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
ByteDance’s Global E-Commerce Push Lifts Revenue as AI Costs Mount
ByteDance’s overseas revenue surged nearly 50% in 2025, outpacing its domestic growth of about 20%. The boost came largely from TikTok Shop, whose gross merchandise value jumped roughly 70% year‑on‑year and approached $100 billion, pushing the overseas share of total revenue above 30%. Despite the top‑line gains, the company’s net profit slumped more than 70% as heavy AI investment and new data‑security costs squeezed margins. The firm signaled further AI‑related capex for 2026, keeping profit pressure on the horizon.
Winn‑Dixie and Amazon Extend Same‑Day Grocery Delivery to Miami and Across Florida
Winn‑Dixie and Amazon have broadened their same‑day grocery delivery partnership to include Miami, Fort Lauderdale, the Florida Keys and West Palm Beach, extending the service to all of Florida. The rollout adds more than 15,000 Winn‑Dixie items to Amazon’s platform...
California Lawsuit Claims Amazon Forced Walmart, Levi's to Hike Online Prices
A California antitrust suit alleges Amazon pressured brands including Levi's and Hanes to compel rival retailers like Walmart and Target to raise their online prices. Internal emails released in the filing show Amazon flagging lower competitor prices and directing brands...
Does Walmart Price Match? What to Know About Online and In-Store Price Matching Policies
Walmart’s price‑matching rules differ sharply between its brick‑and‑mortar stores and its website. In‑store shoppers can receive a match to the identical item’s price on Walmart.com, subject to manager approval and several exclusions. Online purchases, however, are largely excluded from any...
As Retailers Automate CX Trust Deficit Grows
Retailers are accelerating AI-driven customer‑experience automation, but a trust gap is widening. A Sogolytics survey of 1,011 U.S. adults shows 47% will abandon brands that misuse data, while only 19% believe AI improves CX. One‑third of shoppers say a single...
“Where’s My Package” Problem: The Revolution in Retail Logistics
Retail logistics is evolving from a back‑office function into a core customer‑experience driver. New "agentic" platforms monitor shipments in real time, automatically reroute parcels to avoid bottlenecks, and resolve issues before customers notice. Innovations such as micro‑sector address mapping cut...
Andon Launches AI-Run Store in San Francisco
Andon Labs has opened Andon Market, an experimental retail store in San Francisco run by an artificial‑intelligence agent called Luna. Luna receives a corporate card, a budget and access to digital tools, allowing it to choose products, set prices, manage vendors,...
Amazon MCF Shopify App Goes Global with Major Expansion
Amazon has extended its Multi‑Channel Fulfillment (MCF) Shopify app beyond the U.S. and U.K., adding Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan and Canada. The free, no‑code tool lets merchants pull inventory from Amazon’s fulfillment centers to ship Shopify orders in unbranded...
Clarks Marketplace Launches – Powered by Marketplacer
Clarks has launched a new online marketplace powered by Marketplacer, allowing third‑party brands to sell alongside its own footwear. At launch the site features roughly 50 curated partners, with plans to double that number shortly. The platform gives Clarks full...
Weak Product Pages, Not Meta, Kill D2C Conversions
Low ROAS ≠ Meta Ads India Problem Many D2C India founders blame the platform first. But often the leak starts after the click. Weak product pages kill conversion faster than bad ads.
Retail Media Finds a New Signal: The Shopper’s State of Mind
Retail media is shifting from pure intent data to interpreting shoppers' cognitive and emotional states. Mental‑health experts highlight grocery trips as high‑stress decision points where fatigue, overload, and anxiety shape buying behavior. Platforms that can read in‑session signals—such as lingering,...
Common Challenges of Online Fraud
Harold van Graan of Solid8 Technologies outlines how online fraud has evolved beyond simple transaction theft to include checkout abuse, inventory hoarding, loyalty fraud, and promo abuse. Bots can empty high‑value stock in seconds, while account‑takeover schemes siphon points and...
Why Those Engagement Ring Ads Keep Finding You Ft. Hope Bellair
In this episode of In The Loop, host Michael Burpo and Punchmark Digital Marketing Manager Hope Bellair break down retargeting for jewelry retailers, explaining how it works across platforms like Meta and Google and how it can be automated using...
Did You Buy Tickets on StubHub Between May 12-14 Last Year?
The Federal Trade Commission sued StubHub for not showing mandatory fees in the total price of tickets sold between May 12‑14, 2025. As part of the settlement, StubHub will refund $10 million to eligible U.S. customers, automatically processing payments within 90 days after an...
The Systems Behind Predictable Amazon Sales And Margin with Jon Klein
In this episode, Amazon growth strategist Jon Klein discusses how data‑driven systems and diversified sales channels fuel predictable Amazon revenue and margins. He emphasizes the importance of multi‑channel branding, continuous new‑product launches, and rigorous profitability tracking using tools like Sellerize...
How AI Is Changing Marketplace Business Models (But Not Replacing Them)
AI is reshaping marketplace platforms by embedding machine‑learning into core operations rather than adding it as a bolt‑on feature. Dynamic pricing, intent‑based search, fraud detection and supply‑demand forecasting are now automated at scale, cutting costs and improving match quality. Legacy...
Top Shopify Stores Master Either Drops or Subscriptions
Looking at our 8-figure client stores on @Shopify, they're all very different product categories, but they've either mastered product drops OR subscription retention. One of the two, always.
Glossy Research: 3 Out of 4 Brand Leaders Are Using AI for Data Analysis, but ROI on AI Spend Remains...
Glossy Research reports that three‑quarters of top fashion and beauty brands now rely on AI for data analysis, yet the financial returns on those investments remain modest. The study highlights an average ROI of under 10% per year, indicating early‑stage...
Dollar General Prioritizes In-Store Audio over Digital Screens
Dollar General is expanding its in‑store audio network to 12,000 locations by July, swapping 6,000 stores to a new partnership with audio‑tech provider QSIC. The move prioritizes audio over digital screens, citing limited store space and faster campaign rollout. QSIC’s...
Cider Joins Revolve and Shein as Online Fashion Brands Open Permanent Retail Stores
Cider, the Los Angeles‑based affordable fashion brand, opened its first permanent 8,000‑square‑foot store in the city’s Farmer’s Market shopping center after years of pop‑up testing. The move follows $130 million in recent funding and a valuation exceeding $1 billion, as the company...
How ThredUp Is Using AI to Improve Its Marketing Operations and Move Further up the Funnel
ThredUp, the online resale platform, is embedding artificial intelligence across its operations, from automated product tagging to personalized recommendation engines. In its marketing division, AI is now being used to sharpen demand forecasting, allowing the team to allocate spend more...
New With LoyaltyLion: Set Up Tiered Rewards
LoyaltyLion’s latest integration with Loox lets merchants create tiered reward structures for product reviews. Brands can assign extra points for photos, videos, detailed write‑ups, set minimum character thresholds, and target specific SKUs or VIP customers. The setup is a few‑minute...
Operation Wax Brings Hybrid Retail to Southridge Mall, Merging In‑Store Craft with Online Sales
Operation Wax opened its doors at Southridge Mall in March 2026, offering shoppers a DIY candle‑making experience while continuing to sell products online via Etsy and its own website. Founder Madison Lunde says the concept revives mall traffic and illustrates...
Pricer and JRTech Land $51M Digital Shelf Deal with Sobeys
Pricer AB and its Canadian partner JRTech Solutions have signed a $51 million hardware contract with Sobeys to roll out multicolor electronic shelf labels and the Pricer Plaza cloud platform across 300‑350 stores. The 18‑month deployment, beginning in May 2026, underscores...
CelcomDigi Launches Endless Aisle Digital Retail Service with Samsung
CelcomDigi has rolled out the “Endless Aisle” digital retail service in partnership with Samsung Malaysia, now active at more than 300 CelcomDigi Store and Express locations nationwide. The platform lets shoppers browse, purchase and immediately set up Samsung smartphones, smart...
AI‑Driven SEO and Shopping Agents Promise Fully Automated Product Discovery and Content Creation
Two AI-powered solutions unveiled in the past 24 hours aim to overhaul demand generation. Md Ismail Sojal introduced an end‑to‑end SEO and content production system that claims to run with minimal human input, while Search Engine Journal highlighted AI shopping agents that...
Laughing Giraffe Launches New Luxe T‑Shirt Color Heather Collection
The Laughing Giraffe announced the 2026 Luxe T‑Shirt Color Heather Collection, introducing three new retail‑ready shades—Cantaloupe, Wisteria and Ice Blue—for its premium 65% polyester/35% cotton blanks. The expansion targets custom printers, online retailers and wholesale buyers seeking modern palettes and...
Treasure AI Launches Agentic Marketing Platform to Cut Costs up to 50% for E‑Commerce Brands
Treasure AI announced an agentic experience platform that automates customer engagement for digital commerce brands. The solution claims to lower marketing costs by as much as 50% and deliver ten‑fold ROI in ten minutes, positioning AI as the primary interface...
From Testing to Scaling: Building a Sustainable TikTok Ads Strategy for Ecommerce
The article outlines a repeatable framework for ecommerce brands to move from isolated TikTok test wins to sustainable, high‑volume scaling. It stresses that creative fatigue, account instability, and poor campaign architecture cause performance plateaus once spend reaches $5K‑$20K per month....
Why Subscription Growth Breaks After Acquisition … and How Retailers Can Fix It
Retail subscription brands often see strong acquisition but hit a wall once the first purchase is made. The article explains that treating acquisition, onboarding, and retention as separate silos creates fragmented messaging that erodes repeat behavior. This disjointed experience leads...
AEON360 Teams with Google Cloud to Launch AI‑Driven Shopping Ecosystem Across Southeast Asia
AEON360 announced a strategic partnership with Google Cloud to build an AI‑driven shopping ecosystem that will debut in Malaysia and later expand throughout Southeast Asia. The collaboration centers on a contextual intelligence engine, a new Innovation Foundry in Kuala Lumpur,...
Retail’s War on Self-Checkout Misses Where Theft Actually Happens
Retail chains are rapidly scaling back self‑checkout lanes amid shrink concerns, but data shows roughly 80 percent of shoplifting happens before the register. The article argues that checkout‑focused security adds friction without cutting loss, and recommends store‑wide computer‑vision analytics to catch...
Walmart Marks 53‑Year Dividend Streak, Leveraging E‑commerce Growth
Walmart announced a 53rd straight dividend hike, underscoring its ability to raise payouts despite market volatility. The retailer points to pricing leverage, a $6.4 billion advertising business and expanding online traffic as the engine behind the sustainable cash flow.
From the Archive: Boo.com
Boo.com launched in 1999 with a suite of cutting‑edge features—virtual‑reality advisors, multi‑currency checkout, seven‑language sites, and rotating 3D models—backed by $120 million in funding and a $500 million valuation. The site went live on 4 November 1999 but crashed under the strain of...
Kroger Dives Into What’s Driving Online Shopping Ahead of Deal Days
Kroger is launching its Online Deal Days promotion from April 22 to May 5, offering $30 off first pickup or delivery orders over $75 and unlimited free delivery on orders above $50. The event adds digital coupons with 25% discounts on...
As Agentic AI Usage Skyrockets, Retailers Face New Challenges and Risks
Retailers are witnessing a surge in agentic AI‑driven traffic, projected to rise 4,700% by 2025, prompting the rollout of autonomous shopping agents that can locate, purchase, and deliver items on behalf of users. This shift separates the human intent point...
Pickle's Julia O'Mara Is Building a Nationwide Closet, One Community at a Time
Julia O'Mara, a materials‑science graduate with finance experience at Blackstone, co‑founded Pickle in 2021 as a social polling app for fashion choices. User comments revealed a demand for borrowing items from peers, prompting a pivot to a community‑driven closet‑sharing platform....
Wayvia Launches Shoppable Next Generation
Wayvia unveiled Shoppable Next Generation, an AI‑powered shoppable media platform that links every marketing touchpoint—display ads, social posts, email—to a real‑time purchase path. The solution surfaces live pricing and inventory from both physical and online retailers, and feeds confirmed sales...
Amazon Pressured Levi's, Other Retailers to Hike Prices, California A.G. Says
California Attorney General Rob Bonta alleges Amazon pressured Levi Strauss and other vendors to force competitors like Walmart to raise prices on items such as Levi’s Easy Khaki Classic pants. The filing outlines three schemes: using vendors as intermediaries to...
How Advertisers Are Thinking About Meta’s Affiliate Tool Rollout
Meta unveiled a suite of creator‑focused affiliate and checkout tools at Shoptalk, extending shoppable Reels on Instagram and product‑tagging on Facebook. The affiliate program, backed by partners such as Amazon, eBay, Temu, Shopee and Mercado Libre, lets creators earn commissions...
Lululemon Pushes Into Mexico With Stores, E-Commerce
Lululemon is rolling out a dedicated Mexican e‑commerce site, lululemon.mx, while simultaneously planning a rapid store rollout. The company aims to open eight new locations this fiscal year, bringing its Mexican footprint to more than 30 stores by year‑end. The...
Australia Post Offers eBay Sellers In-Store Printing of Shipping Labels
Australia Post and eBay have launched a "Print in Store" service that lets Australian eBay sellers generate a QR code to print shipping labels at participating post offices at no extra cost. The feature removes the need for a home...
DLF Malls Launches 'Summer Up' Phygital Fashion Campaign with 100 Curated Looks
DLF Malls rolled out its 'Summer Up' campaign on April 15, showcasing 100 curated summer outfits and a phygital retail experience at DLF Mall of India, DLF Promenade and DLF Avenue. Partnering with tech firm ORBO, the initiative uses AI‑powered...
ZDNet Ranks the Top Website Builders for Small Businesses in 2026
ZDNet released an expert‑tested roundup of the best website builders for small businesses in 2026, spotlighting Squarespace, Shopify, Hostinger, Webflow and WordPress.com. The guide warns that introductory rates often double after the first year and stresses the importance of e‑commerce...
Switch ESP Fast, Keep Revenue Steady with Omnisend
Nobody wakes up excited to migrate their ESP. Because historically, it sucks: → Weeks of setup → Broken flows → Revenue dips @omnisend's angle is different: → Flows live fast → Data moves clean → Revenue doesn’t stall Switching tools shouldn’t cost you money. If anything it should make you...
Employees Collude to Inflate Prices Using Competitor Data
Who needs algorithms to price fix? "[An] Amazon employee sent links to rival retailers’ lower prices.... A Hanes employee responded that the clothing brand had 'reached out to Target and Walmart to have the prices increased.'" https://t.co/7BFBNHCnwU
Most E‑commerce Cart Abandonment Flows Repeat Six Fatal Mistakes
Every ecom brand has a cart abandonment flow, but most of them are making the same mistakes. Here are the 6 most common ones: https://t.co/izm397S5n3
Conservative E‑commerce Outlook Predicts Exponential Growth Surge
Here's a conservative look at e-commerce abundance. The rate of growth with the exponential factors we're seeing today should be higher than we can imagine now.
Validate Sales Organically Before Spending on Ads
'Just run Facebook ads' is the worst advice for beginners in 2026. Build a simple funnel. Get 10 people to buy it organically. THEN run ads. If you can't sell it without ads, you won't sell it with ads.
Amazon's Customer Moat Fuels Late‑Blooming AI Advantage
$AMZN had the customer moat. Its AI story was delayed compared to its peers, but its massive customer base was an advantage that is now coming to fruition.