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
Writing For Email: 19 Tips To Help You Stand Out In Inboxes
Claire Medcalf’s guide outlines 19 actionable email‑copy tips that blend strategy, engagement, and accessibility. Marketers are urged to define a single call‑to‑action, personalize content with data, and maintain a consistent brand voice throughout. The article emphasizes compelling subject lines, microcopy, and inclusive language to boost conversion and comply with the EU Accessibility Act. By applying these pillars, brands can cut through inbox clutter and deliver messages that resonate with every reader.
PhonePe Launches AI‑Powered Voice & Text Payments with Microsoft Support
Indian fintech leader PhonePe has unveiled an AI‑powered payment suite that lets users send money using voice commands or text chat. The solution leverages Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI services to interpret natural language and execute transactions in real time. Initially available...
SleepyCat Reports Rs 98 Cr Revenue and Rs 9 Cr Loss in FY25
SleepyCat posted a 44% jump in FY25 operating revenue, reaching roughly Rs 98 crore, while its losses widened to Rs 9 crore. The direct‑to‑consumer mattress maker saw material costs rise 52% and advertising spend climb 46%, pushing total expenses up 44% year‑on‑year. Finished‑goods sales...
Automation Gives You Freedom to Say No
Declining a $5K consulting gig because it doesn't fit your schedule. Ignoring partnership requests that don't excite you. Taking a month off without worrying about revenue. You can only do this when you have dialed in automated systems. → Email sequences that nurture and...
Focus Over Variety: 3‑5 Products Drive Shopify Success
I've analysed 200+ Shopify stores. Here's the pattern: Stores with 50+ products struggled with scaling. Stores with 3-5 core products crushed it. Your assumption that more choice is better is wrong. Focus does.
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...
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...
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...
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....
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...
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...
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...
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....
AI Agents only Read First 6k Characters; Structure Data.
Straight from @Shopify's latest partner briefing: - AI agents are pulling the first ~6,000 characters of your product descriptions as their source of truth. - Meta descriptions, SEO titles, theme presentation logic, none of it gets touched. - If your product...
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...
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...
Tariffs Spike Costs, Crashing DTC ROAS
Your ad account looks fine: - ROAS is holding - CPMs are manageable - Conversions are flowing But your spreadsheet is screaming. As of February 2026, the average US tariff rate sits at 17% on all imports. For DTC brands...
Lean Teams and Outsourcing Drive Higher Profits
One store owner in @ecomfuel had 35 people on payroll. He made some hard calls. Hired a 3PL. Replaced most full-timers with freelancers. Today he has one employee and eight contractors. His profits have never been higher. And his management stress is...
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...
Personalized Landing Pages Drive Conversions, Flint Automates Them
Your targeting is personalized. Your copy is personalized. But your landing page is not. That’s why you’re not closing the deals you want. If this is you, you need @tryflint. It’s a platform built for marketers to create tailored pages for...
Live Shopping Boom Awaits India: Seize Early Opportunities
On a previous #TeawithGaryVee I was asked how someone could take advantage of the opportunity presented by live shopping on platforms like WhatNot, since India is "not in yet" If you have a question for me, drop it here https://t.co/QjOodl7fTy so...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Shopify Adds ChatGPT to Merchant Ad Network
Well, that's interesting -> Shopify Shows Ads on Behalf of Its Merchants in ChatGPT "Shopify has started arranging for ads to promote its merchants to run in ChatGPT, the company told merchants, in an expansion of Shopify’s existing ad network. The...
Microsoft Ads Test Multi‑Image Shopping Carousel
Microsoft Advertising is testing shopping ads with individual product image carousel/sliders https://www.seroundtable.com/microsoft-advertising-muti-image-shopping-carousel-40953.html #microsoftadvertising #bing #bingshopping
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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,...
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...
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...
AI‑Powered Descriptions Boost Ecommerce Traffic 368% YoY
Ecommerce SEO: here's how we increased merchant listing traffic for my client by 368% YoY. For this client, the uplift YoY compared to 2024 was so significant that it made 2025 a challenge to outperform... but we managed to do it...
Free Tool to Verify if an Email Exists
My team just built a free tool you can use to see if an email exists or not: https://t.co/wcWB5zjuEp
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...
Entrepreneurs Trade Netflix for Nighttime Retargeting
Everyone at 9pm: Watching Netflix. Ecom founders at 9pm: Setting up a new retargeting campaign for a winning ad. Different mindset. Different life.
Market Wins Over Gut: Test Every Product
I lost $7k testing a jewellery product everyone said was a guaranteed winner. It flopped. I spent $500 on a 'boring' kitchen gadget. It's now doing $30k/month. The market doesn't care about your gut feeling. Test everything.
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...
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...