Growing Ecommerce – The Retail Growth Podcast

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103

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Jun 2026

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Feed your growth mindset. Ecommerce is growing, and so are the challenges and opportunities for online retailers. In the Growing Ecommerce podcast, Mike Ryan and other smec experts are joined by industry leaders in ecommerce, digital marketing, and data science. By sharing business trends, practical solutions, and best practices, this podcast helps online retailers solve the challenges of tomorrow.

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June 16, 2026Episode 4127 min

Google's AI Now Picks Which Product You Sell | Plus: ChatGPT Shopping Ads Arrive Too

Google's new AI-powered Shopping ads can now decide which of your products wins the click — and it's optimizing for the user, not for your margin, your brand, or your strategy. This Gemini-built format writes its own product descriptions and may re-rank which product gets shown, beyond your bid. Mike Ryan and Chris dig into what that means for retailers who suddenly have less control over what gets pushed. Plus: ChatGPT is finally bringing Product Listing Ads (PLAs) to its results — a solid first step, or a Bing-style copycat play?The real story: "more relevant to the user" is not the same as "best for the retailer." As automated channels get more aggressive at matching products to searches, advertisers risk quietly losing control of which products actually get sold.In this episode:→ What Google's AI-powered Shopping ads actually are — a new format inside AI Max for Shopping, not an umbrella term → "Intelligent product identification": how Gemini may re-rank which product is shown, beyond the bid → The retailer's blind spot — Google optimizes for click-through rate; you optimize for the business → The coffee-machine problem: when the highest-converting product isn't the one you need to sell → Why the best Google Ads outcome isn't always the best business outcome → ChatGPT's PLAs: a solid, feed-based first step — or a Bing-style copycat play? → What OpenAI's $100B ad ambition means for what comes nextThe throughline: AI executes, but only you know what your business needs to achieve. The retailers who win are the ones who keep translating business goals — margin, brand priority, profitability — into the channel, instead of letting the platform decide.📌 Growing Ecommerce is brought to you by smec (Smarter Ecommerce). We help ecommerce brands move from platform-driven to business-driven PPC — combining AI-powered software with human expertise to optimize Google Shopping and Performance Max toward real business goals.🔗 Learn more: https://www.smarter-ecommerce.com 🎧 Subscribe so you don't miss an episode — and if this was useful, a comment or a share genuinely helps.#GrowingEcommerce #ChatGPTShoppingAds #GoogleAds #ShoppingAds #PerformanceMax #PMax #PPC #Ecommerce #GoogleShopping #PaidSearch #RetailMedia #smecAbout Smarter Ecommerce (smec):Smarter Ecommerce (smec) empowers e-commerce brands with AI-driven PPC automation that optimizes for profit and business outcomes while maintaining strategic control.The platform activates first-party data - profit margins, customer lifetime value, and key business metrics - to automate campaign optimization toward goals like profitability and efficient growth, while detailed campaign insights provide full transparency and enable PPC teams to focus on strategic oversight rather than manual execution.As a Google Premier Partner and three-time Microsoft Retail Partner of the Year, smec manages over €500 million in ad spend and drives €5B+ in annual e-commerce revenue for 350+ global retail clients including THG, Snipes, REWE, and Intersport.Make sure to follow smec - Smarter Ecommerce for more performance marketing insights:smec - Smarter Ecommerce: https://www.smarter-ecommerce.comLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/smarter-ecommerce-gmbhNewsletter: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/newsletter/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smarterecommerce/

June 9, 2026Episode 4030 min

The EU Is Breaking Temu & Shein — Plus Google's Hidden AI Metric

The EU is finally using its teeth on Chinese e-commerce — and the auction landscape is already shifting. Mike and Chris break down what falling CPCs in Europe mean for your accounts, why the July 1st customs change could matter more than any fine, and the playbook for grabbing market share before the window closes.Then: a major Google Marketing Live feature almost nobody is talking about. Google's new AI Performance Insights and the "Share of Voice" metric in Merchant Center finally show your product visibility inside AI Overviews, AI Mode, and Gemini — across both organic and paid. We cover what it does, where it lives, and the one big gap Google still leaves wide open.In this episode: • Why the EU crackdown on Temu, Shein & AliExpress is a sign of what's coming • Average CPCs dropped ~2.3% in May 2026 — and up to 5% in some categories • The July 1st customs exemption change and what it does to Chinese sellers' margins • The playbook: tROAS as a signal, AI Max search, demand-led growth & smart bidding exploration • JoyBuy — the unregulated Chinese player to watch • Google's new AI Performance Insights & Share of Voice metric in Merchant Center • The black box that still remains: campaign-level dataGrowing Ecommerce is brought to you by smec (Smarter Ecommerce). Learn more at smarterecommerce.com.👉 Leave a review and drop a comment — we are curious what you guys think about this development.#ecommerce #GoogleAds #PerformanceMax #PPC #Temu #Shein #GoogleMarketingLive #AIsearch #MerchantCenterAbout Smarter Ecommerce (smec):Smarter Ecommerce (smec) empowers e-commerce brands with AI-driven PPC automation that optimizes for profit and business outcomes while maintaining strategic control.The platform activates first-party data - profit margins, customer lifetime value, and key business metrics - to automate campaign optimization toward goals like profitability and efficient growth, while detailed campaign insights provide full transparency and enable PPC teams to focus on strategic oversight rather than manual execution.As a Google Premier Partner and three-time Microsoft Retail Partner of the Year, smec manages over €500 million in ad spend and drives €5B+ in annual e-commerce revenue for 350+ global retail clients including THG, Snipes, REWE, and Intersport.Make sure to follow smec - Smarter Ecommerce for more performance marketing insights:smec - Smarter Ecommerce: https://www.smarter-ecommerce.comLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/smarter-ecommerce-gmbhNewsletter: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/newsletter/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smarterecommerce/

June 2, 2026Episode 3935 min

Meta Overtakes Google in Ad Spend & What It Means for Ecommerce │GML 2026 Recap

Meta has overtaken Google in ad budgets - and for ecommerce advertisers, that changes everything.It means Google is on the offensive. It means the pressure to split your budget between platforms is about to intensify. And it means that if you're not set up correctly on Google's AI surfaces right now, you're already losing ground to competitors who are.In this episode of Growing Ecommerce, Mike Ryan (smec's Head of Ecommerce Insights) and Chris share firsthand takeaways from GML 2026 — both the San Francisco and Dublin events — with unfiltered takes on what actually matters for your campaigns.What we cover:→ Google vs. Meta: The "War of the Titans" and why Google's messaging to advertisers is getting aggressive→ AI Max for Shopping: Why standard shopping campaigns may have limited eligibility in AI surfaces→ New AI-native ad formats: Conversational discovery ads, feed-based text ads, and why the line between shopping and search is collapsing→ Ask Advisor: A great idea — but oversold to an irresponsible degree (Mike's take)→ Universal Cart: Multi-retailer, cross-platform checkout — and Google's Amazon moment→ What the shift to agentic commerce means for how you monetize clicksCut through the hype. Know what to act on.🔔 Subscribe for bi-weekly ecommerce PPC insights from smec — managing €680M+ in annual ad spend for 350+ global retail clients - for more content like thisLearn more: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/newsletter/About Smarter Ecommerce (smec):Smarter Ecommerce (smec) empowers e-commerce brands with AI-driven PPC automation that optimizes for profit and business outcomes while maintaining strategic control.The platform activates first-party data - profit margins, customer lifetime value, and key business metrics - to automate campaign optimization toward goals like profitability and efficient growth, while detailed campaign insights provide full transparency and enable PPC teams to focus on strategic oversight rather than manual execution.As a Google Premier Partner and three-time Microsoft Retail Partner of the Year, smec manages over €500 million in ad spend and drives €5B+ in annual e-commerce revenue for 350+ global retail clients including THG, Snipes, REWE, and Intersport.Make sure to follow smec - Smarter Ecommerce for more performance marketing insights:smec - Smarter Ecommerce: https://www.smarter-ecommerce.comLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/smarter-ecommerce-gmbhNewsletter: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/newsletter/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smarterecommerce/

May 26, 2026Episode 3833 min

Google Just Added Text Ads to Shopping Campaigns — Is AI Max for Shopping a Win or a Trap?

Google just dropped a PMax special — and there's a lot to unpack.In this episode of Growing Ecommerce, Mike Ryan and Chris break down three major updates reshaping how ecommerce advertisers run Performance Max and Shopping campaigns in 2025:1. Network exclusions for PMax: You can now opt out of Search Partner Network AND Google Display Network directly inside PMax. Years in the making, and a massive lever for both performance and brand safety. We walk through why it matters, when to use it, and how to check your own data first.2. Shopping Performance View: A new level of product-level reporting coming to PMax and Demand Gen campaigns via the Google Ads API. See performance by brand, category, product type, and item ID — the same parity you get in standard Shopping. Huge for anyone who's tried and failed to understand feed performance inside Max.3. AI Max for Shopping: The biggest one. Google is rolling out an optional AI layer for standard Shopping campaigns with three features:- Text customization: Google rewrites your product titles dynamically per query- Final URL expansion (FUE): Google picks landing pages from your site — including category pages- Optimal format selection: Text ads can now appear inside your Shopping campaignsWe discuss what this means for advertisers who run standard Shopping for control, whether there's real redundancy with Search and PMax, the campaign overlap and CPC escalation risk, and why Mike thinks this is actually bigger than AI Max for Search.Standard Shopping: confirmed not dead. Google is investing in it.Growing Ecommerce is brought to you by smarter ecommerce (smec) — helping online retailers optimize paid search through AI-powered software and human PPC expertise.#PerformanceMax #PMax #GoogleShopping #AIMaxForShopping #GoogleAds #EcommerceMarketing #PPC #SearchPartnerNetwork #GoogleAdsUpdates #PaidSearchAbout Smarter Ecommerce (smec):Smarter Ecommerce (smec) empowers e-commerce brands with AI-driven PPC automation that optimizes for profit and business outcomes while maintaining strategic control.The platform activates first-party data - profit margins, customer lifetime value, and key business metrics - to automate campaign optimization toward goals like profitability and efficient growth, while detailed campaign insights provide full transparency and enable PPC teams to focus on strategic oversight rather than manual execution.As a Google Premier Partner and three-time Microsoft Retail Partner of the Year, smec manages over €500 million in ad spend and drives €5B+ in annual e-commerce revenue for 350+ global retail clients including THG, Snipes, REWE, and Intersport.Make sure to follow smec - Smarter Ecommerce for more performance marketing insights:smec - Smarter Ecommerce: https://www.smarter-ecommerce.comLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/smarter-ecommerce-gmbhNewsletter: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/newsletter/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smarterecommerce/

May 19, 2026Episode 3728 min

Don't Buy ChatGPT Ads Until You Watch This (Plus: The Google Cloud vs AWS Cage-Match)

In this episode of Growing Ecommerce, Mike Ryan and Chris Scharmueller dive into the much-anticipated updates to the OpenAI ads platform and break down Google's staggering Q1 earnings report.While OpenAI has finally transitioned their ad platform from a primitive Excel spreadsheet to a proper User Interface, their highly publicized shift to a CPC model is raising major red flags. We break down the math behind their highly constrained $3 to $5 max CPC range, revealing how it mathematically equates to the exact same astronomical $60 effective CPM they originally launched with. We discuss why advertisers should demand more transparency and control before shifting their performance budgets to ChatGPT.We also unpack Google’s unstoppable Q1 momentum. With a massive $110 billion in revenue and an 80% spike in earnings per share, Google is silencing the "death of Search" narrative. We explore their impressive 19% core Search growth, the staggering 63% surge in Google Cloud that is heavily outpacing AWS and Azure, and why Google's massive $180 billion CapEx guidance for 2026 solidifies their dominance in the AI arms race.Key Takeaways:• The OpenAI Ad Trap: Don't be fooled by OpenAI's new CPC bidding model. By forcing advertisers into a strict $3 to $5 CPC range, the platform is essentially maintaining its premium $60 effective CPM under a disguise. Advertisers should hold off on shifting performance budgets until real incrementality and transparency are proven.• Search is Still Thriving: Despite the ongoing narrative that AI will kill traditional search engines, Google's core Search product grew by 19% year-over-year. The search giant's core advertising flywheel remains the most reliable engine for ecommerce growth.• Google Cloud is Winning the AI War: Google Cloud (GCS) achieved a staggering 63% year-over-year growth, heavily outpacing Amazon AWS (28%) and Microsoft Azure (39%). Powered by deep Gemini integration and proprietary TPUs, Google’s vertical integration puts them in a unique position to dominate the next decade.Resources & Links:• Access all our webinars, reports, and playbooks in our Knowledge Hub: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/knowledge-hub/ • How is your industry stacking up in the market? Find out with smec’s Google Ads Benchmarks: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/smec-market-observer/About Smarter Ecommerce (smec):Smarter Ecommerce (smec) empowers e-commerce brands with AI-driven PPC automation that optimizes for profit and business outcomes while maintaining strategic control.The platform activates first-party data - profit margins, customer lifetime value, and key business metrics - to automate campaign optimization toward goals like profitability and efficient growth, while detailed campaign insights provide full transparency and enable PPC teams to focus on strategic oversight rather than manual execution.As a Google Premier Partner and three-time Microsoft Retail Partner of the Year, smec manages over €500 million in ad spend and drives €5B+ in annual e-commerce revenue for 350+ global retail clients including THG, Snipes, REWE, and Intersport.Make sure to follow smec - Smarter Ecommerce for more performance marketing insights:smec - Smarter Ecommerce: https://www.smarter-ecommerce.comLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/smarter-ecommerce-gmbhNewsletter: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/newsletter/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smarterecommerce/

May 12, 2026Episode 3631 min

RIP DSA: What to expect from September's Sunset

In this episode of Growing E-commerce, Mike Ryan and Chris Scharmueller dive into the end of an era: Dynamic Search Ads (DSA) are officially dying.While Google's new AI Max for Search currently sits at a tiny 1.5-2% adoption rate, the mandatory migration of all DSA campaigns by September will trigger an instant hockey-stick growth curve. We explain exactly what you need to expect from this sunset, how the auto-migration handles broad match and URL expansion by default, and why advertisers need to start testing AI Max immediately before the Q4 holiday crunch.We also unpack the diverging automation strategies of the tech giants and the catastrophic drop in Meta Advantage+ adoption. After peaking at 40%, its cost share has nosedived to a concerning 20%. We discuss why this downward trend calls Mark Zuckerberg's "fully automated" vision into question. Plus, we explore the latest Meta Pixel updates and why Meta wants a feed-less future while Google doubles down on structured data.Key Takeaways:The AI Max Hockey Stick: Do not be fooled by the current low adoption rate of AI Max for Search. Once the legacy DSA campaigns (which currently hold about 15% cost share) are auto-migrated in September, AI Max will become a dominant and highly relevant campaign type overnight.Meta's Automation Problem: Advantage+ adoption is on a multi-quarter decline, dropping to just 20% cost share. Without substantial product improvements, Meta will struggle to achieve the fully automated, hands-off advertising ecosystem it envisioned.The Feed vs. Feed-less Divide: Meta is attempting to offload feed management by using AI to scrape landing page data directly via the Meta Pixel. Conversely, Google relies heavily on detailed data feeds to ground its AI and maintain quality control.Resources & Links:Access all our webinars, reports, and playbooks in our Knowledge Hub: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/knowledge-hub/How is your industry stacking up in the market? Find out with smec’s Google Ads Benchmarks:https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/smec-market-observer/ About Smarter Ecommerce (smec):Smarter Ecommerce (smec) empowers e-commerce brands with AI-driven PPC automation that optimizes for profit and business outcomes while maintaining strategic control.The platform activates first-party data - profit margins, customer lifetime value, and key business metrics - to automate campaign optimization toward goals like profitability and efficient growth, while detailed campaign insights provide full transparency and enable PPC teams to focus on strategic oversight rather than manual execution.As a Google Premier Partner and three-time Microsoft Retail Partner of the Year, smec manages over €500 million in ad spend and drives €5B+ in annual e-commerce revenue for 350+ global retail clients including THG, Snipes, REWE, and Intersport.Make sure to follow smec - Smarter Ecommerce for more performance marketing insights:smec - Smarter Ecommerce: https://www.smarter-ecommerce.comLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/smarter-ecommerce-gmbhNewsletter: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/newsletter/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smarterecommerce/

May 5, 2026Episode 3528 min

How OpenAI Just Lost the Ecommerce War

In this episode of Growing Ecommerce, Mike Ryan and Chris Scharmueller break down the latest shifts in the battle for AI dominance and the future of online shopping.We analyze the quiet death of OpenAI's Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP). With major tech giants—including ACP co-founder Stripe, as well as Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon—joining Google's Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) Tech Council, we explore what this consensus means for the future of e-commerce standards and why these companies chose to back Google's infrastructure over ChatGPT.We also look at where ChatGPT's outbound traffic is actually going. With 20% of its e-commerce referrals landing on Amazon—and roughly 30% of its overall referrals directing users right back to Google or YouTube—we question the long-term impact on user experience and whether OpenAI is just feeding the monopolies it is trying to disrupt.Plus, we cover Google's rollout of "AI mode" to Chrome users in the US, featuring a new side-by-side browsing experience, and discuss the looming threat of mass arbitration facing Google in the wake of its 2024 antitrust loss.Resources & Links:Access all our webinars, reports, and playbooks in our Knowledge Hub: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/knowledge-hub/How is your industry stacking up in the market? Find out with smec’s Google Ads Benchmarks:https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/smec-market-observer/ About Smarter Ecommerce (smec):Smarter Ecommerce (smec) empowers e-commerce brands with AI-driven PPC automation that optimizes for profit and business outcomes while maintaining strategic control.The platform activates first-party data - profit margins, customer lifetime value, and key business metrics - to automate campaign optimization toward goals like profitability and efficient growth, while detailed campaign insights provide full transparency and enable PPC teams to focus on strategic oversight rather than manual execution.As a Google Premier Partner and three-time Microsoft Retail Partner of the Year, smec manages over €500 million in ad spend and drives €5B+ in annual e-commerce revenue for 350+ global retail clients including THG, Snipes, REWE, and Intersport.Make sure to follow smec - Smarter Ecommerce for more performance marketing insights:smec - Smarter Ecommerce: https://www.smarter-ecommerce.comLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/smarter-ecommerce-gmbhNewsletter: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/newsletter/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smarterecommerce/

April 28, 2026Episode 3423 min

Inside Google's UCP playbook — why OpenAI CAN'T catch up

Google just quietly won the agentic commerce war — and most ecommerce retailers haven't even noticed. In this episode of Growing Ecommerce, Mike Ryan and Chris break down the three UCP (Universal Commerce Protocol) updates Google just shipped, why OpenAI's ACP is already falling behind, and the structural advantages that make Google's lead almost impossible to catch.If you run Performance Max campaigns, sell on Google Shopping, or want to understand where ecommerce is headed in the AI era — this is the episode that connects the dots.Inside this episode:The 3 new UCP capabilities that just went live: cart building, catalog capability, and identity linking — and why "boring" updates matter more than hypeWhy OpenAI's ACP dropped to single-item checkout while Google moved aheadThe Walmart Sparky chatbot inside ChatGPT — the workaround that proves OpenAI's pipeline is brokenHow Google Pay and Google Wallet quietly lock retailers into a walled gardenGoogle's flywheel: how the shopping graph + audience graph + structured knowledge graph data create a moat LLMs can't replicateWhy this time is different from Buy on Google's 2018 failure — and what changed in Google's leverage over retailersWhy pipeline-based agents (UCP) will win over browser-based agents — and how this is really the logical endpoint of headless commerceThe only thing that could realistically stop Google: regulatorsTopics covered: UCP, Universal Commerce Protocol, agentic commerce, Performance Max, PMax, Google Shopping, AI mode, ChatGPT shopping, OpenAI ACP, agentic checkout, Google Pay, Google Wallet, headless commerce, Merchant Center, knowledge graph, shopping graph, Walmart Sparky, AI overviews, conversational attributes.About Smarter Ecommerce (smec):Smarter Ecommerce (smec) empowers e-commerce brands with AI-driven PPC automation that optimizes for profit and business outcomes while maintaining strategic control.The platform activates first-party data - profit margins, customer lifetime value, and key business metrics - to automate campaign optimization toward goals like profitability and efficient growth, while detailed campaign insights provide full transparency and enable PPC teams to focus on strategic oversight rather than manual execution.As a Google Premier Partner and three-time Microsoft Retail Partner of the Year, smec manages over €500 million in ad spend and drives €5B+ in annual e-commerce revenue for 350+ global retail clients including THG, Snipes, REWE, and Intersport.Make sure to follow smec - Smarter Ecommerce for more performance marketing insights:smec - Smarter Ecommerce: https://www.smarter-ecommerce.comLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/smarter-ecommerce-gmbhNewsletter: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/newsletter/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smarterecommerce/

April 21, 2026Episode 3328 min

OpenAI's "Delusional" $100B Ad Target | Plus: The Fall of Allbirds

In this episode of Growing E-commerce, Mike Ryan and Chris Scharmueller unpack two massive stories highlighting the current realities—and potential delusions—of the tech and retail sectors.First, we discuss the quiet and staggering fall of Allbirds. Once a Silicon Valley staple and D2C darling valued at a massive $4 billion, the sustainable shoe company has reportedly sold for a fraction of that cost. We explore what their trajectory tells us about the overestimation of the D2C model and why the fundamentals of traditional retail still matter.Then, we dive back into the OpenAI ad platform. OpenAI recently released a bullish projection: they expect their ad business to cross $100 billion in revenue by 2030. We take a critical look at the current state of their ad interface—which currently resembles Google Ads from a decade ago—and discuss why hitting that revenue target will require an unprecedented, disruptive evolution of their product.Key Takeaways:The D2C Reality Check: Allbirds' massive devaluation highlights a broader trend: many D2C brands were valued as high-growth tech companies rather than traditional retailers. As market conditions shift, the core competencies of traditional retail—and the value of retail middlemen—are becoming apparent again.OpenAI's Steep Climb: While OpenAI projects a massive $100 billion ad business by 2030, their current platform is rudimentary. It operates on a flight-based approach with a fixed $60 CPM and relies on basic keyword matching, limiting its appeal primarily to large brand advertisers rather than the performance-focused mass market needed for that scale of growth.The Comparability Problem: OpenAI's ad platform will inevitably be compared to highly sophisticated, always-on ecosystems like Google Ads and Meta. To capture significant market share and reach their revenue goals, OpenAI must evolve beyond a basic UI and deliver a product that proves strong incrementality and Return on Ad Spend (ROAS).Resources & Links:Access all our webinars, reports, and playbooks in our Knowledge Hub: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/knowledge-hub/How is your industry stacking up in the market? Find out with smec’s Google Ads Benchmarks:https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/smec-market-observer/ About Smarter Ecommerce (smec):Smarter Ecommerce (smec) empowers e-commerce brands with AI-driven PPC automation that optimizes for profit and business outcomes while maintaining strategic control.The platform activates first-party data - profit margins, customer lifetime value, and key business metrics - to automate campaign optimization toward goals like profitability and efficient growth, while detailed campaign insights provide full transparency and enable PPC teams to focus on strategic oversight rather than manual execution.As a Google Premier Partner and three-time Microsoft Retail Partner of the Year, smec manages over €500 million in ad spend and drives €5B+ in annual e-commerce revenue for 350+ global retail clients including THG, Snipes, REWE, and Intersport.Make sure to follow smec - Smarter Ecommerce for more performance marketing insights:smec - Smarter Ecommerce: https://www.smarter-ecommerce.comLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/smarter-ecommerce-gmbhNewsletter: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/newsletter/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smarterecommerce/

April 14, 2026Episode 3234 min

The “Amazon Killer”? How JD's Joybuy Invades Europe | PLUS: Meta's Zero-Click Threat

Is the “Zero-Click” shopping era finally here, and are European retailers ready for a three-way war between Amazon, Temu, and JD.com’s Joybuy?In this episode of Growing Ecommerce, Mike Ryan and Chris Scharmueller unpack a huge week in e-commerce. First: Meta’s new Stripe partnership for in-app checkout. With OpenAI and Google both struggling to make native checkout work, can Meta finally crack the “zero-click” model and keep shoppers fully inside its platform?Then comes the real clash of the titans. JD.com has launched Joybuy in Europe, going straight after Amazon and Temu. We share exclusive Google Ads data showing how aggressively Joybuy is already outranking incumbents. But unlike Temu, Joybuy isn’t just burning cash for growth. It’s building a sustainable base and investing in local logistics, making it a serious hybrid threat.Finally, Mike shares updated market penetration numbers for Amazon and Temu across Europe. The picture is clear: Amazon dominates wealthy Western European markets, while Temu has seized the Central and Eastern European markets Amazon largely ignored.📊 Key Takeaways & SEO Insights:Meta’s In-App Checkout: Meta is working with Stripe on native checkout via ACP instead of Google’s UCP. If it works, platforms gain even more leverage by keeping both shoppers and customer data in-house.The Joybuy Threat: JD’s Joybuy is taking a more disciplined, Amazon-like route into Europe. It’s setting efficient growth baselines while aggressively outranking established retailers in Google Ads.The Amazon/Temu Divide: Comparing Monthly Active Users to total internet users reveals a sharp split. Amazon leads in high-GDP Western Europe, while Temu dominates much of Central and Eastern Europe, including striking penetration in Poland.The Chinese “Involution”: Intense competition in China is pushing giants like JD, Alibaba, and PDD (Temu) to seek growth in Europe—raising the pressure on local retailers..Resources & Links:Access all our webinars, reports, and playbooks in our Knowledge Hub: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/knowledge-hub/How is your industry stacking up in the market? Find out with smec’s Google Ads Benchmarks: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/smec-market-observer/ About Smarter Ecommerce (smec):Smarter Ecommerce (smec) empowers e-commerce brands with AI-driven PPC automation that optimizes for profit and business outcomes while maintaining strategic control.The platform activates first-party data - profit margins, customer lifetime value, and key business metrics - to automate campaign optimization toward goals like profitability and efficient growth, while detailed campaign insights provide full transparency and enable PPC teams to focus on strategic oversight rather than manual execution.As a Google Premier Partner and three-time Microsoft Retail Partner of the Year, smec manages over €500 million in ad spend and drives €5B+ in annual e-commerce revenue for 350+ global retail clients including THG, Snipes, REWE, and Intersport.Make sure to follow smec - Smarter Ecommerce for more performance marketing insights:smec - Smarter Ecommerce: https://www.smarter-ecommerce.comLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/smarter-ecommerce-gmbhNewsletter: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/newsletter/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smarterecommerce/