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
Retail Technology Show Review – Differentiating Through People and Technology
The Retail Technology Show in London highlighted how retailers are racing to embed advanced technology while keeping people at the core of the experience. Executives from Currys, Matalan, Holland & Barrett and Marks & Spencer discussed rapid AI adoption, data‑driven loyalty, and the need for skilled staff to differentiate in shrinking store footprints. Notable investments include Holland & Barrett’s £300 million (~$380 M) data stack and Currys’ push for single‑customer views, while M&S disclosed a cyber‑attack loss exceeding £300 million (~$380 M). The event underscored that successful retailers will blend tech speed with human expertise to meet evolving omni‑channel expectations.
Newegg.com: Save 8% On $250 Lowe’s Giftcards
Newegg.com is offering an 8% discount on $250 Lowe’s e‑gift cards, effectively pricing the card at $230 when shoppers apply promo code SSF6222. The promotion, re‑launched on April 24, 2026, is listed in Newegg’s combo‑deal section and includes a direct purchase link....
Reliance Retail Expands 2-Hour Delivery Network; JioMart Daily Orders Rise 300% in Q4
Reliance Retail’s Q4 FY26 results show hyper‑local commerce exploding, with JioMart’s average daily orders surging 300% year‑on‑year and 29% sequentially. The retailer posted roughly $12 billion in gross revenue and $845 million EBITDA, delivering a 7.9% margin while expanding its footprint to...
UK Online Retail Now Accounts for 28% of All Sales
The Office for National Statistics says online retail made up 28% of all UK sales in January 2026, up from 24% a year earlier. Internet turnover hit £2.7 billion—about $3.4 billion—and grew 1.8% over the prior three months. The average online transaction...
Hidden Sales‑tax Compliance Erodes Margins as You Scale
Your finance team is spending more time on sales tax than you think. It's almost never the obvious stuff that compresses margin as you scale. CAC is fine, conversion is holding, and new channels are producing. The top line looks great. What's...
The Friday Checkout: Is Agentic AI the Next Frontier for Grocers?
Agentic AI, which enables autonomous actions within a chat interface, is emerging as the latest frontier for grocery retailers. Instacart announced integration with Anthropic’s Claude, allowing shoppers to build carts directly in a chatbot conversation. A FMI‑NielsenIQ report shows only...
AI Creator Platform Markable Launches Free Tier, Opening Commerce Tools to All Creators
Markable, an AI‑powered creator platform that has processed over $1 billion in social commerce sales across more than 1,000 creators, announced a free tier that unlocks its core commerce tools. The free plan includes smart deep links, AutoDM automated replies, an...
Still Betting Your Business on Hype? Why Serious Ecommerce Owners Are Focusing on Stability First
Entrepreneurs are moving away from hype‑driven growth tactics and prioritizing operational stability in ecommerce. The article argues that reliable systems, integrated tech stacks, and consistent customer experiences now serve as the primary growth levers. By reducing fragmented tools and reactive...
Bristol Myers Squibb and Pfizer to Make Eliquis® (Apixaban) Available via Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company
Bristol Myers Squibb and Pfizer announced that their joint‑venture will sell Eliquis® (apixaban) through Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drugs platform starting April 27, 2026. Cash‑pay patients can purchase a 30‑day supply for $345, a price positioned below many insurance copays. The move expands the...
Surviving D2C’s Boom and Bust
Koio, a luxury D2C shoe brand founded in 2015, raised nearly $20 million over a decade before the pandemic collapsed its retail footprint and D2C funding. Facing $3 million annual losses, the company cut 70% of its New York staff, closed stores, and...
What Most Businesses Get Wrong About E-Commerce Development (And How to Fix It)
Many businesses invest heavily in e‑commerce sites that look polished but fail to deliver revenue growth. The root cause is treating the project as a standalone website rather than a revenue engine, leading to misaligned goals, poor performance, and fragmented...
Nykaa Pushes House of Brands Beyond Its Own Platform; Two New Labels in Pipeline
Nykaa is scaling its House of Brands strategy beyond its own e‑commerce site, treating each label as a standalone brand rather than a private label. The company plans to launch at least two new beauty brands, which may not carry...
Rent the Runway Launches AI‑driven Marketplace and Ad Platform to Boost Basket Size
Rent the Runway announced the launch of an AI‑driven marketplace and advertising platform, piloted with a select group of loyal customers. The new service adds shoes, shapewear, beauty products and accessories to rentals, aiming to raise order attach rates and...
Angi Co‑Founder Angie Hicks Reflects on Marketplace Evolution and Growth Strategy
Angi co‑founder Angie Hicks recounted the company’s humble start as a local service list and how authentic branding propelled its expansion into a national online marketplace. She highlighted new digital initiatives, such as virtual office hours, that aim to deepen...
Surviving D2C's Boom and Bust
In this episode of E‑Commerce Conversations, Chris Richard, co‑founder of the DTC luxury footwear brand Koyo, walks host Eric Bandles through a decade of building, scaling, and exiting a direct‑to‑consumer shoe company. He explains how early capital raises (totaling about...
A Quarter of All Online Sales in Europe Come From Abroad
Cross‑border e‑commerce now accounts for a quarter of Europe’s online retail, generating €108 billion in 2025 – roughly $117 billion USD. After a brief dip in 2024, the segment recovered but growth has shifted from sheer volume to efficiency and profitability. The...
DTC Isn’t Dead
Allbirds sold its shoe brand IP and assets for $39 million after a $4 billion market‑cap peak, sparking headlines that DTC is fading. Yet a new Shopify and Harris Poll study shows 89% of U.S. founders would launch again in 2026, citing...
How to Win in the Age of Interest Media: Live Shopping and AI
In this episode Gary Vaynerchuk dives into the rise of live shopping and AI, arguing that both are transformative forces reshaping commerce and entrepreneurship. He cites China’s $1 trillion live‑shopping GMV and TikTok’s growing affiliate market as proof that the model...
Editors' Top Reads: News From John Lewis, Clarks and More...
Clarks, the 200‑year‑old British shoe maker, unveiled its first online marketplace, “Brands Now at Clarks,” hosting more than 100 brands across apparel, accessories and lifestyle, mixing full‑price and heavily discounted premium items. Designer Amanda Wakeley returned with a curated capsule...
I've Earned Nearly $700 Just by Using Rakuten - Here's How I Did It
ZDNet shopping editor Kayla Solino reports earning roughly $700 in cash back over two years using Rakuten’s rebate platform. She details six tactics—consistent use, timing big purchases, monitoring rate changes, holiday shopping, leveraging amplified offers, and stacking with promo codes...
AI Referrals Deliver Almost Three Times the Conversion Rate of Traditional Search, New Research Suggests
Lebesgue’s analysis of 35,000 Shopify merchants shows AI referrals convert at 3.6% versus 1.23% for Google search, nearly three times higher. AI‑driven visits also produce about 30% more revenue per session. The findings signal a shift from click‑volume tactics to...
Nearly Half of Ecommerce Entrepreneurs Say Market Saturation Is Costing Them Customers
A new survey by The Accountancy Partnership reveals that 45.3% of UK ecommerce entrepreneurs blame market saturation for losing customers, as competition intensifies on online marketplaces that capture roughly one‑third of retail spend. Algorithm‑driven rankings and platform fees are hurting...
Apple’s M4 Mac Mini Sells Out on Apple.com, Sparking Supply Worries
Apple’s latest M4‑chip Mac Mini 2026 model sold out on its website, prompting supply‑chain worries as memory chip shortages and AI demand strain inventory. The stockout underscores broader challenges for Apple as it prepares for a CEO transition and an...
UK Biobank Data of 500,000 Volunteers Listed for Sale on Alibaba
UK Biobank’s de‑identified health and genetic data for 500,000 volunteers appeared on the Chinese e‑commerce platform Alibaba. The breach, traced to three Chinese research institutions, prompted a parliamentary briefing, a temporary shutdown of the Biobank’s research platform, and renewed calls...
Coupang Data Breach Sparks US‑South Korea Diplomatic Row Over E‑commerce Fairness
South Korean e‑commerce giant Coupang faces a massive data breach affecting 33.7 million users, prompting 54 US Republican lawmakers to accuse Seoul of discriminatory treatment. Korea’s National Assembly Speaker denounced the letter as interference, turning a corporate scandal into a diplomatic...
Glovo Says Nigeria Is Its Fastest-Growing Market After Expansion Push
Glovo announced that Nigeria has become its fastest‑growing market in 2025, after investing $27 million and delivering 38 million items last year. The company said merchant sales grew sharply, with product and technology upgrades accounting for 35% of the increase. Glovo also...
Klarna Resell Sees 75% Rise as Users Earn ‘Real Money’
Klarna’s resale feature, now available in 15 countries, posted a 75% jump in listings between August 2024 and March 2026. Users earn an average of $137 per sold item, with 38% of activity coming from repeat sellers. Millennials and Gen‑Z shoppers (ages...
Zomato Adjusts Pricing Clause After Pushback
Zomato has removed a contract clause that penalised restaurants for offering lower in‑house prices than those listed on its app. The clause, which could fine eateries up to three times the price differential, was never enforced but faced strong opposition...
Tineco Launches Spring Sale on Amazon
Smart home appliance maker Tineco announced a limited‑time spring sale on Amazon, offering deep discounts on its flagship floor‑care products. From April 22 to May 3, the FLOOR ONE S7 Stretch Ultra drops to $399 (38.5% off), the Carpet One Cruiser to...
Emma Sleep Fined $15 Million for Fake Discounting
Emma Sleep, the Australian arm of German bedding brand, was hit with a court‑ordered penalty of roughly US$10 million for deliberately inflating original prices and advertising false discounts. The Federal Court found that 58 of the 74 advertised products never sold...
Fintech Meets Marketing: How Payment Innovations Are Driving E-Commerce Growth
Payment innovations have moved from a back‑end step to a front‑line growth engine for e‑commerce. Faster checkout tools such as one‑click payments and mobile wallets cut friction, while Buy‑Now‑Pay‑Later and embedded finance boost average order values. Cross‑border payment platforms unlock...
Rapidflare and McFadyen Digital Partner to Accelerate B2B eCommerce with AI Agents
Rapidflare and McFadyen Digital announced a strategic partnership to embed Rapidflare's AI‑powered agents into Adobe Commerce platforms. The collaboration targets manufacturers, distributors and technical product firms that struggle with 1‑2% B2B e‑commerce conversion rates. By replacing static filters with conversational...
£36bn Abandoned at Checkout as Mystery Shop Exposes Delivery Failures
A joint study by Retail Economics and GFS found that roughly £36bn (about $45bn) of non‑food online sales were abandoned at checkout in 2025 due to delivery‑related issues. High‑value shoppers—those who spend the most online—left 29% of their carts, compared...
Closing the Trust Gap Starts at the Opt-In
Intuit Mailchimp’s new research reveals a widening trust gap in e‑commerce opt‑ins. While 65% of brands request phone numbers, only 28% of consumers are willing to share them, and fewer than 8% achieve conversion rates above 20%. The study shows...
The Last Mile Reputation Gap
Retailers have focused on checkout speed and product content, neglecting the post‑purchase journey, creating a "last mile reputation gap" between promised and actual delivery experiences. Customers now judge brands on reliability, transparency, and how exceptions are handled, not merely on...
Mark Foy’s Department Store Plots Return After 46 Years
Mark Foy’s, the historic Sydney department store that shuttered in 1980, is launching a digital boutique to sell European designer fashion online. The revival will feature curated collections from luxury brands such as Celine, Saint Laurent and Valentino, with discounts...
Marks & Spencer Chairman Blames Self-Service Checkouts for Rise in Shoplifting
Marks & Spencer chairman Archie Norman blamed self‑service checkouts for a rise in shoplifting, saying they remove the human link and make it easy for honest shoppers to slip items. M&S installed 800 self‑checkouts in 2023, aiming to save about...
Amazon Focused on Protecting the Shopping Experience
Amazon unveiled its first Trustworthy Shopping Experience Report, detailing a holistic strategy to safeguard the buyer journey. In 2025 the company seized and destroyed more than 15 million counterfeit items and has pursued over 32,000 bad actors since the Counterfeit Crimes...
Can D2C Be ElasticRun’s Most Profitable Bet Yet?
ElasticRun, the Indian logistics unicorn, is pivoting from traditional B2B FMCG distribution to a D2C‑focused quick‑commerce model. The company now handles close to 5 million orders a day across 500+ cities, supported by 900+ delivery stations and about 100 fulfilment centres....
Tredence Unveils Agentic AI Suite on Google Cloud, Promising Up to 40% Cost Cuts for Retailers
Tredence announced a new agentic AI suite on Google Cloud aimed at e‑commerce and retail decision‑makers. The platform promises to cut total cost of ownership by up to 40%, automate up to 98% of manual processes, and shrink deployment cycles...
Ulta Beauty Teams with Google to Launch AI Shopping Assistant Across Web and App
Ulta Beauty and Google have launched Ulta AI, an AI‑driven shopping assistant that will roll out on Ulta’s website, mobile app and Google surfaces within the next month. The partnership extends Ulta’s trusted curation into AI, while a Harris Poll‑Quad...
NielsenIQ Launches Commerce Lab to Build AI‑driven Data Layer for Retail
NielsenIQ announced the launch of its NIQ Commerce Lab, a technology hub designed to build the data platforms, APIs and measurement systems that power AI‑driven commerce. The initiative, led by new Head of AI Commerce Lisa Lovallo Ceppos, seeks to...
Aero Fulfillment Services Hires Dan Harmon as VP of Operations to Drive Omni‑Channel Growth
Aero Fulfillment Services announced the appointment of Dan Harmon as Vice President of Operations. The veteran executive will lead the company’s Omni‑Channel Excellence Initiative, aiming to scale technology‑driven fulfillment for Fortune 1000 and high‑growth e‑commerce brands.
Peak 2026: Where Retail Performance Is Won or Lost
Retailers face a narrow window to prepare for the November‑December peak, where Black November and Boxing Day sales drive a 45% YoY surge in e‑commerce volume. Shiperoo’s new report warns that planning must begin in April‑May, not months before the...
Retention, Not Traffic, Drives Million‑Dollar Brand Growth
Many $1M+ brands mistake revenue for scale. (D2C Skincare Brand) $1.5M/month… growth flat, repeat sales weakening. More traffic wasn’t the answer. Retention was. We rebuilt LTV systems → $2.2M/month.
Cleverific Order Editor Cuts Support Time on Order Changes
App reco: Cleverific Order Editor. We use it on Glamaholic Lifestyle and other high-volume stores. When customers need order changes after checkout, it saves their support team a ton of time. Grateful to have @cleverific sponsor The Unofficial Shopify Podcast.
Distribution Drives Success in Modern DTC Landscape
DTC isn’t dead — it’s just different now: https://t.co/fyWe2z9BbL I wrote about what’s actually working, what didn’t happen, and why distribution wins championships.
Silent Affiliate Churn Drains E‑com Revenue—New Solution Emerging
Affiliate churn is the quietest revenue leak in ecom. - You onboard 20 creators - 10 ghost you after the first post - Nobody can tell you why There’s a brand new fix for this that nobody knows about yet…
Automation Makes Shopping Easier, But Erases Discovery
Shopping is becoming something that happens for us, not by us. As platforms automate decisions, we may gain efficiency but lose the discovery, impulse and personal judgment that shape how we choose. The shift is subtle. Convenience increases, but experience may quietly...
AI Poised to Become Trillion‑dollar Shopping Sidekick
AI could be your trillion-dollar shopping sidekick as it reshapes product discovery - here's what decision makers must grapple with now. https://t.co/xKSE4bQ9u6