Currys Opens a TikTok Shop, UK Retail Media Hits £2bn in Six Months
4 min read · October 8, 2026 · Covering October 7 · 10 stories from 7 sources
Yesterday in ecommerce: Currys brought its tech range to TikTok Shop, UK retail media grew faster than any other ad channel, and eBay's recommerce report showed secondhand is now a monthly habit for most Brits. 10 stories, about 5 minutes.
01Social Commerce
Currys launches on TikTok Shop with creators and live shopping events
UK tech retailer Currys opened a TikTok Shop as a trial, selling a curated range from audio and coffee machines to health and beauty gadgets without leaving the app. THG Commerce runs the shop, from trading to weekly livestreams and affiliate management. Currys will work with creators and host TikTok Live demos, building on a TikTok page with over 10 million likes. TikTok counts more than 30 million monthly users in the UK.
For your store:Even a 300-store chain starts TikTok Shop as a trial with a partner; test a small curated range first rather than your whole catalog.
UK retail media jumps 32% to £2bn, the fastest growing ad channel
Online retail media in the UK grew 32% year on year to £2bn in the first half of 2026, according to IAB UK's Digital Adspend Study with mediasense. That is more than twice the pace of the overall digital ad market, which rose 13% to £21.2bn. Search is still the biggest category at £9.1bn. Advertisers named economic uncertainty (70%), AI and automation (37%) and measurement (30%) as their top challenges.
For your store:If you sell through big retailers or marketplaces, budget for their ad slots; that is where a growing share of shopper attention is being sold.
eBay: 87% of UK shoppers bought secondhand in the past year
eBay's 2026 Recommerce Report, based on 10,000 shoppers and 1,700 sellers in 10 markets, found 87% of UK consumers bought pre-loved items in the past 12 months, versus 76% globally. 59% now buy secondhand at least monthly. Trust drives loyalty: 53% return to a seller for consistent quality and accurate descriptions. Among non-buyers, 54% worry about condition or authenticity.
For your store:Selling used or refurbished stock? Precise condition notes, real photos and a clear guarantee will win repeat buyers faster than a lower price.
Commerce, the parent of BigCommerce, brought its embedded BigCommerce Payments by PayPal to UK merchants, the first market after its US launch in May. It combines cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Pay Later in one native checkout, with a Money dashboard in the control panel for transactions, payouts and balances. The payment relationship stays directly with PayPal, even though the service is co-branded.
For your store:If you run on BigCommerce in the UK, compare its fees and payout timing against your current processor before switching; fewer systems only help if the costs match.
Shopify launches Canvas, a visual design surface built around its Sidekick AI
Shopify introduced Canvas, a workspace where merchants design their store together with Sidekick, its AI agent. Merchants see full page layouts and the overall feel of the store, then zoom in to edit details by clicking elements directly or by chatting with Sidekick. As it builds, Sidekick checks its own work by reviewing screenshots on the canvas.
For your store:AI can redesign a page in minutes, which also means it can break one; check every change on mobile and keep your best-converting layout as a saved backup.
Stripe and FedEx team up to lend to small businesses using shipping data
Stripe and FedEx announced a long-term partnership that will feed FedEx's logistics data, such as shipment activity, inventory movement and fulfillment performance, into Stripe's lending decisions for small and mid-sized businesses. The companies argue credit scores and bank data overlook how well a logistics-heavy business actually runs. Services are expected by early next year. The deal follows Stripe's purchase of small-business lender Parafin a week earlier.
For your store:How reliably you ship may soon count toward the financing you can get; clean fulfillment data is becoming a credit asset, not just an ops metric.
Crocs bets on 'shoelry' as customers who personalize prove more valuable
Crocs is expanding beyond Jibbitz charms into temporary shoe tattoos, ballet ribbons and clip-on sandal charms, and opened its first personalization-only store, Crocs by You, in China. President Anne Mehlman told Modern Retail that customers who personalize their shoes have a higher lifetime value. Jibbitz, bought in 2006 for $10 million, passed $270 million in sales in 2024, around 8% of revenue.
For your store:Small add-ons that let customers make a product their own can lift lifetime value; look for an accessory that fits your bestseller.
BelliWelli runs its Walmart launch like a media company
Fiber brand BelliWelli launched a hot pink endcap in 3,200 Walmart stores with a QR code giveaway: eight shoppers will each win $8,000 and a charm bracelet. A similar giveaway last year drew 200 million social impressions. CEO Katie Wilson stars in the brand's content herself and once filmed in Walmart aisles for 380 consecutive days, missing only 21.
For your store:A founder on camera, consistently, can build more awareness than a polished ad budget; pick one channel and show up there every day.
Five countries make up 80% of Amazon's marketplace GMV, ECDB finds
New ECDB data shows Amazon's GMV reached $846.1 billion in 2025, but 80% comes from just five markets, and Amazon.com alone generates $441 billion. Outside its strongholds in North America, Western Europe and Australia, rivals lead: MercadoLibre in Latin America, Allegro in Poland, Bol in the Netherlands. Late entry and difficult geography, as in Greece, explain the gaps.
For your store:Expanding abroad? Check which marketplace actually leads in each target country before assuming Amazon is the default first channel.
Revlon revives an 80s campaign to reintroduce itself to old and new fans
Revlon, 87 years old and out of Chapter 11 since 2023, revived its 1980s and 90s campaign with Teyana Taylor and Megan Moroney narrating their own spots. The original tagline was cut to "Revlon: Be unforgettable" for the era of six-second ads. North America president Dana Medema said the brand had been quiet and needed to win back existing customers too, not only younger ones.
For your store:An older brand asset can still work if you shorten it for today's formats; test your old slogans against a six-second attention span.
The Daily Checkout is a daily summary written by KonvertiQ. Every story links to its original source, where you will find full reporting and context. Covered today: ChannelX / Tamebay, Ecommerce Germany News, Glossy, Internet Retailing, Modern Retail, Payments Dive, Practical Ecommerce.