Temu & Shein Own 90% of EU Cross-Border Spend, ChatGPT Enters Shopping

Temu, Shein and AliExpress now control nine in every ten euros Europeans spend abroad online — and ChatGPT just launched virtual try-on and wishlists, making it a direct rival to Google Shopping and Zalando. In this episode: New data shows European consumers sent nearly €49.7 billion outside the EU via cross-border ecommerce in 2025, with over 90% of that spend captured by just three Chinese platforms: Temu, Shein, and AliExpress. Austria introduced a €2-per-parcel national levy on large online sellers and marketplaces effective 1 October 2026, drawing immediate criticism from industry bodies who warn it raises consumer costs and disadvantages compliant domestic retailers over non-compliant foreign sellers. ChatGPT rolled out a virtual clothing try-on feature and a favourites wishlist function, positioning OpenAI as a direct competitor to Google Shopping, Pinterest and retailer apps at the product discovery stage of the purchase journey. The Digital Commerce Daily is a concise briefing for ecommerce, retail media and digital commerce professionals, hosted by Marco & Klara. New episode every day. Enjoying the show? A quick rating or review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify helps other marketers find us. Also from Marco & Klara: The FMCG Marketing Daily · The Health Marketing Daily