Allegro vs Zalando

Investor Presentation Released: Allegro

AI parsed presentation narrative: Allegro is demonstrating strong financial momentum with H1 2026 results trending ahead of full-year guidance across key performance indicators. The company is specifically seeing robust growth in its Polish operations and significant scaling in its International segment, supporting the initiation of a share buyback program. Key tailwinds mentioned: Outperformance against Guidance, Strong International Growth.

Guide to Building B2B Online Marketplaces

This guide explains what an online marketplace is, how it differs from a single-vendor eCommerce store, and what technical and operational requirements B2B teams must consider when adopting the marketplace model. It covers marketplace types (B2C, B2B, service, hybrid), core functional needs such as vendor onboarding/KYC, commission engines, order splitting and split payments, and argues that general-purpose eCommerce platforms (Shopify, Magento) are not natively designed for multi-vendor marketplaces. The article contrasts SaaS marketplace vendors (Mirakl, Sharetribe) with an open-core solution (Mercur) and provides timing and build-time expectations for platform projects.

• An online marketplace is a platform where multiple third-party sellers offer products or services while the platform operator manages infrastructure, payments, and rules.
• Three parties are always involved in a marketplace: the platform operator, the seller (vendor), and the buyer.
• Shopify is described as architected around a single merchant and lacks native vendor onboarding, commission engines, native order splitting, vendor dashboards, and settlement layers.

Selected preliminary consolidated financial data for Allegro Group for Q2 2026 and guidance update

Allegro reports preliminary financial data for the three-month and six-month periods ended 30 June 2026, along with status of guidance updates for full year 2026.

Austria's New Parcel Tax Criticized as Costs Pass to Consumers

Austria's new parcel tax, effective October 1, 2026, charges large online retailers €2 net per parcel (€2.40 incl. VAT). Amazon passes the fee directly to customers as a separate line item, while Zalando and Otto refund it on full returns. The tax targets companies with over €100 million annual parcel revenue in Austria, affecting 16 firms including Amazon, Temu, Shein, and Zalando. Critics, including the Austrian trade association and retailers, argue the tax burdens consumers and small businesses, potentially costing 2,800 jobs. Legal challenges are planned, with possible escalation to the Constitutional Court and CJEU. Proponents say the tax levels the playing field with brick-and-mortar stores and funds a VAT reduction on staple foods.

• Austria's parcel tax of €2 net (€2.40 incl. VAT) per parcel took effect October 1, 2026.
• Amazon passes the €2.40 tax directly to customers as a separate line item per order.
• The tax applies to 16 companies, including Amazon, Temu, Shein, Zalando, and Otto, with over €100M annual parcel revenue in Austria.

Zalando and ERGO Transform Video Production with Google AI

At the YouTube Festival 2026, Lounge by Zalando and ERGO showcased how they leverage Google AI to revolutionize video production. Lounge by Zalando halved its production time for the Black Friday 2025 campaign using Veo 3 and Imagen 3, reducing it from three months to 1.5 months. ERGO is piloting an 'Agentic Gen AI Marketing Engine' with Deloitte and Google, which automates the creation of localized YouTube video ads from simple inputs. The engine generates up to 50 assets per month, a 20-fold increase, and cuts production time from weeks to days. Both companies emphasize maintaining brand identity and human oversight. YouTube's higher ROI compared to linear TV (90%) and paid social (70%) drives budget shifts, according to studies by Ekimetrics and Nielsen.

• Lounge by Zalando reduced campaign production time from 3 months to 1.5 months using Google AI (Veo 3, Imagen 3).
• ERGO is piloting an 'Agentic Gen AI Marketing Engine' with Deloitte and Google to automate YouTube video creation.
• The ERGO engine can produce up to 50 video assets per month, a 20-fold increase from current levels.

Fashion spricht viele Sprachen: Zalando Plus kooperiert mit Duolingo

Zalando Plus announces a partnership with Duolingo, highlighting the collaboration as a strategic move to enhance customer engagement through language learning.