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
Mark 3 Targets Asia Business with New Appointment
Mark 3 International has hired Chris Stevens as its Asia business development executive to accelerate growth in the region. Stevens brings three decades of experience across postal, parcel, courier and logistics sectors, having led senior roles at Swiss Post International and Bpost International. The appointment follows Mark 3’s recent acquisition of Tricargo, a partnership with DPD UK, and investments in AI specialist Dobby AI. Together, these moves aim to strengthen the company’s cross‑border e‑commerce capabilities and support exporters facing volatile trade conditions.
Our Lego Agency’s Jennifer Berry on Building Connected Commerce Beyond Channels
Lego’s in‑house Our Lego Agency now unites commerce, creativity and retail under a single operating model, eliminating traditional channel silos. The agency focuses on delivering seamless, audience‑first experiences across direct‑to‑consumer (DTC), partner retailers and physical stores. AI tools are deployed...
NYIOOC Unveils Marketplace for Fresh, Award-Winning Olive Oils
The New York International Olive Oil Competition (NYIOOC) has launched a multilingual e‑commerce platform, oliveoilshop.com, that sells only current‑year award‑winning extra‑virgin olive oils. The marketplace connects consumers in Europe, the United States and Canada directly with producers and authorized distributors,...
Smarter Ecommerce Delivery in Africa
Delivery failures remain the biggest obstacle to ecommerce growth in Africa, where landmark addresses and cash‑on‑delivery preferences drive high return rates. Venture‑backed fulfillment firms such as Gig Logistics, Loop and Faramove are now using AI‑powered address verification, risk‑scoring APIs and...
Luxury Goods Need Digital Experiences that Match Their Quality
I did a UX audit for a luxury ecommerce client recently. Beautiful products. Genuinely beautiful. Handmade, carefully crafted, the kind of thing that photographs well and costs accordingly. Then I looked at the website. It wasn't terrible. Nothing was broken, the checkout...
From Stockroom to Screen: How Real-Time Inventory Feeds Elevate In-Store Digital Signage
Retailers are increasingly linking digital signage to live inventory and point‑of‑sale data, turning static ads into context‑aware displays. A rules‑based engine automatically promotes in‑stock items while suppressing sold‑out products, ensuring screens reflect real availability. This integration creates a feedback loop...
Grocery Shopping Is Now the Second-Largest Online Sector in the Netherlands
Dutch e‑commerce is stabilizing, with total online spend projected at €35.7 billion in 2025 (about $39 billion), a modest 1 % dip from the prior year. While travel and event services are losing ground, physical goods are regaining momentum, propelled in part by...
Why Mastercard Is Ditching Traditional Payment Rails for AI-Driven Agentic Payments
Mastercard is pivoting from traditional payment rails to AI‑driven, agentic payments, aiming to become the orchestration layer that links intent with transaction. The company has piloted fully authenticated AI transactions in India, completed a live end‑to‑end AI purchase in South...
The Next Era of Retail Won’t Be Browsed, It Will Be Prompted
Retail is transitioning from search‑driven browsing to AI‑driven intent commerce, where autonomous agents complete purchases before a human even opens a site. Walmart reported that shoppers using its Sparky assistant generated baskets 35% larger than traditional shoppers, underscoring the revenue...
Flipkart Hires Senior Executives To Scale Platform Engineering And Execution Capabilities
Flipkart has appointed Smita Ojha as Vice President of Engineering and Amit Sharma as Vice President of Programme Management to bolster its OneTech platform capabilities. Ojha will head the Central Platforms Group, bringing over two decades of platform‑engineering expertise from Mindtickle. Sharma...
Washington Clears Direct‑to‑Consumer Path for Rivian and Lucid, Challenging Dealership Model
Washington state has passed Senate Bill 6354, granting Rivian and Lucid the same direct‑to‑consumer sales exemption Tesla enjoys. The bipartisan vote and a $4.6 million ballot‑initiative investment signal a shift in the B2B automotive distribution landscape.
You Can Order Grubhub and Uber Eats ‘Conversationally’ with Alexa Plus
Amazon has upgraded its Alexa Plus assistant to support conversational food ordering through Grubhub and Uber Eats. Users can add, remove, or change items on the fly, with the Echo Show 8 and larger devices displaying the order in real time. The feature...
Visa Pushes Subscription Management Tool
Visa announced a partnership with Pinwheel to embed an enhanced subscription manager directly into banking apps, giving cardholders a consolidated view of recurring charges, alternative payment options, and one‑click cancellation. The rollout begins this summer for North American issuers, with...
Guide Shoppers One Choice at a Time
I was reviewing a luxury ecommerce site recently and counted the number of decisions a customer had to make before they could add a single product to their basket. Eleven. Eleven separate choices, all presented at the same time. Colour, size, finish,...
Doba Launches Unified AI Platform to Consolidate Every Dropshipping Automation Tool in One Place
Doba has launched the beta of Doba Pilot, an AI‑driven platform that consolidates core dropshipping functions into a single natural‑language interface. The system automates product discovery, Shopify store creation, AI‑generated listings, and real‑time inventory sync across its largely US‑based supplier...
Designkit Launches E-Commerce Design Platform to Streamline Product Visuals for Global Sellers
Designkit has launched a globally available e‑commerce design platform that lets merchants create conversion‑ready product visuals in hours instead of days. The platform combines a Generative AI Suite, which can produce full image sets, lifestyle scenes, videos and localized copy...
Amazon Spring Sale Drives MacBook Air Prices to Record Lows, $250 Off
Amazon's third annual Big Spring Sale has cut the price of the 13‑inch M4 MacBook Air to $949, a $250 discount and the lowest price seen since its launch. The steep markdown is prompting a surge in demand and raising...
Swipe Fees Hit Record-Setting $198.25B
U.S. merchants paid a record $198.25 billion in credit and debit card swipe fees in 2025, according to the Merchants Payments Coalition. The total represents a 5.9% jump from 2024 and an 80% increase since the pandemic, with fees climbing 219%...
We Still Highly Recommend These 3 Older Laptop Models - Especially While They're on Sale
Amazon’s Spring Sale ends tonight, featuring deep discounts on older laptop models that still deliver strong performance. The M1 MacBook Pro is available for $707, a 53% reduction, while Samsung’s Galaxy Book5 360 and Dell 16 Plus are discounted 12% and 35% respectively....
Pandora Opens Distribution Centre in Canada to Reduce US Tariff Impact
Pandora has opened a new distribution centre in Mississauga, Ontario to process Canadian online orders locally, reducing reliance on U.S. facilities and exposure to higher tariffs. The move follows President Trump’s increase of import duties on Thai‑made jewellery, which Pandora...
UK Consumers Shift From Browsing to Intent as High‑value Home and Finance Leads Surge
Analysis of 67 million email messages shows UK consumers are becoming more selective, clicking less but converting at higher rates. The shift toward an “intent economy” is driven by cost‑of‑living pressures, prompting shoppers to focus on home improvements and financial services...
Wildberries Reports Rising Demand for Asian Products
Wildberries, the leading Eurasian e‑commerce platform, reported a 40% jump in food sales sourced from Asian countries in 2025, with continued acceleration into 2026. Products such as Chinese soy‑based meat, Indian basmati rice, and Thai coconut milk saw multi‑fold growth,...
Credit Is Now a Primary Growth Lever: Flipkart Wholesale on the Future of B2B Commerce
Flipkart Wholesale says credit has shifted from a peripheral service to the primary growth lever for India’s kirana stores. The company highlights three concurrent trends—localized supply chains, range‑driven buying, and deeper credit penetration—fueling higher ticket sizes and repeat orders. GST...
The Hidden Ecommerce Revenue Killers Eating Your Margins with DJ Sprague
In this episode, hosts David Shomer and Ken Wilson sit down with e‑commerce expert DJ Sprague to expose the "10 hidden revenue killers" that can drain up to 37.9% of a brand’s profit, from payment‑processor fees and false declines to...
Morpheus Research Report Alleges 'Anti-Competitive' Practices by MakeMyTrip Despite CCI Order
Morpheus Research released a report accusing MakeMyTrip of continuing anti‑competitive price‑parity practices despite a 2022 Competition Commission of India fine of $26 million. The activist short‑seller alleges the platform uses an internal “price competitiveness score” to indirectly enforce parity, while also...
Hong Kong: A City of Moments” Featuring Lola Hubner
Travel commerce platform BYRDLI announced its first international destination partnership in Asia, launching a Hong Kong‑focused Travel Club with Australian creator Lola Hubner. Hubner built a fully bookable itinerary in real time, showcasing the city as both a 48‑hour stop‑over and a...
From Pizza Delivery to £646M: Skill Compounding Wins
Ben Francis started Gymshark at 19 while delivering pizzas and sewing vests in his parents’ garage. He first ran a dropshipping site for supplements, learned fast, then built his own apparel brand. He sent free gear to fitness creators, built a community,...
Authentic UGC Beats Fancy Agencies, Delivers 4.5x ROAS
I spent $25k on a marketing agency that promised 3x ROAS. They delivered 0.8. I fired them, spent $2k on raw UGC ads, and hit 4.5x ROAS in a week. The market doesn't care about fancy reports. It cares about...
How Saatva Pulled Back the Covers on TV-Driven Phone Sales
Saatva partnered with Tatari and Invoca to integrate phone‑call data into its TV attribution model, allowing the luxury mattress brand to trace calls back to specific TV ads. The solution uses a Tatari session ID captured on the website and...
TikTok Shop’s Sports Category Sees 1900% US Growth
TikTok Shop’s sports and outdoor category generated $3.2 billion in GMV worldwide between 2025 and 2026, with the U.S. site alone accounting for $1.232 billion—a 1,900% annual growth rate. The U.S. market contributed over 80% of total GMV, driven primarily by sports...
Lazada Reports 3.5x Sales Surge in Ramadan Promo
Lazada reported a 3.5‑times sales increase on LazMall Indonesia during its "3.3 Ramadan Sale" and THR Promotion, driven by higher order volume and average order value. The surge peaked in the second week of Ramadan, coinciding with Indonesian workers receiving...
Amazon Cracks Down on “WOOT Fraud”, Account Suspension Upgrade Affects Main Account and Funds
Amazon’s North American marketplace has intensified its crackdown on “WOOT” fake‑review schemes, suspending both small and main seller accounts and freezing associated funds. Simultaneously, the EU adopted a new customs supervision policy that, from July 2026, will levy a €3...
As IPL Fever Rages, Qcomm Players Fire up Big Discounts
Quick‑commerce giants Amazon Now, Flipkart Minutes and Instamart are rolling out "match‑ready" promotions with discounts exceeding 40% on food and beverage items as the Indian Premier League (IPL) gains momentum. The discounts aim to offset recent LPG shortages and supply...
Beauty Briefing: How Fragrance Is Winning on TikTok Shop
Fragrance brand Snif saw explosive sales on TikTok Shop after influencer Mikayla Nogueira livestreamed a product demo, highlighting the platform’s power for scent categories. The surge underscores how live video and creator seeding can turn traditionally tactile products into impulse...
Stitch Fix Is Targeting People Mid-Transition, From GLP-1 Users to Newly Divorced Men
Stitch Fix is pivoting to hyper‑targeted life‑stage segments, focusing on GLP‑1 weight‑loss drug users and recently divorced men who need rapid wardrobe updates. The company posted Q2 revenue of $341.3 million, a 9.4% year‑over‑year increase, and a record $577 revenue per active...
The 10 Hashtags Driving the Most Beauty Sales on TikTok Shop
TikTok Shop’s beauty category generated more than $670 million in sales over the past year, driven primarily by hashtag‑centric video content. The #skincare hashtag alone accounted for roughly $142 million, making it the top revenue generator. K‑beauty tags such as #Koreanskincare and...
Payment Processing Secrets: 13 Companies Merged Into One Platform
In this episode of FinTech Confidential, host Ted Huff talks with Niv Liren, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Unser, about the company’s ambitious effort to merge 13 acquired payment and commerce solutions into a single unified platform serving over...
Inside Pixel Moda’s Human-Led Approach to AI-Powered Fashion E-Commerce
Pixel Moda, a global e‑commerce content producer, uses generative and assistive AI to accelerate fashion visual asset creation. By combining AI with human creativity, the company can generate up to 15 high‑quality images per SKU within 24‑48 hours, cutting image costs by...
Scam Alert: Riders Force Unwanted Substitutions on Out‑of‑Stock Orders
Hey @letsblinkit @blinkitcares there's a new scam. If an item is out of stock at the store, they send a replacement of their choice The delivery rider then forces you to either accept the order with replaced item or CANCEL the...
Levi Strauss & Co Appoints New MD to Lead Greater China Business
Levi Strauss & Co has named Anita Fung as managing director of its Levi’s brand in Greater China, a market the company deems strategically vital. Fung, who brings over 20 years of luxury fashion experience from Burberry and Alexander McQueen, will...
RFID Warehouse Management System: The Modern Guide To Real-Time Visibility And Operational Efficiency
RFID warehouse management systems enable real‑time, hands‑free tracking of inventory through tags, readers, and software integration, dramatically improving accuracy and labor efficiency. While offering superior range, bulk scanning, and data capacity over barcodes, full RFID deployments require significant hardware, software,...
UPS CFO Announces 2026 Dividend Freeze Amid E‑commerce Margin Pressure
UPS chief financial officer Brian Dykes told investors the company will freeze its dividend in 2026, citing falling Amazon volumes, a costly aircraft replacement program and a transition of its Ground Saver service. The move highlights tightening margins for a...
Tmall Ramps up Merchant Support as Focus Shifts to Profitability
Tmall announced an expanded merchant‑support program that pivots from pure traffic subsidies to profit‑protecting cash incentives, larger subsidies and AI‑driven efficiency tools. The platform reported a 15% year‑on‑year rise in brands with GMV above RMB 100 million (≈$14.5 M), more than 13,000 brands...
Dave and Buster's Entertainment, Inc (PLAY) Q4 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
Best Buy reported Q4 fiscal 2026 revenue of $13.8 billion, a 1% decline, while adjusted operating income rose to a 5% rate, delivering $2.61 earnings per share, up 1%. Comparable sales slipped 0.8% but stayed inside the company’s guidance range. The...
Puma to Launch AI Concierge
Puma announced it will introduce an AI‑powered store concierge focused on its running product range. The virtual assistant will guide shoppers, recommend items, and answer product queries in real time. Deployment is slated for Puma’s flagship locations beginning in 2027,...
8 Conversion Rate Mistakes Killing Your Shopify Dropshipping Store (And How to Fix Them)
The article outlines eight common conversion‑rate mistakes that cripple Shopify dropshipping stores and provides data‑backed fixes drawn from 26,500 builds. It warns that many operators focus on traffic while neglecting product focus, generic design, missing trust signals, slow mobile speed,...
Etsy Updates Seller Tools, Adds Performance-Data Insights
Etsy unveiled a suite of seller‑tool upgrades, including an auto‑fill listing form, a redesigned Shop Manager, and a beta version of Enhanced Marketplace Insights that adds week‑over‑week keyword trends, saved searches, and improved keyword ideas. The platform also introduced a...
Retail Pharmacy Growth Raises Stakes for Hospitals
Retail giants are accelerating their pharmacy footprints, with Amazon planning same‑day prescription delivery in 4,500 U.S. cities by the end of 2026 and Walmart promoting 3,000 pharmacy technicians while raising wages to $22‑$40.50 per hour. Walgreens and CVS are also...
Competition Bureau Loses Bid for Amazon Data in Fake Reviews Case
Canada's Federal Court of Appeal upheld a lower‑court ruling that blocks the Competition Bureau from obtaining Amazon’s transaction data on health, personal care, home and electronics items. The bureau sought the data to substantiate claims that Amazon allows vendors to...
Even AI Struggles With One‑Shot Real‑World Business Tasks
things that seem possible but are hard to one-shot* with the latest agents - come up a unique tee concept, design it, and sell at least 100 tee shirts for a profit - sell $1000 worth of drop shipped goods for a...