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
Walmart Holds Shoppable Livestream at Winter Olympics in Milan
Retail giant Walmart expanded its shoppable video strategy by hosting a 25‑minute livestream from the Milan Olympic Village during the Winter Games. The event, titled “Her Day Made Easy,” featured Olympic gold medalist Laurie Hernandez and showcased Procter & Gamble personal‑care products that viewers could buy in real time via Walmart Live, Facebook and YouTube. The stream attracted roughly 16,400 views within three days and remains on‑demand. The initiative underscores Walmart’s broader push to blend entertainment, culture and commerce through live‑shopping formats.
The 4 Essentials to Live Shopping: A Complete Guide to Successful Video Commerce
Live Shopping—also called video commerce—combines real‑time video, interactive chat, and instant checkout to turn product demos into sales. Success hinges on four essentials: attracting viewers through pre‑event promotion and multi‑streaming, offering exclusive incentives that compel purchase, keeping audiences engaged with...
Tease, Don’t Tell: Subject Lines Spark Curiosity
Most subject lines announce. The best ones tease. "Our New Spring Collection" tells me what's inside before I open it. There's nothing left to be curious about. "We almost didn't release these" makes me need to know why. One gives away the answer....
10 Items or Less: Amazon, You Are Losing Focus
Amazon’s rapid expansion into logistics, entertainment and cloud services is diluting its core retail advantage, according to industry analyst Bill Wilson. The piece argues that the company’s most defensible growth lever is its Whole Foods acquisition, which still lacks a...
Deloitte: Digitally Mature B2B Suppliers Post Faster Sales Growth
Deloitte’s latest study of 530 U.S. B2B buyers and 530 suppliers shows that digitally mature sellers outpace peers, delivering 6.1% average revenue growth versus 2.9% for low‑maturity firms. High‑maturity suppliers exceed annual sales targets by more than twice the margin...
Spend at Your Marginal Frontier, Not Just More
Your CFO wants more efficiency. Your CMO wants more volume. They're both right. And both wrong. The real question isn't "what should our target be?" It's "where are we at on our marginal frontier?" Spending power = the amount you can increase spend before...
India Extends UPI One World Pilot for International Visitors at AI Impact Summit 2026: Does It Signal Global Rollout?
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has extended its UPI One World wallet service to international visitors attending the India AI Impact Summit 2026. The extension is a temporary, invitation‑only pilot that allows foreign delegates to make real‑time payments...
Hasbro CEO: ‘We’re Beyond Experimentation’ with AI
Hasbro is scaling artificial‑intelligence tools across finance, supply‑chain, order management and product design, moving beyond pilot projects. The company has formalized responsible‑use guidelines and teamed with Google Gemini, OpenAI and ElevenLabs to embed AI into daily workflows. Executives estimate the...
From Prime Day and Black Friday to Surprise Spikes: Why Retailers Are Rethinking Peak Sales Readiness
Retailers are abandoning the outdated notion of seasonal peak‑sales windows and adopting a year‑round growth‑readiness mindset. Unexpected demand spikes—from TikTok trends to surprise influencer drops—can now rival traditional events like Prime Day, exposing fragile point‑to‑point integrations. Mark Simon of Celigo...
US, China and Russia Dominate Europe’s Ecommerce Top 10
ECDB’s Global E‑commerce Compass 2026 reveals that U.S., Chinese and Russian platforms dominate Europe’s ecommerce landscape. Amazon leads with a 2025 GMV just under $232 billion, almost equal to the combined GMV of the next nine players. Russian marketplaces Ozon and...
Scaling Warehouse Operations Through 3PL Outsourcing Models
Third‑party logistics (3PL) outsourcing is emerging as the preferred model for scaling warehouse operations amid surging freight volumes driven by e‑commerce. Purpose‑built 3PL facilities combine high‑speed infrastructure, real‑time inventory technology, and trained staff to keep inventory moving efficiently. Flexible capacity...
Associated Wholesale Grocers Adopts Forecasting and Fresh Optimization Solution
Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG) has chosen Relex’s forecasting and fresh‑product optimization platform to improve distribution‑center planning across its extensive network. The solution targets the cooperative’s 1,100 supermarket members operating in 3,500 locations across 33 states, aiming to boost forecast accuracy,...
Ulta Beauty’s Big Branding Play; Why Conglomerates Should Consolidate
Ulta Beauty’s latest branding initiative underscores a broader shift toward consolidation in the beauty sector. Record growth at niche perfume house Amouage, a surge in online fragrance sales, and the decline of traditional department‑store beauty hubs illustrate mounting pressure on...
2026 Leaders Interview – Caroline Orange-Northey – Pinterest
Caroline Orange‑Northey, newly appointed Managing Director for Pinterest UK & Ireland, outlines her first 6‑12 month priorities, emphasizing accelerated advertiser adoption and AI‑driven product enhancements. She explains why Pinterest remains a compelling platform for 2026, highlighting its visual discovery engine,...
Visa to Buy Prisma in Argentina
Visa announced it will reacquire Argentina’s Prisma Medios de Pago and Newpay from Advent International, bringing the payment processors back under its control. The acquisition, expected to close by the end of March, restores Visa’s card‑issuer processing, real‑time payments, ATM...
Walmart Says AI Users Build 35% Bigger Baskets than Others
Walmart’s AI‑driven shopping assistant, Sparky, is generating baskets that are about 35% larger than those of non‑users, according to CEO John Furner on the Q4 earnings call. Launched in June, Sparky lives behind a smiley‑face button in the Walmart app...
Amazon and Shopify Are Now Half of U.S. E-Commerce
Amazon generated roughly $440 billion in U.S. sales in 2025, capturing a 35.7% share of the $1.2 trillion market, while Shopify reported a 14% U.S. share, up from 12% a year earlier. Together they account for 49.7% of U.S. e‑commerce, up from...
Launch Your First E‑Commerce Brand in 2026: 100 Niche Ideas
2026 is the year you launch your first ecom brand. Here's 100 niches you could innovate on today: 1. Wearable blankets (Don't copy me haha) 2. Weighted products (blankets, eye masks, lap pads) 3. Pet comfort products 4. Pet travel accessories 5. Ergonomic pillows 6. Sleep accessories 7....
Marketplace Briefing: Inside Marc Lore and Melissa Bridgeford’s AI Shopping Agent Wizard
Wizard, the AI shopping agent co‑founded by Marc Lore and Melissa Bridgeford, has moved from a stealth B‑to‑B conversational commerce model to a consumer‑facing platform. Founded in 2021, the startup spent years refining its technology before publicly debuting in February...
Toast Courts Fast-Food Restaurants
Toast, the Boston‑based restaurant point‑of‑sale provider, announced it will launch a drive‑thru product aimed at quick‑service restaurants later this year. The move marks a strategic shift from its traditional focus on casual‑dining chains such as Applebee’s and Potbelly. In 2025...
9th Marketplace: One of the Best E-Commerce Apps in Nigeria, Transforming Online Shopping and E-Commerce in Africa
9th Marketplace launches as a structured, service‑driven e‑commerce platform aiming to reshape online shopping across Nigeria and Africa. It tackles trust gaps with secure checkout, buyer‑protection policies, and 24/7 support while offering pay‑on‑delivery, bank transfers, and card payments. The app...
Are Target’s Store Investments Enough to Turn Its Experience Around?
Target’s new CEO Michael Fiddelke is prioritizing customer experience by adding store labor hours and launching a universal training program, while cutting about 500 district and supply‑chain roles. The initiative aims to fix in‑store pain points such as low in‑stock...
AI Turns Weather Data Into Sales
Retailers have long known weather drives sales, but few have turned forecasts into actionable insight. New AI platforms now ingest long‑range weather data and feed it directly into ecommerce functions such as demand planning, pricing, personalization, fulfillment and ad activation....
Why Do Budgets Overspend Even With A Target ROAS or CPA? – Ask A PPC via @Sejournal, @Navahf
Budgets on auction‑based platforms are averaged over roughly 30.4 days, not enforced as strict daily caps. When a target ROAS or CPA is applied, the algorithm treats these as optimization signals and may spend beyond the nominal daily limit to...
Amazon Surpasses Walmart in Annual Revenue for the First Time
Amazon reported $716.9 billion in 2025 revenue, overtaking Walmart's $713.2 billion for the first time. The shift ends Walmart's 13‑year streak as Fortune's top‑revenue company and highlights Amazon's transformation into a tech‑services powerhouse. Growth is now driven by Amazon Web Services, advertising...
Parcel2Go 2025 Courier Performance Rankings
Parcel2Go released its 2025 courier performance rankings, highlighting the most reliable UK and international delivery services based on thousands of platform bookings. Evri Drop‑Off posted the highest on‑time delivery rate in the UK at 92.44%, while UPS Access Point earned...
E-Commerce Orders Enjoyed Big Jump in 2025
U.S. e‑commerce orders surged 147% year‑over‑year in 2025, driven primarily by the top 5% of brands. Shoppers interacted less with marketing but showed markedly higher intent, with promotion clicks 51% more likely to convert and average spend per order climbing...
Freshfields Advising EBay's $1.2B Depop Purchase From Etsy
eBay announced a $1.2 billion cash acquisition of Depop, the mobile fashion resale platform, from Etsy. Freshfields LLP is advising eBay, while Fenwick & West represents Etsy. The deal aims to strengthen eBay’s appeal to younger, Gen‑Z shoppers and expand its...
Early Week Surge Drives Valentine’s Ecommerce Uplift
UK ecommerce order volumes surged in the days before Valentine’s Day 2026, with Sunday’s orders up 102.5% YoY and Monday up 76.3% YoY. The holiday itself saw a 20.7% YoY decline, indicating shoppers moved purchases forward to avoid delivery risk....
Amazon and City Hall Line up for Battle over Delivery Licence in New York
New York City Council is poised to adopt the Delivery Protection Act, a licensing regime that would require final‑mile delivery operators, including Amazon’s third‑party partners, to obtain city permits and directly employ warehouse workers. The legislation follows a city comptroller...
Minky Couture Selects Domo AI, Data Products Platform to Boost Operational Visibility
Minky Couture, the Utah‑based luxury blanket retailer, has chosen Domo’s AI and Data Products Platform to unify data across inventory, supply chain, marketing, finance, and store operations. The platform will enable governed data products that deliver near real‑time performance tracking,...
What Retailers Actually Think About Agentic Commerce With Stripe's Maia Josebachvili | 5IM
In this five‑minute interview, Maya Jose Bakvili, Stripe’s CRO of AI, explains "agentic commerce"—AI‑assisted chat purchases and AI‑delegated buying—and how Stripe’s infrastructure supports retailers in this emerging space. She highlights four persistent retailer concerns: maintaining control as merchant of record,...
AI Adoption Is Rising in Retail, but Efficiencies Remain Surprisingly Underwhelming
AI adoption is accelerating in retail, with roughly 70% of firms reporting use of some AI technology. Despite this uptake, more than 80% of senior executives say AI has not noticeably affected employment or productivity over the past three years....
Self‑funded Risk and Standards Built $100M Wellness Brand
She built a $100M wellness brand after doctors gave her codeine and no plan. Siff Haider and her husband launched Arrae in 2020 with two products, funded it with their wedding savings, and hit $1M in nine months without raising capital. They...
Clear Messaging Beats Fancy Themes for Higher Conversions
I know founders with perfect Shopify themes getting 1% conversion. I know founders with basic themes getting 6% conversion. Theme beauty doesn't matter. Offer clarity does. Fix your messaging before your design.
Is Poshmark Safe? How to Buy and Sell without Getting Scammed
Poshmark, a leading social‑commerce app for fashion and home goods, is attracting a surge of fraud as the broader $1.1 trillion industry expands. Its 20 % commission on items over $15 pushes users to negotiate off‑platform, exposing them to phishing, counterfeit, and...
Seeking 3PL Partners for Canada, Australia, UK Expansion
Who should we be working with for international 3PLs? Looking to expand to Canada, Australia, UK to start.
Your Brand Lives in the Final‑mile Delivery
Even if you obsess over sourcing and inventory turns, the people who deliver define your brand. Final-mile delivery is often the only human interaction customers see. If that sofa sits in the rain, nothing else matters: https://t.co/6dKPqYm7fN #FinalMileDelivery https://t.co/TTBSHQWArG
Shahbandr and Tabby Partner to Bring BNPL to 20,000 Online Stores
Shahbandr, a Saudi e‑commerce enablement platform, has teamed up with fintech app Tabby to embed its Buy‑Now‑Pay‑Later solution across the network. The integration will cover more than 20,000 online stores in Saudi Arabia and Egypt, allowing shoppers to split purchases...
TikTok Shop Reverses U.S. Shipping Policy Amid Merchant Concerns over Costs and Fulfillment Challenges
TikTok Shop has scrapped its planned deadline to force U.S. sellers onto TikTok‑managed shipping, keeping seller‑fulfilled logistics unchanged for now. The reversal follows merchant backlash over anticipated higher fulfillment costs, tighter margins, and inventory challenges tied to TikTok’s own warehouses....
Wayfair Inc (W) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
Wayfair reported Q4 2025 revenue up 6.9% YoY (7.8% excluding Germany), with adjusted gross margin steady at 30.3% and contribution margin improving to 15.3%. Adjusted EBITDA surged to $224 million, driving full‑year EBITDA above $743 million and free cash flow up 40%...
Sprouts Farmers Market Inc (SFM) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
Sprouts Farmers Market reported fourth‑quarter sales of $2.1 billion, an 8% year‑over‑year increase, and full‑year revenue of $8.8 billion, up 14%. Comparable store sales rose modestly 1.6% in Q4, while e‑commerce grew 15% and now accounts for roughly 15.5% of total sales....
ETSY Inc (ETSY) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
Etsy announced the sale of its Depop platform to eBay for $1.2 billion, positioning the company to focus exclusively on its core marketplace. Q4 2025 delivered record revenue of $882 million and GMS of $3.6 billion, marking the first positive marketplace growth since...
Walmart Inc (WMT) Q4 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
Walmart reported 4.9% constant‑currency revenue growth in Q4, propelled by 24% eCommerce expansion and a 10.5% rise in adjusted operating income. Advertising and membership fees together accounted for nearly one‑third of operating profit, while automation now supports 60% of U.S....
Amazon Teams with OpenAI for Custom Shopping AI
🚨 My new exclusive at @ReadTheAisle Amazon has discussed w/ OpenAI working on custom shopping-related AI tied to Rufus, after using its own models and then Anthropic’s, according to sources briefed. The focus goes beyond Rufus’ main use of product Q&A https://t.co/60Z6WBfyvh
Etsy Sells Secondhand Clothing Marketplace Depop to eBay for $1.2B
Etsy announced it will sell its second‑hand fashion app Depop to eBay for $1.2 billion in cash. Depop, which posted roughly $1 billion in gross merchandise volume and 7 million active buyers in 2025, was acquired by Etsy in 2021 for $1.62 billion. The...
PepsiCo’s First Creator-Led Product Launch Reimagines Chips for Gen Z
PepsiCo Foods unveiled its first creator‑led "Flavor Swap" snack line, teaming influencers Madison Beer, iShowSpeed and Dude Perfect with new chip‑flavor mash‑ups. The products launched exclusively on TikTok Shop with a nationwide rollout slated for March, aligning the launch with...
Ebay to Acquire Depop Resale Fashion Marketplace for $1.2 Billion
eBay agreed to buy Depop from Etsy for $1.2 billion in cash, with the deal slated to close in Q2 2026. Depop, a social‑centric C2C fashion marketplace, will keep its brand and culture after the acquisition. The purchase follows Etsy’s 2021 $1.6 billion...
53-Year-Old Home Depot Rival Closing Down, No Bankruptcy
Home Depot, Lowe’s and Amazon together captured 56% of the U.S. home‑improvement market in 2025, leaving independent hardware retailers struggling. Independent stores such as C&H Hardware and the 53‑year‑old Blossom True Value in Mountain View have shut down or announced...
Amazon Terminates Blue Jay Robot Project to Pivot Toward Orbital System
Amazon has discontinued its Blue Jay robotic warehouse system only months after its debut, citing prohibitive costs and technical hurdles. The e‑commerce leader is redirecting resources to a new modular architecture called Orbital, aimed at smaller fulfillment centers and grocery...