JD.com Completes Its $2.5 Billion Takeover of MediaMarkt Owner Ceconomy, Microsoft's Global Outage Drags Into a Second Day
5 min read · November 14, 2026 · Covering November 13 · 10 stories from 6 sources
Yesterday in ecommerce: JD.com completed its $2.5 billion takeover of Ceconomy, the German parent of MediaMarkt and Saturn, while a Microsoft 365 outage that began Thursday dragged into a second day for hundreds of millions of users worldwide. 10 stories, about 5 minutes.
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JD.com completes its $2.5 billion takeover of MediaMarkt owner Ceconomy
JD.com finalized its takeover of Ceconomy, the German parent of MediaMarkt and Saturn, after EU approval. JD.com holds 59.8% of Ceconomy, with partner Convergenta holding 25.3% more, for 85.2% combined control of a group running over 1,000 stores in 11 countries. JD.com plans next-day delivery across Europe, 90-minute Uber delivery and 30-minute in-store pickup, plus Joybuy access to MediaMarkt and Saturn. Ceconomy CEO Remko Rijnders said: "This will change the market in Europe."
For your store:A marketplace giant now owns 1,000+ European electronics stores, promising next-day delivery everywhere; expect shipping speed in that category to rise fast.
A Microsoft 365 outage that began Thursday around 1pm Eastern knocked out Outlook, Teams and Copilot for over 450 million commercial users across more than 70 countries. By Friday, Microsoft said it saw "broad recovery and stability" but was still restoring service in some regions. It blamed a technical issue, not a cyberattack, and will publish a full post-incident report. Reuters reported staff falling back on phones and faxes, and firms warned customers to double-check unexpected messages.
For your store:If your store leans on Outlook or Teams for orders or support, keep a backup channel ready for the next cloud outage.
PayPal pushes to become a bank, eyeing merchant lending
PayPal applied for a Utah industrial loan company charter with the FDIC in December 2025, and new CFO Jamie Miller confirmed the plan centers on merchant lending. She said a charter would give PayPal "another route to capital," including deposits, while the company stays balance-sheet light. PayPal serves about 400 million consumers and 20 million merchants, and already cut roughly 2,000 jobs this year chasing $1.5 billion in savings.
For your store:If PayPal becomes a depositor-backed lender, expect sharper working-capital offers for merchants; worth comparing against your current loan or credit line.
Pinterest rolls out AI shopping tools for the holidays
Pinterest launched a conversational AI shopping helper, Pinterest Assistant, now live on iOS in the US, plus a Compare tool showing similar products side by side with price and reviews, and Wishlists that flag price drops or restocks. Pinterest says 75% of festive shoppers used it last season to narrow options. Related searches are climbing fast: gift card presentation ideas are up 620% and DIY gifts up 1,370% year over year. It also added curated Deal Boards from editors and creators.
For your store:List gift-ready products with clear pricing and stock status now; Pinterest's new Compare and Wishlist tools reward that hygiene.
Dr Martens braces for a make-or-break Christmas as UK sales plunge 21%
Dr Martens' UK sales fell 21.3% over its first half, the steepest regional drop, dragging group revenue down 9.2% to £290.4 million and widening its adjusted pretax loss to £13.7 million. Boots, still 44% of revenue, fell 20% as an unusually hot summer dented demand, while shoes rose 1% and sandals 5%. October sales kept falling, less steeply than September. Shares dropped about 15% on the results, even as analysts still forecast a full-year profit.
For your store:A single hot summer can wreck a season built on one category; if you sell weather-dependent product, build a faster backup line into your planning.
The Fed raises check-processing fees as volume keeps falling
The Federal Reserve will raise check-service fees by an average 5.4% from January 1, even as commercial check volume sent to Reserve Banks fell 8.7% through August. Early-delivery fees rise to 5.8 cents per item and rejected-item repair fees to 36 cents. Checks still carried 13% of B2B payments and were used by 59% of businesses surveyed; among firms operating 20-plus years, 54% still pay vendors by check. Same Day ACH volume rose 36.7% meanwhile.
For your store:If your business still cuts paper checks to suppliers, this is another nudge to shift recurring payments to ACH before fees climb again.
Asics cuts inventory-hunting time 60% with warehouse drones
Asics America flies autonomous drones through its Mississippi distribution center, counting roughly 3 million units across 44,000 SKUs. The drones scan key storage areas monthly instead of twice a year, recovering misplaced inventory about 60% faster; one three-month stretch found 26 misplaced cases holding over 200 pairs of shoes. Asics used to withhold 12-15% of marketplace inventory as an error buffer; it now lists full availability. Distribution director Kyle Koestler said scanning a thousand locations just to find the few with problems wastes everyone's time.
For your store:A monthly spot-count of top sellers' stock can catch inventory quietly costing you marketplace sales.
Hobbycraft swings to profit as crafting boom accelerates
UK crafts retailer Hobbycraft posted an £8.7 million statutory profit for the year to mid-February, reversing a £10.1 million loss, with adjusted EBITDA tripling to £15.5 million. Like-for-like sales rose 2%, accelerating to 4% in the second half, even as store count fell to 107 from 124. It exited its restructuring arrangement two years early. Model-making sales jumped 45%, crochet 24%, and searches for "Kawaii" crafting rose 221%. Acting CEO Graeme Campbell called it "a pivotal, transformative year."
For your store:A shrinking store count with rising sales is a healthy trade; if you sell a niche hobby, lean into its specific micro-trends.
Resale marketplace Vinted is bringing personalized post-purchase ads to US shoppers through an expanded deal with ad firm Rokt, showing third-party offers right after checkout. The format has run since 2024 across the UK and six European markets with a 4% engagement rate, and Vinted isn't charging sellers. Vinted returned to the US in January 2026 and competes with Depop, Poshmark and ThredUp; last year revenue rose 38% to 1.1 billion euros and goods sold rose 47% to 10.8 billion euros.
For your store:Post-checkout is real ad inventory, not just a thank-you page; consider what offer you could show there yourself.
Most of the biggest online retailers aren't ready for AI shoppers
ReFiBuy's Q3 2026 AI1000, built with Digital Commerce 360, scored AI readiness across 1,000 North American retailers and found an average score of just 39.9 of 100. Only 13 of the 100 largest online retailers by sales rank in the AI1000's top 100, and some are reachable by one AI shopping agent, like ChatGPT, but blocked for another. CEO Scot Wingo said much blocking looks unintentional, from IT decisions made without commerce teams, and could cut holiday discovery traffic.
For your store:Test your store with a few AI shopping assistants before Black Friday; being blocked for just one can quietly cost sales.
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, Digital Commerce 360, Internet Retailing, PYMNTS, Payments Dive, Retail Gazette.