raising prices over tariffs.
Rainforest, a Singapore-based e-commerce aggregator that operates 15 brands, 90% of which sell to US consumers via Amazon with goods sourced from China, is sunsetting two underperforming labels as their last remaining margins become evaporated by tariffs.
Temu removed all products from its US store that ship from China (more on that in story #2 below).
US tariff income hit record levels in April, surging to over $17B from a 2024 average of $8B per month, however, that was mostly from non-China tariffs, which we've yet to see the impact of.

In an interview with NBC on Friday, President Trump said he would not be willing to drop tariffs on China to get Beijing to come to the negotiating table.

Trump said:

“They said today they want to talk. Look, China, and I don't like this. I'm not happy about this. China's getting killed right now. They're getting absolutely destroyed. Their factories are closing. Their unemployment is going through the roof. I'm not looking to do that to China now. At the same time, I'm not looking to have China make hundreds of billions of dollars and build more ships and more Army tanks and more airplanes.”

However he did say he would eventually lower tariffs:

“At some point, I'm going to lower them, because otherwise you could never do business with them. And they want to do business very much like their economy is really doing badly. Their economy is collapsing.”

How has your business been impacted by tariffs? Hit reply and share your story.

2. Temu blocks US shoppers from viewing products shipped from China

The day before the de minimis exemption ended, Temu US began to show only “local” products (which fulfill from the US), blocking customers from viewing or purchasing any items that ship directly from China. The abrupt change caused widespread confusion with both the company's suppliers and customers.

The bestsellers on Temu are now mostly furniture and household appliances, replacing the ultracheap smaller consumer goods like toys, beauty products, and apparel that the company was known for.

Temu wrote in an e-mailed statement to Wired:

“Temu has recently transitioned its US operations to a local fulfillment model. This means that all sales in the US are now handled by locally-based sellers, with orders fulfilled from within the country. Despite the operational shift, Temu’s pricing for US consumers remains unchanged.”

The company also abruptly changed its slogan from “Shop like a Billionaire!” to “Shop like a Millionaire!” (LOL, j/k)

Rena Scott, a retired nurse in Virginia, told CNN, “I can’t afford to buy from Temu now, and I already couldn’t afford to buy in this country.”

A Temu seller told Wired, “Things are in chaos right now. Ever since the tariffs kept changing, our business has been heavily affected.”

Temu sellers didn't know!

Many sellers reported being confused that their products were removed from the US store because they weren't notified by Temu ahead of the change. Additionally, Temu allegedly removed a large number of China-based sellers altogether from its platform last week, only to quickly reverse the removal a few days later, adding even more to the confusion, as several sellers thought this was happening again.

Major Chinese e-commerce platforms are stepping up for their sellers:

Alibaba held a conference to reassure employees and sellers that they would help them take care of customs procedures.
Alibaba's supermarket chain launched a new channel for firms looking to sell in China.
JD.com committed to purchase at least $27.4B worth of goods from exporters over the next year and help them sell at home in China.
PDD (which own Temu) pledged to invest about half that much to help its sellers pivot to local consumers.
Baidu (China's Google) pledged free advertising services for millions of companies.

3. Amazon falls from the White House's grace over a rumor

Ready for one more tariff story this week? Okay here goes…

Last week it was reported by an anonymous Amazon employee that the company planned to begin showing the cost of tariffs as a separate line item on its website (similar to how sales tax is displayed) — and President Trump did not like that one bit!

In a press briefing, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said:

“This is a hostile and political act by Amazon. Why didn’t Amazon do this when the Biden administration hiked inflation to the highest level in 40 years?”

She went on to suggest that the company is aligned with a Chinese propaganda arm.

Amazon quickly responded by saying:

“The team that runs our ultra low cost Amazon Haul store considered the idea of listing import charges on certain products. This was never approved and is not going to happen.”

The thing is though, it was never confirmed in the first place that Amazon planned to display tariffs to customers. It was just a rumor published by a DC publication called Punchbowl News that publishes political scoops. However the rumor reached the White House and caused a fury.

Fast Company's Grace Snelling wrote:

“By jumping to condemn Amazon’s potential new feature, the White House as good as broadcasted that it’s worried about companies exposing how much the president’s tariffs are costing consumers, and it’s prepared to name and shame them to prevent that from happening.”

The Verge's Nilay Patel wrote:

“Jeff Bezos now has no choice but to insist that Amazon display tariffs on its website now. None. Zero. If he doesn’t insist on it, he will prove himself to be among history’s least principled cowards. I say this bluntly because Bezos has spent the past year utterly tearing apart the Washington Post, causing one of our nation’s most important news outlets to bleed subscribers, reporters, editors, cartoonists, standing, and morale, in service of his ‘two pillars:' personal liberties and free markets.”

Trump later praised Jeff Bezos, calling him a “good guy” after Amazon said it had no plans to display the added costs of tariffs on items . Does Trump know that Jeff Bezos is no longer the CEO of Amazon?

4. OpenAI confirms its entry into shopping

Last week I reported that new code made public by OpenAI suggested that it is working on allowing users to make purchases from Shopify directly inside ChatGPT without visiting the merchant's website.

Later that day, after my edition was published, OpenAI revealed that is indeed launching a shopping feature within ChatGPT — although it did not confirm a direct integration with Shopify.

The company posted on X:

“We're excited to announce we’ve launched several improvements to ChatGPT search, and today we’re starting to roll out a better shopping experience. Search has become one of our most popular & fastest growing features, with over 1 billion web searches just in the past week.

We’re experimenting with making shopping simpler and faster to find, compare, and buy products in ChatGPT.

✅ Improved product results
✅ Visual product details, pricing, and reviews
✅ Direct links to buy

Product results are chosen independently and are not ads. These shopping improvements are starting to roll out today to Plus, Pro, Free, and logged-out users everywhere ChatGPT is available. It will take a few days to complete the rollout.”

Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke responded to the post with:

“There is so much potential in this. The beginning of a totally new modality of shopping. Extremely excited.”

To use the new shopping feature, you simply enter a shopping-related query like, “Find me a laptop that's great for video editing, but light enough to travel with,” and then ChatGPT reveals suggestions in the form of product cards in a gallery, which can be scrolled sideways. Tapping on a product reveals a pop-up window on the right with more details about the product and a buy button.

The shopping feature will be available to all ChatGPT users worldwide, including Pro, Plus, and Free users, as well as those who use the service without logging in.

OpenAI also teased that it will soon integrate its memory feature with its shopping capabilities, enabling ChatGPT to reference a user’s previous chats to further personalize product recommendations.

OpenAI plans to provide a way for merchants to submit product feeds directly to ChatGPT, similar to how you can submit your product feed to Google Merchant Center. You can register for early access to that here.

5. commercetools unveils its Spring 2025 Compilations

commercetools released Spring 2025 Compilations, its biannual showcase of new features to its platform. Some of the updates you've seen me cover in previous editions, while others were revealed for the first time.

The new features focus on three enterprise priorities:

Memorable customer experiences that build loyalty and repeat business
Seamless growth and expansion through flexible, efficient operations
Productive, empowered teams equipped with tools to execute faster

Major improvements include:

Unified InStore Commerce – the ability to operate online and offline channels from one backend
Smarter Promotions – “Buy & Get” and “Best Deal” logic to increase average order value and customer retention
Collaborative B2B Purchasing – shareable purchasing lists that improve workflows and decision-making for B2B buyers
Subscription Orders – recurring order functionality for replenishment-based or convenience-driven commerce
Precision Campaigns – targeting up to 500 customer segments for personalized pricing and promotions
No-Code Payment Integrations – a new Payment Hub that allows rapid PSP integrations without developer effort
AI Product Data Modeling – tools that use AI to simplify the creation of complex product catalogs
Inventory Reservations – real-time stock visibility and allocation tools to ensure popular items remain available
Enhanced Merchant Tools – bulk editing, discount management, and Import API upgrades for faster day-to-day operations
B2B System Flexibility – advanced quote editing, permissions, and business unit management without custom development
Better Search & Performance – faster, more relevant product search and API monitoring tools for improved diagnostics

Shiri Mosenzon Erez, Chief Product Officer at commercetools, said:

“There is a broad shift towards an experience that is fully generated, not only agentic commerce, so businesses will have the autonomy to adapt, personalize, and grow on their own terms — we are working towards this — the architects of commerce innovation!”

6. Kohl's fires its CEO Ashley Buchanan

Kohl's fired its CEO Ashley Buchanan last week over an undisclosed personal relationship he had with a vendor on a consulting team that made a multimillion dollar deal with the retailer under his leadership. Buchanan had only been in the role since January. The board appointed board director Michael Bender as the interim CEO.

An investigation by an outside law firm found that Buchanan had violated the company's policies by directing Kohl's to enter into “vendor transactions that involved undisclosed conflicts of interest.”

Basically, he entered into a multimillion-dollar deal that had very favorable terms for the consulting company, and it turns out, the firm was connected to someone who Buchanan had a personal relationship with — leading to speculation that there may have been favoritism, kickbacks, or both involved in the deal.

Kohl's did not disclose who the consulting agreement was with, but The Wall Street Journal revealed that it was Boston Consulting Group, where Buchanan's romantic partner, Chandra Holt, was an adviser.

Buchanan will have to forfeit all equity awards and bonuses he received from Kohl's when he was hired, as well as reimburse the company on a pro-rated basis for a $2.5M signing bonus.

Boston Consulting said it was “shocked to learn of the relationship” and that the company has “strict guidelines for our senior advisors to disclose any conflicts of interest.” The company also said it had terminated Holt's contract for nondisclosure.

If you're interested in this story, you've got to read Brittain Ladd's LinkedIn post where he drills into Buchanan and shares how he previously tried to warn Kohl's about his character:

“Ashley has a history of bending and breaking the rules. He believes there is no reason why he should be restricted from doing anything that he wants. He exhibited this behavior at Sam’s Club and especially at Michaels Stores. I’m convinced that Buchanan will break every rule that he can as the CEO of Kohl’s.”

7. France wants to add a handling fee to imported products

Thought the de minimis exemption was only getting attention in the US? Wrong!

French government officials are pushing to add a small handling fee to low-cost items bought online outside of the EU to help curb the surge of packages arriving from Chinese retailers — many of which have diverted inventory headed for the US to the EU in light of US tariffs.

Currently the EU exempts small packages worth under €150 from customs duties, but with over 4.6B packages entering the EU last year, French officials say the system is overwhelmed.

Budget Minister Amélie de Montchalin clarified:

“This isn't a tax on consumers — it's to make these platforms contribute more to checks we must do for security.”

The fee would only be “a few euros” per package and would be paid by importers and platforms, who of course, would likely pass the fee onto their customers.

The EU is planning a broader customs reform by 2028, but France wants a quicker fix, so it's proposing adding handling fees as soon as 2026. It also outlined several key actions set to commence in 2025 including intensifying inspections on foreign e-commerce platforms and a threefold increase in targeted sampling of e-commerce packages.

In April, the UK government also announced that it will review its de minimis rules, which currently allow goods valued up to £135 to enter the country duty-free.

8. Affirm launches AdaptAI platform for merchants

Affirm launched AdaptAI, a new AI-powered promotions platform designed to deliver personalized financial benefits directly at the point of purchase. AdaptAI can deliver personalized perks like exclusive APR rates, special repayment terms, and immediate cash savings, which are available to customers via the Affirm App and Affirm Card.

Vishal Kapoor, Affirm’s SVP of Product, said:

“Unlike conventional credit card rewards—which are opaque, static, and subsidized by the financially vulnerable—AdaptAI dynamically matches the right benefit to the right consumer at exactly the right moment. Consumers no longer need to spend more, keep track of, or wait months to recoup their rewards. Now, they can immediately receive tailored, transparent value at the time of purchase. This is only made possible with Affirm’s AI-powered technology and real-time underwriting, and builds on what we do best: delivering customized payment options that help consumers take their money further.”

Here are two examples of the type of offers merchants can present shoppers with:

A first-time buyer making a $500 purchase might be offered 0% APR over 12 months, saving them around $120 in interest.
A loyal customer might receive a 24-month installment plan at 10% APR — paying slightly more but being offered a longer payment term based on their shopping history.

Affirm has leveraged AdaptAI across its own consumer products, including the Affirm App and Affirm Card, and says it drove nearly 10% incremental improvements in conversion rates. Now the company is making the promotions platform broadly available for its merchant partners.

Kind of cool, but also, yikes! Now customers will have to view product pages from an Incognito browser to compare financing terms?

E-commerce personalization can be a good thing, but it can also lead to implied habits and debt traps. You finance one item for two years, and suddenly you're being offered to amortize all your purchases for 24 months! It's like jeez — I wanted to pay off my laptop over two years, not my DoorDash.

9. Other e-commerce news of interest

Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal all launched tools last week to embed secure, conversational payments into AI systems. Visa is partnering with OpenAI, Perplexity, and others to test AI-native transactions, Mastercard unveiled its Agent Pay system to support agent payments with tokenized credentials, and PayPal is equipping developers with toolkits to build end-to-end shopping experiences within AI interfaces.

Walmart is expanding support for American-made products with a new “Grow with US” program to make it easier for US-based entrepreneurs to navigate the complexities of retail and launch their products nationally. Grow with US is a four-step program designed to provide small businesses with training, mentorship, and resources to grow their company. Companies interested in participating can register with Walmart by providing a Small Business Administration certification or by requesting verification through the retailer.

India's financial crime agency is seeking sales data and other documents from Apple and Xiaomi as part of an ongoing investigation into Amazon and Flipkart, which it has been investigating for years for allegedly breaching laws by stocking and exerting control over goods they list online, which they are prohibited from doing under Indian law as foreign-owned e-commerce companies. Government officials said the smartphones companies had been approached only to seek information and it was unlikely they will be accused in the case, although “the investigation is ongoing.”

Meta is launching a standalone artificial intelligence mobile app called Meta AI app to challenge ChatGPT and bring its Llama 4 model's capabilities beyond its social platforms into a standalone platform with text, voice, and image capabilities. The app is available on iOS and Android and is designed to ingest user preferences, learn, and recall context to deliver a personalized experience — it's big advance over OpenAI being its vast user data. Personalized experiences are currently available only in the US and Canada, with other markets like Australia and New Zealand coming soon.

Amazon refreshed its logo and introduced a unified brand system across its 50+ sub-brands, using two new custom typefaces: Amazon Logo Sans and Ember Modern. The update was designed with Koto Studio and includes a refined color palette, typographic standardization, and a scalable logo-generation tool to eliminate brand fragmentation and ensure consistency across Amazon’s expanding categories from healthcare to entertainment.

BigCommerce partnered with Silk Commerce to launch Distributed Ecommerce Hub, a turnkey solution enabling manufacturers, brands, and franchisors to create and centrally manage thousands of branded storefronts for dealers, distributors, and franchisees. The platform is built on BigCommerce’s B2B Edition and Multi-Storefront architecture and offers centralized control over branding, catalogs, and analytics while preserving local flexibility. This solution targets businesses that have outgrown traditional multi-store setups with the hopes of streamlining e-commerce deployment and improving partner performance across distributed sales networks.

Meta, Spotify, Garmin, Match, and other tech companies have teamed up to form a lobby group to represent their interests against Apple and Google. The group's first order of business is arguing that age verification should be the responsibility of app stores, and not the apps themselves. Yes and no, right? Yes, Google and Apple should be responsible for age verification within their app stores, but all those companies mentioned above also offer web-based (non-app) versions of their services and should be responsible for age verification too. Fight it out and figure it out amongst yourselves, but at the end of the day, you're all responsible.

TikTok was fined $600M by Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner for failing to adequately protect data after the platform admitted earlier this year to storing a limited amount of EU data in China, which it says has now been deleted. The company must also suspend data transfers to China unless it complies within six months. TikTok plans to appeal, citing its use of standard contractual clauses and new security measures like storing EU user data in centers in Europe and the US as grounds for dismissal of the fine.

Saks Fifth Avenue launched a multi-brand luxury storefront on Amazon Fashion via a new shopping section called Luxury Stores that features a selection of merchandise curated by the retailer. The launch is accompanied by specially designed digital displays inspired by the windows of Saks Fifth Avenue's flagship in New York City. Initial brands in the storefront include Dolce&Gabbana, Balmain, Etro, Stella McCartney, and eight others, with more labels to be added soon. So now you know — just in case you ever wanted to buy a $2k handbag on Amazon.

Square expanded its Square Banking suite with new tools that give sellers instant access to their cash flow and easier ways to manage their earnings. Additionally, Square Savings accounts now feature new personalized savings recommendations that are informed by cash flow data and industry insights, allowing sellers to organize their funds into folders for key expenses like taxes and supplies. Great features that I wish my business bank had!

President Trump said in a recent interview with NBC News that he will not take TikTok away from Americans, despite another deadline coming up for the app. Trump approved a second 75-day extension for a deal last month and said he would consider another one if necessary. He also played down fears of rising prices due to his tariffs or that he would seek a constitutionally forbidden third term.

Speaking of TikTok… the company's head of operations, trust, and safety Adam Presser testified in the FTC's antitrust trial against Meta, explaining the ways in which TikTok competes, or doesn't compete, with Meta's services in the personal social networking market — which the FTC says only contains Meta, Snapchat, and MeWe. Presser said that Facebook and Instagram offer “personalized social networking services” worldwide and in the US today, while TikTok and YouTube do not. Presser also discussed TikTok's 2020 response to requests for information from the European Commission, where TikTok said that its services “do not qualify as social networking services” and that Facebook and Instagram's services are a “complement” to TikTok's services. Meta, on the other hand, argued that TikTok is very much its rival, citing its Friends tab and other social features that make it feel like a social networking product.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy compared the US trade war to a pandemic and said that Amazon could gain market share throughout the disruption. Jassy said to analysts, “When there are uncertain environments, customers tend to choose the provider they trust most. Given our really broad selection, low pricing and speedy delivery, we have emerged from these uncertain areas with more relative market segment share than we started and better set up for the future. I am optimistic this could happen again.”

Amazon is facing criticism for allowing AI-generated books on sensitive health topics like ADHD to proliferate on its platform, many of which are filled with misinformation, inaccuracies, and potentially harmful advice. Experts warn that without publishing industry guardrails or regulatory oversight, digital marketplaces risk becoming a “wild west” of unchecked content, exploiting consumers in need while platforms and AI developers profit without accountability. Amazon says it enforces content guidelines and is working to improve protections, but critics argue its model incentivizes sales over safety.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is investigating a surge of complaints about ghost stores, which pretend to be local businesses and are often accompanied by a fictitious story telling consumers they are closing down and must liquidate stock. The stores, many which list return addresses in China, sell everything including poor quality clothing, counterfeit sports labels, or nothing at all — simply collecting purchases and then shutting down before fulfilling the items. Consumer advocates in Australia are blaming Shopify and Meta for profiting from the marketing and sale of products in these stores.

Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn announced that the company would be “AI-first” moving forward, with plans to phase out contractors in order to overcome human limitations involved with creating the “massive amount of content” the platform needs to scale. Following in Shopify's footsteps, he shared that the company will only allow new hires once teams prove they can't automate the work, and that employees can expect their AI use to be graded in their performance reviews. He should see my Stat of the Week at the top of this e-mail…

eBay promoted Jordan Sweetnam to the newly created role of Chief Commercial Officer after serving as VP of Seller Experience from 2014 – 2016 for his first 12 years at the company and head of eBay Marketplaces for his second 6-year stint after he rejoined eBay in 2019. Sweetnam will be tasked with leading eBay's newly created Global Marketplace Experience organization, which brings together Product, Category, and Regional teams to move faster and collaborate more deeply.

Shopify nominated Joe Natale, an adviser at private equity firm Altas Partners and the former CEO of Rogers Communications, for election at its annual general meeting on June 17th. If voted in, Natale will become lead independent contractor, replacing the retiring Robert Ashe, an ex-IBM executive, as well as join Shopify’s audit, corporate governance and compensation committees.

ReFiBuy, a startup by Scot Wingo, co-founder of Channel Advisor, that aims to solve complex e-commerce problems for retailers using AI, announced the founding members of its board of directors. Names include Justin Bomberowitz, Senior Director of E-commerce at Wilde Chips, Kelly Goetsch, COO at Pipe17, Kiri Masters, host of Retail Media Breakfast Club and Forbes contributor, and Rick Watson, founder of RMW Commerce.

UPS plans to cut 20,000 jobs this year, or about 4% of its global workforce, and close 73 buildings in the US, due to increased use of technology and its plans to trim its Amazon business. In January, the company announced a plan to cuts its business with its largest customer, Amazon, by half by the middle of 2026 because it wasn't proving to be profitable for the courier. The Teamsters union, which represents more than 300,000 UPS workers, said it would fight layoffs of any of its members.

Spotter, an Amazon-backed company that provides upfront capital to YouTube creators in exchange for licensing their back catalog, let go of an undisclosed amount of staffers this week due to the “macroeconomic environment.” The company says that the cuts will help “accelerate our path to profitability by the end of the year.” The cuts mark the company's second round of layoffs in the last six months.

Amazon's Alexa+ has rolled out to over 100,000 users, according to CEO Andy Jassy — a meaningful milestone but still a far cry from the 600M Alexa devices out there. Jassy noted that the technology is still rather “primitive” and “inaccurate,” but that most multi-step AI agents have a low accuracy rate between 30% and 60%. He set a goal for Alexa+ to achieve 90% accuracy, but didn't specify when.

Retail orders on India's ONDC network have fallen to 4.6M in February from a peak of 6.5M in October last year, following a reduction in incentive payouts to participants like Paytma and Ola Consumers, which use the funds to offer discounts. A recent survey found that 62% of users in the past two years found the products they ordered to be better value than other e-commerce platforms, while 54% found the platform cumbersome to use and 35% found it lacking in customer service.

Total e-commerce shipments from China to the US dropped 65% by volume in the first three months of the year, but rose by 28% in Europe. The figures predate President Trump's announcement in April that he was scrapping the tariff exemption on imports worth less than $800, but highlight how China's major e-commerce platforms have diverted marketing efforts to Europe in anticipation of the US tariffs.

🏆 This week's most ridiculous story… Ukraine launched a program that gives points to solders who kill Russians or destroy their tanks, which they can use to buy drones and other military equipment from an online store called Brave1 Market, which they say functions “like Amazon.” Units are awarded for their kills or destroying military equipment with “ePoints” as long as they can confirm the attack with drone footage and upload it to a military situational awareness network. The site already hosts over 1,000 items like FPV drones, EW tools, and ground robots, directly connecting military units with manufacturers.

So effectively, they're gamifying real war? It sounds incredibly dangerous for Ukrainian soldiers, who are now incentivized to ‘screenshot' their kills and get more of them at all costs just to earn gear for their likely underfunded, under-equipped squad — potentially compromising stealth and individual missions to earn more weapons. Shouldn't the military be equipping their soldiers with the proper weapons and equipment to do their job regardless of their “ePoints” status? What are your thoughts? Hit reply and let me know.

10. Seed rounds, IPOs, & acquisitions

Omniretail, a Nigerian B2B e-commerce platform that connects informal retailers with suppliers and manufacturers to streamline inventory sourcing and delivery, raised $20M in a Series A round co-led by Norfund and Lagos, bringing its total amount raised to $38M. The funds will be used to expand the company's geographic presence, add new retailers, deepen its focus on embedded finance products, and expand into new product categories like personal care, home care, and cold storage.

Vinted, a Lithuanian-based secondhand marketplace, launched a venture capital arm to invest in UK and European e-commerce startups. Vinted Ventures will concentrate on investments in growth-stage startups across the re-commerce value chain, with funding mounts ranging from €500k to €10M.

Instacart is acquiring Wynshop, a Miami-based digital commerce platform that provides grocery retailers with tools for managing online ordering, fulfillment, and customer engagement, for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition will help Instacart add new capabilities to Storefront Pro, its e-commerce solution, and bring enterprise solutions to more partners such as e-commerce, advertising, fulfillment, and in-store options. Wynshop will initially operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Instacart, and over time, the two companies plan to join their account teams.

Shein's IPO plans in London have been stalled as the retailer assesses the impact of US tariffs on its business and awaits regulatory approvals. In 2023, Shein was targeting an IPO with a valuation of up to $90B, but by February 2025, it was targeting $30B. Now US tariffs may have pushed that valuation down even further based on future projected earnings, and the company's IPO has been halted. Shein also reportedly dropped two communications firms that were supporting its push for an IPO.

Reelevant, a French martech company that offers real-time content personalization for e-mail, web, and mobile, enabling dynamic customer experiences, raised €6M in a Series A round led by Seventure Partners. The company will use the funds to strengthen its presence in Europe, enhance its product's real-time capabilities, and expand its team across product, sales, and marketing.

Pliant, a German B2B payments company that provides API driven credit card and expense solutions, raised $40M in a Series B round led by Illuminate Financial and Speedinvest, bringing its total amount raised to over $100M. The company has reported consecutive years of triple-digit revenue growth and currently caters to 3,500 businesses across Europe, with plans to bring its solution the US market.

Amazon plans to invest $4B to expand rural delivery capabilities, allowing it to reach more than 13,000 zip codes and speed up deivery times for millions of customers, by 2026. The investment will grow its rural delivery network's footprint to over 200 delivery stations, and the company estimates it will create over 100,000 new jobs and driving opportunities.

Nuvo, a B2B social commerce platform designed to streamline the purchasing of physical goods between businesses by combining collaborative workflows with social-style interactions, raised $34M in a Series A round led by Sequoia Capital and Spark Capital, bringing its total amount raised to $45M. With 50,000 businesses expected on its network by mid-year, the company plans to expand into payments, AI features, and international markets.

Kintsugi, a Silicon Valley-based startup that provides automated sales tax compliance solutions, raised $18M in a round led by Vertex. The startup allows businesses to calculate their sales tax liability for free and only charges them for tax filing. It boasts 2,400 customers and is on track to cross $10M in revenue by the end of the year.

Luxe Du Jour, a Canadian luxury resale platform that specializes in buying, selling, and consigning pre-owned designer handbags and accessories, is looking to raise $13M CAD in a Series B round, aiming to double sales and grow its physical retail and digital platform across North America. The company raised $5M CAD in its Series A round in 2023 and is looking to close on its upcoming funding round by this summer.

Celerant Technologies, a New York-based retail software company that provides point-of-sale, e-commerce, and inventory management solutions for omnichannel retailers, acquired Saledock, a UK-based retail platform that offers unified point-of-sale and e-commerce solutions for retailers to manage in-store and online operations from a single system, for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition marks Celerant's official expansion into international markets, which has been a goal of the company for several years.

Kiwi, a Miami-based healthcare fintech company that offers a platform to help Latin American patients manage out-of-pocket medical expenses through payment plans and financing options, raised $10M in a round led by HFD and MVRK Capital. The platform will launch in Peru before expanding into Mexico, with 73 clinics already signed on.