Today's Ecommerce Pulse
Target launches Circle Deal Days to rival Amazon Prime Day
Target announced its Target Circle Deal Days running June 23‑26, positioning the free‑to‑join program as a direct competitor to Amazon Prime Day. New members who enroll between June 14‑22 receive a 15% discount on their first purchase and a free Starbucks coffee or Bullseye cookie on June 23. Additional perks include 50% off the first year of Target Circle 360.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Howdens to acquire DIY Kitchens for $495M
Akeneo Partners with Stripe to Help Businesses Get Ready to Sell on AI Agents
Akeneo, a product experience company, announced a partnership with Stripe to integrate its PIM platform with Stripe’s Agentic Commerce Suite. The joint solution lets merchants expose structured, real‑time product data to AI assistants and enables agent‑ready checkout, payments, and fraud protection through a single integration. By centralizing product information and leveraging Stripe’s financial infrastructure, businesses can participate in emerging AI‑driven commerce with minimal system changes. The integration also offers generative AI‑assisted data enrichment for Stripe users.
Ecommpay Launches Free E-Commerce Fraud Defence Guide
Payments platform Ecommpay released a free whitepaper titled “E‑commerce fraud defence: A quick guide for merchants.” The guide details nine top fraud threats, including friendly fraud, refund fraud, account takeover and AI‑powered deepfakes, and offers actionable mitigation tactics. Ecommpay claims...
Kale Launches Cross-Border E-Commerce Platform
Kale Logistics Solutions introduced AvSys, a cross‑border e‑commerce platform that provides piece‑level tracking and end‑to‑end visibility for air cargo parcels. The system bridges the first, middle, and last mile, delivering real‑time data sharing and full regulatory compliance for airlines, e‑tailers,...
Global Supply Chain Volatility Pushes Sports Brand On to Open Robot-Centric South Korean Factory
Swiss performance brand On has inaugurated its second automated footwear factory near Busan, South Korea, featuring 32 robots. The new plant, together with the Zurich site, is projected to boost global production capacity by 30 times in 2026, shifting the...
Ecom Founders Reinvest Payday, Not Splurge—Different Results
Everyone on payday: Planning what to buy. Ecom founders on payday: Planning how much to reinvest into ad spend. Different mindset. Different results.
Meta Is Auto-Generating AI Ads for Its Advertisers, Causing Headaches for Image-Conscious Fashion Brands
Meta has begun automatically generating AI‑derived advertisements from brands' existing creative assets, inserting them into Facebook and Instagram feeds without explicit advertiser approval. The move aims to boost ad inventory and lower production costs, but early adopters like British tights...
Why Ruggable’s Lauren Sherman Is Focused on Resetting the Balance of Brand and Performance Marketing
Lauren Sherman, Ruggable’s chief marketing officer, is leading a deliberate reset that shifts focus from pure performance‑driven digital spend to brand‑centric initiatives. After seven months in the role, she aims to embed consumer‑led creative, real‑world activations, and designer collaborations into...
Harris Technology Now ‘One of the Fastest Growing’ in Its Sector
Harris Technology, a refurbished‑technology specialist, posted an 18.9% rise in sales revenue to $8.3 million and a 7.1% increase in profit to $2.8 million for the first half of the financial year. Monthly refurbished sales now average $500,000. A strategic shift toward...
GigaCloud Technology Inc (GCT) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
GigaCloud Technology reported record Q3 2025 revenue of $333 million, a 10% year‑over‑year increase, and a quarterly EPS of $0.99. Growth was powered by a 70% surge in European revenue, bringing the region to $100 million, while product revenue rose 16% YoY...
Ecommerce: Your Ads Are Boring And Facebook Is Punishing You
In this episode of the Hammersley Brothers e‑commerce podcast, Mark and Ian dissect why many e‑commerce ads fail to scale, focusing on the concept that "your ads are boring." They explain that both Meta (Facebook) and Google act as "gorilla"...
Vipshop Holdings Ltd (VIPS) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
Vipshop Holdings reported Q4 2025 net revenue of RMB 21.4 billion, a 3.4% year‑over‑year increase, driven by an 11% rise in active Super VIP members who now account for 51% of online spend. Gross margin slipped to 23% as higher incentives pressured profitability,...
Cars.com Inc (CARS) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
Carvana reported a record 596,006 retail units sold in 2025, a 43% increase year‑over‑year, and Q4 revenue of $5.6 billion, up 58%. Adjusted EBITDA hit a new quarterly high of $511 million, while net income surged to $951 million, largely due to a...
Coupang Inc (CPNG) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
Coupang reported record Q4 2023 results, with active customers reaching 21 million and a 16% year‑over‑year increase. Net revenue rose 23% to $6.6 billion, while free cash flow hit $1.8 billion and cash balances grew to $5.6 billion. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was...
D Market Elektronik Hizmetler Ve Ticaret AS (HEPS) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
Hepsiburada reported a 57% year‑on‑year increase in gross merchandise volume (GMV) and 63% revenue growth for Q2 2022 on an unadjusted basis, but inflation‑adjusted figures showed a 10% GMV decline and a 6% revenue dip. The company posted positive free cash...
Warby Parker Inc (WRBY) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
Warby Parker reported FY2024 revenue growth exceeding 15% and a 40% jump in adjusted EBITDA, driven by its strongest Q4 growth since 2021. The company opened 41 new stores in 2024, expanded its insurance network to over 30 million in‑network lives,...
Meta Cuts Credit‑card Payments, Hurting DTC Cash‑back Rewards
So Meta is getting rid of the ability for DTC brands to pay using credit cards. They are saying the process is easier and more flexible, when in reality this is going to cause a lot of headaches for brands...
Amazon Will Implement DD+7 Policy and Sellers’ Payment Recovery Time Will Be Extended
Amazon announced a global DD+7 payout rule effective March 5, 2026, with the German marketplace following on March 12. Under the new policy, seller funds are released seven days after delivery confirmation, extending the typical cash‑in cycle to eight or nine days. The...
Jumia’s Fiscal Year 25 Revenue Was US$190 Million, a Year-on-Year Increase of 13%
Jumia reported full‑year 2025 revenue of $188.9 million, up 13% year‑over‑year, while GMV reached $818.6 million, a 14% increase. The fourth quarter showed a 34% revenue jump to $61.4 million and a 36% rise in GMV, driven by a 26% surge in active...
From “Emotional Consumption” To “Green Compliance”, What Blue Oceans Does Amazon’s 2026 Trend Report Reveal?
Amazon's 2026 Global Consumer Trends Report identifies two converging forces—emotional consumption and green compliance—reshaping cross‑border e‑commerce. By 2025, 73% of shoppers will factor emotions into buying decisions, while over 60% of European consumers will prioritize environmental standards by 2026, prompting...
Wayfair Shifting From Online to Offline?
Amazon eclipsed Walmart with $716.9 billion revenue, becoming the U.S.'s top seller, while the furniture sector lagged at 2.3% growth in 2025. Wayfair and TJX Home Goods each captured just over 15% market share, outpacing IKEA’s 7%. Despite a modest 1%...
Master One Skill Deeply, Don't Skim Through Ads
I have hour-long Facebook ads tutorials online for free. They have 90% of the information you need to start running ads tomorrow. And yet less than 1% of people finish them. I’ll see new founders commit to learning Facebook ads, then 2...
Verify Emails Instantly to Protect Sender Reputation
Sending cold emails to addresses that don't exist kills your deliverability. Seen people tank their sender reputation overnight because 15-20% of their list was dead addresses. Built a free tool that verifies any email in seconds. Checks the format, domain, and...
E-Commerce Without Borders: The MT Strategy Behind the Fastest-Growing DTC Brands
The article outlines a verified hybrid translation framework that blends AI output with human post‑editing to power DTC e‑commerce expansion. It argues that naïve single‑model AI translation hampers conversion, especially in high‑touch markets like Japan, South Korea, and China. By...
Fast Installment Loans Growth: Card Managers Beware
Credit bureaus report a 24.1% year‑over‑year surge in unsecured consumer installment loans in December 2025, reaching 15 million loans worth $62.6 billion, with seven million classified as subprime. Meanwhile, credit‑card balances remain stable around $1.3 trillion, showing typical seasonal bumps but no comparable growth....
Solving Furniture Decision Fatigue Through AI and Retail Partnerships at Furniture.com | eTail West 2026
In this episode, Ann Mazinga chats with Alex Seaman, SVP and co‑founder of Furniture.com, about the platform’s AI‑driven solution to furniture‑shopping decision fatigue. Furniture.com aggregates dozens of trusted retailers into a single, agentic checkout experience, using AI to standardize product...
How Cognitive Insight Fuels Smarter eCommerce Growth
The article argues that Shopify founders’ cognitive self‑awareness, not just AI tools, is the key growth lever in today’s data‑rich eCommerce environment. It outlines five cognitive traits—analytical reasoning, pattern recognition, rapid problem‑solving, logical decision‑making, and adaptability—that consistently separate high‑growth operators...
CourtPilot – Recover Money Through Small Claims Court Guided by AI
CourtPilot, an AI‑powered legal platform, enables UK e‑commerce sellers to file small‑claims cases without a solicitor. For a one‑off £97 fee, users receive AI‑generated court documents, evidence analysis, and step‑by‑step guidance for claims up to £10,000. The service begins with...
RTP Network Marks Record 2 Million Transactions in a Day
The Clearing House’s Real‑Time Payments (RTP) network set two historic milestones, processing 2.05 million transactions in a single day on Feb. 13 and reaching a daily value peak of $8.36 billion on Feb. 18. The surge reflects accelerating adoption among retail users, digital‑wallet transfers,...
Reddit's Coupon Surge Still Lacks Valid, Fresh Codes
Another area where Reddit is surging: COUPONS -> Reddit: A Major Surge in Coupon Search Visibility in 2025 From the post: For the 59 query brands covered by both Reddit and CouponBirds: *Reddit provides valid coupon codes for 25% (15 brands). *CouponBirds provides valid...
Raise Prices Now: Stop Giving Customers a Hidden Tax
Are you paying a 50% tax you didn't vote for? You're just gifting it to your customers instead of the government. Here's how: Say you're a store doing $3M at 10% margins makes $300K in profit. You finally raise prices 15%, something that's LONG...
Walmart: Supply Chain Spending Set to ‘Peak’ Next 2 Years, CEO Says
Walmart’s CEO John Furner said the retailer’s supply‑chain capital spending will likely peak this year and next, as automation projects accelerate. Twenty‑three of its 42 U.S. distribution centers are being retrofitted with robotics, and similar initiatives are beginning abroad. About...
Build Community First, Then Product, for Billion-Dollar Success
Glossier spent 4 years building a community on a beauty blog before launching a single product. They co-created with their audience. Hit a billion-dollar valuation. Meanwhile you're building products nobody asked for. That's the gap.
Partnerships Spell Potential Trend for 3PD Platforms and Temporary Housing Marketplaces
In early 2026, leading third‑party delivery platforms are teaming up with temporary‑housing marketplaces. Airbnb launched an Instacart pilot that lets guests pre‑stock pantries and rewards hosts with cash and free Instacart+ membership, while Landing partnered with Gopuff to give guests...
Payoneer Applies for Bank Charter
Payoneer has filed an application with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for a U.S. national trust bank charter, to be branded as PAYO Digital Bank. The charter would let the firm issue, send and receive stablecoins, provide...
The Platform That Broke Your SEO Strategy Is Now an AI Shopping Engine
Reddit announced a test of an AI‑powered product carousel that appears in its internal search results, surfacing items discussed in community threads and supplemented by partner product feeds. The feature, currently limited to U.S. users and consumer‑electronics queries, turns Reddit...
How the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Impacts Retail
The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) now forces U.S. retailers to prove that imported goods are free of forced labor, shifting the evidentiary burden to importers. Within its first year of enforcement, Customs and Border Protection detained more than...
Holiday Email Marketing Guide: Tips + Real-World Examples
The guide outlines a data‑driven holiday email marketing strategy as online sales surge to $296.7 billion, emphasizing early planning, personalization, and creative content. It highlights the channel’s strong ROI—$10 to $36 for every dollar spent—and warns of inbox fatigue as two‑thirds...
The Multimillion Dollar Mistake: Why the Technology Business Case Isn’t a Strategy
Retail and e‑commerce leaders are repeatedly overspending on warehouse and fulfillment platforms because they mistake a technology business case for a supply‑chain strategy. Vendor‑supplied ROI models promise payback in 12‑18 months but ignore data quality, process complexity, and organizational readiness....
The Next Big Ad Platform? How AppLovin Is Quietly Scaling eCommerce Brands
In this episode, Pep Hufen, CEO of Smart Marketer Agency, breaks down AppLovin’s Axon Ads platform, a mobile gaming network now open to eCommerce that boasts over a billion daily users, primarily women in their 30s‑40s. He explains how Axon’s...
Reading Your Data Tea Leaves: What Your Metrics Are Really Trying to Tell You
Retailers are pouring millions into data pipelines, yet most use the insights merely to streamline operations—faster email sends, quicker inventory moves, and real‑time dashboards. The article argues that this productivity focus creates generic experiences that annoy customers. By shifting from...
Google's UCP Will Let Glasses Shop Instantly
In Google's earnings call they said building UCP was a focus for 2025. Imagine what Universal Commerce Protocol means for glasses. Perhaps: "Gemini...look at that cool shirt. Find me one, but blue and buy it for me..." No more website visits...
Why Social Media Demands a Strategic Rethink
Social media has moved from a peripheral branding tool to the core of product discovery, trust building, and direct sales. Brands like American Eagle demonstrated the impact, gaining 790,000 new customers in six weeks and boosting denim sales 34%. The...
TxtCart Accelerates Growth as Bootstrapped AI-Powered SMS Marketing Platform for Shopify
TxtCart, an AI‑powered SMS marketing platform built exclusively for Shopify merchants, announced it has helped its users generate over $100 million in SMS‑attributed revenue while remaining fully bootstrapped. Founded in 2019, the company has expanded from abandoned‑cart recovery to a two‑way...
Luxury Falls, Resale Rises as UK Consumers Tighten Spending Into 2026
Cardlytics analysis of 23 million UK bank accounts shows that Christmas 2023 reinforced value‑led spending rather than loosening budgets. Luxury and designer fashion baskets shrank 12% year‑on‑year, while discounter grocery spend rose 3% and fast‑fashion fell 10%. Resale marketplaces such as...
Roblox Outstrips TikTok as Fastest Growing Commerce Channel for Gen Z
Roblox has become the fastest‑growing commerce channel for Gen Z, posting a 54% year‑on‑year rise in order volume, far outpacing TikTok’s 10% increase. Gen Z shoppers placed an average of 20 purchases on Roblox in the past year, while TikTok...
Screenverse Leaders Share Insight on DOOH Buying Strategy
Screenverse executives David Weinfeld and Montana Accavallo discussed premium buyer expectations on the CX Innovators podcast, highlighting how data‑driven demands are reshaping digital‑out‑of‑home (DOOH) buying. They explained that integration of supply‑side and demand‑side platforms is crucial for securing repeat, high‑value...
NShift Pushes for Integrated Returns Ahead of New EU Regulations
nShift warns EU and UK retailers that the upcoming Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), effective July 2026, will ban the destruction of returned clothing, footwear and accessories. The firm recommends integrating returns with logistics, warehousing and backend systems to...
Ahold Delhaize in Figures: Key Figures From the Annual Report
Ahold Delhaize’s 2025 annual report shows total sales of €92.4 billion, up 5.9% on a comparable basis. Online sales grew 13.3% to €10.3 billion, marking the first time e‑commerce was profitable on a fully allocated basis. The retailer served 77 million customers weekly across...
Retail Media Measurement: Absence of Evidence Is NOT Evidence of Absence
Retail media measurement is often portrayed as broken, yet the same sampling‑based, attention‑agnostic methods underpin TV, radio and outdoor metrics. Industry bodies such as IAB Europe and the MRC have already issued standardized frameworks that enable closed‑loop attribution and incrementality...
Zalando Rolls Out Second-Hand Children’s Clothing
Zalando is extending its second‑hand platform to include children’s clothing, launching the service in fourteen European countries including Scandinavia and Ireland. Parents can purchase pre‑owned items and trade in worn pieces for vouchers toward future buys. The move is positioned...