Today's Ecommerce Pulse
Target launches Circle Deal Days to challenge Amazon Prime Day
Target is launching its Target Circle Deal Days from June 23‑26, positioning the free‑to‑join program as a direct rival to Amazon Prime Day. New members who enroll between June 14‑22 receive a 15% discount on their first purchase, plus a free Starbucks coffee or Bullseye cookie on launch day, and a 50% discount on the first year of Target Circle 360.
Also developing:
By the numbers: FirstClub raises $55M Series B
Shoplazza Launches Athena AI Agent to Automate E‑Commerce Back‑Office Tasks
Shoplazza introduced Athena, an AI‑native admin agent that lets merchants execute back‑office e‑commerce tasks via natural language. Built on a platform serving over 650,000 global sellers, Athena aims to cut the time merchants spend navigating multiple dashboards and reduce operational errors.
Signs Your Retail Catalog Workflow Won’t Scale Without More Manual Work
Retail catalog workflows often hit a scaling ceiling when manual judgment dominates the process. As product assortments expand, undefined “ready to publish” criteria, data‑content drift, and growing review workloads cause the team to shoulder more decisions, limiting efficiency. While AI...
Run Entire Email Campaigns Using Only ChatGPT & Claude
I literally cannot wait to build emails and run my entire email channel all from within ChatGPT and Claude. Right now, my email creation process is: - Write/edit my emails inside Claude - Create images for my emails inside ChatGPT - Take the copy...
Inside Amazon’s Push to Open Its Logistics Network to Everyone
Amazon announced it will open its extensive supply‑chain and logistics network to any business, not just sellers on its marketplace. The move stems from seller demand, growing off‑Amazon volume, and the need to detach internal‑only processes. Leveraging its AI‑driven speed,...
AI Citation Patterns Reveal Sub‑Vertical SEO Strategies
💰 Ecommerce AI Search Optimization: What Citation Patterns Across 5 Subverticals Tell Us About Optimizing Beyond PDPs and PLPs 👇 My latest analysis. For this research, I reviewed AI citation-source and cited-page data for 25 leading ecommerce sites across five...
New Ecommerce Tools: May 12, 2026
The weekly roundup spotlights a wave of AI‑driven ecommerce tools launched in May 2026, ranging from Shoplazza’s Athena admin agent to GoDaddy’s Airo WordPress builder and Marqo’s Sibbi conversational shopper. Platforms are also adding AI‑powered marketing and ad‑tech, such as...
Omnisend Launches MCP to Bring Ecommerce Marketing Into ChatGPT
Omnisend introduced Model Context Protocol (MCP), allowing ecommerce marketers to access its email and SMS platform inside ChatGPT. The feature lets users ask plain‑language questions about revenue, campaign performance, and root‑cause analysis without leaving the AI chat. MCP also generates...
Value Is Now the Default: How Retailers Should Rethink Assortment, Pricing and the Shelf
Zappi’s 2026 CPG Mega‑Trends report shows brand‑only buying halved to 10% as price becomes the primary driver for shoppers. Private‑label products now enjoy parity or superiority in the eyes of over 80% of U.S. consumers, yet they capture only 19%...
Free Bandcamp Alternative Subvert Launches with 22K Members
Subvert.fm, a cooperatively owned music marketplace, launched publicly with 22,742 artist and supporter members. The platform eliminates mandatory platform fees, letting creators keep 100% of sales after standard payment‑processor charges, and relies on optional fan contributions for sustainability. Governance is...
How Small Businesses Can Avoid ‘AI Homogenization’ Without Abandoning Automation
Small businesses are rapidly embracing AI, with 80% planning to use it for marketing by year‑end. While AI boosts efficiency, reliance on generic large language models threatens the personal touch that differentiates local brands. The article warns that off‑the‑shelf tools...
CQL Introduces New AI Commerce Services to Help Brands Drive Revenue
CQL, a Shopify Platinum Partner, announced AI Commerce Services to help brands capture revenue from AI‑driven shopping experiences while boosting on‑site performance. The suite includes a strategic roadmap, visibility monitoring, product revenue optimization, and AI‑powered UX and conversion audits. By...
Noibu Deepens Investment in Shopify Plus, Bringing Ecommerce Analytics & Monitoring Platform to Plus Merchants Across Every Build
Analytics platform Noibu announced expanded support for Shopify Plus, covering every implementation from traditional Liquid themes to fully headless architectures. The rollout includes two AI-driven features—Explorations and the Model Context Protocol (MCP)—that let ecommerce teams ask natural‑language questions and receive...
Swap Storefront Delivers 2x Conversion Rates as Leading Brands Adopt AI-Powered Commerce
Swap has introduced an AI‑powered Storefront that operates as a separate, fully branded .ai site for each merchant. Early adopters such as SIMKHAI, Retrofête and Odd Muse report conversion rates up to twice the industry average, three times longer site...
Dynamic Abandonment Emails Outperform Static Welcome Flows
A high-performing welcome flow is usually a sign that nothing else in your email channel is working… These flows should be your top revenue drivers: > Browse abandonment > Cart abandonment > Checkout started …every time a high-intent shopper bounces. But most flows are static with...
Monitor ChatGPT Sales Monthly, Not Overhaul Everything
Agentic Storefronts dashboard is live in your Shopify Admin as a Sales Channel. On a store we work with: ChatGPT is 0.27% of revenue, +42% MoM. It's a small slice with a steep curve. The right approach here is "monitor monthly" not...
Protect Omnichannel Margins With These 4 Fulfillment Automation Strategies
Omnichannel retailers face mounting margin pressure from rising labor costs, volatile freight rates, and complex multi‑channel fulfillment. Automation is emerging as a strategic lever, moving beyond simple cost cuts to improve decision‑making, reduce waste, and boost flexibility. Four key tactics—AI‑driven...
GoPro COO McGee Charts New Sales Strategy as Q1 Revenue Falls 26%
GoPro President and COO Brian McGee presented a revised sales and distribution plan on the Q1 2026 earnings call as the company posted a 26% revenue decline to $99 million. The shift emphasizes direct‑to‑consumer channels while the board launches a strategic...
Subvert Launches as an Artist-Owned Alternative Co-Op to Streaming Services & Bandcamp
Subvert, an artist‑owned cooperative music marketplace, launched on May 12, 2026, positioning itself as an alternative to streaming services and Bandcamp. The platform charges zero percent platform fees, letting fans optionally tip 5‑20 percent to fund operations. At launch, more than 14,000 artists,...
Project44 Launches Autopilot, a $1 B No‑code AI Logistics Platform
Project44 introduced Autopilot, a no‑code AI‑enabled logistics operating system built on a data layer that cost more than $1 billion. The platform promises a 4% drop in freight spend, a 70% cut in manual coordination and faster sourcing, positioning the company...
Email Marketing Benchmarks: What Good Looks Like in 2026
Omnisend analyzed over 20 billion campaign emails and 470 million automated sends from more than 27,000 ecommerce brands to establish 2025 benchmarks that will guide 2026 performance. Across all industries, campaign emails averaged a 30.41% open rate, 0.74% click‑through rate and 0.08%...
Khadim Expands Partnership With Fynd to Digitally Power 260 Stores
Khadim has extended its partnership with AI‑native retailer tech firm Fynd to migrate all 260 of its Indian footwear stores onto the Fynd Store OS platform. The rollout integrates store operations, CRM, and marketplace commerce while linking the new OS...
Research: Traditional Marketing Doesn’t Work on AI Shopping Agents
A new study shows that traditional e‑commerce persuasion tactics—such as scarcity badges, countdown timers, and strike‑through pricing—do not reliably influence AI shopping agents like ChatGPT, Google’s UCP, or Amazon’s assistant. The researchers simulated over 16,000 purchase decisions across four AI...
Taskrabbit Gears Up for Peak Moving Season as Relocation Demand Surges Globally
Taskrabbit is gearing up for the summer moving peak, reporting strong global demand. In the U.S., apartment‑moving requests nearly doubled (93% YoY), while Canada saw a 40% rise in loading assistance and the UK a 43% jump in heavy‑lifting tasks....
Amazon Now Rolls Out 30‑minute Delivery Across U.S. Cities
Are we approaching a "6-minute abs" situation? I'm sure the 15-minute service is coming :) -> Amazon launches Amazon Now, its 30-minute delivery service, in dozens of US cities including Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth, Philadelphia, and Seattle, after pilots https://t.co/vn3ndFyrCX https://t.co/1Tt94hiHxO
Chicago Suburbs’ Warehouse Surge Fuels Growth and Traffic Crisis
Developers have built more than 146 million square feet of warehouse space in Chicago’s southwest suburbs, drawing retailers like Amazon and Walmart. The surge now sees roughly 20,000 trucks daily, spurring road damage and a rise in truck‑related crashes, prompting a...
Ebay Rejects $56bn GameStop Bid as ‘neither Credible nor Attractive’
GameStop offered to acquire eBay for roughly $56 billion, but eBay’s board rejected the proposal, calling it neither credible nor attractive. The bid, which would have been the largest merger in the e‑commerce sector, was dismissed despite GameStop’s push to diversify...
SAP and Cyberwave Deploy Fully Autonomous AI Robots in Live German Warehouse
SAP SE and Cyberwave announced the successful rollout of fully autonomous, AI‑powered robots in SAP's St. Leon‑Rot logistics center in Germany. The deployment demonstrates that Physical AI can operate at scale in a live fulfillment environment, promising faster training and...
Amazon Launches 30-Minute Delivery Across the U.S.
Amazon unveiled “Amazon Now,” a 30‑minute delivery service available in ten U.S. cities, including Atlanta, Dallas‑Fort Worth, Philadelphia and Seattle, with plans to expand to tens of millions of customers by year‑end. The offering covers thousands of items—from fresh groceries to...
Discussing SEO, GEO, and Discovery Future at London Summit
On my way to London to speak at Pulse eCommerce Summit tomorrow in a panel with the awesome Max Woelfle & Lewis Sellers about SEO, GEO and the future of discovery 🙌 if you don’t have a ticket yet, register...
Banuba Advances AI Try-On Platform as Retail Goes Digital
Banuba has upgraded its AI‑powered virtual try‑on platform, adding contact‑lens try‑on, hair‑dye and makeup options to its Shopify plugin and introducing a one‑photo eyewear digitisation tool. The enhancements also include faster processing, bulk inventory handling and a simplified onboarding flow...
Digest: Alibaba Pushes ‘Chat-to-Buy’ With Qwen AI; Amazon Data Coming to Netflix Inventory Next Week; Instagram Eyes Long-Form CTV Push
Alibaba is embedding its Qwen AI assistant into Taobao and Tmall, enabling chat‑to‑buy experiences where users can search, compare, and purchase via text or voice. Amazon’s shopping data will be integrated into Netflix’s ad inventory in the UK and EMEA...
EBay Promoted Listings Rule-Based Campaign Listing Exclusion
eBay has added a rule‑based campaign listing exclusion option to its Promoted Listings platform, allowing sellers to omit specific items even when they meet campaign criteria. Advertisers can enter individual item IDs or bulk‑select up to 10,000 listings to exclude,...
What If Your Store Never Ran Out Of Options Ft. Nivoda
In this episode of In The Loop, host Michael Burpo catches up with Andre Wounds of Novota, a B2B platform that helps jewelry retailers source diamonds, lab‑grown stones, gemstones, melee and soon finished jewelry. Andre explains how Novota’s global supplier...
Commerce Riff with Sri & PVSB - May 12, 2026
In this episode of Commerce Riff, hosts Peter (PBSB) and Shree discuss four major CPG and commerce stories: Giant Eagle’s exclusive partnership with Ibotta to power performance‑based digital promotions, General Mills’ promotion of Dana McNabb to COO amid a stock...
Gen Z 'Serial Returners' Surge as Traditional Returns Deterrents Lose Impact
New research from Ingrid shows Gen Z serial returners have jumped to 53% of shoppers, up from 15% in 2023. Half of these shoppers report account suspensions for high return volumes, while traditional deterrents like fees are losing impact. Retailers...
Amazon’s Quick Commerce Blitz Rattles Blinkit’s Playbook
Amazon is accelerating its 10‑minute delivery push in India with Amazon Now, now handling 450,000‑500,000 orders daily from roughly 500 dark stores. The service’s orders are growing 25% month‑on‑month and Prime members are tripling their purchase frequency. Blinkit, the sector’s...
Beauty Briefing: What to Know About Sephora’s and Ulta’s AI Partnerships
Sephora has integrated OpenAI's ChatGPT into its online and in‑store platforms, offering shoppers instant, conversational product recommendations. Ulta Beauty struck a partnership with Google to embed the Gemini generative AI model in its digital assistant, aiming to personalize the browsing...
Blackstone to Acquire Majority Stake in Greece’s Skroutz Marketplace From CVC
Blackstone announced it will purchase a majority stake in Skroutz, Greece’s top online marketplace, from CVC Capital Partners. The deal, whose financial terms were not disclosed, positions Blackstone to expand its digital consumer portfolio across Southeast Europe. Skroutz’s founders will...
Amazon Launches Supply Chain Service for Auto Makers, Challenging Traditional 3PLs
Amazon announced Amazon Supply Chain Services, a logistics platform that lets automakers and parts suppliers tap its fulfillment network without selling on the marketplace. The move pits the e‑commerce giant against established third‑party logistics firms and could reshape how cars...
How Magento Services Transformed My Business
Investing in professional Magento services transformed a lagging online store into a high‑performing e‑commerce engine. The project centered on migrating from Magento 1 to Magento 2, implementing technical SEO, and integrating custom Amasty extensions. The migration eliminated slow load times, met the...
EP264: Leveraging TikTok Shop for Amazon PPC Efficiency
In episode 264 of the High Voltage Business Builders Podcast, host Neil Twa explains how adding TikTok Shop to an Amazon catalog can slash advertising costs. Sellers who run both channels report a 30‑50% drop in Amazon ACoS, with a...
Avoid CPC Sponsorships; Brand Building Isn’t Just Clicks
Turned down newsletter sponsorship offers from Lovable and Superhuman this month bc the pricing was CPC, and that feels a bit too transactional for my taste. Brand-building and visibility with hyper- relevant audiences does not always translate cleanly to cost...
How Naturepedic Is Scaling Operations and Retail for Organic Growth
Naturepedic, the leading certified organic mattress brand, is scaling its retail footprint and wholesale channel to drive organic growth. The company now operates 18 corporate stores and plans to add eight to ten locations in high‑potential markets such as Southern...
RealReal Lifts FY Outlook as Q1 Revenues Expand 19 Percent
The RealReal, Inc. lifted its full‑year outlook after Q1 results beat expectations, with gross merchandise value (GMV) climbing 24% to $606 million and total revenue rising 19% to $190 million. Consignment revenue grew 18% while direct revenue surged 26% year‑over‑year, and adjusted...
ChatGPT Generates $39K, Just 0.2% of Sales
Agentic Commerce on a real store: $39,015 total sales attributed to ChatGPT or 0.2% of store revenue for the same period. Yes, AI makes sales... but it's also still a rounding error. Both can be true. https://t.co/xubN6B0T4r
AI Commerce Platform District Secures $14.7M Seed Funding Led by Andreessen Horowitz
District announced a $14.7 million seed round headed by Andreessen Horowitz and Kindred Ventures. The funding will fuel its general‑availability launch, expanding a platform that lets creators and brands build interactive, code‑free storefronts using AI.
Tariffs Cut Sales—Raise Prices, You’ll Likely Benefit
60% of stores saw their income decrease because of tariffs. Which means there's a great chance your prices are/were too low. Price hikes are scary. It's almost always worth it. And if not? Easy to roll back. #chartoftheweek https://t.co/V2QeFlqS3e
Priority Payables Rockets 36% as Enterprise Giants Join
Priority Technology Holdings reported Q1 2026 revenue of $249.6 million, up 11.1% year over year. Its Payables segment led growth, surging 36% to $32.4 million as larger enterprise customers increased both buyer‑funded (up 37%) and supplier‑funded (up 31%) revenues. Treasury Solutions grew...
Complete Guide to Image File Types
Choosing the right image file type is crucial for ecommerce sites to balance visual quality with page speed. The guide breaks down core considerations—vector vs raster, resolution, lossy vs lossless—and outlines the strengths of ten common formats, from JPEG and...