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
Voomi Supply Raises $10 Million to Expand B2B Ecommerce Platform for HVAC
Voomi Supply announced a $10 million financing round led by Asymmetric Capital Partners, with participation from Highmount Capital, David Hawkins, and existing backer Operator Partners. The capital will accelerate development of its AI‑driven B2B ecommerce platform, broaden its supplier network, and push the marketplace into adjacent categories such as plumbing, electrical, and broader industrial supplies. Voomi’s digital hub already aggregates more than one million HVAC and industrial part SKUs, offering contractors a single‑click sourcing experience. CEO RJ Cilley says the funding will also fund hiring and technology upgrades to scale the service.
Amazon Website, App Glitch Impacts Online Customers
Amazon’s website and mobile app experienced a six‑hour outage on March 6, 2026, after a software code deployment went awry. The disruption prevented customers from accessing product pages, checking out, and viewing account information, prompting more than 20,000 issue reports. Amazon’s...
Integrating HeyMantle Proves Toughest Part of New Shopify App
Surprisingly, the hardest part about building a new Shopify app has been integrating @heymantle. I dread having to troubleshoot it.
Sony's Testing PS5 Game Dynamic Pricing, Reports Shows
Sony is quietly testing dynamic pricing on its PlayStation Store, showing different prices for the same game to different users. The A/B test covers 139 titles, including first‑party hits like God of War Ragnarök and The Last of Us Part 2, across 68...
Limited Free Shipping Threshold Boosts Sales Over Unlimited
I've tested 50+ 'free shipping' thresholds. Here's the pattern: 'Free shipping over $50' got more sales than 'free shipping on everything'. Your assumption that customers want everything free is wrong. They want a clear goal. Trust nothing.
Aldi Expands Long-Term Supply Deals with British Growers
Aldi UK is expanding long‑term supply agreements with British growers, aiming to secure at least 50 % of its domestic produce by the end of 2027. The contracts, lasting two years or more, will be open to both large and small...
DataDome, Botify Partner on Agentic Commerce Control
DataDome and Botify announced a partnership to help retailers manage the emerging agentic commerce ecosystem, combining bot‑trust management with AI‑search optimization. Joint research shows 73% of consumers have used AI assistants and AI bot traffic surged 5.4‑fold in 2025, while...
How AI and Data Drive Compliance, Consistency and Scale
Europe’s e‑commerce market remains fragmented by languages, tax regimes and platform‑specific rules, forcing brands to adopt sophisticated back‑office operations. Luke Elliott of Pattern highlights that AI and real‑time data are now essential for meeting compliance, maintaining consistency and scaling across...
Affirm Pursues Affluent Consumers
Affirm is pivoting its buy‑now‑pay‑later offering toward affluent, high‑credit consumers by expanding 0% interest promotions. The company says interest‑free loans drive an 80% probability of repeat usage and currently account for about 16% of its transaction volume, with 80% of...
Is Amazon Automation a Profitable Passive Income Model — or Just an Overhyped Trend?
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. The model now attracts...
From Teacher to Fashion Brand Founder
Nasrin Jafari left a middle‑school teaching career in 2019 to launch Mixed, a direct‑to‑consumer fashion label that grew from hand‑sewn Covid masks posted on Instagram. She built the brand using a pre‑order model, low‑minimum‑order factories in India, and in‑house Meta...
From Teacher to Fashion Brand Founder
In this episode, former middle‑school teacher Nazrin Jafari shares how she pivoted during the pandemic to launch Mixed, a Brooklyn‑based, print‑forward fashion brand. She discusses her organic Instagram‑first sales approach, the challenges of inventory, pre‑orders, and returns, and how she...
Digital Rupee vs Digital Euro: Which CBDC Is More Business-Friendly?
The article pits India’s Digital Rupee against the EU’s Digital Euro, evaluating which central bank digital currency (CBDC) best serves commercial users. It notes the Digital Rupee’s near‑real‑time settlement, open‑source APIs, and early integration with Indian e‑commerce giants, while the...
India’s Digital Rupee (E₹) and E-Commerce Giants: Facts and Myths Around Retail CBDC Launch
India’s central bank has continued its digital rupee (E₹) pilot, but a retail rollout on e‑commerce platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart remains unrealised. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has onboarded a handful of banks, fintechs and select merchants...
The End of the Endless Aisle: The Paradox of Choice in Ecommerce
E‑commerce’s “endless aisle” is backfiring as shoppers feel overwhelmed, with 74% abandoning carts according to an Accenture survey of 19,000 consumers. The paradox of choice is especially acute in niche categories like gifting, where longer browsing does not translate into...
Nexi Sets Course for €2.4 Billion Cash Generation and Sustained Dividend Growth Through 2028
Italian payments leader Nexi announced a strategic plan to generate €2.4 billion of free cash flow by 2028 while maintaining a rising dividend trajectory. The roadmap hinges on expanding merchant services, scaling digital‑payment solutions, and completing targeted acquisitions across Europe. Nexi...
Crypto Payment Gateways Market Set to Grow From $1.2B Today to Nearly $6B by 2035
The crypto payment gateway market, valued at roughly $1.2 billion in 2023, is projected to surge to $6.03 billion by 2035. Analysts forecast a robust 13.6% compound annual growth rate, reflecting a shift from niche tools to a core operating layer for...
Why Retailers Must Secure Transactional Emails to Combat Scam Threats
Retailers face rising fraud as scammers target transactional emails, with 85% of U.S. adults expressing concern and one in four having experienced a scam. Each consumer receives about 121 emails daily, making order confirmations and shipping notices prime phishing vectors....
Paysafe Unveils Strategic Partnership with Spreedly to Boost Global Open Payments
Paysafe announced a strategic partnership with payment‑orchestration provider Spreedly, integrating its gateway as an acquirer on Spreedly’s Open Payment Platform. The collaboration instantly enables card‑present and card‑not‑present transactions for merchants in Europe, North America and other regions, leveraging Spreedly’s connections...
3S Money Expands European Footprint with French IBANs and New Paris Office
3S Money announced the launch of French‑issued IBAN accounts, allowing European customers to hold and transact in euros locally. The fintech also opened a new office in Paris, staffed with a team focused on regulatory compliance and business development. These...
Composable Commerce Is Not About Tools – It’s About Operating Model
Retail leaders have long chased monolithic platforms that become bottlenecks, prompting a shift toward composable commerce. This approach assembles modular, API‑driven services—search, checkout, loyalty—allowing retailers to upgrade components independently. The article stresses that true agility stems not from the technology...
Authentic Low‑budget Video Beats Pricey Corporate Ads
Dollar Shave Club spent $4,500 on one launch video. The founder starred in it himself. It went viral and got 12,000 customers in 48 hours. Meanwhile you're spending $10k on polished corporate ads nobody watches. That's the gap.
Mobile Payments Transforming the Retail Checkout Experience
Mobile payments are rapidly reshaping retail checkout, driven by consumer demand for speed and the pandemic‑induced shift to contactless transactions. Retailers report higher customer satisfaction, shorter transaction times, and lower processing costs as they adopt smartphone‑based wallets and biometric authentication....
The Most Interesting Retail Story This Week Isn’t Amazon, Shopify, or Walmart
OpenAI announced it will stop processing purchases directly inside ChatGPT, moving transactions back to merchants’ own apps and websites. The change follows data showing users rely on the model for product research but rarely complete checkout within the chat, and...
Target CEO Says ‘Busy Families’ Will Be Company’s Focus as It Seeks Growth
Target’s CEO Michael Fiddelke announced a renewed focus on “busy families,” positioning them as the engine of the retailer’s turnaround. The strategy includes expanding baby‑care assortments with a premium boutique, boosting food and beverage space, and scaling same‑day delivery, which...
One in Five Australians Have Bought a Big-Ticket Item on Social Media
A Finder survey of 1,003 Australians reveals that one in five have purchased a big‑ticket item—such as cars, holidays, artwork or even a house—through social platforms like TikTok, Instagram or Facebook Marketplace. The study estimates roughly 4.4 million people were influenced...
Perishable Inventory Management: A 2026 Guide
The guide highlights that roughly one‑third of all food is wasted, with 85% of that ending up in landfills, creating a pressing challenge for retailers handling perishable inventory. It explains why traditional FIFO methods fall short and recommends FEFO, batch‑level...
Where SaaS Vendor Uptime And Backup Guarantees Fall Short
The article argues that SaaS uptime metrics are misleading because they do not reflect operational continuity. While vendors keep infrastructure online, mis‑configurations, broken integrations, or localized failures can still halt business processes, costing roughly $9,000 per minute. Recent research shows...
UNIQLO India Clocks 60% CAGR, E-Com Soars 140%; Sees Massive Expansion Potential
UNIQLO India posted a 44% year‑on‑year revenue jump to Rs 1,100 crore in FY25, driven by a 60% compound annual growth rate since 2019 and a 140% CAGR in e‑commerce sales. The retailer opened its 18th store, a 17,000 sq ft flagship in Bengaluru,...
Digital Growth Architecture: Creating a Scalable Online Presence that Delivers Revenue
Bloom Agency outlines a digital growth architecture that unites SEO, technical optimization, content, paid media, conversion tactics, and analytics into a scalable revenue engine. The framework stresses search visibility, site performance, authority‑building content, ROI‑focused advertising, and continuous data‑driven refinement. By...
Unwind with a 3‑Hour E‑Commerce Deep Dive
Long day? Climb into the bath tub and spend 3 hours soaking in this conversation with me and eComs Lex Friedman: @markbrazil https://t.co/MILIpQXdKG
Retail and Grocery Brands Dominate ChatGPT Ads
OpenAI’s ChatGPT has entered its fourth week of serving contextual ads, with Sensor Tower reporting that retail and grocery promotions dominate the ad inventory. Over a two‑week sample, more than 100 distinct brand ads appeared, outpacing other categories such as...
Customers.AI Review 2026: The Identity Resolution Tool That Helps Shopify Brands Capture More Revenue From the Traffic They Already Have
Customers.AI is an identity‑resolution and deliverability platform built for Shopify brands that run Klaviyo. Its X‑Ray pixel lifts visitor identification from roughly 15‑20% to 60‑70%, feeding anonymous shoppers into Klaviyo profiles. The Alfred AI agent scores these visitors daily, enabling...
How to Choose a Software Development Company for Long-Term Product Growth
Choosing the right software development partner sets the architectural foundation for a product’s multi‑year growth. Leaders must first articulate a 3‑5 year trajectory and non‑negotiable technical constraints before comparing vendors. Evaluation should focus on scalability modeling, governance practices, and internal...
TikTok Shop’s Hidden Compliance Costs: What Multi-Channel Sellers Need to Know Before Listing
TikTok Shop is rapidly becoming a lucrative channel for multi‑channel sellers, but it operates under a strict, automated compliance regime. The platform monitors five core metrics—Late Dispatch Rate, Seller Fault Cancellation Rate, Valid Tracking Rate, On‑Time Delivery Rate, and Account...
Automated Supply Replenishment Systems Are The Future: How to Build Yours (2026)
Automated supply replenishment systems use real‑time data, RFID and generative AI to monitor inventory across all sales channels. They automatically generate purchase or transfer orders, adjusting to demand spikes such as influencer‑driven sales. In 2025, stockout and overstock costs reached...
Beef.com Plans Digital Platform to Connect Ranchers with Pricing and Payments
Beef.com is building a digital infrastructure platform to link cattle producers directly with real‑time pricing data, transaction routing and settlement services. The system will feature a Beef Index for verified price discovery, a digital settlement layer to accelerate payments, provenance...
AI Can Fix the Chaos of Scaling Creator Ops
Creator ops for any brand that is scaling are an absolute mess. If someone can solve all these problems using AI, it will make them richer than they could imagine. - Outreach volume. The bigger companies need to be contacting...
Daily AI Content Insights Drive Stunning Growth
Started posting daily on LinkedIn about what I'm learning around AI for content marketing and holy crap look at this beautiful graph https://t.co/p6bihegxGi
Middle East War Disrupts U.S. B2B Ecommerce Supply Chains
Escalating conflict between Iran, Israel and the United States is disrupting key air and maritime corridors in the Persian Gulf, notably the Strait of Hormuz. The disruptions are lengthening transit times, raising freight costs, and forcing carriers like DHL to...
ChatGPT Carousels Align with 83% of Top Google Shopping Results
“Over 83% of ChatGPT carousel products were found as strong matches in Google’s top 40 organic shopping results.” Another article showing how ChatGPT uses Google’s results - this time for Google Shopping. Great new research by Tom Wells at @peec_ai https://t.co/ABBzFlGH55
Ecom Founders Turn Lunch Breaks Into Growth Lessons
Everyone on their lunch break: Scrolling social media. Ecom founders on their lunch break: Listening to a podcast about supply chain optimisation. Different mindset. Different growth curve.
Brake on Shein’s Growth in Europe
Shein’s latest Digital Services Act transparency report shows the platform’s European monthly active users reached 155.7 million, a 6.9% increase over the previous six months. Growth has decelerated from the prior 11.6% rate, with France remaining the largest market and Germany...
Coupang Builds Stablecoin Legal Team to Issue Digital Assets and Save up to $200M in Annual Fees
Coupang announced it is hiring an in‑house legal team dedicated to stablecoin issuance and regulatory compliance. The initiative will enable the e‑commerce giant to embed blockchain‑based digital assets across its South Korean and Taiwanese operations, as well as its Farfetch...
Klarna and Affirm Integrate BNPL Into Stripe Payment Tokens to Capture $1T U.S. Agentic Commerce Market
Klarna and Affirm have integrated their buy‑now‑pay‑later (BNPL) services into Stripe’s shared payment token platform. The move enables AI‑driven shopping agents to automatically offer installment plans at checkout instead of defaulting to stored credit cards. The partnership targets the “bridge‑millennial”...
OpenAI Holds Talks with The Trade Desk to Sell ChatGPT Ads and Hit $17B Revenue
OpenAI is in early talks with ad‑tech giant The Trade Desk to sell advertising on its ChatGPT platform, part of a broader push to generate $17 billion in consumer revenue this year. The company has already partnered with Criteo to launch...
Amazon Haul Has Over 3,000 Sellers
Amazon Haul, the low‑price, direct‑from‑China storefront, now hosts 3,287 sellers after launching in November 2024. The platform’s seller base is heavily China‑registered and generates roughly $2 billion in annual GMV, with most sellers offering items under $20. Amazon has backed the...
Ingram Micro Expands AI Automation and Digital Technology
Ingram Micro posted fiscal Q4 2025 net sales of $14.88 billion, up 11.5 % YoY, and net income rose 46 % to $121.4 million. Growth was driven by its Xvantage platform, which integrates over 400 AI/ML models to automate commerce functions such as pricing,...
JD.Com Reports Q4 2025
JD.com posted a challenging fourth‑quarter 2025, with total revenue slipping 14% year‑over‑year to $50.37 billion while expenses rose 5.8% to $51.21 billion, driving a net loss of $388 million. All major profitability metrics turned negative, including EBITDA of –$118 million and EBIT of –$836 million....
Back Market’s GMV Increased 32% in 2025
Back Market reported a 2025 gross merchandise value (GMV) exceeding €3.5 billion, a 32 percent rise from the prior year. The French marketplace also posted a 35 percent EBITDA margin in France and achieved global EBITDA profitability. In Germany, GMV and revenue jumped...