E-Commerce Day

The 14^th e-Commerce Day once again put Cologne’s RheinEnergieSTADION at the centre of the e-commerce scene. Just under 2,000 industry representatives came together to exchange ideas, network and learn from high-profile speakers such as mountaineering legend Reinhold Messner, Ed Sander, a specialist in digital technology in China, Sarah Carroll from Grow Global Limited, media expert Dr. Sascha Lobo and many other leading figures from both within and outside the industry. AI and automation were the key themes at the heart of the event – though other thought-provoking topics were discussed, which lingered in the minds of visitors long after the day had come to a close.

Anyone looking for specific strategies and new contacts for their own business found exactly what they were after at e-Commerce Day: Fascinating presentations, exhibitors from a wide range of sectors, practical masterclasses and plenty of opportunities for networking ensured that everyone took something beneficial home with them. The day demonstrated where online selling is at right now – and what we can expect next year.

e-Commerce Day 2026 in numbers

2,000 participants from the e-commerce sector
100+ exhibitors across 4,000 m² of exhibition space
30+ top-class talks across three stages – presented in both German and English
Guided tours for exhibitors in 7 languages
The legendary After-Show Party

Kick-off event for early birds: The annual beach BBQ the evening before

The evening before, on 10^th June, the community kicked things off with the annual warm-up event – the Beach BBQ at Cologne’s Playa Beach Club, right next to the RheinEnergieSTADION. Although the weather wasn’t at its best, the relaxed atmosphere created just the right beach vibes. No one let the occasional rain showers get in the way. With a barbecue buffet, a burger station, cold drinks and an exciting volleyball tournament, around 400 participants mingled and got themselves into the swing of things for e-Commerce Day.

Fortunately, it stayed dry until the victors of the beach volleyball tournament had been decided. Congratulations to the winning team from GS1 Germany, “Barcode Bumpers”, who secured the title for the second time.

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It’s time for the e-Commerce Day 2026!

At 9.00am sharp, the time had finally come: Dr. Gerald Schönbucher, CEO of Kaufland Global Marketplace, took to the Main Stage and opened the 14^th e-Commerce Day with a preview of the upcoming programme and a review of a year of strong growth for Kaufland Global Marketplace.

Kaufland Global Marketplace: International focus as a key driver of growth

The figures speak for themselves: The Kaufland marketplace continues to pursue a consistent course of international growth and is establishing itself as one of Europe’s largest e-commerce providers. In the 2025 financial year, during which Kaufland.fr and Kaufland.it opened up the third- and fourth-largest e-commerce markets to sellers, Kaufland Global Marketplace once again achieved a significant year-on-year increase in sales. Revenue growth in terms of GMV (Gross Merchandise Value) stood at 11.9% across all Kaufland marketplace countries. International business was a key driver of this growth, with a 124% increase in turnover. On average, sellers who are already active on Kaufland.de see a 70% increase in turnover after adding further international marketplaces.

Growth through innovation: Ailora, Kaufland Card XTRA and a strong seller community

In addition to international expansion, two further developments are playing a key role in driving the growth of Kaufland Global Marketplace. With Ailora, Kaufland Global Marketplace has integrated AI assistants directly into the Seller Portal to support sellers in their day-to-day operations and help them enter new markets quickly and easily – from optimising delivery times to translating product data, legal texts and customer tickets, right through to performance analysis.

Kaufland Card XTRA is also increasingly becoming a driver of growth for international marketplaces. Customers can collect and redeem points when shopping both in-store and online – and benefit from exclusive vouchers for online shopping as well. The response has been remarkable – up to ten purchases per minute are now being made using Kaufland Card XTRA.

This combination of smart technology, strong customer loyalty and international reach is proving a winning formula: 15,000 sellers now rely on Kaufland Global Marketplace as their growth partner in e-commerce.

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The next milestone: Spain and the Netherlands

The opening speech had another special highlight in store: Dr. Gerald Schönbucher announced further international growth. Later this summer, Kaufland Global Marketplace will expand into Spain and the Netherlands, thereby becoming the largest international marketplace network from Europe. This means that sellers who sell on all Kaufland marketplaces can potentially reach 220 million online customers.

The reaction in the packed hall mirrored what was also emerging online – huge excitement for Kaufland.nl and Kaufland.es. Some sellers had already spotted the new marketplaces in the Seller Portal and had begun the onboarding process before the news had even been officially announced.

Following this exciting start, the participants embarked on a programme packed with fascinating talks, practical masterclasses and intensive networking.

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The main theme: AI and the future of retail

This year, there was one hot topic that featured on all three e-Commerce Day stages: Artificial intelligence. From agentic commerce to large language models and the automation of operational processes, the topic served as a common thread throughout the entire day. The large panel of AI experts in the afternoon provided fascinating insights, with leading figures from the industry discussing the topic “AI in online selling: Change today so you don’t get left behind tomorrow”.

Dr. Sascha Lobo summed it up: The AI revolution is unfolding faster than any previous technological development – and anyone who fails to act now risks being left behind. At the same time, he called for structures that are flexible enough to keep pace with the dynamics of change. Moderated by Ingrid Lommer, there was also a lively discussion on whether agentic commerce and inspirational shopping would compete with one another in the future – the general consensus being that both approaches will coexist for the time being.

Conductor Christian Gansch provided one of the day’s most unexpected moments with his talk, “From solo to symphony – what companies can learn from orchestras”. During his 70-minute presentation, he drew parallels between high-performance ensembles and successful organisations, which sparked much discussion afterwards.

Another much-discussed topic: “What’s next for Temu?” – a sober assessment of one of the industry’s most pressing competitive issues by China expert, Ed Sander.

Premiere: The first Kaufland Global Marketplace Seller Award

Yet another highlight was the presentation of the first Kaufland Global Marketplace Seller Award. It is a first-of-its-kind event that is set to become a permanent fixture of e-Commerce Day, providing a well-deserved platform for the outstanding achievements of the seller community. The winners were honoured on stage in four categories:

🏆International Champion: Stockly

🏆Quickstarter: VlaMar GmbH

🏆Pioneer Partner: Home Deluxe GmbH

🏆Service Champion: K & L - Topshop GbR

We would like to congratulate all the winners and look forward to continuing our successful collaboration with them.

Stadium tours, networking and more

Anyone familiar with e-Commerce Day knows that the stages are just one aspect of the experience. The popular stadium tours of the RheinEnergieSTADION were once again a big hit in 2026.

In the exhibitors’ area, sellers, service providers and partners made the most of the cross-border & AI networking session to hold specific discussions – hands-on, direct and offering real added value for their own businesses.

The “speed connect” session with Ingrid Lommer and Christiane Fröhlich from Marketplace Universe offered particularly intensive networking opportunities. The huge turnout once again underlines the importance of business-related contacts: e-commerce professionals, those simply curious to find out more, and even participants from outside the industry came together for one-to-one discussions, exchanging views on current developments, individual challenges and new opportunities – the perfect format for expanding your own network and quickly gaining fresh insights.

Reinhold Messner provided an emotional finale to the day’s proceedings with his keynote speech, “Living on the edge”. The extreme mountaineer and adventurer transported the audience into his world – and summed up his philosophy of life in a sentence that lingers in the mind: “Happiness cannot be bought, conquered or given to us – happiness arises when we follow our passion, when we develop ideas and put them into practice”.

After-Show Party: Beats and World Cup fever

If you thought that everyone would be exhausted after a packed day of conferences, you were very much mistaken! Once the official stage programme had finished, the action continued at the After-Show Party – dinner, networking, dancing to the beats of DJ Austin, as well as the livestream of the men’s FIFA World Cup opening match. It was a lively end to the evening!

Thank you!

From the kick-off at the Beach BBQ, to inspiring talks on three stages and then the After-Show Party: e-Commerce Day 2026 was once again a day full of encounters, inspiration and moments to remember. A huge thank you to all the participants, exhibitors, speakers and partners who made this event something truly special!

We look forward to seeing you again in 2027!