Commerce

Amazon launches a Prime-free marketplace in South Africa, its first on the continent

Commerce /

Two years after announcing plans, Amazon’s highly awaited e-commerce entry into Africa has finally come to pass. On Tuesday, the tech giant launched its marketplace in South Africa. South Africa is the e-commerce giant’s first market on the continent, and it will be going head-to-head in the country with local players like Takealot (majority-owned by media […]

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Amazon launches a Prime-free marketplace in South Africa, its first in sub-Saharan Africa

Commerce /

Two years after announcing plans, Amazon’s highly awaited e-commerce entry into sub-Saharan Africa has finally come to pass. On Tuesday, the tech giant launched its marketplace in South Africa. South Africa is the e-commerce giant’s first marketplace in the sub-Saharan region (it already has an operation out of Egypt following the acquisition of Souq in

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Sam’s Club’s AI-powered exit tech reaches 20% of stores

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Amazon may be scaling back its AI-powered Just Walk Out checkout-free tech in its stores in favor of smart shopping carts, but Walmart-owned Sam’s Club says it’s turning to AI to speed up its own exit technology. Instead of requiring store staff to check members’ purchases against their receipts when leaving the store, Sam’s Club

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WeTransfer cuts out the middle man and now lets users sell files directly on the platform

Commerce /

WeTransfer is adding new features that allow users to sell files directly on the platform, the company announced on Tuesday. According to one study, 87% of content creators have reported late or missed payments. With this new functionality, photographers, designers, illustrators and other creators will now be able to earn money immediately and not have to

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Getir pulls out of US, UK, Europe to focus on Turkey — 6,000+ jobs impacted

Commerce /

True to its business concept, Turkey’s “instant delivery” juggernaut Getir rose quickly. Now, with the quick commerce industry in free fall, it is nosediving just as fast. On Monday, the company — once valued close to $12 billion — announced it would shut down its operations the U.S., the U.K. and Europe to focus solely

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Shein to face EU’s strictest rules for online marketplaces

Commerce /

Ultra-fast fashion e-commerce giant Shein will be subject to an additional layer of governance rules targeted at very large online platforms (VLOPs) under the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA), the Commission announced Friday. Shein had reported passing an average of 45 million monthly users in the region — which is the threshold for the

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Amazon launches a new grocery delivery subscription in the US

Commerce /

Amazon said Tuesday that it has launched a new unlimited grocery delivery subscription for Prime members and customers with an EBT card (Electronic Benefit Transfer) in the U.S. if you’re living in one of the 3,500 eligible cities and towns. The company started testing grocery delivery in three locations last year: Denver; Sacramento, California; and

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Here’s a lab-grown diamond startup that’s attracted a16z’s attention

Commerce /

Throughout hip-hop’s long history, jewelry has served as an important vehicle for artists to convey their ideas and affluence, or simply to dazzle onlookers. Diamonds, in particular, serve as an important motif, famously exemplified by Drake’s $400,000 diamond-encrusted iPhone case. But not everyone is a millionaire rapper, and most people can’t exactly afford to wear

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TikTok Shop expands its secondhand luxury fashion offering to the UK

Commerce /

TikTok Shop, TikTok’s social commerce marketplace, is launching a secondhand luxury category in the U.K., putting it in closer competition with The RealReal, Vestiaire Collective, Depop, Poshmark, and Mercari, among others. The offering has already existed in TikTok Shop U.S. for over six months. The new category allows customers in the U.K. to purchase pre-owned

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MarketForce winds down its B2B e-commerce arm

Commerce /

Kenyan B2B e-commerce company MarketForce is winding down its B2B e-commerce business that served informal merchants (mom-and-pop stores) after a turbulent two-year period that saw it scale down operations severely. The shutdown of the B2B e-commerce arm dubbed RejaReja comes months after MarketForce withdrew the service from all its markets, including Nigeria and Kenya, save

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