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Updates on marketplace operators, fee structures, merchant tools, ranking rules, advertising products, and enforcement changes.
New research reveals TikTok Shop has become the UK's fourth-largest beauty retailer, with category sales up 60%, contributing £10bn to the economy and supporting 153,000 jobs.
A recent survey shows that 44% of consumers choose to purchase a new brand for the first time on online marketplaces such as Amazon or Walmart, and 38% of consumers use marketplace platforms more frequently than in 2025. However, fulfillment issues such as delivery delays, price differences, and stockouts remain prominent, with 53% of consumers abandoning brands due to unmet expedited shipping expectations.
CMOs from brands such as Coach and American Eagle shared the digital platforms and tools they are currently most focused on, revealing changes in Gen Z consumer behavior and new applications of AI in marketing.
This week, the digital retail sector saw frequent developments: Meta doubled down on e-commerce, Sephora and Lowe's welcomed new executives, Pinterest fully embraced AI; plus hot topics such as retail frontier sponsorship fees exposed, Instacart's new ad formats, and more.
BoF and TikTok jointly held a roundtable discussion on how brands and media can shift from chasing trends to building vibrant fan communities on TikTok.
Global retail growth is slowing, with e-commerce contributing 80% of the increment; competition is shifting towards pricing, visibility, and consumer decision control, as AI and supply chain restructuring reshape the industry landscape.
Analyzing the profit pressure on beauty brands on TikTok Shop, and the cost structure among platform traffic, discounts, fulfillment, and advertising—plus why being able to sell does not necessarily mean being able to make money.