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
Amazon's AI-Generated Shopping Experts Now Let You Ask Questions
Amazon has upgraded its "Hear the Highlights" AI audio feature to let shoppers ask real‑time questions. The interactive Q&A appears as a raised‑hand icon in the product page, letting users type or speak queries that the AI host weaves into the two‑minute audio recap. Amazon says the capability now covers millions of items in the US iOS and Android shopping app. The change turns a static product summary into a conversational assistant.
Rhode Bolsters Global Distribution with Sephora Europe Rollout
Rhode, the Hailey Rhode Bieber‑led skincare brand, is rolling out its curated line across Sephora stores in more than 20 European countries starting September. The partnership leverages Sephora’s extensive retail footprint to bring Rhode’s skin‑focused products and Peptide lip line...
Wayfair Touts Market Share Gains in Retail’s Toughest Category
Wayfair reported a 7% rise in Q1 net revenue to $2.9 billion, driven largely by U.S. sales, while active customers grew to 21.4 million, up just over 1% year‑on‑year. Despite the sales boost, the retailer’s net loss barely improved, standing at $105 million,...
Amazon Joins Google‑Backed Universal Commerce Protocol, Shaping AI Shopping Standards
Amazon has joined the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) technical council, aligning with Google, Meta, Microsoft, Stripe and Salesforce. The move gives Amazon a voice in the emerging open standard that could streamline AI‑powered product discovery and checkout across retailers.
Processor‑Level AI Cuts Ecommerce Fraud, Outperforming Bolt‑On Tools
Juniper Research projects ecommerce fraud losses could reach $107 billion by 2029, but new processor‑level AI solutions are already delivering measurable cuts. North’s native AI integration has helped push the global order‑rejection rate down to 5%, a stark improvement over fragmented...
Walmart Q4 Earnings Show 24% E‑commerce Surge and Growth From High‑income Shoppers
Walmart reported FY2025 revenue of $713.16 billion, a 5.1% rise, while global e‑commerce sales surged 24% to $150.4 billion. The boost came largely from shoppers earning over $100,000, signaling a shift in consumer spending patterns toward value‑focused, higher‑income buyers.
Stripe Rolls Out 288 AI‑centric Products, Expanding Wallets and Treasury Tools
Stripe announced 288 new AI‑focused products and features at its annual Sessions conference, including a consumer wallet for agents and a real‑time streaming‑payments system. The rollout positions Stripe as the payments backbone for the next wave of AI‑driven commerce.
AI Clears Bottlenecks, but Hiring Costs Still Rise
I've never used AI more but I've also never spent more $$ hiring (human) specialists to help execute on the projects that AI removed my bottlenecks on. In the last 90 days I've: -Hired a web designer to revamp my site -Hired a...
More Sellers, Yet Amazon Revenue Shares Hit 2017 Lows
It's Day 2 at Amazon. More owners than ever, 63%, are selling on AMZ. Yet AMZ market share of U.S. store revenue has declined to 2017-era levels. High fees. Brutal competition. Lack of customer ownership. More brands selling + lower revenue than...
Talking Headways Podcast: The Logistics of Package Delivery
In a recent Talking Headways episode, ASU professor Benjamin Fong dissected the logistics behind e‑commerce giants like Amazon, highlighting the complexities of last‑mile delivery and the growing reliance on third‑party delivery service providers (DSPs). He examined state‑level legislation such as...
Stripe Expands Agentic Commerce Suite to Google’s AI Mode and Gemini App Among 288 Product Announcements
Stripe announced 288 new products and features at its Stripe Sessions conference, highlighted by a partnership that brings its Agentic Commerce Suite into Google’s AI Mode and the Gemini app. The move enables merchants such as Quince, Fanatics and JD Sports...
All‑in‑One Tool Cuts Product Development From Weeks to Days
Cursor for code. Lovable for apps. @Genpire_ai for products you can actually hold. One workflow handles the whole cycle, from idea to design to tech pack to manufacturer match. A DTC founder using it said they cut their development time from...
AI Transforms E‑commerce Into a Single, Disruptive Category
E-commerce hits 23% of global retail this year. 25% by 2030. AI just became the storefront, salesperson, and checkout in one. The brands treating this as a channel update are about to get disrupted by the ones treating it as a new...
AI Earned The Right To Guide Shopping Decisions, But Not To Buy
Artificial intelligence is now trusted to steer shoppers through research and selection, but consumers still balk at letting machines complete the final purchase. Euromonitor data shows AI will shape roughly $780 billion of global e‑commerce sales by 2029, yet only $39 billion...
Experian Announces Agent Trust to Power Trusted AI Driven Commerce
Experian unveiled Agent Trust, a framework that creates a verifiable link between consumers and AI agents through a new “Know Your Agent” (KYA) verification model. The system issues real‑time trust tokens that bind a user’s identity, device and autonomous agent,...
Commerce Introduces New Product Innovations Across Storefronts, B2B, Payments and AI
Commerce, the parent of BigCommerce, Feedonomics and Makeswift, unveiled a suite of product innovations at Commerce Live 2026. The updates span core platform performance, multilingual support, faster checkout, new B2B automation tools, native hosting for Catalyst, and expanded payment integrations....
Commerce Data, Explained: What It Is, Why It Matters, and What Makes It Useful
Criteo explains that true commerce data goes beyond simple transaction logs to include upstream shopper signals such as searches, product views, comparisons, and cart activity. By linking these signals to specific SKUs and normalizing product attributes, Criteo turns raw data...
Is Craigslist's Model Failing Compared to Modern Marketplaces?
Do we regard the Craiglist experimental business model to be failed at this point? Is there anything you go there for rather than FB marketplace or some other dedicated platform?
Google: “AI Threatens to Make Brands Invisible, but Physical Stores Are a Major Advantage”
Google’s Omnichannel Index 2026 warns that AI can render brands invisible unless they adopt a true omnichannel strategy. The report, co‑authored with IMPACT Commerce, says organizations that view omnichannel as a commercial strategy—not just an infrastructure upgrade—are pulling ahead. Retailers that lag...
Amazon Says Its AI Shopping Assistant Is Gaining Traction, with Rufus Users up 115%
Amazon reported that its AI‑powered shopping assistant Rufus saw monthly active users jump 115% year‑over‑year, with engagement climbing 400%. The chatbot, launched in early 2024, now handles tasks like recurring purchases and price‑triggered auto‑buy. Rufus helped generate roughly $12 billion in...
ZigZag Partners Trade Duty Refund for EU Duty Drawback Service
ZigZag has partnered with Trade Duty Refund to launch an integrated EU duty drawback service for UK retailers selling into the EU. The solution blends ZigZag’s returns platform with Trade Duty Refund’s digital claims engine, automating evidence capture and customs...
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Taps LTK for Social Commerce Push
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit has partnered with LTK to launch its first creator‑driven social commerce channel. An official LTK profile will let fans discover and purchase items featured in editorial content, talent spotlights, and live runway coverage. LTK will also enable...
JSW One Buys Pidilite Ventures-Backed Proptech Startup BuildNext
JSW One Platforms, the B2B ecommerce arm of the JSW Group, announced the acquisition of proptech startup BuildNext through a share‑swap with Pidilite Ventures. The transaction, valued at a mutually agreed price, also brings an additional ₹22 Cr (≈$2.6 M) investment from...
Scale, Security, and Trust - the Three Winning Factors for Visa in an Age of Agentic Commerce, According to CEO...
Visa CEO Ryan McInerney says AI‑driven agentic commerce will accelerate digitization, create micro‑transactions and lift B2B payments. He argues Visa’s massive network, proven security and deep consumer trust uniquely position the company to capture that growth. New tools such as Intelligent...
Competitive Pricing Starts with Data
Competitive pricing is becoming a strategic imperative as shoppers grow more price‑sensitive. A Retail Systems Research survey of 97 global brick‑and‑mortar executives found 53% list rising consumer price sensitivity among their top fears. Online shoppers can instantly compare offers on...
Walmart Teams with Wing to Roll Out Drone Deliveries in Miami and Other U.S. Cities
Walmart announced a partnership with Alphabet’s Wing to launch consumer drone deliveries in Miami and several other U.S. markets. The service, already operating in Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas‑Fort Worth and Houston, will expand to South Florida by 2027, offering sub‑hour deliveries...
Ecommpay Report Reveals Three ‘Uncomfortable Truths’ About E-Commerce Fraud
Global payments platform Ecommpay released the first part of its report “Beyond the Black Box: Why human‑centric fraud demands ecosystem‑wide transformation.” The study, based on interviews with fraud, compliance and regulatory experts, identifies three uncomfortable truths: current fraud prevention creates...
Adapt Your Shopping Campaigns to Modern Search with AI Max.
Google unveiled AI Max for Shopping, an AI‑driven upgrade to existing Shopping campaigns that adds conversational ad copy, Final URL Expansion, and automatic format selection. The new tools pull data from Merchant Center feeds—such as fabric softness and fit—to match...
SA Women Entrepreneurs Selected for Amazon Incubator
Amazon South Africa and the female accelerator WomHub have launched the first Amazon Sustainable Sellers Incubator, selecting 35 women‑led manufacturing businesses across the country. The nine‑month program, beginning next month, combines circular‑economy training, digital‑skills development, and e‑commerce enablement on Amazon’s...
Shopping Around – You versus the Grocery Store
Modern grocery shopping has become a high‑tech, high‑confusion experience. Shoppers juggle regular, sale, member, and digital‑coupon prices while navigating mismatched aisle signage and fine‑print restrictions. Digital coupons often fail without store Wi‑Fi, and self‑checkout systems still require manual audits. The...
Stripe, Google Partner on Agentic Commerce
Stripe announced that its Link digital wallet will be usable by Google Gemini’s AI agents, letting the bots complete purchases on behalf of users. The integration expands Stripe’s agentic commerce network, which already includes Meta, Microsoft Copilot and OpenAI’s ChatGPT....
France: 75% of Imported Products Did Not Meet EU Rules
The French consumer‑protection authority (DGCCRF) tested more than 600 products bought from seven foreign online marketplaces in 2025 and found that 75% failed to meet EU product rules, with 46% deemed dangerous. All electrical appliances examined were non‑compliant, and many...
EXEC: Crocs See DTC Strength Offset Steep Wholesale Declines in Q1 Beat
Crocs Inc. reported Q1 2026 revenue of $921 million, a 1.7% decline but well above the 8% drop analysts expected. Wholesale volumes fell sharply—18.9% for the Crocs brand and 24.7% for HeyDude in North America—while direct‑to‑consumer sales surged, especially a 31.2%...
Oil, Powell and Some Interesting E-Com Trends in 2026
The 2026 outlook highlights three intertwined forces shaping the economy: volatile oil prices, Federal Reserve policy under Chair Jerome Powell, and evolving e‑commerce dynamics. Crude oil has settled near $80 a barrel as geopolitical tensions keep supply tight, prompting cautious...
IndiaMART Q4: Net Profit Plunges 72% YoY To ₹50 Cr
IndiaMART InterMESH reported a sharp decline in Q4 FY26 net profit, down 72% YoY to ₹50.2 Cr (≈$6 M). Operating revenue grew modestly 14% YoY to ₹404.3 Cr (≈$48.7 M), driven by a 10% rise in its ecommerce platform and an 83% jump in...
Carvana Sets Record with 187,393 Vehicles Sold in Q1, Analysts Upgrade Ahead of Earnings
Carvana reported a record 187,393 vehicles sold in Q1 2026, a 40% year‑over‑year increase, and $6.43 billion in revenue. Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock, citing the retailer’s growth and new dealership acquisitions, while warning of macro headwinds.
Supply Chain Focus Remains for Retailers as Global Instability Persists
Retail executives surveyed at the World Retail Congress say supply‑chain capabilities will be among the top three spending priorities in 2026, with 56% earmarking higher budgets. Customer experience, personalization and AI investments also rank high, while only about one‑in‑six executives...
Asian Online Giants Eye Europe Growth
Asian fast‑fashion platforms Shein and Temu are redirecting growth efforts toward Europe, recruiting local brands, designers and sellers to sidestep tariffs and raise product quality. Shein has launched a localized UK marketplace, now hosting over 2,500 British sellers and promising...
Walmart Deploys In‑Store Beauty Advisors, Targeting 400 Stores by Year‑End
Walmart is rolling out trained beauty advisors in more than 400 of its 4,600 U.S. stores by the end of 2026, expanding a pilot that began in 22 locations in Arkansas and Texas. The move aims to add a human‑touch...
Users Want Zomato Web App for Desktop Ordering
I wish Zomata had a web app. Let me order food from my desk on a big screen without needing to pick up my phone and stare into a tiny screen @zomato @albinder
Fujifilm Debuts Instax Spot Photo Booth, Print Station
Fujifilm North America launched the instax Spot, a combined photobooth and wireless print station for high‑traffic venues. Available in tabletop and freestanding models, it offers AR effects, QR‑code smartphone printing, and supports both instax mini and Square film. The device is marketed...
How Leading Retailers Are Re-Thinking the Role of the Shopping Cart
Retailers are redefining the shopping cart as a strategic, data‑driven platform rather than merely a checkout tool. AI‑enabled carts equipped with cameras, scales and connectivity are being rolled out beyond pilots to full‑store deployments, allowing real‑time personalization, navigation and in‑store...
Report Finds UK Fashion Spend Growth Slows, Shoppers More Selective
Cardlytics’ State of Spend report, based on anonymised data from over 23 million UK bank accounts, shows online fast‑fashion spending rose 9% in 2025, propelled by an 8% rise in transaction count, while average basket size fell 3%. High‑street fashion growth...
Udora Secures $10 Million as It Prepares Saudi Market Entry
UAE‑based gifting platform Udora has closed a $10 million private funding round to accelerate its regional rollout, including a planned entry into Saudi Arabia in the third quarter of 2026. The marketplace, which links shoppers with local florists, confectioners and artisans...
Taager Moves Into China to Fix Sourcing Bottlenecks for MENA Sellers
Taager, the Cairo‑based social e‑commerce platform, has opened its first supply office in China, shifting from a pure software layer to a vertically integrated supply‑chain model. The new hub lets the company directly inspect goods, negotiate with factories, and accelerate...
Travel Checkout Has Become the New Departure Gate
Travel companies are moving the checkout experience to the center of the booking flow by embedding digital wallets and other finance tools. A PYMNTS Intelligence and Marqeta survey of 30 U.S. firms shows 93% now offer at least one embedded...
5 State Tax Mistakes E-Commerce Brands Only Notice After The Bill Arrives
E‑commerce brands are increasingly tripping over state sales‑tax obligations after the fact, largely because they misinterpret the 2018 Wayfair economic‑nexus rules and overlook inventory‑driven physical nexus from Amazon fulfillment. Over‑registration or under‑registration stems from fragmented, untagged sales data that makes...
Revolut Opens First Physical Store In Barcelona
Revolut announced the opening of its first physical storefront in Barcelona, located on the prestigious Passeig de Gràcia. The 1,200‑square‑foot space offers cash withdrawals, crypto kiosks, and on‑site financial advisors, blending digital banking with a tangible customer experience. The launch...
INTERVIEW: Designing Retail Media for Scale and Relevance: Helene Trad on Kingfisher’s Approach
Helene Trad, head of retail media at Kingfisher, explained at Retail MediaX Europe how the group is building a modular, customer‑centric retail media platform that serves both trade‑focused Screwfix and inspiration‑driven B&Q. The strategy blends a unified measurement backbone with...
John Smedley Unveils Revamped Website and Receives Second Royal Warrant
John Smedley, the 200‑year‑old British knitwear label, launched a newly redesigned website built on the Centra e‑commerce platform and created with London agency Limesharp. The site showcases interactive fabric shade filters, fit explainers and richer model photography to streamline the...