Today's Ecommerce Pulse
Updated 2h agoAmazon automation offers semi‑passive income but demands disciplined oversight
Amazon automation can generate profitable, semi‑passive income in 2026, but success hinges on disciplined execution and seasoned oversight. Modern automation relies on advanced software for research, pricing, inventory and ad optimization, while strategic decisions remain human‑driven. Investors now expect transparent reporting, compliance and sustainability.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Edeka raises €430M to increase stake in Picnic
News•Feb 25, 2026
Can Solid Perfume Be the Next Body Mist?
Solid perfume is emerging as a fast‑growing fragrance format, with Sol de Janeiro’s new Jelly Perfume balms leading the latest wave. The alcohol‑free sticks prioritize a skin‑felt, intimate scent rather than room‑filling projection, echoing a broader consumer desire for subtlety and portability. Market data shows solid fragrances surged 174.6% year‑over‑year in 2025, while brands like Viking Revolution and Sidia leverage TikTok Shop and skin‑care‑infused waxes to attract budget‑conscious shoppers. Despite solid sales rising, body mists still dominate U.S. revenue, highlighting a complementary but distinct market segment.
By Glossy
News•Feb 25, 2026
How IKEA Got Closer to Its Shoppers with New Small-Format Stores, Best Buy Partnership
IKEA U.S. announced four new stores in Chicago, Tulsa, Fort Collins and Los Angeles, bringing its 2026 rollout to ten locations, including its first city‑center store in LA and first Oklahoma outlet. The retailer posted $5.3 billion in total sales for fiscal 2025, with...
By Modern Retail
News•Feb 25, 2026
What Does Ssense’s Rescue Deal Mean for Its Future?
Ssense, the Montreal‑based luxury e‑commerce platform valued at $4 billion in 2021, filed for bankruptcy in August 2025 after US tariff hikes and operational missteps eroded its margins. In February 2026 the Atallah brothers secured court approval to purchase the company’s...
By Inside Retail Australia
Podcast•Feb 25, 2026•48 min
From Idea to £25m Exit - Jimmy's Iced Coffee Founder, Jim Cregan
In this episode of Uncensored CMO, founder Jim Cregan recounts how he turned a personal craving for iced coffee into Jimmy's Iced Coffee, launching the brand in Selfridges just four months after forming the company and eventually exiting for £25 million....
By Uncensored CMO
News•Feb 25, 2026
Urban Outfitters Inc (URBN) Q4 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
Urban Outfitters reported a record third‑quarter revenue of $1.5 billion, up 12% year‑over‑year, and net income of $116 million, a 13% increase. All five brands posted positive comparable sales, with the Urban brand delivering a 13% global comp and Anthropologie achieving its...
By Motley Fool – Earnings Transcripts
News•Feb 25, 2026
Steven Madden Ltd (SHOO) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
Steven Madden reported mixed Q3 2025 results, with consolidated revenue rising 6.9% to $667.9 million thanks largely to the Kurt Geiger acquisition, while core wholesale revenue fell 10.7% amid steep China‑U.S. tariffs. Direct‑to‑consumer sales exploded 76.6% year‑over‑year, offsetting margin pressure as gross margin...
By Motley Fool – Earnings Transcripts
News•Feb 24, 2026
Furniture.com Launches AI-Powered Discovery Platform
Furniture.com unveiled an AI‑powered discovery platform at eTail Palm Springs, shifting its site from a simple marketplace aggregator to a category‑level decision infrastructure. The new system uses conversational search, standardized specifications, and a single‑cart, multi‑retailer checkout to let shoppers compare...
By Digital Commerce 360
Blog•Feb 24, 2026
TikTok Shop Outpaces Shopee in Vietnam During Lunar New Year
TikTok Shop eclipsed Shopee in Vietnam’s Lunar New Year shopping season, seizing 52 % of the market as consumers spent a combined $2.6 billion. Metric’s analytics show TikTok’s sales volume grew at nearly twice the pace of Shopee over the six‑week holiday....
By Shopifreaks
News•Feb 24, 2026
Xometry Begins a Transition to a New CEO
Xometry announced that President Sanjeev Singh Sahni will assume the chief executive role on July 1, succeeding co‑founder Randy Altschuler, who will become executive chair. Sahni, a former Wayfair executive, has overseen global operations, product development, and technology since his...
By Digital Commerce 360
Podcast•Feb 24, 2026•9 min
The Sales Tax “Nexus” Trap Most Brands Miss
In this episode, Richard interviews Ryan Pinkham, VP of Go‑to‑Market at TaxCloud, about the complexities of sales‑tax compliance for growing e‑commerce brands. They explain why sales tax is far from simple—50 states, multiple jurisdictions, and ever‑changing rules can lead to...
By Ecommerce Playbook: Numbers, Struggles & Growth
News•Feb 24, 2026
National Retail Solutions (NRS) Named Official POS Provider for Krauszer’s Food Stores as Legendary Chain Targets Nationwide Expansion
National Retail Solutions (NRS) has been chosen as the official point‑of‑sale provider for Krauszer’s Food Stores, a historic New Jersey convenience‑store chain with more than 300 locations. The partnership will roll out NRS’s integrated POS platform across all existing stores and...
By Retail Customer Experience
News•Feb 24, 2026
Why the Smartest Omnichannel Brands Are Thinking in Moments, Not Channels
Retailers can no longer treat omnichannel as a checklist of platforms; they must view it as a storytelling discipline anchored in the customer’s moment. At eTail Palm Springs 2026, leaders from Furniture.com, Lowe’s, Stila, Perfect Corp. and tentree highlighted the...
By ClickZ
News•Feb 24, 2026
Finland’s Prenew Secures €1.8 Million to Scale Its Used Gaming PC Marketplace Across Europe
Prenew, an Espoo‑based marketplace for refurbished gaming PCs, has raised €1.8 million in a round led by Antler, with participation from several European VCs and operator syndicates. The funding will finance expansion into new European markets and a hiring surge of...
By ArcticStartup
Blog•Feb 24, 2026
Handmade Marketplace Goimagine to Close in March
Handmade marketplace Goimagine announced it will shut down on March 23, 2026, with its website and seller dashboard disabled shortly after. The platform never achieved the traffic needed to compete with dominant players like Etsy, leading to unsustainable scale. Sellers are instructed...
By EcommerceBytes
News•Feb 24, 2026
Uber Eats Expands Canadian Grocery Selection with Launch of T&T Supermarket
Uber Eats announced the national rollout of T&T Supermarket on its platform, extending grocery delivery to the chain’s Asian‑focused stores across Canada. The launch initially covers Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario, with Quebec slated for a later release. Customers can...
By Retail Insider Canada
News•Feb 24, 2026
Here’s Who Will Win as Agentic Commerce Disrupts Traditional Online Shopping
Agentic commerce, powered by large‑language‑model agents, is reshaping e‑commerce by making AI the primary buyer. Adobe reports a 693.4 percent surge in AI‑driven traffic during the 2025 holiday season, indicating a lasting shift. Retailers must supply structured, trustworthy product data, real‑time...
By Total Retail
News•Feb 24, 2026
Retail’s AI Isn’t Failing Because It’s Too Slow. It’s Failing Because It’s Not Listening
Retailers have flooded their tech stacks with AI dashboards and predictive models, but the overload has amplified uncertainty rather than clarity. The core issue isn’t speed; it’s that most AI relies on synthetic personas, which 69% of consumers say erodes...
By Total Retail
News•Feb 24, 2026
How Adidas Built A Loyalty Infrastructure That Blends Commerce, Fitness, And Content
Adidas has transformed its adiClub loyalty program into a multi‑dimensional ecosystem that blends commerce, fitness tracking, and user‑generated content. Members earn points not only for purchases but also for workouts, reviews, and outfit photos, with points serving both as tier...
By Net Influencer
News•Feb 24, 2026
Wishlink Raises $17.5 Million To Expand Creator Commerce Platform
Wishlink secured $17.5 million in a Series B round led by Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India, bringing its total funding to $27.5 million. The platform now supports over 40,000 active creators who produce more than 300,000 pieces of content each month, driving...
By Ventureburn
Podcast•Feb 24, 2026•33 min
The New Rules of Ecommerce with Alex Dewison, Global Payments | Episode 469
In this episode, Alex Dewison, Director of Digital Solutions at Global Payments, explains how e‑commerce payments have shifted from basic checkout pages to seamless, invisible experiences driven by speed, security, and digital wallets. He outlines the hallmarks of a best‑in‑class...
By Leaders in Payments
News•Feb 24, 2026
Placer.ai Overall Retail, E-Commerce Distribution, Industrial Manufacturing Index, January 2026 – Placer.ai Blog
Placer.ai’s January 2026 index shows both e‑commerce distribution centers and brick‑and‑mortar retailers recorded year‑over‑year foot‑traffic growth, extending holiday‑season momentum. Distribution centers posted a 2.6% increase while retail chains rose 1.8% YoY. In contrast, the Industrial Manufacturing Index slipped, driven by Winter...
By Placer.ai Blog
News•Feb 24, 2026
ANALYSIS: Dunelm’s New App Marks a Strategic Shift Toward Deeper Omnichannel Engagement
Dunelm launched a new iOS and Android app to deepen its omnichannel strategy, linking physical stores, digital experiences, and customer data. The app extends the AI‑powered search and recommendation engine first introduced on Dunelm.com, creating a unified intelligence layer across...
By InternetRetailing
Blog•Feb 24, 2026
When AI Shops on Your Behalf, Who Owns the Transaction?
AI‑driven “agentic commerce” is allowing autonomous systems to purchase goods and services on behalf of consumers. This shift challenges the long‑standing reliance on a consumer’s click as proof of intent, prompting Visa and Mastercard to test pilot programs for machine‑initiated...
By Payments Cards & Mobile (Payments Industry Intelligence)
News•Feb 24, 2026
Why CX Outcomes, Not Price Cuts, Will Drive Retail Growth in 2026
Retailers face a slowdown in consumer spending, with S&P Global projecting just 2.0% growth in 2026. The article argues that price cuts provide only short‑term sales boosts while eroding margins and brand equity. Instead, it positions customer experience (CX) as...
By Retail Customer Experience
News•Feb 24, 2026
Hims Alums Launch Fiber-Boosted Sweetener Brand Poca
Hilary Coles and Emily Boschwitz, former Hims executives, have launched Poca, a zero‑calorie sweetener syrup enriched with three grams of fiber per serving. The product combines allulose, monk fruit, and inulin, avoiding sugar alcohols and stevia, and is offered in portable sachets...
By Modern Retail
News•Feb 24, 2026
How Amazon’s Creative Agent Turns Retail Media Into a ‘Commerce Engine’
Amazon Ads unveiled Creative Agent, an AI‑driven creative partner inside Creative Studio that lets advertisers generate video and display ads through a chat‑based workflow. Leveraging Amazon’s retail insights, the tool pulls product pages, shopper signals and brand guidelines to produce...
By InternetRetailing
News•Feb 24, 2026
Samsung Ads’ Smart TV Carousel Delivers for Non-Endemic Brands
Samsung Ads introduced an Immersive Carousel ad unit on its European Smart TV home screens, supporting up to five rotating tiles per placement. The format appears on more than 70 million Samsung TVs, auto‑rotating every five seconds and also navigable via...
By InternetRetailing
News•Feb 24, 2026
Nearly Half of Shoppers Used Mobile for Their Latest Retail Purchase
The 2025 Global Digital Shopping Index, commissioned by Visa Acceptance Solutions, found that 48% of shoppers used a mobile device for their most recent retail purchase, with usage exceeding 60% in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Mobile browsing frequency is...
By PYMNTS
News•Feb 24, 2026
GUEST COMMENT Hello, Answer Engines: How Brands Can Stay Seen when Users Don’t Click
In 2025 Google and Bing introduced AI‑powered snippets and chat‑style overviews that answer queries directly, ushering in a zero‑click search era. Brands can no longer rely on traditional click‑through SEO and must instead structure content for featured snippets, FAQ blocks,...
By InternetRetailing
News•Feb 24, 2026
ECER.com Redefines the Future of Mobile B2B Commerce
ECER.com is transforming international B2B trade by turning smartphones into full‑service sourcing hubs. The platform adds instant mobile alerts, multilingual AI chat and live video, letting buyers respond to inquiries any time, as demonstrated by a Guangzhou firm that closed...
By MarTech Series
Podcast•Feb 24, 2026•39 min
Exclusive First Interview with Edge Retail Academy's New CEO Ft. Becka Johnson Kibby
In this episode, Michael Burpo interviews Becca Johnson‑Kibbe, the newly appointed CEO of Edge Retail Academy, about the company's role as a business‑coaching and data‑analytics arm of the Edge POS system, the industry’s most widely used jewelry point‑of‑sale platform. Becca...
By In the Loupe
Blog•Feb 24, 2026
Supply Chain Execution: Strategies for SMBs
Supply chain execution (SCE) solutions are essential for SMBs to coordinate order, inventory, warehouse, and transportation processes in real time. Integrated platforms such as OMS, WMS, and TMS enable cost reductions, faster deliveries, and better demand forecasting. The article highlights...
By eCommerce Fastlane
News•Feb 24, 2026
GoWit Announces Partnership with Publicis Media Middle East to Scale Commerce & Retail Media Across MENA & Türkiye
GoWit, a commerce‑enablement platform, has entered a strategic partnership with Publicis Media Middle East to expand its retail‑media solutions across the MENA region and Turkey. The collaboration will combine GoWit's AI‑driven shopping tools with Publicis' extensive media network, enabling brands...
By Business Wire — Executive Appointments
News•Feb 24, 2026
From Nausea to Relief, How Beauty Founders and Execs Are Reacting to the Supreme Court’s Tariff Decision
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled to block the Trump‑era tariffs on Chinese beauty products, ending weeks of uncertainty for the industry. Beauty founders and executives, who had been bracing for higher import costs, described the decision as a “relief” after...
By Glossy
News•Feb 24, 2026
Rodan + Fields Moves Beyond Social Selling with Influencer-Powered ‘C-Suite’ Campaign
Rodan + Fields is transitioning from a pure social‑selling model to an omnichannel strategy, launching its Pure C Serum on a new direct‑to‑consumer website and through Ulta Beauty. To amplify the rollout, the brand unveiled a “C‑Suite” influencer campaign featuring seven...
By Glossy
News•Feb 24, 2026
Off Season Taps Into the NBA’s Growing Merchandise Sales with New Licensed Fashion Collection
Off Season, the fashion label known for NFL‑centric apparel, launched its first NBA‑focused ready‑to‑wear collection, featuring items from halter tops to track jackets. The line spotlights a select group of teams—including the Knicks, Warriors, Lakers and Clippers—and is sold through...
By Glossy
News•Feb 24, 2026
Behind the Resurgence: Zomato, Swiggy Regain Food Delivery Momentum in the Dec Quarter
India’s food‑delivery duopoly posted a strong rebound in the October‑December quarter, with Zomato’s gross order value climbing 21.3% and Swiggy’s rising 20.5%, both surpassing the 20% growth threshold. Monthly transacting users grew 21.5% to 24.9 million for Zomato and 18.1 million for...
By ETRetail (India)
Blog•Feb 24, 2026
Amazon Borrows Forum ‘Mentor’ Program From eBay
Amazon has introduced a Seller Expert Pilot Program, inviting top contributors on its Seller Forums in the US, UK, Japan, and India to earn gift cards for posting quality content and providing feedback. Participants can receive a $100 gift card...
By EcommerceBytes
News•Feb 24, 2026
Ant Group’s Alipay AI Pay and AI Health App AQ Each Surpass 100 Million Users During CNY Highlighting AI Adoption...
Ant Group reported that its AI‑powered payment service, Alipay AI Pay, and its AI Health application, AQ, each surpassed 100 million active users during the Chinese New Year holiday. The milestone underscores a rapid acceleration of AI‑driven consumer services in China,...
By PaySpace Magazine
News•Feb 24, 2026
Best Practices Are Meaningless Without Audience Research
The article argues that generic best practices produce mediocre marketing results unless they are informed by audience research. It explains that understanding the specific audience’s preferences, language, and hang‑out places transforms bland tactics into resonant campaigns. Practical methods such as...
By SparkToro Blog
News•Feb 24, 2026
Visa Expands Latin America Footprint: To Acquire Argentina’s Prisma Medios De Pago and Newpay
Visa announced the acquisition of Argentina’s Prisma Medios de Pago and the fintech platform Newpay, marking a strategic push into Latin America’s payments ecosystem. The combined deal, valued at over $200 million, will be funded largely with cash. By integrating Prisma’s...
By PaySpace Magazine
News•Feb 24, 2026
How Freedom Furniture Is Turning Casual Browsers Into Loyal Customers
Freedom Furniture is leveraging AI to unify its omnichannel retail experience, from discovery to post‑sale service. By expanding its catalog from 12,000 to over 70,000 SKUs through a dropship model, the retailer relies on AI‑driven search and recommendation engines that...
By Inside Retail Australia
News•Feb 24, 2026
Adore Beauty Sales Soar but Black Friday ‘Overperformance’ Hurts Profits
Adore Beauty posted an 8.7% year‑on‑year revenue increase to $111.9 million, delivering a record underlying EBITDA of $4.1 million, up 14.5%. The strong Black Friday‑Cyber Monday sales drove a 120‑basis‑point dip in gross profit margin, falling to 35% as discounting intensified. The...
By Inside Retail Australia
Blog•Feb 23, 2026
How To Prepare for Tax Season: Tax Prep for Ecommerce
The article provides a step‑by‑step guide for ecommerce owners to prepare for U.S. tax season, highlighting the added complexity of multistate sales‑tax, 1099‑K reporting, digital product rules, and international VAT obligations. It explains filing deadlines for sole proprietorships, partnerships and...
By eCommerce Fastlane
Blog•Feb 23, 2026
How Interior Designers Build a Shopify Store That Captures Product Revenue From Day One
Interior designers with sizable followings can turn their influence into direct e‑commerce revenue by launching a Shopify store that combines service bookings, curated dropship products, and content publishing. The model promises 20‑35% of annual income from product sales and bookings,...
By eCommerce Fastlane
Blog•Feb 23, 2026
Why Amazon Sellers Need a Specialized Agency After $500K in Revenue
Amazon sellers reaching $300K‑$500K in monthly revenue encounter a structural shift in operational complexity that outpaces a lean, generalist model. Managing dozens of ASINs, multi‑marketplace listings, and five‑figure ad budgets requires specialized expertise across PPC, SEO, content, and inventory. The...
By eCommerce Fastlane
News•Feb 23, 2026
Data to Decisions in an Instant
Retail executives at the FMI Midwinter Conference warned that the rise of agentic commerce will collapse the traditional lag between data collection and purchasing decisions. Generative AI agents embedded in phones and devices will make instant, autonomous buying choices, shifting...
By Mass Market Retailers
News•Feb 23, 2026
The Anatomy of Perfect Content: How Marketers Can Reach Consumers in the AI Era
The Expedia Group Advertising "Science of Wanderlust" study surveyed over 7,000 consumers and used eye‑tracking to pinpoint the creative elements that cut through today’s AI‑saturated content stream. It found video drives purchase intent three times more than static images, while...
By Modern Retail
News•Feb 23, 2026
This Latin American Rival to Amazon Reports Earnings This Week. How to Trade It with Options
MercadoLibre, the dominant e‑commerce and fintech platform in Latin America, will report its Q4 2025 results on Tuesday, with analysts forecasting roughly $28.6 billion in revenue for the full year. The company posted a 39% year‑over‑year revenue jump to $7.41 billion in Q3 2025,...
By CNBC – ETFs
News•Feb 23, 2026
What Amazon’s Big-Box Move Means for Retail Media and Brands
Amazon is opening its largest ever big‑box store, a move framed as a physical challenge to Walmart and Costco but primarily a data play. The new footprint expands Amazon’s ability to observe shopper behavior, serve retail media ads, and claim...
By Total Retail