Today's Ecommerce Pulse
Updated 44m agoAmazon automation offers semi‑passive income but demands disciplined oversight
Amazon automation can generate profitable, semi‑passive income in 2026, but success hinges on disciplined execution and seasoned oversight. Modern automation relies on advanced software for research, pricing, inventory and ad optimization, while strategic decisions remain human‑driven. Investors now expect transparent reporting, compliance and sustainability.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Edeka raises €430M to increase stake in Picnic
Podcast•Jan 6, 2026•33 min
Stop Competing on Features: Reimagine Your Entire Product Category Instead
In this episode, Dr. Julie Chung explains how T3 transformed hair tools from mere appliances into luxury beauty products by redefining their category. She details the strategic shifts in product placement, design aesthetics, messaging, and retail approach that created a new high‑end market segment. The discussion highlights the power of reimagining a product category rather than competing on incremental features, offering a roadmap for brands seeking differentiation and premium positioning.
By Shopify Masters
News•Jan 6, 2026
Fyffes Campaign Goes Bananas
Banana distributor Fyffes announced that its newly launched consumer brand, Trudi’s, has delivered strong market performance following a coordinated video advertising and digital signage campaign. The initiative drove a double‑digit increase in sales and lifted brand awareness across key retail...
By Retail Technology (Magazine)
News•Jan 5, 2026
Unified Platforms and Agentic AI Will Define E-Commerce in 2026
Retailers entering 2026 are consolidating disparate systems into unified platforms that blend storefront, inventory, and logistics into a single data fabric. Agentic artificial intelligence is emerging as a decision‑making layer, autonomously handling product recommendations, dynamic pricing, and fraud detection. Advanced...
By E-Commerce Times
Blog•Jan 5, 2026
The Psychology-Driven Formula for High-Converting Giveaways
The episode breaks down a psychology‑driven formula for turning giveaways into revenue generators, emphasizing that the prize should be the brand’s own product, clearly anchored with a specific dollar value, and presented as a complete, lifestyle‑rich bundle. It highlights how...
By Smart Marketer
News•Jan 5, 2026
Yes, 404 Status Codes Hurt SEO
A 404 status code signals a missing page but does not act as a direct ranking penalty in Google’s algorithm. Google actually prefers 404 or 410 responses for removed content, treating them as normal web signals. However, when deleted pages...
By Practical Ecommerce
News•Jan 5, 2026
Shoppers Want Flexible Delivery over Free Shipping
The 2025 Delivery Experience Study by Bringg reveals that shoppers now prioritize a reliable, flexible delivery experience over free shipping. Seventy‑one percent of consumers think about delivery before checkout, and 72% consider on‑time arrival essential. Late or inflexible deliveries drive...
By Retail Customer Experience
News•Jan 5, 2026
J.Jill Names Viv Rettke as Chief Growth Officer
J.Jill has appointed Viv Rettke as its first chief growth officer, a newly created role aimed at accelerating the brand’s expansion. Rettke brings growth expertise from Cole Haan, Reebok and Kraft Heinz, where she led major brand transformations. She will...
By Retail Customer Experience
News•Jan 5, 2026
Zales Sparkles with New Store Concept
US jewellery retailer Zales has launched a new next-gen store concept – The Edit
By Retail Technology (Magazine)
Blog•Jan 2, 2026
Slow Dopa
Scott Galloway warns that the "buy now, pay later" boom reflects a broader cultural addiction to instant dopamine hits, especially among young men. He argues that male brains mature later, leaving them vulnerable to impulsive tech, gambling, and finance products....
By No Mercy/No Malice
Podcast•Jan 2, 2026•36 min
Protein Bar Founder Thrives in a Crowded Field (Encore)
Will Nitze, founder and CEO of IQBAR, explains how his plant‑based, low‑sugar protein bar succeeded by targeting uncompetitive niches and clear labeling, launching via a $75,000 Kickstarter seven years ago. He expands on scaling the business, adding complementary products like...
By Ecommerce Conversations
News•Jan 2, 2026
What Main Street Can Teach Silicon Valley About Building Loyalty
Andrew Helms, SumUp’s U.S. CEO, argues that Silicon Valley’s focus on rapid growth overlooks the loyalty built through personal trust on Main Street. He highlights how small‑business owners create lasting relationships by remembering customers, offering fair pricing, and showing genuine...
By Retail Customer Experience
News•Jan 2, 2026
When Heavy Products Make Global Sense
Freight‑right founder Robert Khachatryan argues that heavy, high‑margin products—like commercial fitness equipment or laser welders—can thrive in cross‑border ecommerce despite shipping complexities. By examining visitor geography and freight quotes, merchants can identify overseas demand that justifies freight, duties, and taxes....
By Practical Ecommerce
News•Jan 2, 2026
Currys Upgrades Payment Tech
UK retailer Currys announced a partnership with payment processor Stripe to overhaul its checkout infrastructure. The integration will replace legacy systems with Stripe's unified payments platform, enabling faster, more secure transactions across online and in‑store channels. Currys expects the upgrade...
By Retail Technology (Magazine)
Podcast•Jan 1, 2026•30 min
Inside Ergatta’s Game-Driven Model and Two-Year Profit Streak
In this episode, Tom Aulet discusses how he transformed Ergatta into a profitable, game‑driven fitness brand, leveraging $35 million in funding to develop immersive, gamified workouts while maintaining lean operations. He explains the company’s cost‑effective growth strategies, the role of data‑backed...
By Shopify Masters
News•Dec 31, 2025
New Ecommerce Tools: December 31, 2025
The end‑of‑year roundup spotlights a wave of AI‑enhanced ecommerce solutions, from MobiLoud’s real‑time mobile‑app analytics dashboard to Hosted.com’s upgraded WordPress infrastructure. CPGIO expands its accelerator reach by adding more than 40 retail channels through partnerships with Nordstrom, Chewy, Lowe’s, Faire...
By Practical Ecommerce
Podcast•Dec 31, 2025•34 min
#483 - TikTok Shop Advertising & Promotion Guide
In this episode, host Bradley Sutton and TikTok Shop specialist Tamara Žeravljev break down how to build a sustainable TikTok Shop presence in 2026, emphasizing brand‑building over quick virality. They cover the essential first steps—optimizing your profile, testing content hooks,...
By AM/PM Podcast
News•Dec 30, 2025
Drugstore Chain Rossmann Taps Diebold Nixdorf for Expansion
European drugstore giant Rossmann has selected its long‑time technology partner Diebold Nixdorf to drive its expansion into Switzerland. The agreement adds comprehensive managed services through Diebold Nixdorf’s eServices portal and new retail hardware, including self‑checkout and POS systems, building on a model...
By Retail Customer Experience
News•Dec 29, 2025
The True Cost of Device Downtime: How Mobile Failures Damage Customer Loyalty
Retail device downtime is eroding customer loyalty, with 60% of shoppers ready to switch brands after a single bad experience. Half of in‑store mobile endpoints run outdated operating systems, and a quarter cannot be upgraded, exposing retailers to freezes, ransomware...
By Retail Customer Experience
News•Dec 29, 2025
The Psychology of AI SERPs and Shopping
AI-generated search overviews are reshaping how consumers find information and products. A Pew survey in March 2025 found 58% of U.S. adults saw an AI Overview, and only 8% of them clicked a traditional link, compared with 15% click‑through when...
By Practical Ecommerce
Blog•Dec 28, 2025
Member Brief: Why Shopify Should Acquire BigCommerce
A viral LinkedIn post by venture investor Jeremy Horowitz joking about buying BigCommerce caught industry attention when Shopify COO Harley Finkelstein publicly liked it. The gesture signals Shopify’s possible interest in acquiring the mid‑market eCommerce platform. Analysts interpret the like...
By 2PM Newsletter
News•Dec 26, 2025
7 Steps Retail Leaders Can Take to Protect Customer Experience During Peak Seasons
Retail leaders face intense pressure during holiday and promotional spikes, requiring precise demand forecasting and flexible staffing. Updating knowledge bases, creating real‑time command centers, and stress‑testing systems ensure agents can respond quickly and accurately. Automation—through AI routing, chatbots, and CRM...
By Retail Customer Experience
News•Dec 26, 2025
New Books: Swiftynomics, UX Skills, More
The newest business titles spotlight a shift toward people‑centric strategies, from Misty L. Heggeness’s *Swiftynomics* highlighting women’s economic power to B. Joseph Pine II’s *The Transformation Economy* urging firms to align with consumer aspirations. Other releases focus on UX‑business alignment, emotional drivers...
By Practical Ecommerce
Podcast•Dec 24, 2025•44 min
#481 - How to Stay Profitable on Amazon in 2026
The episode explores how Amazon sellers can maintain profitability in 2026 by treating their operations like both a finance and marketing function, emphasizing disciplined pricing, smarter PPC, and careful inventory management. Guests Ryan Cramer, Leo Sgovio, and Sharona Ozeri share...
By AM/PM Podcast
Podcast•Dec 23, 2025•0 min
Inside Smart Marketer’s Black Friday Strategy – Wins, Curveballs and Campaign Secrets
In this episode, Smart Marketer’s Director of Advertising Denis Paskalev breaks down the team’s Black Friday/Cyber Week 2025 tactics, from leveraging evergreen creative and early promotion to navigating Meta’s budget‑control changes and a Shopify outage. He explains how first‑click attribution,...
By Smart Marketer
News•Dec 23, 2025
How Money Launderers Are Exploiting E-Commerce
Online retailers are becoming prime targets for sophisticated money‑laundering schemes that exploit refund processes, third‑party marketplace sellers, and cross‑border payment channels. Criminal networks use these digital pathways to shift illicit proceeds quickly, sidestepping traditional banking oversight. The rise of platform‑based...
By E-Commerce Times
Podcast•Dec 23, 2025•52 min
Wrapping Up 2025 - The Best Bits
The episode recaps ten pivotal moments from the past year, covering AI-driven pricing tools and the push for fair markups, the scaling role of JewelCraft as a jeweler’s jeweler, and Google Workspace’s importance for collaboration. It also examines gold price...
By In the Loupe
News•Dec 23, 2025
Walmart Expands Drone Delivery
Walmart has expanded its use of drone delivery in the US with tech partner Wing
By Retail Technology (Magazine)
Blog•Dec 22, 2025
Black Friday 2025 Was Different (And That’s the Point)
The episode explains that Black Friday 2025 felt calmer but more revealing because demand was driven by year‑long brand work rather than the sale itself. Key takeaways include the effectiveness of longer promotions, evergreen campaign structures, diversified creative built months...
By Smart Marketer
News•Dec 22, 2025
Walmart Switches to Nasdaq
After decades on the NYSE, retail behemoth Walmart has debuted on the Nasdaq stock market
By Retail Technology (Magazine)
News•Dec 22, 2025
Holiday Shoppers Tapping Mobile Device to Buy, Desktop for Returns
Adobe’s holiday shopping data shows mobile devices accounted for 52.4% of online spend between Nov 1 and Dec 12, while desktops handled the majority of returns. Overall returns fell 2.5% YoY, but are projected to jump 25‑35% after Christmas. Consumers have already...
By Retail Customer Experience
News•Dec 22, 2025
Goodwill Central Texas Pilots ReNu to Transform Operations, Employee Experience
Goodwill Central Texas has rolled out ReNu, an in‑house production platform that replaces its legacy POS system and adds AI‑driven dynamic pricing and channel optimization. The pilot, active in six stores, automates item valuation and directs inventory to the most...
By Retail Customer Experience
News•Dec 22, 2025
Why Calls Still Matter in Retail
Retail businesses increasingly rely on phone calls to convert leads and gather actionable data. Implementing IVR, AI call agents, call‑tracking analytics, and predictive modeling creates a data‑driven, omnichannel experience that shortens queues, personalizes interactions, and filters low‑quality calls. Coordinating these...
By Retail Customer Experience