FRIDAY · 13 NOVEMBER 2026
THE GROWTH BRIEF
News and lessons from every industry.
THIS WEEK’S TOP INDUSTRY UPDATES
🧒 The UK government is looking at adding marketplaces to its under-16s platform ban. Currently 15% of UK children aged 8-14 use Vinted every month, and 19% use eBay. (source)
📈 ASOS has swung back to a £24.4m pre-tax profit for the year to August, from a £281.6m loss the year before, and its sales grew in the final quarter for the first time in four years. (source)
🚚 Primark will launch home delivery in Britain by the end of 2027, run from a £90m automated warehouse it bought in Sheffield. (source)
BRAND MOVES
TIKTOK SHOP LAUNCHES ITS ANSWER TO AMAZON PRIME
[Ivy Liu]
TikTok Shop has launched TikTok Shop Plus, a paid membership pilot for more than 1 million of its most loyal US shoppers. It costs $9.99 a month after a 30-day free trial, which undercuts Amazon Prime at $14.99 and Walmart+ at $12.95. (source)
TikTok first tested the idea in July. Members get free shipping on "Plus" items, an extra 10% off selected products, three coupons a month, instant refunds as store credit up to twice a month, and extra Black Friday deals.
What it means for you: TikTok is moving from a place where people find products to a place they come back to buy, so brands there could be competing for repeat customers, not just viral moments. Given that TikTok Shop already accounts for about 20% of US social commerce, and Best Buy, Ulta and Sephora are selling on it for the first time this Christmas, they are both a sales channel and competitor for most eCommerce brands.
AI UPDATES
01. OpenAI has launched a free Business Hub in ChatGPT, where brands can claim a verified profile, add product details and see how often ChatGPT mentions them. US eCommerce and online services businesses can also publish a branded "business agent", a free version of the sponsored agents OpenAI started testing as ads in September. More than 1.2 billion people use ChatGPT every week. (source, figures)
What it means for you: brands can now see whether ChatGPT recommends them, and shape what it says about their products, without paying for it yet.
02. Blue Yonder asked 2,000 US shoppers about buying on AI advice. Nearly a quarter had done it, and 46% of them returned an item in the past year, mostly because it was different from the description (36%) or the wrong size (23%). Gen Z were almost five times as likely as boomers to buy on AI advice (43% vs 9%). (source)
What it means for you: AI assistants can only describe products as well as the product data brands give them, so incomplete listings may now lead to returns.
03. Zalando has launched Zalando Extended, an AI shopping agent that brings products from other retailers into its app, starting with homeware retailer Westwing. From 2027 the agent will complete those purchases for customers, and more than 22 million people have used its existing AI shopping assistant this year. (source)
What it means for you: smaller retailers could reach Zalando's shoppers without building their own integration, but they would be selling inside someone else's app.
04. Reformation grew sales about 19% to $173.6m from July to September, and active customers rose 23.4% to 1.25 million. Chief executive Hali Borenstein credited a new AI planning tool that assesses how products perform and predicts demand, helping keep items in stock and selling at full price. (source)
What it means for you: AI is proving useful behind the scenes too, helping fashion brands buy the right stock and discount less.
05. Amazon has started letting a small group of invited US customers text Alexa for Shopping to search, track price drops and buy, with a wider rollout in the coming weeks. It follows Amazon blocking Meta's shopping agent, Muse, from its store. (source)
What it means for you: Amazon wants shoppers to use its own assistant, not outside agents, which affects which AI tools can buy your products there.
06. Google has brought checkout inside AI Mode and the Gemini app to Canada, starting with lululemon, Shoppers Drug Mart, Simons and selected Shopify stores. More retailers will be able to switch it on from Merchant Center next year. (source)
What it means for you: buying inside Google's AI answers is spreading beyond the US, so retailers outside it should check their product listings are ready.
FOLLOW THE MONEY
THE NUMBER TO KNOW
46%
↩️ 46% of US shoppers who bought something on an AI recommendation returned an item in the past year. (source)
CAREER MOVES
Ben Hallam has joined lululemon as Chief Brand Officer, from Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, where he was senior vice-president of marketing. He'll run global brand marketing, creative, store experience and community, reporting to new chief executive Heidi O'Neill. (source)
Mountain Warehouse has brought back Steven Wait in a new Strategy and AI Director role, almost five years after he left as its UK Head of eCommerce. It's another sign of AI moving into retailers' strategy teams, not just their tech teams. (source)
Outside your lane
A video game shows how to turn hype into sales months before launch day
Rockstar opened pre-orders for GTA 6 on 25 June, almost five months before its 19 November release. By early November, Sensor Tower estimated 7.71 million digital copies had been pre-ordered, worth about $751m, and buyers can download the game from 10 November so it's ready the moment it unlocks. (source)
The idea to borrow: for a big launch, create hype and offer pre-orders or a sign-up list for first access.
PARTNER SPOTLIGHT · SPONSORED
Turn creators into your biggest sales channel
Over 12 months, leading consumer electronics brand JLab tripled their affiliate sales with the help of Levanta.
Quick context if Levanta's new to you: it's a platform that lets brands run their creator and affiliate partnerships in one place and see which ones lead to sales.
Affiliate marketing wasn’t always a core revenue channel for JLab, even though the brand had long partnered with creators they were doing manual outreach and reporting that simply could not scale.
What JLab changed with Levanta:
Grouped partners by what they bring in. Creators told the story behind product features, publishers covered gift guides, and deal sites focused on sale periods.
Built a “Good, Better, Best” path. New creators started on $25 to $30 products, then moved up to items over $100.
Used the data to plan big sales. Levanta's reports showed which products to send creators before major events. Prime Day was its strongest sale of the year, with Back to School and New Year close behind.
Expanded beyond Amazon in the US. JLab moved into Amazon in Europe and Walmart, making sales within its first few days on Walmart.
Here's why it's worth a look.
“Levanta helps me predict growth, make data-driven decisions, and invest confidently in affiliates who perform.” Audrey Van Vark, Affiliate Marketing Manager, JLab
Qualified brands that book a demo get a free $100 gift card of their choice 💰
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