Know What's Happening in Ecommerce
Know What's Happening in Ecommerce
Ecommerce Pulse
EMAIL DIGESTS
Daily
Every morning
Weekly
Tuesday recap
EMAIL DIGESTS
Daily
Every morning
Weekly
Tuesday recap
Pandemic cemented e‑commerce’s share and boosted contactless payments
The COVID‑19 shock locked e‑commerce at 16.6% of U.S. retail sales and set online grocery sales on a path to $250 billion by 2025. Two‑thirds of shoppers now use contactless payments, with 74% planning to keep the habit post‑pandemic.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Grab acquires Foodpanda Taiwan for $600M
The episode explains how AI voice agents and automation can replace traditional sales teams by instantly qualifying leads, scaling cold outreach, and handling follow‑ups and even closing low‑ticket deals, freeing human reps to focus on high‑value strategy and relationship building. It highlights the structural advantages of AI—24/7 availability, consistent messaging, and unlimited scalability—while acknowledging that complex negotiations still benefit from human insight. Practical steps include starting with AI‑driven qualification and follow‑up, then gradually adding outbound calls and AI‑led demos, using platforms like Synthflow.ai. The host emphasizes that AI transforms sales from a labor‑intensive model to a fast, data‑driven operating system, giving companies a competitive edge.
The episode explains how real‑time driver tracking bridges the visibility gap between warehouse dispatch and the last‑mile delivery, turning a costly blind spot into a competitive advantage. By integrating GPS‑enabled driver apps with dispatch and eCommerce systems, businesses gain live...
Good Protein, a Canadian wellness brand, has accelerated its retail footprint by securing placement in all Costco warehouses across Canada after a successful pilot in 2025. In its first year of retail, the company grew from zero to over 3,500...
The episode explains how eCommerce businesses can deliver round‑the‑clock, local‑time‑zone support without huge costs by starting with a small, strategically scheduled team, leveraging an Employer of Record to handle international hiring compliance, and augmenting staff with AI chatbots and ticketing...
The episode explains why continuous, delta‑only replication is evolving from a backup shortcut into a core cyber‑resilience control, enabling near‑real‑time data availability across hybrid environments and reducing reliance on fragile, manual recovery steps. It highlights how this approach mitigates both...
The episode explains why traditional spreadsheets are inadequate for cash‑flow forecasting and outlines a shift to automated, data‑driven processes. It emphasizes using real payment history and driver‑based metrics—like AR timing, AP flexibility, payroll, and seasonality—to generate forecasts that signal shortfalls...
Retailers are increasingly targeted by web privacy lawsuits, with 43% of recent claims focused on the consumer discretionary sector. Smaller stores under $100 million in revenue account for nearly 60% of filings, often leveraging outdated statutes like California’s 1967 Invasion of...
In this episode, Moe Sid explains why affiliate influencer marketing has become a high‑ROI staple in 2026, highlighting the shift from one‑off campaigns to always‑on systems that create shared accountability between brands and creators. He notes the maturity of the...
In this June 2023 product update, Rep AI announces a new self‑serve onboarding that lets users launch a branded AI chat in 10‑15 minutes, with the system automatically scanning their website and capturing brand voice and tone. Recent releases include...
Nike announced a major reshuffle of its regional senior leadership, with longtime Europe, Middle East and Africa head Carl Grebert retiring and being replaced by veteran César Garcia effective Feb. 2. In Greater China, Angela Dong will depart by March 31, succeeded...
Macy’s Media Network partnered with Amazon’s Retail Ad Service (RAS) in August, becoming the first major retailer to pilot the platform ahead of the holiday season. The collaboration has attracted over 175 new brands to Macy’s sponsored‑products offering and bolstered...
The episode explains how pet brands can leverage Bylo.ai’s AI-powered emoji maker to turn customer photos and brand phrases into custom, on‑brand emojis that boost shareability across social, email, and SMS. It walks listeners through a three‑step workflow—selecting core reactions,...
Amazon unveiled a portable, RFID‑enabled version of its Just Walk Out checkout lanes, designed for festivals, pop‑up shops and other temporary retail settings. The new lanes feature in‑lane screens, automated gates and enhanced cart visibility, and can be installed within...
Small merchants often see strong sales but still struggle with cash flow because money leaves their business long before it returns from credit‑card settlements and inventory turnover. About 60 percent of SMBs report this timing gap as a primary financial pain...
U.S. consumers in 2025 prioritized smaller discretionary purchases—used goods, apparel, and dining—over big‑ticket items like electronics, furniture, and travel, according to Bank of America Institute data. A weakening labor market and waning sentiment drove this cautious behavior, a trend Moody’s...
Barnes & Noble reversed its decline by re‑imagining stores as community‑focused bookshops rather than traditional retailers. After hitting a low of roughly 600 locations, the chain opened 60 new stores in 2025 and plans another 60 in 2026, bringing its...
Bloomingdale’s is turning its Carousel space at the 59th Street flagship into a Wuthering Heights‑themed shop through Feb 22, 2026. The activation features a 35‑piece exclusive Aqua collection plus licensed items from Hanky Panky, Slip, Art of Tea, Maude’s and Dear...
Michaels CEO David Boone says the retailer’s top priority is seizing market share left by Party City and Joann’s exits. The chain has rolled out a Party Shop and Knit & Sew section in every store, added balloon bars, and plans to...
The Federal Trade Commission has filed a notice of appeal after a district court ruled in favor of Meta Platforms in an antitrust lawsuit. The FTC maintains that Meta illegally preserved a monopoly in personal social networking by acquiring Instagram...
Naver, the South Korean tech giant behind Poshmark, announced the launch of ThingsBook, a social curation app targeting North American users. The service, described as a “personal museum,” lets shoppers organize and showcase favorite items in a visual feed. Scheduled...
Cisco has partnered with OpenAI to embed Codex into its engineering workflows, creating an autonomous AI teammate that assists with complex system development. The deployment has slashed build times by 20% and freed roughly 1,500 engineering hours each month through...
Being unc in business is great You get to show up, hang with the kids and learn some cool shit, teach them some important lessons and then bounce back to your own ecosystem Let me explain… Most “DTC” people are 30+ Most of these...
Effective copywriting isn’t about clever words. It’s about understanding human emotion. Once you know what drives people, you can write copy that actually moves them to act. Clayton Makepeace broke this down into 16 dominant emotions. Bookmark this and use it as a reference....
Constant Contact’s 2025 Small Business Now survey highlights five marketing trends that will shape small‑business success in 2026. Email continues to deliver the highest engagement, even as only 41 % of owners view it as their primary channel. Social media is...
Packaging is often seen as a cost, but the article shows it can be a revenue driver. By treating packaging like a marketing asset and measuring revenue per visitor, brands can justify higher spend when conversion lifts outweigh material costs....
In this first part of the Amazon Keyword Research Masterclass, Helium 10’s Bradley Sutton walks listeners through the fundamentals of 2026 Amazon keyword research using the Cerebro reverse‑ASIN tool. He demonstrates how to filter for revenue‑driving keywords, track historical ranking data,...
Marks & Spencer’s chief technology officer Josie Smith is leaving the firm, a move that comes nine months after a ransomware attack by the Scattered Spiders group wiped out roughly £229 million and halved the retailer’s 2025 profit. The breach forced...
Rithum announced the appointment of Gregory Banning as Chief Revenue Officer and the promotion of Caitlin Hauser to Chief Financial Officer. Banning arrives with more than two decades of enterprise sales leadership across Fortune 500 and private‑equity‑backed firms, while Hauser...
Adyen and Forage have announced a strategic partnership to enable SNAP EBT payments on Adyen’s U.S. commerce platform. The collaboration integrates Forage’s compliance‑focused EBT processing with Adyen’s unified payment APIs, allowing grocery, convenience and select food retailers to accept government...
In 2025, 65% of consumers completed purchases through brand text messages, marking the first time text messaging outpaced email for promotional offers in Vibes’ nine‑year study. The report also found 81% of respondents view RCS messaging as superior to SMS,...
Security researchers have uncovered a new Magecart‑style campaign that injects obfuscated JavaScript from cc-analytics.com/app.js into e‑commerce checkout pages. The script captures credit‑card numbers and billing details, then exfiltrates them to attacker‑controlled servers at pstatics.com via XMLHttpRequest POSTs. Infrastructure analysis reveals...
Morrisons posted a resilient 2025 financial year, keeping underlying EBITDA steady at £835 million despite a cyber‑attack, higher inflation and unexpected budget‑driven costs. Group like‑for‑like sales rose 2.8% to £15.8 billion, with a 3.4% lift over the Christmas period. Its online division...
Linnworks introduced Spotlight AI, the inaugural offering in its Commerce Ops Intelligence suite, to automate repetitive ecommerce tasks and surface operational blind spots. The AI engine continuously scans order‑processing workflows, flags manual actions, and recommends high‑impact automations. Early adopters reported...
The PayTail Summit gathered leading retailers, e‑commerce platforms and payment innovators to chart the next phase of retail commerce and digital payments. Speakers examined how real‑time settlement, tokenization and AI‑driven fraud tools are reshaping checkout experiences. Case studies highlighted buy‑now‑pay‑later...
Money Movement 2026 merges two flagship conferences, drawing a broad spectrum of banks, credit unions, regulators, PSPs, retailers, and fintech innovators. The event expects over 350 senior attendees and 150 leading companies, with two‑in‑three decision makers represented. Featuring more than...
Retail subscriptions slipped 3.5% year‑on‑year, making the sector the sole category in decline while overall subscription revenue grew 8.3%. The drop stems from consumer frustration over rigid pricing and the inability to pause or adjust plans. More shoppers are shopping...
JD Sports reported 1.4% organic sales growth in Q4, but its Christmas trading period saw a 1.8% decline in like‑for‑like sales. The dip was driven by a 5.3% fall in the UK and a 3.4% drop in Europe, while North...
UK inflation rose to 3.4% year‑on‑year in December, edging above the 3.2% recorded in November. The Office for National Statistics attributes the uptick partly to higher airfare and tobacco costs. Food and non‑alcoholic drink prices accelerated to 4.5% YoY, with...
Currys announced an upgraded profit outlook after its peak trading period, reporting a 6% like‑for‑like revenue increase. In the ten weeks to 10 January, UK‑Ireland revenue rose 3% while omnichannel sales jumped 11% year‑on‑year, and the Nordics saw a 12% revenue...
Myer will introduce the complete Fenty Beauty portfolio—including Fenty Skin and the Australian retail debut of Fenty Eau de Parfum—across all stores and its e‑commerce platform starting in May. The rollout stems from a new partnership with Kendo Brands, the...
The episode explains why growing brands outgrow the basic BLOY Rewards app and need loyalty platforms that offer strategic guidance, deep data integration, and extensive customization. It highlights Yotpo Loyalty as the top 2026 alternative, emphasizing its dedicated eCommerce experts,...
OnePay has introduced “Swipe to Finance,” a post‑purchase buy‑now‑pay‑later feature powered by Klarna that lets eligible debit‑card users convert recent purchases into fixed‑term payment plans within the app. The tool expands OnePay’s suite of flexible payment options beyond checkout, offering...
Beginning Boutique, the Brisbane‑based e‑tailer famed for party dresses, has unveiled a 20‑piece capsule with influencer Morgan Riddle, dubbed the most important woman in men’s tennis. The collection, blending festival flair with tennis‑inspired aesthetics, launches alongside the Australian Open to...
The episode breaks down why content research is essential for ecommerce growth, using Sean Reyes’s Shock Surplus as a case study of how deep audience insights and educational video content drove a $25 million business. It outlines a six‑step research framework—setting...
In this episode, Maddy Alcala outlines ten critical questions to ask a print‑on‑demand (POD) order management provider, covering everything from end‑to‑end order handling and performance under load to role‑based access, compliance, and disaster recovery. She emphasizes the importance of robust...
Australian clean‑beauty brand Nude by Nature, now owned by Vidacorp, has entered the U.S. market through a rollout at 1,900 Walmart locations, offering 94 SKUs under $14 each. The launch is anchored by global ambassador Nicole Richie, whose Instagram video...
Australian tennis’s governing body has elevated beauty retailer Mecca to a flagship sponsor for the 2026 Australian Open, positioning the event as a hub for experiential marketing aimed at Gen‑Z. In 2025 Mecca supplied gift bags to over 800 players...
OpenAI unveiled the ChatGPT Health beta, an AI‑driven chatbot that aggregates medical records, wearable data, and personal wellness insights into a single conversational interface. The launch coincides with Target’s plan to boost its wellness product line by 30%, and a...
Pacsun has launched a Youth Advisory Council and published its first Youth Report, gathering insights from 6,000 Gen‑Z and Gen‑Alpha respondents. The data fueled the creation of the PS Community Hub, a shoppable app that lets users curate purchases and...
Amazon has filed plans for a 225,000‑square‑foot big‑box store in Orland Park, a Chicago suburb, that will combine groceries, general merchandise and dining, directly rivaling the average Walmart Supercenter. The concept marks Amazon’s first attempt at a full‑scale supercenter format, a...
