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
EBay’s Social Sharing Tool Goes Down for over 24 Hours, Leaving Sellers without a Key Listing Promotion Feature
eBay's Social Sharing tool, which lets sellers post listings directly to Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram from the Seller Hub, has been down for over 24 hours, displaying an error page. Launched in 2023, the feature has already faced setbacks, including the removal of X support, posting delays, and a paused AI video creation capability. Sellers can only resort to the basic “share listing” button or manually copy URLs, both of which lack the tool’s full platform coverage. No timeline for a fix has been provided by eBay staff.
Zara Teams with Willy Chavarria for Global ‘Vatisimo’ Collection
Zara has launched the Vatisimo collection with designer Willy Chavarria, rolling it out worldwide this week. The partnership merges Chavarria’s culturally rooted aesthetic with Zara’s massive distribution network, sparking debate over authenticity and mass‑market representation.
Bad Address Data Starts at Checkout — and Carries Through Fulfillment
Inaccurate address data remains a major pain point for retailers, with 6.5% of U.S. mail undeliverable and up to 20% of customer records degrading each year. Melissa’s e‑book shows that errors introduced at checkout can cost $1 to validate, $10...
AI Pushes B2B Ecommerce Toward Fewer Platforms as Budgets Shift
Artificial intelligence is prompting B2B ecommerce leaders to trim fragmented software stacks and invest in unified, AI‑enabled platforms. Redpoint Ventures reports that 45% of CIOs are redirecting spend toward AI while 54% are consolidating vendors, targeting systems that blend ecommerce,...
Microsoft Lets Merchants Update Store Names and Domains in Merchant Center
Microsoft Advertising now lets e‑commerce merchants edit their Merchant Center store name and domain directly, removing the need for support tickets. Store‑name changes undergo editorial review while existing ads keep running, and domain updates require ownership verification before activation. The...
GigaCloud Partners with Otto Group to Expand European Marketplace Assortment
GigaCloud Technology Inc. announced a partnership with Otto Group to broaden the latter’s European B2B marketplace assortment. The collaboration will introduce select GigaCloud sellers, primarily furniture and appliance brands, onto Otto’s platform across more than 30 countries, tapping GigaCloud’s Asian...
A Matcha-Green Owala Tumbler Is $28 Today at Amazon’s Spring Sale
Owala’s 40‑ounce matcha‑green FreeSip tumbler is on Amazon’s spring sale for $28, representing a 20‑31% discount. The deal appears on the second‑to‑last day of the promotion after a previous 20% off on the brand’s smaller FreeSip vanished within 24 hours....
VisionStay.co/en Launches Zero‑Fee Portal to Bypass Middlemen in Healthcare, Travel and Retail
VisionStay.co/en introduced a global digital promotion portal that connects users directly to leading healthcare providers, travel booking sites and retail marketplaces without charging any service fees. The Istanbul‑based startup aims to cut middle‑man costs as inflation squeezes consumer budgets.
How Good Is Your DC Simulation Model?
Distribution centers are racing to integrate new automation to meet soaring e‑commerce demand, prompting many to adopt computer simulations before committing capital. Amazon’s design engineering team, led by Abhineet Mittal, has pioneered a modular discrete‑event simulation method that breaks the...
Why TikTok Shop’s Real ROI Was Never Meant to Stay on TikTok
TikTok Shop is being re‑positioned from a narrow sales channel to a powerful demand‑generation engine, a shift highlighted by Greek sun‑care brand Carroten’s rapid U.S. expansion. Leveraging over 13,000 creators, the brand generated 152 million views, sparking a cascade that lifted Amazon...
Ulta Doubled Store Fulfillment Capabilities in 2025
Ulta Beauty doubled its ship‑from‑store footprint in fiscal 2025, increasing the number of U.S. stores that fulfill e‑commerce orders from roughly 500 to over 1,000. The expansion was powered by an AI‑driven order‑management system that optimized inventory allocation across stores....
Scale DTC Faster by Optimizing Creative, Tests, and ROAS
Things that scale DTC brands faster than budget: 1. Faster creative cycles. 2. Cleaner offer tests. 3. Fewer hooks tested cleanly beats more hooks tested dirty. 4. Ad says one thing. Page says another - that's your conversion problem. 5....
How Just Eat Takeaway.com Moves From Food Delivery to “On-Demand Retail”
Just Eat Takeaway.com is broadening its instant‑delivery platform beyond meals, adding partnerships with electronics retailer MediaMarkt and second‑hand seller CeX. The shift stems from observed cross‑selling, where customers added health, pet care, and other non‑food items to grocery orders. Pete...
Sol-Millennium Medical Inc. Launches U.S. B2B eShop, Providing Direct Access to Safety Engineered Medical Devices Nationwide
Sol‑Millennium Medical Inc. has launched a dedicated U.S. B2B e‑commerce platform, b2b.solm.com, allowing healthcare providers nationwide to purchase its safety‑engineered medical devices directly. The site streamlines registration, pricing visibility, and order placement for settings ranging from physician offices to veterinary...
Flaconi Expands to the UK, Spain and 5 More Countries
Flaconi, the German online perfume and beauty retailer, announced expansion into the United Kingdom and Spain, plus Hungary, Ireland, Norway, Portugal and Romania, raising its market footprint to 19 European countries. The company reported a 27% revenue increase to €651 million...
EU Duty Changes Are Coming. Are You Ready for July?
From 1 July 2026 the EU will scrap the €150 (≈ $165) de minimis exemption, imposing a €3 (≈ $3.30) duty on each imported item. The change targets low‑value parcels that have surged with cross‑border e‑commerce and aims to curb undervaluation. UK brands shipping directly...
ALDI Rolls Out New Website Using Instacart's Enterprise Technology
ALDI U.S. has launched a redesigned website and mobile app powered by Instacart’s Storefront Pro enterprise platform. The partnership makes Instacart the exclusive fulfillment provider for ALDI’s online channels, delivering same‑day delivery and curbside pickup in as fast as an...
How to Avoid Copyright Infringement in Print-on-Demand
Print‑on‑demand (POD) sellers face escalating copyright, trademark and personality‑rights risks, from DMCA takedowns to multi‑million‑dollar lawsuits. The guide outlines how infringement arises—copying online images, using protected logos, fan‑art, mis‑licensed stock, and AI‑generated content referencing brands. It offers a four‑step compliance...
EXCLUSIVE: Leaked Pitchdeck Reveals Amazon’s Pitch to Get Advertisers on Rufus
Amazon is preparing to roll out Sponsored Ads on its AI‑driven shopping assistant Rufus, moving the feature from open beta to a general‑availability launch. The leaked pitch deck reveals that advertisers will be charged on a cost‑per‑click (CPC) basis and...
Made by Shein: The Ultra-Fast Fashion Giant Is Pitching Itself to Aussie Clothing Labels
Shein is courting Australian fashion labels to join its Xcelerator program, a supply‑chain‑as‑a‑service platform that plugs brands into its AI‑driven manufacturing, logistics and e‑commerce network. The initiative, which already supports 20 brands worldwide and has generated more than $400 million in...
This Online Travel Agency Could Soar on AI Tailwinds, Jefferies Says
Jefferies upgraded Expedia Group to a Buy rating, lifting its price target to $300, implying about 32% upside from the current price. The brokerage cites artificial‑intelligence tailwinds that could enhance recommendation engines, lower customer‑acquisition costs, and streamline service operations. While...
From Visibility to Predictability: Why Retail Needs Flow Intelligence Across B2B Transactions
Retailers are increasingly hitting transaction failures at the handoffs between modern integration platforms rather than within any single system. This creates an "assurance gap" where dashboards show green but orders, invoices, or settlements remain incomplete. Flow intelligence overlays existing commerce,...
US-Iran Conflict Begins to Disrupt India’s Q-Commerce and Logistics Sectors
The US‑Iran conflict is beginning to ripple through India’s quick‑commerce, e‑commerce and logistics ecosystem, driving higher fuel, diesel and urea costs and causing truck delays in key states like Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. Packaging inputs have surged, with plastics up...
What Are the Top AI Fragrance Recommendation Platforms?
The global fragrance market, valued at $52.3 billion in 2025, is projected to more than double to $118.7 billion by 2036, spurring demand for AI‑driven scent discovery tools. Nine platforms—ranging from B2B engines like Inference Beauty to community sites such as Basenotes—offer...
As The Works Axes Its Ecommerce Arm, How Can Physical Stores Compete with Online in 2026?
The Works announced it will close its ecommerce platform to double‑down on a store‑led growth strategy. While global ecommerce sales are projected at $3.88 trillion in 2026, 80 % of consumer spending still occurs in physical locations, giving discounters like Aldi and...
Xbox Store Update Makes Purchasing Xbox Games Easier with Two New Options
Microsoft has added two mobile‑wallet payment options—Google Pay and Apple Pay—to the Xbox digital store. The new methods are currently available in the United States and United Kingdom, with Apple Pay limited to mobile devices and Google Pay also supported...
REDUX How Doing Less Is Delivering More for This Business, It’s Employees and It’s Customers
Tower Paddle Boards, a San‑diego direct‑to‑consumer brand, switched to a five‑hour workday (8 am‑1 pm) in 2014. The company expected up to a 40% revenue hit but instead saw revenue jump 42% and profitability rise above 30% that year. The compressed schedule...
New Jersey Joins Dozens of States to Ban Surveillance Pricing in Grocery Apps
New Jersey lawmakers introduced a bill prohibiting grocery‑delivery platforms from using personal data to set individualized prices, joining at least 11 other states considering similar measures. The effort follows Consumer Reports findings that algorithms can raise prices by as much...
Amazon's Spring Sale Rolls Out 29 Home Deals Amid Rising Online Retail Buzz
Amazon unveiled a spring promotion featuring 29 discounted home items, sparking a wave of consumer interest. At the same time, political merchandise sales on niche platforms and specialty online services illustrate shifting dynamics in e‑commerce.
Buc-Ee's Rolling Out Specialty Coffee Vending
Buc‑ees is partnering with Costa Coffee to install automated specialty coffee kiosks at its travel‑center locations across the United States. The self‑service machines deliver barista‑style drinks such as espresso, cappuccino, latte and flat white in roughly 90 seconds via a...
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Oprah’s Favorite Comfy Shoe Brand Is Majorly Marked Down at Amazon—Score Up to 55% Off, From $47
Vionic, the orthopedic shoe brand endorsed by Oprah, is featured in Amazon’s Big Spring Sale with discounts up to 55%, bringing prices down to as low as $47. The collection includes men’s clogs, women’s loafers, slides, and sneakers, all highlighted...
Peacock Supplies Uses Temu to Compete With Big Retail
Peacock Supplies, a UK‑based specialist in Ramadan and Eid party goods, has built a catalogue of nearly 1,000 items and secured shelf space at Morrisons and TK Maxx. Over the past year, larger party‑goods brands entered the niche, undercutting Peacock...
When AI Takes the Helm: Belgian Webshop Operates Completely Autonomously
Belgian startup NXTGN launched “Is This Real?”, an online T‑shirt shop run entirely by artificial intelligence. The AI generates daily designs based on current news, handles product creation, marketing, sales and automated newsletters without any human decision. Each design is...
Transforming the Payment Experience: How Consumers Are Steering Payment Innovation
The Discover Network’s Payments State of the Union survey shows that 91% of U.S. shoppers have adopted digital payments, with 61% using a digital wallet in the past 90 days and mobile‑wallet usage climbing to 69% since 2021. Consumers are...
Meituan: A Messy Quarter, But Underlying Trends Are Positive
Meituan reported a loss in Q4, but analysts see the dip as superficial, noting stronger user quality and a recovering margin profile. The company’s upgraded membership program is lifting average revenue per user and reducing churn, while low‑margin orders are...
Why Attend Retail MediaX Europe – 14th May 2026
Retail MediaX Europe will be held on May 14, 2026 in London as the flagship event of RetailX’s Spring Commerce Media Festival. The conference gathers retailers, agencies and marketing leaders to explore the latest in retail media, connected TV, OTT...
DevOps Digital Transformation: From Maintenance Trap to Market Speed (2026) – Shopify
Engineering teams devote 60‑80% of their time to maintaining infrastructure, leaving little capacity for customer‑facing innovation. While DevOps promises faster delivery, many enterprises add layers of pipelines and tooling without addressing the underlying maintenance burden, causing initiatives to stall. The...
50% Shoppers Back Regulations to Stop Cheap Online Goods Flooding the UK
New RTS research shows 54% of UK shoppers favor tightening the de‑minimis threshold that currently exempts parcels under £135 (~$170) from duties. Support is strongest among Gen Z, with 68% backing stricter rules, while 82% already shop on Chinese marketplaces...
How Ben & Jerry’s Turned TikTok Fans Into DoorDash Orders
Ben & Jerry’s leveraged DoorDash Offsite Ads, powered by Symbiosis, to turn its highly engaged TikTok audience into same‑day delivery orders. By pairing TikTok’s targeting tools with DoorDash’s first‑party retail data, the brand delivered shoppable ads that linked directly to...
New Look to Open Largest Concept Store at Metrocentre with 'Enhanced Omnichannel Capabilities'
New Look will relocate to an 11,000 sq ft space in the Metrocentre, creating its largest concept store to date. The new format expands womenswear, accessories and the 915 brand while adding click‑&‑collect, self‑service e‑commerce drop‑offs, showroom elevations and digital browsing displays....
Gen Z Digital Wallet Use Climbs 21% as Budgets Tighten
A PYMNTS Intelligence survey of 2,108 U.S. adults shows digital wallet usage soaring, especially among Gen Z, where adoption for retail purchases more than doubled to 36%—a 21% increase since March 2024. Consumers experiencing high financial stress are twice as likely...
How E-Commerce Technology Is Transforming Sneaker Retail Across the Gulf Region
Sneaker retailers in the Gulf are leveraging technology to turn a fragmented, reseller‑driven market into a seamless e‑commerce experience. Platforms such as Dubai‑based Mad Kicks use localized storefronts, advanced product discovery tools, and multi‑point authentication to offer authentic, premium footwear...
Google Search Console Desktop Data Currently Inflated and Unreliable
Heads-up: there is something bizarre going on with Google Search Console data right now. Similar to the changes that came to light after the disabling of &num=100, impressions are again skyrocketing for specific surfaces on desktop. For example, using the 'merchant listings'...
Partner Portal Adds Dev Dashboard, RBAC, Org Management
NEW-NEW Partner Portal update: - All stores in Dev Dashboard - Role-based access control - Organizations for Partner orgs https://t.co/8HccVbSASQ
D2C Innerwear Brands XYXX, DaMENSCH Scale up in FY25, Profitability Remains Elusive
India’s D2C men’s innerwear startups XYXX and DaMENSCH posted strong top‑line growth in FY25, with XYXX’s revenue rising 46% to roughly $22.5 million and DaMENSCH’s up 34% to $14.2 million. Despite the scale boost, both firms remained loss‑making, though XYXX cut its...
Free Gifts Beat Discounts, Preserve Margin and Loyalty
Discounts train your customers to wait. A free gift with purchase moves the same needle without torching margin or creating an expectation you can't walk back. Most stores only run discount campaigns. That’s the problem, and it's why we built...
Shopify Flow UI Simplifies Metafield Automation via Sidekick
The new @Shopify Flow UI is clean. @thenuschke and team keep shipping. I just described what I wanted to Sidekick, and it built this entire metafield automation flow for me. https://t.co/pLVSJJeHil
Amazon Spring Sale Slashes Prices on Beatbot Pool Cleaners
Amazon’s Big Spring Sale (March 25–31) is cutting hundreds off Beatbot robotic pool cleaners, offering a hands-off way to keep pools clean as warm weather arrives. https://t.co/hpu9sq0ba0 https://t.co/l636dTTE0d
DEBS Beats Guidance, Raises FY27 Outlook Amid Cost Cuts
#DEBS "comfortably ahead of previous guidance". FY27 guidance raised. Final quarter saw "material improvements in the Group's GMV (Gross Merchandise Value) trend". Ahead of plan on turnaround actions. Costs being reduced in many areas and Cash flow improved.
Gemini Auto-Fills Amazon Cart From Google Keep List
You can just ask Gemini in Chrome to fill your Amazon shopping cart from your Google Keep shopping list https://t.co/Gld7D7RU7f