Know What's Happening in Ecommerce
Know What's Happening in Ecommerce
Ecommerce Pulse
EMAIL DIGESTS
Daily
Every morning
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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
Bradley and Amazon PPC specialist Vincenzo Toscano audit Helium 10's Project X ad account, revealing that its testing‑focused setup leaves many modern levers untapped. They walk through rule‑based bid adjustments, minimum click thresholds, and disciplined keyword harvesting, emphasizing tight campaigns and conversion‑rate benchmarks. High‑impact upgrades discussed include dayparting, placement optimization, single‑keyword campaigns, and leveraging Amazon Marketing Cloud audiences for aggressive bidding on high‑intent shoppers. The episode wraps with actionable tips for Sponsored Display retargeting, video ad refreshes, and storefront landing pages to boost profitability.
PepsiCo has teamed with Nvidia and Siemens to create AI‑driven, physics‑based digital twins of its U.S. manufacturing and warehouse sites using Nvidia Omniverse and Siemens Digital Twin Composer. The virtual replicas let AI agents simulate layout changes, catching up to...
Consumers set a new record for holiday ecommerce, reaching $257.8 billion, a 6.8% year‑over‑year increase. Mobile devices drove 56.4% of online transactions, while aggressive discounts pushed electronics off‑price by 30.9%. Salesforce estimates U.S. online sales at $294 billion, contributing to a $1.29 trillion...
Target is accelerating its wellness strategy in 2026, boosting its health‑focused product assortment by 30 percent. The retailer launched Target Wellness Week, running through Jan. 10, with deep discounts, personalized Circle 360 offers, and its first in‑store wellness events. New private‑label lines...
1800Flowers.com announced Alexander Zelikovsky as its new chief information officer, a move designed to accelerate the retailer’s digital transformation agenda. Reporting directly to CEO Adolfo Villagomez, Zelikovsky will steer enterprise‑wide technology strategy, covering applications, data architecture, cybersecurity, and business intelligence....
The Liveops 2025 Holiday AI & Customer Service Report shows the U.S. holiday season became the first fully AI‑driven shopping period. AI chatbots answered roughly 40% of consumer queries, while voice assistants processed 15% of purchases. Personalized AI recommendation engines...
Sticker Mule remains a popular custom‑sticker provider, but 2026 sees a surge of niche competitors offering distinct advantages. StickerApp leads with specialty finishes like holographic and glow‑in‑the‑dark, while StickerGiant targets high‑volume bulk orders with rapid shipping. Jukebox Print delivers next‑day...
Nespresso unveiled its eighth and largest flagship store in New York City, occupying 13,900 square feet in the Flatiron district. The two‑level space combines a refreshed boutique design with experiential zones, including a Hidden Cup Coffee Bar serving functional and zero‑proof drinks,...
Albertsons Media Collective has launched a store‑level incrementality measurement system that isolates the true sales lift generated by in‑store ads. The solution pits test stores exposed to media against rigorously matched control stores, creating a statistically validated counterfactual. In a...
President Donald Trump has postponed the scheduled increase in tariffs on upholstered furniture, kitchen cabinets and vanities from January 1, 2026 to January 2027, keeping the existing 25% tariff on timber and lumber in place. The original Section 232 order...
Commerce media is projected to exceed $100 billion, but retailers face five key implementation roadblocks. First‑party data often remains siloed, limiting precise audience segmentation. Manual audience creation, fragmented channel activation, lack of self‑service tools, and slow, opaque measurement further hinder growth....
Retail TouchPoints forecasts that AI will dominate every retail function in 2026, but the year’s biggest shifts will revolve around consumer wellbeing, curated experiences, and the rise of circular commerce. Experts from MG2, Pinterest, Walmart Data Ventures and others warn...
January, known as Returnuary, brings a surge of post‑holiday product returns that compress retailer margins and overload reverse‑logistics networks. Return rates can climb above 30% of holiday sales, forcing merchants to absorb restocking fees, transportation costs, and inventory obsolescence. Many...
The article outlines five timely content‑marketing ideas for February 2025, using cultural milestones such as Charles Schulz’s death anniversary, the Pet Rock fad, Global Movie Day, Cinderella’s 75th anniversary, and a monthly shopper update. It recommends specific formats—blog posts, nostalgic...
Storenvy offers a free ecommerce solution that combines a marketplace listing with a custom storefront, charging no monthly fee and only a 15% commission on marketplace sales. Sellers keep 100% of revenue from traffic they drive to their own store,...
RetailCustomerExperience.com’s 2025 most‑read CX stories highlighted a wave of technology‑driven initiatives across the sector. Walmart pushed drone delivery, GenAI assistants and digital shelves, while Verizon rolled out AI‑powered personalization across every customer touchpoint. Brands such as The North Face, Oh Polly...
In this episode, Dr. Julie Chung explains how T3 transformed hair tools from mere appliances into luxury beauty products by redefining their category. She details the strategic shifts in product placement, design aesthetics, messaging, and retail approach that created a...
Banana distributor Fyffes announced that its newly launched consumer brand, Trudi’s, has delivered strong market performance following a coordinated video advertising and digital signage campaign. The initiative drove a double‑digit increase in sales and lifted brand awareness across key retail...
Retailers entering 2026 are consolidating disparate systems into unified platforms that blend storefront, inventory, and logistics into a single data fabric. Agentic artificial intelligence is emerging as a decision‑making layer, autonomously handling product recommendations, dynamic pricing, and fraud detection. Advanced...
The episode breaks down a psychology‑driven formula for turning giveaways into revenue generators, emphasizing that the prize should be the brand’s own product, clearly anchored with a specific dollar value, and presented as a complete, lifestyle‑rich bundle. It highlights how...
A 404 status code signals a missing page but does not act as a direct ranking penalty in Google’s algorithm. Google actually prefers 404 or 410 responses for removed content, treating them as normal web signals. However, when deleted pages...
The 2025 Delivery Experience Study by Bringg reveals that shoppers now prioritize a reliable, flexible delivery experience over free shipping. Seventy‑one percent of consumers think about delivery before checkout, and 72% consider on‑time arrival essential. Late or inflexible deliveries drive...
J.Jill has appointed Viv Rettke as its first chief growth officer, a newly created role aimed at accelerating the brand’s expansion. Rettke brings growth expertise from Cole Haan, Reebok and Kraft Heinz, where she led major brand transformations. She will...
US jewellery retailer Zales has launched a new next-gen store concept – The Edit
Scott Galloway warns that the "buy now, pay later" boom reflects a broader cultural addiction to instant dopamine hits, especially among young men. He argues that male brains mature later, leaving them vulnerable to impulsive tech, gambling, and finance products....
Andrew Helms, SumUp’s U.S. CEO, argues that Silicon Valley’s focus on rapid growth overlooks the loyalty built through personal trust on Main Street. He highlights how small‑business owners create lasting relationships by remembering customers, offering fair pricing, and showing genuine...
Will Nitze, founder and CEO of IQBAR, explains how his plant‑based, low‑sugar protein bar succeeded by targeting uncompetitive niches and clear labeling, launching via a $75,000 Kickstarter seven years ago. He expands on scaling the business, adding complementary products like...
Freight‑right founder Robert Khachatryan argues that heavy, high‑margin products—like commercial fitness equipment or laser welders—can thrive in cross‑border ecommerce despite shipping complexities. By examining visitor geography and freight quotes, merchants can identify overseas demand that justifies freight, duties, and taxes....
UK retailer Currys announced a partnership with payment processor Stripe to overhaul its checkout infrastructure. The integration will replace legacy systems with Stripe's unified payments platform, enabling faster, more secure transactions across online and in‑store channels. Currys expects the upgrade...
In this episode, Tom Aulet discusses how he transformed Ergatta into a profitable, game‑driven fitness brand, leveraging $35 million in funding to develop immersive, gamified workouts while maintaining lean operations. He explains the company’s cost‑effective growth strategies, the role of data‑backed...
The end‑of‑year roundup spotlights a wave of AI‑enhanced ecommerce solutions, from MobiLoud’s real‑time mobile‑app analytics dashboard to Hosted.com’s upgraded WordPress infrastructure. CPGIO expands its accelerator reach by adding more than 40 retail channels through partnerships with Nordstrom, Chewy, Lowe’s, Faire...
In this episode, host Bradley Sutton and TikTok Shop specialist Tamara Žeravljev break down how to build a sustainable TikTok Shop presence in 2026, emphasizing brand‑building over quick virality. They cover the essential first steps—optimizing your profile, testing content hooks,...
European drugstore giant Rossmann has selected its long‑time technology partner Diebold Nixdorf to drive its expansion into Switzerland. The agreement adds comprehensive managed services through Diebold Nixdorf’s eServices portal and new retail hardware, including self‑checkout and POS systems, building on a model...
Retail device downtime is eroding customer loyalty, with 60% of shoppers ready to switch brands after a single bad experience. Half of in‑store mobile endpoints run outdated operating systems, and a quarter cannot be upgraded, exposing retailers to freezes, ransomware...
AI-generated search overviews are reshaping how consumers find information and products. A Pew survey in March 2025 found 58% of U.S. adults saw an AI Overview, and only 8% of them clicked a traditional link, compared with 15% click‑through when...
A viral LinkedIn post by venture investor Jeremy Horowitz joking about buying BigCommerce caught industry attention when Shopify COO Harley Finkelstein publicly liked it. The gesture signals Shopify’s possible interest in acquiring the mid‑market eCommerce platform. Analysts interpret the like...
Retail leaders face intense pressure during holiday and promotional spikes, requiring precise demand forecasting and flexible staffing. Updating knowledge bases, creating real‑time command centers, and stress‑testing systems ensure agents can respond quickly and accurately. Automation—through AI routing, chatbots, and CRM...
The newest business titles spotlight a shift toward people‑centric strategies, from Misty L. Heggeness’s *Swiftynomics* highlighting women’s economic power to B. Joseph Pine II’s *The Transformation Economy* urging firms to align with consumer aspirations. Other releases focus on UX‑business alignment, emotional drivers...
The episode explores how Amazon sellers can maintain profitability in 2026 by treating their operations like both a finance and marketing function, emphasizing disciplined pricing, smarter PPC, and careful inventory management. Guests Ryan Cramer, Leo Sgovio, and Sharona Ozeri share...
In this episode, Smart Marketer’s Director of Advertising Denis Paskalev breaks down the team’s Black Friday/Cyber Week 2025 tactics, from leveraging evergreen creative and early promotion to navigating Meta’s budget‑control changes and a Shopify outage. He explains how first‑click attribution,...
Online retailers are becoming prime targets for sophisticated money‑laundering schemes that exploit refund processes, third‑party marketplace sellers, and cross‑border payment channels. Criminal networks use these digital pathways to shift illicit proceeds quickly, sidestepping traditional banking oversight. The rise of platform‑based...
The episode recaps ten pivotal moments from the past year, covering AI-driven pricing tools and the push for fair markups, the scaling role of JewelCraft as a jeweler’s jeweler, and Google Workspace’s importance for collaboration. It also examines gold price...
Walmart has expanded its use of drone delivery in the US with tech partner Wing
The episode explains that Black Friday 2025 felt calmer but more revealing because demand was driven by year‑long brand work rather than the sale itself. Key takeaways include the effectiveness of longer promotions, evergreen campaign structures, diversified creative built months...
After decades on the NYSE, retail behemoth Walmart has debuted on the Nasdaq stock market
Adobe’s holiday shopping data shows mobile devices accounted for 52.4% of online spend between Nov 1 and Dec 12, while desktops handled the majority of returns. Overall returns fell 2.5% YoY, but are projected to jump 25‑35% after Christmas. Consumers have already...
Goodwill Central Texas has rolled out ReNu, an in‑house production platform that replaces its legacy POS system and adds AI‑driven dynamic pricing and channel optimization. The pilot, active in six stores, automates item valuation and directs inventory to the most...
Retail businesses increasingly rely on phone calls to convert leads and gather actionable data. Implementing IVR, AI call agents, call‑tracking analytics, and predictive modeling creates a data‑driven, omnichannel experience that shortens queues, personalizes interactions, and filters low‑quality calls. Coordinating these...
