This week's unmissable e-commerce news! Trends, events & tools—all in under 5 minutes 🛒
👋 The Weekly Edito Rarely has a week been this dense. We are witnessing a head-on collision between three worlds: regulation hitting hard (Shein taxes, Doctolib fine, Vinted scandal), innovation shifting into high gear (Gemini 3, Wero settling in, Target in ChatGPT), and traditional retail reinventing itself (Walmart in tech mode, BlaBlaCar getting aggressive). It is "fertile chaos" right before Black Friday. One thing is certain: those who thought 2025 would end quietly were mistaken. Buckle up, this briefing is packed.
📢 E-commerce & Shopping
👗 Vinted: Pornography scandal and Arcom investigation On November 17, the Secretary of State for Child Protection alerted Arcom (the French regulatory authority) after discovering lingerie listings on Vinted being hijacked to promote pornographic content (Mym, OnlyFans). (www.siecledigital.fr)
🇺🇸 Meanwhile, Vinted tests the US market Alongside its troubles, Vinted launched a test on November 19 allowing transactions between its British users and those in three US states (NY, NJ, CT). (www.news.yahoo.com)
👔 Kiabi launches "Wekrew" B2B offer The French retailer is diversifying its activities with the November 13 launch of Wekrew, a brand of customizable clothing for companies. (www.ecommercemag.fr)
🎥 eBay Live launches in Germany eBay will inaugurate its Live Shopping service in Germany on November 29 at the Stuttgart Comic Con. (www.valueaddedresource.net)
🛑 Leroy Merlin closes two Parisian stores The retailer is closing its Daumesnil and Rosa Parks sites to focus on opening 20 local "mini-stores" in Paris by 2030. (www.capital.fr)
📉 Specialty retail declines (-1.5%) The PROCOS index noted a 1.5% drop in October for specialty retail, despite a notable performance in the Toys/Culture sector (+8.5%). (www.ecommercemag.fr)
💎 Kering restructures Luca de Meo unveiled a plan on November 18: reducing the store network and increasing prices to reduce reliance on Gucci. (www.modaes.com)
👜 LVMH reassures on China "The Louis" event showed signs of recovery in the Chinese luxury market, with the group stating that the slowdown has reached its floor. (www.fashionnetwork.com)
One week from D-DAY, Black Friday is already making headlines:
- 🛒 Amazon launches 12 days of Black Friday: Amazon is extending its promotional period from November 20 to December 1 with over a million offers and aggressive flash sales. (www.aboutamazon.fr)
- 🎁 80% of the French will participate: According to Rakuten (Nov 20), 8 out of 10 French people will use Black Friday for Christmas gifts, and 1/3 will use AI to spot deals. (www.e-marketing.fr)
- 💰 Nov 28, the best day to buy: An Idealo study confirms that Friday, November 28 will feature the lowest prices in 38 out of 50 product categories. (www.ecommercemag.fr)
And finally, in the Shein Saga...
- ⚖️ Massive class action against Shein: Over 100 brands and 12 French federations launched a collective legal action on November 19 against Shein for unfair competition, with a first hearing in January 2026. (www.ecommerce-nation.fr)
- 🏛️ Shein in court on Nov 26: The Paris Judicial Tribunal will examine a request next Tuesday to suspend the platform in France for non-compliance with product standards. (www.lechommerces.fr)
- 🎯 Parcel tax voted in France: On Nov 18-19, the Assembly examined a penalty of €2 to €10 per parcel specifically targeting fast-fashion platforms like Temu and Shein. (www.tf1info.fr)
📣 Marketing & Ads
🤖 Target sells in ChatGPT Target and OpenAI now allow users to shop for groceries (fresh food included) directly via a ChatGPT conversation—a major first. (www.techcrunch.com)
📢 Adrien Masson, new GM Amazon Ads France Appointed on November 19, he will lead Amazon's advertising division in France and the deployment of the new Campaign Manager. (www.journaldunet.com)
🧠 Meta GEM boosts ads by 5% Meta announced that its generative AI model for advertising (GEM) increased conversions by 5% on Instagram in Q3. (www.dataslayer.ai)
✈️ Emirates partners with OpenAI The Emirates Group announced a strategic partnership with OpenAI on November 20 to integrate AI into its commercial operations. (www.biztoday.news)
👓 AR/VR appeals to 63% of consumers A study shows that 63% of customers believe augmented reality improves shopping, a market aiming for $38 billion by 2030. (www.yo-kart.com)
🤖 AI & Tech
🇫🇷 Mistral AI and SAP: Sovereign Alliance Paris and Berlin sealed a partnership on November 18 for Mistral AI and SAP to equip European public administrations. (www.larevuedudigital.com)
🧠 Google launches Gemini 3 Google retaliated on November 18 with Gemini 3, its most powerful model, integrated into Search and surpassing ChatGPT in reasoning. (www.blogdumoderateur.com)
💬 ChatGPT goes social OpenAI is deploying discussion groups (20 people) and user profiles, transforming the chatbot into a collaborative tool. (www.siecledigital.fr)
📦 Auchan and the 50,000 IoT pallets Auchan is deploying 50,000 connected pallets with IBM to track shocks and temperatures in real-time across its supply chain. (www.larevuedudigital.com)
🤖 Uber Eats delivers via robot in Leeds Partnership announced on November 19 with Starship Technologies to deploy autonomous delivery robots in the UK. (www.retailtechinnovationhub.com)
👖 Microsoft and Levi's create a "Superagent" Announced on November 17, this partnership aims to develop an AI to assist retail staff and improve customer experience. (www.news.microsoft.com)
🔬 Yann LeCun launches his startup Meta's AI chief is leaving the group to create a structure dedicated to "World Models" and physical AI. (www.larevuedudigital.com)
⚖️ Court of Auditors criticizes French AI A November 19 report deems the national strategy unclear and funding too slow (only 35% committed). (www.siecledigital.fr)
🩺 Doctolib: AI consultation assistant The platform continues deploying its virtual assistant (based on Claude) to transcribe medical consultations. (www.larevuedudigital.com)
💳 Payments & Fintech
🇪🇺 Wero launches in e-commerce The European wallet Wero began online payments in Germany (Decathlon, Lidl) on November 20 and targets 100 million users. (www.ecommerce-nation.fr)
🏦 Fortuneo adopts Wero The online bank integrated the solution on October 22, completing adoption by French banks. (www.boursedescredits.com)
🪙 Stripe tests Stablecoin payments for AI Stripe is developing a prototype allowing AI agents to pay autonomously using stable cryptocurrencies. (www.theblock.co)
😊 Stripe and NEC: Facial Payment The two players unveiled a facial recognition payment solution for retail in early November. (www.nec.com)
💼 Startups & Finance
🏆 Alibaba crowns 3 French SMEs Three French startups won Alibaba's "CoCreate Pitch" competition in London on November 14. (www.digital-mag.fr)
💾 ByteDance valued at $480 Billion TikTok's parent company reached a record valuation during a share buyback, despite threats of a ban in the USA. (www.atomicmail.io)
📉 Ocado falls 17% Shares in the British robotics firm plummeted on November 19 after Kroger announced it would close several automated sites in the US to prioritize Instacart.
📈 Walmart smashes records (+27%) The US giant published a 27% growth in its global e-commerce on November 20 and announced its migration to the Nasdaq for December 9, asserting itself as a tech company. (www.finance.yahoo.com)
🇨🇳 JD.com breaks growth records JD.com announced a 22.4% increase in Q3 revenue ($49.8 Bn), its strongest growth since 2011, driven by robust logistics and 700 million active customers. (www.jdcorporateblog.com)
🗓️ The E-commerce Agenda
- Nov 24-25: Tech For Retail (Paris) - Leading retail tech trade show. (www.techforretail.com)
- Jan 11-13: NRF 2026 – Retail’s Big Show (New York) – The world's largest retail trade show.
- Jan 20-22: E-Commerce One to One Meetings Spain (Marbella) – One-to-one meetings for e-commerce decision-makers.
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