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
FTC Orders StubHub To Pay $10M
The Federal Trade Commission has ordered StubHub to pay a $10 million civil penalty for violating the agency’s all‑in pricing rule. The FTC alleges StubHub failed to show the total ticket price—including mandatory fees—on the first three pricing displays on its site during a May 2025 purchasing window. The settlement also requires StubHub to provide redress to two groups of consumers who bought tickets between May 12 and May 14, 2025. The action underscores heightened regulatory scrutiny of secondary‑ticket marketplaces.
AI-Caution Prompts Rising Demand for Authentic, Human-First Content, Report Claims
A recent RTS study of over 1,000 shoppers shows that 53% distrust AI‑generated social content, rising to 58% among Gen Z despite their high adoption of the technology. Half of respondents believe AI threatens brand trust on social platforms, while 48%...
Amazon to Scale up Drone Delivery in 2025, CEO Says
Amazon announced a major expansion of its Prime Air drone service, aiming to reach 30 million customers by the end of 2025 and deliver 500 million packages annually by 2030. The rollout will use more than 85 same‑day fulfillment centers and over...
Top Agencies Earn 9× More From Automations
Here's how you know if your agency is in the top 10% of ecommerce marketing agencies: @Omnisend just analyzed 717 agencies managing almost 3,000 brands, and the gap between the best and everyone else is bigger than you'd think. The top agencies...
Levi Strauss Grows Ecommerce, Overall Sales in Q1
Levi Strauss & Co. posted Q1 fiscal 2026 net revenue of $1.74 billion, a 14% year‑over‑year increase, while ecommerce revenue surged 21% YoY. Direct‑to‑consumer sales now represent 52% of total revenue, up 16% in the quarter, reflecting the company’s strategic DTC‑first...
Unlock $15K‑20K Monthly with 11 Essential Email Fl
A brand doing $200K/month can capture $15-20K/month from one automation they didn't have turned on. Pull your email dashboard right now. What % of total revenue is coming from flows? If it's under 20-30%, you built your launch setup and stopped. 11 flows...
Ticketmaster Unveils App Within ChatGPT
Ticketmaster has launched a native app inside OpenAI's ChatGPT, enabling fans to search for and purchase concert, sports and other live‑event tickets through conversational prompts. The integration taps into ChatGPT’s 900 million weekly users and includes both primary inventory and secondary...
ASMS Launches Agri-Commerce Network AYOU in Hyderabad
Avio Smart Market Stack Ltd., formerly Bartronics India, is rolling out its agri‑supply platform AYOU in Hyderabad, with commercial operations slated to start next month. AYOU will aggregate fresh produce directly from farmers and Farmer Producer Organisations, then distribute to...
Instagram Is Finally a Sales Channel: What Meta’s Affiliate Commerce Rollout Means for Shopify Merchants
At Shoptalk 2026 Meta unveiled native affiliate product tagging on Instagram and Facebook, turning creator Reels into trackable sales events. The phased rollout begins in spring 2026 across 22 countries and includes affiliate partners such as Amazon, Shopee, Temu and eBay. For...
Shopify AI Toolkit Accelerates Custom Store Development
Shopify just dropped something MASSIVE The new Shopify AI Toolkit lets you manage and build on Shopify with your favourite agent, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code, Gemini CLI, Codex, and more. It connects your AI tool directly to Shopify’s docs,...
Nippon Ichi Titles Are Now Included at Gamemide Steam Key Store in Japan
Nippon Ichi Software has joined the Gamemide digital‑key store, allowing Japanese gamers to buy Steam activation codes for titles such as Disgaea 7, Classic Dungeon X3 and Yomawari 3. Each game is priced between ¥4,378 and ¥7,920 (approximately $29‑$53) and comes with...
Why the Subscription Model Should Change
The U.S. Justice Department and FTC settled with Adobe for $150 million over deceptive subscription‑cancellation practices, sparking debate between regulators and SaaS firms. The settlement highlights that hidden or cumbersome cancel flows are not a retention tactic but a "trust tax"...
Amazon to End Support for Pre‑2013 Kindle E‑Readers, Affecting 8 Models
Amazon announced that on May 20, 2026 it will discontinue Kindle Store access for all devices released before 2013, covering eight legacy models. The move bars users from buying, borrowing or downloading new titles, prompting criticism over device longevity, ecosystem...
EcomFuel Founder on 2026 Industry Trends
EcomFuel’s 2026 Ecommerce Trends Report surveyed 300 high‑revenue merchants about traffic, margins, AI, and channel mix. The data show a 50% rise in manufacturers and a 50% drop in drop‑shipping, while Amazon’s revenue share steadied at 20% despite 63% of...
Thai Randolph Launches NILE & Co., Acquiring BuzzFeed’s As/Is and Goodful Brands
Thai Randolph, former CEO of Kevin Hart’s Hartbeat, announced the launch of NILE & Co., a content and commerce platform for cultural creators. The new venture has already purchased BuzzFeed’s As/Is and Goodful brands, signaling an aggressive growth strategy for...
D2C Brand Snitch’s FY26 Revenue Surges 80% To ₹900 Cr
Snitch, the Indian D2C fashion brand, posted FY26 operating revenue of ₹900 Cr (≈$108 M), an 80% jump from ₹498 Cr (≈$60 M) a year earlier. EBITDA remained thin at 2‑3% of revenue, roughly $2‑3 M, while the company turned a modest net loss of...
Lottie’s Meats Partners with a Grocery Delivery Service
Lottie’s Meats, a Denver‑based pork sausage brand, announced a partnership with grocery‑delivery service Misfits Market to sell its four premium sausage and ground‑pork lines nationwide. The collaboration lets customers order The Lottie, Bratwurst, Calabrian and Everyday products online, extending the...
Cradlewise Brings Its Award-Winning Smart Crib to Amazon in Time for Mother's Day
Cradlewise, the AI‑powered smart crib, launched on Amazon on April 10 with a $90 discount through May 15, timed for Mother’s Day. The $1,799 system promises up to four times the lifespan of traditional bassinets and includes a two‑year Nurture Core app...
EcomFuel Founder on 2026 Industry Trends
In this episode, Andrew, founder of the EcomFuel community, breaks down the 2026 E-commerce Trends report based on surveys of 300 mid‑to‑large DTC brands. The four headline findings are: massive AI adoption with no clear financial edge yet; Amazon’s share...
The Future of CPG: Why Collectibility and Clean Ingredients Are Winning
Gary Vaynerchuk discusses the launch of Very Lucky, a clean‑ingredient fruit gummy that includes a collectible sticker, tying together his VFriends universe and a growing trend of collectibility in CPG. He explains how the product’s ultra‑clean formulation—driven by his wife...
Why Ireland Is Becoming a Key Market for Digital Platforms
Ireland is emerging as a high‑value market for digital platforms, with 95% of households online and 85% of users buying goods digitally in 2025. Consumer habits extend beyond retail to peer‑to‑peer marketplaces, while 37.5% of Irish enterprises reported e‑commerce sales...
Checkout.com Integrates with SAP Commerce Cloud’s Open Payment Framework to Simplify Enterprise Payment Deployments
Checkout.com has linked its Flow checkout platform to SAP Commerce Cloud’s Open Payment Framework (OPF), offering enterprises a plug‑and‑play payment layer. Flow’s pre‑built components support global cards and local methods, delivering up to a 5% lift in acceptance rates and...
How E-Commerce Translation From Rapid Translate Helps Your Online Store Reach
Rapid Translate’s API‑driven platform lets e‑commerce merchants localize product data, UI strings, and SEO metadata in under 48 hours, turning language barriers into revenue. A recent Black Friday rollout localized 200 SKUs into Italian for roughly $1,200 and produced an extra $25,000...
Dina Foods Announces Nationwide Ocado Retail Partnership
Family‑owned Mediterranean specialist Dina Foods announced a nationwide partnership with Ocado Retail, launching its artisan flatbreads, sourdough pittas and handcrafted Baklawa on Ocado.com from April 13. The deal adds the Paninette® range, Tasty Goodness sourdough pittas and 200 g Baklawa packs to...
UK Venues to Get Share of Resale Revenue in Tickets9 Programme
Tickets9 has launched a Venue Partner Programme that pays UK venues a 12% share of every resold ticket’s value, delivered instantly via PayPal and without platform fees or contracts. The scheme also grants venues full buyer contact data for each...
DropsyneX Announces Global Expansion and Debut of New AI-Powered E-Commerce System
DropsyneX, a decade‑old B2B cross‑border e‑commerce provider, announced the launch of its integrated AI‑powered commerce system, marking its first public media release. The platform unifies global warehousing, smart inventory management, international logistics and an AI‑driven livestream sales engine into a...
MercadoLibre Boosts AI Spending as Revenue Jumps 47% YoY
MercadoLibre said its AI investments are accelerating revenue, delivering a 47% year‑over‑year Q4 growth on a constant‑currency basis. The e‑commerce leader is expanding AI across logistics, payments and seller tools while grappling with short‑term margin pressure and a 35% stock...
Autonomous Retail Concept Scales up at Circa Resort
VenHub Global Inc. is teaming with Las Vegas‑based Circa Resort & Casino to debut what the partners call the world’s most advanced autonomous smart‑store. The 66‑foot, three‑unit installation will launch this spring, offering 24/7, staff‑free retail powered by AI‑driven robotics...
More Consumers Tapping AI when Looking for a Deal
Nearly 70% of shoppers now turn to AI tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude to locate discounts, according to the 2026 Shopper Study by XCCommerce and SmartBrief. An even larger 83% say savings and rewards drive loyalty to a...
Stats From eBay Live 24 Hours of Drops
eBay Live hosted a 24‑hour "Drops" marathon on March 27, featuring more than 350 sellers across categories such as collectible cards, luxury fashion, electronics, beauty and sports memorabilia. The event attracted a sizable fresh audience, with 25% of buyers and...
Could Your Sales Be up to 11% Better?
Retailers face a chronic inventory accuracy problem, with more than 60% of records containing errors that can erode sales by 4‑11%. TSC Auto ID argues that a hybrid labeling strategy—combining traditional barcodes with RFID—delivers real‑time traceability, reduces shrink, and improves...
Sarenza Opens Its First Brick-and-Mortar Store, with More to Come
Sarenza, the online shoe retailer owned by French fashion group Beaumanoir, opened its first physical outlet, Sarenza Studio, at the L’Atoll shopping centre in Angers. The store is a women‑only, premium concept that mirrors a department‑store experience while extending the...
Fiserv Helps Major U.S. Grocery Retailer Expand Card-Free Checkout Experience
Ahold Delhaize USA is extending its Pay by Bank card‑free checkout pilot to include Giant Food and Stop & Shop shoppers, adding new digital channels such as mobile apps and in‑store kiosks. The expansion is powered by fintech infrastructure provider...
Frasers Group Launches AI Shopping Assistant
Frasers Group has introduced Ask Frasers, an AI‑powered shopping assistant on its e‑commerce site. The tool, built on Algolia’s Agentic Experience technology, lets shoppers ask natural‑language questions, refine preferences and receive real‑time product recommendations. By leveraging live product data, availability...
Amazon Bets $200 Billion on AI: Jassy’s Full Plan
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announced a $200 billion capital‑expenditure plan for 2026, centered on AI infrastructure, custom silicon, satellite internet, and faster delivery. AWS AI revenue has hit a $15 billion annual run rate, propelled by contracts such as OpenAI’s $100 billion commitment....
Meituan’s Overseas Push Steadies Investors Despite Second Consecutive Loss
Meituan reported full‑year 2025 revenue of $53.3 bn, an 8% YoY increase, but posted a net loss of $3.4 bn and an operating loss of $2.5 bn, marking a second consecutive loss in its core local‑commerce segment. Fourth‑quarter revenue rose 4.1% to $13.4 bn,...
20% Off Sephora Promo Code | April 2026
Sephora is promoting a 20% discount across its online catalog for April 2026, accessible via a promo code. The offer complements its Beauty Insider loyalty program, which provides points, free shipping, and annual birthday gifts. The article highlights high‑margin beauty...
Hungryroot Coupon Codes: 30% Off This April
Hungryroot is offering a 30% discount on first‑week boxes for new customers who spend $99 or more, plus a free premium protein gift. The service also runs a $50 referral credit for both the referrer and the referred friend, which...
Kuaishou Amplifies Deaf Voices with “Streaming Out Loud” Campaign via TOPic & Loong China
Kuaishou teamed with TOPic & Loong China to launch the “Streaming Out Loud” campaign, using AI‑driven sign‑language recognition and a voice avatar to make deaf live‑commerce streams audible to hearing viewers. A pilot with deaf streamer @Jingjing attracted over 700,000 viewers and...
I Had 15 Years of Experience, but I Still Had to Start over – Nigerian Lady Building Marketplace and Magazine...
Nigerian media veteran Abiodun Adetu relocated to Canada and discovered her 15‑year career didn’t translate into local credentials, prompting her to complete a digital‑marketing course. She leveraged that experience to launch Naija Market Day, a traveling Nigerian‑style marketplace now operating...
Shopify Earns Most Money Beyond Subscriptions
Day 1 of 30: How $SHOP Shopify actually makes money Most think it's a SaaS subscription business... subscriptions are only 24% of revenue Here's the real breakdown 🧵
Unexpected Wet Wipes Business Offer on FB Marketplace
Wild what you can find on FB marketplace Anyone want to start a wet wipes business? https://t.co/tGgoiC8P2A
Vietnam: Unlocking Global Cross-Border E-Commerce Potential
Vietnam’s cross‑border e‑commerce is emerging as a key export engine, with the domestic market reaching roughly $31 billion in 2025 and cross‑border turnover at $4.45 billion. The sector is driven by SMEs seeking lower logistics costs and direct access to global consumers,...
Know When Your Small‑Space Fulfillment Is Overwhelming
Every e-commerce brand starts the same way: packing orders from a spare room or small warehouse. At some point, that stops working. The question is: how do you know when you've hit that point? We have the guide 👇 https://t.co/r4ctl4lH4h
Offer Beats Product: Irresistible Deals Drive Scale
Hard truth: Your product doesn't matter as much as your offer. A good product with a bad offer will fail. A decent product with an irresistible offer will scale.
Robotics Is Key to Lower Costs, Faster Deliveries, Says Amazon CEO
In his 2025 shareholder letter, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy highlighted robotics as a core lever to cut costs and speed deliveries. The company now runs more than 1 million robots in fulfillment centers and has acquired RIVR and Fauna Robotics to...
Agentic Payments In B2C Commerce: Where We Are Now
Agentic commerce remains in its infancy, with US consumer adoption of AI‑driven checkout staying under 5% and showing little momentum. The protocol arena is split between Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol and OpenAI’s Agentic Commerce Protocol, while Alibaba’s Alipay and the...
Walmart’s Ecommerce, Fulfillment and Advertising Business Offset Flat In-Store Sales
At JPMorgan’s Retail Roundup, Walmart CFO John Rainey highlighted that the retailer’s ecommerce, advertising and fulfillment operations now account for roughly 20% of its business and are offsetting flat in‑store sales. Operating income is growing at twice the rate of...
TopCashback: Earn $25 Bonus when You Join & Earn $10
TopCashback is offering Frequent Miler readers a $25 sign‑up bonus when they earn $10 cashback within 180 days of joining. The promotion runs until December 31, 2026, and cannot be stacked with other bonuses. While the $25 reward is lower than TopCashback’s...
Buy, Remix, Sell Vibe‑Coded Apps on Anything
wait… you can now buy, remix, and sell vibe-coded apps directly on @Anything 👀 pretty sure these devs never f*cking sleep.