亚马逊推出全新AI购物助手；SHEIN收购美国时尚品牌Everlane丨跨境电商周报

This article is a weekly roundup of core developments in the cross-border e-commerce industry, covering key updates across platform movements, merchant dynamics, policy changes and industry data, packed with actionable insights.

1. Major platform updates: Amazon has launched a new AI shopping assistant, Alexa for Shopping, to replace its previous tool Rufus. The assistant is now live on Amazon’s mobile app, desktop website and Echo Show devices in the U.S., supporting cross-terminal shopping via both voice and touch controls. Temu has risen to become the second most-visited e-commerce site globally, second only to Amazon’s main site, and its innovative business model is disrupting the traditional e-commerce landscape.

2. Industry policies and key data: Six Chinese government departments will roll out optimized outbound tax refund policies starting July 1, simplifying refund procedures to boost inbound consumption. By 2025, ASEAN’s digital economy GMV will exceed $305 billion, with its e-commerce GMV reaching $157.6 billion, making the bloc one of the fastest-growing e-commerce markets in the world. Multiple leading platforms have released new growth data, a number of companies are preparing for public listings, and overall industry activity remains high.

This article compiles recent brand globalization opportunities and industry dynamics in cross-border e-commerce, offering high-value reference for brands expanding into overseas markets.

1. Channel building opportunities: TikTok Shop Southeast Asia has announced three core strategies to step up support for Chinese brands going global, including dedicated recruitment incentives, expanded category access and customized brand go-to-market paths. It has also upgraded platform infrastructure to improve fulfillment and after-sales capabilities, lowering the operational barrier for Chinese brands entering overseas markets. Multiple emerging market platforms have opened up new access for merchants: TikTok Shop has fully opened registration for Irish businesses, German platform Otto is phasing in open access for merchants from multiple European countries, and Russian platform Wildberries reports that the volume of goods from Chinese sellers has grown 13-fold in one year, demonstrating the strong impact of its recruitment enablement programs.

2. Brand positioning and trend insights: SHEIN has acquired iconic American DTC fashion brand Everlane, leveraging Everlane’s eco-sustainable brand positioning to improve its public perception and regulatory standing overseas, while also investing in a new automated fulfillment center in the UK to boost its delivery capacity. Southeast Asia is currently in a golden period of consumption upgrade: its 2025 e-commerce GMV will hit $157.6 billion, with Vietnam leading regional growth at a 25.5% annual rate, making the region a core incremental market for globalizing brands.

This article organizes recent platform policy changes, emerging opportunities and risk alerts in cross-border e-commerce, to help cross-border sellers adjust their business strategies.

1. Emerging growth opportunities: TikTok Shop has fully opened registration for sellers targeting Ireland, where the platform has seen a 600% surge in active creators, with users aged 46 to 61 accounting for 37% of its user base, indicating rapidly growing local consumer demand. Small and medium-sized sellers can leverage low-cost creator resources to expand their reach. Southeast Asia is the fastest growing e-commerce region globally, and TikTok Shop has rolled out three dedicated support strategies, allowing Chinese brands and sellers to capitalize on the local consumption upgrade trend. The Russian market offers substantial growth headroom: Wildberries has seen Chinese seller goods volume grow 13-fold in a year, while leading local platform Ozon turned a profit in the first quarter, boasting 67.3 million active buyers who place an average of 42 orders per year, showing robust market demand.

2. Platform policy adjustments and risk alerts: Starting June 1, Shopee will upgrade its ad system for cross-border stores in Southeast Asia, Brazil and other regions, adding view-based attribution and switching to a view-based charging model, while retaining its existing ROAS guarantee. The change will make it easier for sellers to track conversions and optimize ad delivery. Austria plans to introduce a €2 per parcel tax on cross-border sellers with annual turnover exceeding €100 million starting this autumn, and the EU is also planning to impose additional import fees on Chinese goods. Sellers should plan costs and pricing in advance to mitigate risks under this dual cost pressure.

This article summarizes the latest market trends in cross-border e-commerce, providing reference for export-focused factories to capture business opportunities and advance digital upgrading.

1. Global business opportunities: Southeast Asia is currently the fastest growing e-commerce region in the world, with its 2025 e-commerce GMV reaching $157.6 billion. The region is in the midst of consumption upgrade and has strong demand for high-quality Chinese goods. TikTok Shop has launched a dedicated strategy to support Chinese brands going global, offering expanded category access and customized go-to-market paths. Factories can leverage these platform policies to build their own brands and capture growth in this emerging market.

2. Product design guidance: European and American consumers and regulators are increasingly prioritizing environmental sustainability in brands. SHEIN’s acquisition of U.S. brand Everlane was driven primarily by Everlane’s positioning around environmental protection and supply chain transparency, which will help SHEIN improve its regulatory standing overseas. Factories can align their product development and manufacturing processes with these overseas consumer and regulatory preferences to build products that match market demand and improve their competitiveness.

3. Insights for digital transformation: SHEIN’s new UK fulfillment center is equipped with an automated robotic sorting system that has greatly improved delivery efficiency. Export-focused factories can adopt this digital upgrading approach to optimize their supply chain and fulfillment processes, and better meet the fast-turnaround requirements of cross-border e-commerce.

This article organizes the latest full-industry-chain developments in cross-border e-commerce, helping cross-border service providers grasp industry trends and identify customer demand.

1. Industry development trends: Global cross-border e-commerce is currently trending toward AI-driven operations and rapid growth in emerging regional markets. AI has become a core connecting force in global retail, and agentic shopping is reshaping consumer decision-making. Nielsen IQ data shows global retail media spending will reach $184 billion by 2025, nearly 60% of Asia-Pacific consumers complete social flash purchases, and emerging market Southeast Asia will see its 2025 digital economy GMV exceed $305 billion with e-commerce GMV hitting $157.6 billion, offering enormous growth potential and strong demand for services across all industry chain links.

2. Customer demand and opportunities: Major platforms are rolling out AI-powered shopping tools, with Amazon launching its new AI shopping assistant and Google introducing an AI-powered cross-platform universal shopping cart. Demand for AI-enabled operations and marketing tools from cross-border merchants will continue to rise. In addition, cross-border merchants are seeing growing demand for basic services including large freight logistics, return and exchange workflows, and export tax refund optimization; service providers can develop targeted solutions to meet these needs. With new cross-border taxes being introduced in Europe that put dual cost pressure on sellers, service providers can also develop related services for tax planning and cost optimization.

This article summarizes the latest moves of major global cross-border platforms and evolving industry demand, providing reference for platforms to adjust operating strategies and mitigate compliance risks.

1. Core merchant needs and replicable practices: Brands and sellers going global need more flexible recruitment policies, more stable infrastructure services and more efficient operating tools. TikTok Shop Southeast Asia’s three core strategies directly respond to these needs: it attracts merchants by increasing recruitment incentives, enabling cargo and content interoperability, and upgrading fulfillment and after-sales infrastructure. Multiple platforms have rapidly expanded their product catalogs by opening regionalized recruitment, such as Wildberries’ dedicated recruitment program for Chinese sellers, which delivered 13-fold year-on-year growth in Chinese seller goods volume. This model offers a valuable reference for other platforms.

2. Compliance risk mitigation: Global regulation is tightening. TikTok is currently disputing its "gatekeeper" classification in the EU to avoid strict oversight under the EU Digital Markets Act (DMA). Platforms expanding into regional markets need to research local regulatory policies in advance and prepare compliance frameworks. Platforms also need to be vigilant against antitrust risks: a U.S. court has already ruled that Shopify holds monopoly power in a relevant market, and an antitrust case related to BNPL is entering substantive hearing. Platforms need to ensure compliance when developing their own value-added services to avoid crossing antitrust red lines.

This article compiles multi-faceted latest developments in the cross-border e-commerce industry, outlining new trends and emerging issues in global cross-border e-commerce for industry researchers.

1. New industry trends: AI is being fully integrated into cross-border shopping processes: Amazon has launched a new AI shopping assistant, and Google has introduced an AI-powered cross-platform universal shopping cart. AI has become a core connecting force in global retail, and agentic e-commerce is reshaping consumer decision-making and the global retail landscape. Emerging markets are growing rapidly: ASEAN’s 2025 digital economy GMV will exceed $305 billion, making the bloc the fastest growing e-commerce region globally. The Eastern social e-commerce model is being exported globally and integrating deeply with Western retail media; Temu has risen to become the second most-visited e-commerce site globally, and its model innovation has started to disrupt the competitive barriers of traditional e-commerce.

2. New issues and research cases: Global regulation is tightening. The EU’s Digital Markets Act has entered into implementation for large platforms, and TikTok’s dispute over its classification is the first relevant case since the act took effect. Antitrust scrutiny has tightened in the U.S., with Shopify involved in an antitrust lawsuit, and Europe plans to introduce a new cross-border parcel tax. These developments reveal new compliance issues arising from the globalization of cross-border e-commerce, providing new case studies for research on global digital economy regulation. China’s new optimized outbound tax refund policy also offers a new research sample for studying the policy effects of boosting inbound consumption. SHEIN’s localization strategy of acquiring overseas brands to improve its image also provides a new case for research on business model innovation among Chinese globalizing brands.