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
Costco Pilots Sub‑10‑Second Checkout to Slash In‑Store Wait Times
Costco Wholesale is testing automated pay stations that can complete a checkout in roughly eight seconds, using employee pre‑scan technology. The pilot, highlighted by CEO Ron Vachris, seeks to speed lanes, improve member experience and capture more sales during peak hours.
Add Post‑purchase Upsell, Boost Revenue 36% in 30 Days
1 Today, I was reviewing an account spending $2,200/month with a steady 1.9X ROAS. The founder said, “It’s working… but it doesn’t feel like growth.” There was that subtle doubt — “Is this all it can do?” The gap wasn’t ads — it was...
AI Is Changing Retail. Here’s How Businesses Can Keep Up.
Retailers must ensure their Google Merchant Center data is clean and complete to unlock AI-driven shopping experiences such as conversational commerce, virtual try‑ons, and shoppable CTV. In a recent Ads Decoded Podcast, Google’s retail product leaders highlighted that messy feeds...
Retail and CPG’s Precision Era: How AI Is Reshaping Forecasting, Fulfilment and Customer Engagement
Retail and consumer packaged goods firms are entering a precision era where AI is no longer optional but essential for survival. By 2026, AI‑driven demand forecasting, real‑time logistics, and automated fulfillment are reshaping the operating model from reactive to autonomous....
Google Launches Universal Commerce Protocol Onboarding Guide
Focus on ecommerce? -> Google Publishes Universal Commerce Protocol Onboarding Guide (Enabling agentic shopping) "To participate, merchants must complete the technical implementation first, then submit an interest form and wait for approval. Once selected, they can access onboarding in Merchant...
Okuma Fishing Tackle Opens Canadian Fulfillment Center
Okuma Fishing Tackle has opened a new third‑party logistics fulfillment center in Canada to serve its wholesale partners. The facility is designed to accelerate delivery times, increase inventory availability, and lower overall fulfillment costs. Sam Brenner, Okuma’s VP of sales,...
EXEC: Levi Strauss CEO Talks Beyond Yoga’s Complement to Denim Lifestyle Portfolio
Levi Strauss & Co. reported that its Beyond Yoga brand grew sales 23% to $46 million in Q1, while the operating loss narrowed to $1 million from $3 million a year earlier. The company’s overall net revenue rose 14% to $1.7 billion, with direct‑to‑consumer...
Simplify Checkout, Double Revenue Faster than More Traffic
Almost every week, I see accounts spending $2,000/month with decent traffic… but flat revenue. There’s always that quiet thought — “Maybe we just need more volume.” But more traffic was only amplifying the leak. The real issue sat in a weak checkout flow. We...
Why Product Feeds Shouldn’t Be The Most Ignored SEO System In Ecommerce
Many ecommerce brands focus on category pages and backlinks while neglecting product feeds, which have traditionally been managed by PPC teams. Recent changes—Google Search Console’s Shopping report enhancements and OpenAI’s product‑feed specification—bring feed data into the core SEO ecosystem. Optimizing...
Best Way to Segment a Catalog for AI Platforms
In this brief episode of Voices of Search, host Jordan Cooney chats with Katie Morrow, Director of Managed Services at ProductsUp, about the optimal way to segment product catalogs for AI platforms. They discuss how the choice of segmentation depends...
People Are Losing It over 7-Eleven Merch. Welcome to the Surprisingly Cool World of Convenience Store Chic
7‑Eleven’s online‑only apparel line, 7Collection, has turned convenience‑store branding into a streetwear phenomenon. Launched in 2022, the store offers everything from logo tees to limited‑edition collaborations that sell out within minutes. The line taps into music, art and summer culture,...
How to Use Google Gemini's New AI Shopping Features in India: Check Step-by-Step Guide
Google has rolled out AI‑powered shopping tools for Indian users across the Gemini app, AI Mode in Search, and Circle to Search. The Gemini app now delivers shoppable product listings, price comparisons and a Shopping Graph directly within chat. AI...
Squarespace’s Corey Zettler on Building a Financial Services Suite for Small Businesses
Squarespace has expanded from a website builder into a full‑stack fintech platform for small creators. After launching Squarespace Payments in 2023 and Capital in early 2025, the company introduced Balance, an integrated business account that provides a Visa debit card,...
Razorpay & OpenAI Expand Collaboration With Codex Integration Powering Instant AI App Monetisation
Razorpay has teamed up with OpenAI to embed its payment gateway directly into Codex‑generated applications, launching an app that lives inside ChatGPT. The integration lets developers describe an AI‑powered product, set pricing, and have Razorpay automatically configure checkout, subscriptions, taxes...
Mitchell Halliday on Made by Mitchell’s Global Expansion Plans Beyond TikTok Shop
Made by Mitchell, a digitally native makeup brand launched in October 2020, survived early DIY struggles and a shaky wholesale debut with Beauty Bay before turning to TikTok Shop. The hiring of Gabrielle Grierson sparked the brand’s pioneering move into...
Passion Beats Polish: Community Drives Sales
I spent $500 on a product with 'awful' branding but a cult-like following. It scaled to $20k/month. I spent $10k on a product with 'perfect' branding and zero community. It flopped. The market doesn't care about pretty. It cares about...
Cross Switch, Absa Expand Secure Checkout with Absa Pay
South African bank Absa has partnered with payments‑infrastructure provider Cross Switch to launch Absa Pay, a bank‑authenticated checkout option for e‑commerce merchants on the Cross Switch platform. The solution uses a payment‑initiation API that lets customers pay via phone number...
Apple Flags PayPal Checkout Share Erosion as Apple Pay Nears Parity
Apple’s latest market review reveals PayPal’s branded checkout growth slowed to 1% in Q4, with Apple Pay projected to reach 90.5 million U.S. users—just shy of PayPal’s 92.1 million. The shift underscores a broader migration toward phone‑native payment options.
Kroger Brings Its Near-Expired Food to Flashfood App in 100-Plus Stores
Kroger is expanding its partnership with the Flashfood app to more than 100 stores across the Mid‑Atlantic, turning near‑expiration groceries into discounted items for shoppers. The pilot in Richmond, Virginia diverted over 320,000 pounds of food that would have been...
Alcohol E-Commerce Misses US$40bn Opportunity
A new survey by DRINKS reveals a $40 bn gap between how U.S. consumers discover alcohol brands and their ability to purchase them online. Social media now drives 63% of purchases among 21‑34‑year‑olds, yet 70% say they cannot buy directly where...
Publishers Get a New Revenue Line as Brambles.ai and Shopnomix Bring AI Commerce Into Editorial Content
Brambles.ai and Shopnomix have partnered to embed conversational AI shopping directly into editorial content, allowing readers to discover and purchase products from over 50,000 brands without leaving the page. The integration combines Brambles.ai’s on‑page chat interface with Shopnomix’s product data,...
Superdry & Co Picks Verde to Style New Online Strategy
Superdry & Co, fresh from a brand‑centric rebrand, has hired SEO specialist Verde Digital to revamp its digital marketing. Verde will lead technical SEO, on‑page optimisation and emerging AI‑driven search tactics, targeting non‑brand, category‑level queries. The agency’s audit revealed untapped...
MoU Between SRA, TikTok Shop and WSG to See Deeper Focus on Social Commerce Scene
The Singapore Retailers Association, TikTok Shop, and Workforce Singapore signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop social commerce capabilities across the retail sector. The partnership will create training programmes for three new roles—livestream hosts, sellers, and engineers—through job redesign and...
Temu and Shein Face Regulatory Headwinds as UK Consumers Call for Fairer E-Commerce Rules
Temu and Shein continue to dominate the UK’s ultra‑low‑cost e‑commerce segment, with Temu attracting 116 million monthly EU visitors and Shein’s UK sales exceeding £2 billion. However, tighter tariffs in the US triggered a 52% drop in Temu’s daily active users and...
US Tariffs Wiped Out Industrie Africa’s Only Market
Industrie Africa, Africa’s leading multi‑brand fashion e‑commerce platform, will shut its online store on April 30 after five years of operation. The closure follows a wave of US trade measures—tariffs rising to 15‑30% and the end of the de‑minimis exemption—that crippled...
Shipping Cost Pressures Intensify for UK Ecommerce Sellers
UK ecommerce sellers are grappling with sharply rising shipping costs, with 84% reporting higher last‑mile expenses and 39% seeing increases above 10% in the past year. The last‑mile now accounts for 53% of total delivery spend, squeezing margins even as...
Key Themes at SXSW 2026 with Omnicom's Greg Brown
In this episode, Omnicom SVP of Innovation Greg Brown breaks down the six strategic themes from Omnicom’s SXSW 2026 recap, highlighting the shift from a reach‑driven economy to a trust‑driven, AI‑infused landscape. He explains how brands must move from traditional...
Levi’s Accelerates Growth as ‘DTC-First’ Strategy Pays Off
Levi Strauss & Co. posted first‑quarter net revenue of $1.7 billion, a 14% year‑on‑year increase, driven by a 16% rise in direct‑to‑consumer sales that now represent 52% of total revenue. The company lifted its full‑year 2026 outlook, forecasting 6% revenue growth...
Digital Commerce in India Will Grow to $250 Billion by 2030: Google and Deloitte Report
Google and Deloitte project India’s digital commerce market will expand to $250 billion by 2030, up from $90 billion today. Growth will be powered by a surge of Gen Z shoppers, rapid‑delivery (quick commerce) services, and AI‑driven content commerce. Quick commerce alone is...
Amazon Renews USPS Deal, Keeping 80% of Deliveries with $6 B Annual Revenue
Amazon has renewed its logistics contract with the United States Postal Service, ensuring the carrier will continue to handle roughly 80% of Amazon shipments and generate about $6 billion in annual revenue for USPS. The renewal comes as USPS raises Priority...
Digital Body Suit Eliminates Online Clothing Size Mistakes
#WhatsNext? An end to online clothing shopping errors or misfits? This fashion #Innovation or digital body suit can take sizing mistakes out of the online shopping equation. (Cheddar Gadgets) #Retail https://t.co/8L4KxNSbqb
Zsystems Brings Total Funding to $2.7 Million with Latest Seed Round
ZSystems, a Morocco‑based B2B2C marketplace, closed a $1.65 million seed round led by Azur Innovation Management, with participation from MNF Ventures, Witamax and new international investor Harambeans Prosperity Fund. The raise lifts total funding to $2.7 million after a $1.05 million pre‑seed round....
Your Most Important Customer? The AI Agent
AI‑powered shopping agents are reshaping retail by prioritizing real‑time inventory, price and verified product data over traditional brand awareness. When a consumer asks an agent for the best running shoe under $120 with next‑day delivery, the algorithm evaluates live data...
Walmart to Close Two Montreal Stores While Pledging $150 M Quebec Investment
Walmart Canada announced it will close its Côte‑des‑Neiges and Pointe‑aux‑Trembles supermarkets in Montreal in June 2026, part of a broader review of its Quebec footprint. The retailer simultaneously reaffirmed a $150 million provincial investment, including a new store in Sherbrooke and...
Block Introduces Managerbot, a Proactive Square AI Agent and the Clearest Proof Point yet for Jack Dorsey’s AI Bet
Block unveiled Managerbot, an AI agent embedded in Square that proactively monitors small‑business metrics and suggests actions across inventory, staffing and marketing. Built on OpenAI’s GPT and Anthropic’s Sonnet models, the tool leverages Block’s proprietary “agent harness” to coordinate hundreds...
Over the Hills and Farfetch Away
Farfetch, the luxury‑focused e‑commerce platform founded by José Neves, completed a rescue takeover by South Korean e‑commerce leader Coupang after being delisted from the NYSE in late 2023. The deal gave Coupang a controlling stake, enabling a sweeping cost‑cutting program and...
The Retailer’s Guide to the Best 3PL Fulfillment Partners in the USA (2026 Edition)
E‑commerce brands facing capacity constraints are turning to third‑party logistics (3PL) to scale. The 2026 guide ranks seven U.S. providers, highlighting Simpl Fulfillment’s flat‑rate model for 1‑500 orders, ShipBob’s 50+ centers for two‑day delivery, Red Stag’s heavy‑item expertise, and niche...
How Retailers Can Protect Voice Channel From AI Impersonation Scams
Scam robocalls jumped 15.6% in 2025, adding roughly 420 million extra calls each month, and AI‑generated voice deepfakes are making them harder to detect. The FCC warned that scammers are impersonating Walmart employees, highlighting retailers as prime targets. Over half of...
How to Get the Most Out of Magento: Partner Selection, Extensions, and Performance
Magento remains a powerful but complex eCommerce platform for mid‑market merchants, yet its true value hinges on the extensions and development partners chosen. The article outlines a decision framework that highlights four high‑impact extension categories—SEO, checkout, marketing automation, and analytics—and...
RansomHouse Ransomware Cripples Vivaticket, Halting Louvre Ticket Sales
RansomHouse ransomware group breached Vivaticket through its subsidiary Irec SAS, exfiltrating personal data of potentially millions of customers and forcing the ticketing platform offline. The outage halted online sales for the Louvre and dozens of other European museums, prompting French...
Shopify B2B Features Now Available on All Paid Plans
Big news: Shopify B2B is now on every paid plan. For years, the answer was “You need Plus for that." Now, companies, catalogs, ACH, vaulted cards, and quantity rules come standard. I talked to @Shopify's Samir Pradhan about why they...
How Oral-Care Brands Win With Smarter DTC Merchandising
Oral‑care brands are moving from commodity shelf‑ware to direct‑to‑consumer (DTC) models that embed the toothbrush into a daily habit rather than a one‑off purchase. By bundling starter kits, offering scheduled brush‑head replacements, and creating tiered product ecosystems, they turn a...
Walmart Website Now Accepts CareCredit for Health and Wellness Products
Synchrony announced that its CareCredit health‑finance card is now accepted on Walmart.com for both home delivery and in‑store pickup. The rollout adds new eligible categories, including medical supplies, fitness equipment, and sleep essentials. CareCredit, already used in Walmart and Sam’s...
Skip Adds Loblaw to Growing Grocery Network
Skip has sealed a partnership with Loblaw Companies, adding the retailer’s 13 banners—including No Frills, Real Canadian Superstore and Maxi—to its on‑demand grocery network. The deal extends Skip’s service to every Canadian postal code, allowing customers to order from a broader...
Fast Simon Instantly Tells Merchandisers What Products Are Successful, Overexposed—Or Hidden Gems
Fast Simon’s new AI platform gives e‑commerce merchandisers instant, data‑driven insight into product performance. It identifies winners, overexposed items, and hidden‑gem products within minutes, while also projecting the long‑term impact of current merchandising choices. The tool promises faster optimization of listings,...
Why ‘Keep It’ Returns Should Be Illegal
Retailers are increasingly using “keep it” returnless refunds to cut reverse‑logistics costs, but the practice fuels fraud, inventory distortion, and waste. The National Retail Federation estimates $849.9 billion in returns, with 9 % fraudulent, while Narvar reports 75 % of shoppers have received...
Costco Tests Checkout that Could Take Under 10 Seconds
Costco is piloting automated pay stations that can complete transactions in under 10 seconds by having employees pre‑scan items before shoppers reach the register. Early tests show average transaction times around eight seconds and positive member feedback. The initiative is...
Retail Media Is a $69B Opportunity. So Why Is It Still So Hard to Get Right?
Retail media is projected to reach $69.3 billion in 2026, cementing its place as one of the fastest‑growing ad channels. The surge is driven by retailers leveraging first‑party shopper data to sell ads on‑site and off‑site. However, most retailers juggle 15‑20...
Proximity Is Retail’s Next Growth Lever
Retailers are reviving proximity marketing as a growth lever, recognizing that purchase decisions unfold across physical and digital touchpoints. A recent OAAA and Winterberry study shows roughly 70% of adults notice out‑of‑home (OOH) ads on their way to stores, and...
Love Daily Content Creation? Essential for DTC Success
If you don't enjoy making, buying, and iterating on content like this every day Don't launch or buy a DTC / consumer brand It's table stakes if you want to win