How Californian Grocer Stater Bros. Shines a Light on the Future of In-Store Retail Media Globally
Stater Bros., the largest privately owned grocery chain in Southern California, has partnered with In‑Store Marketplace (ISM) and Mood Media to launch a programmatic in‑store audio advertising platform, with digital screens slated for later rollout. The solution uses ISM’s centralised buying engine and Vibenomics to sell inventory, targeting the chain’s 2.5 million weekly shoppers—nearly half Hispanic and above‑average income. This initiative reflects a wider industry push to turn physical aisles into addressable, data‑driven media channels as retail‑media spend is projected to hit $71 billion in 2026. Early success will be gauged by advertiser demand, shopper receptivity and seamless integration with the in‑store experience.
Generative Engine Marketing: Retail Media’s Next Move
Generative Engine Marketing (GEM) is emerging as a new approach that positions brands to be discovered by AI models rather than just human shoppers. Jellyfish’s report highlights early successes, such as Gentle Monster’s 17% click‑through‑rate lift and MSC Industrial’s 45%...
Amazon Is Making a New Attempt to Break Into the British Grocery Market
Amazon is intensifying its push into the UK grocery market by seeking closer partnerships with British food and beverage suppliers. After shutting its Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go stores last year, the company is now focusing on expanding its online...
Australia’s Social Selling Is Booming, PayPal Data Shows
PayPal’s eCommerce Index shows that 67% of Australian businesses now sell through social media, making social selling a mainstream channel. Social platforms account for 11% of all online sales, rising to 14% among firms that actively use them. Small and...
Cold Chain, Hot Demand: How Quick Commerce Is Rewriting India's Ice Cream Playbook
India’s ice‑cream market is being reshaped by quick‑commerce platforms that deliver single‑serve products in minutes. Dairy Day’s new brand Ob & Gob, sold in a can, exemplifies a shift from freezer‑based retail to algorithmic shelves on apps like Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart....
The Cost of Being Seen: Why Indian Entrepreneurs Are Rethinking the Internet
Indian entrepreneurs are abandoning reliance on social media and marketplaces after organic reach fell 40‑60% in 2025‑26 and platform fees began eroding up to 40% of sales. Chocolatier Rohan Keshewar moved to a Hostinger website, now generating Rs 50,000‑100,000 ($600‑$1,200) monthly...
CashKaro Revenue Grows 72% to Rs 600 Cr in FY26; Narrows Losses
CashKaro, the Gurugram‑based cashback and affiliate commerce platform, posted FY26 revenue of roughly $72 million, a 72% jump from $42 million the previous year. The company’s gross merchandise value surged to about $1.2 billion, up from $720 million, largely driven by its EarnKaro app....
ThredUp AI Agents Personalize Shopping in Real Time
ThredUp introduced its first agentic AI experience, assigning real‑time personal agents to shoppers on its resale platform. The agents ingest clickstream data across channels and use reinforcement learning to reshape product listings instantly, aiming to boost conversion and retention. The...
Amazon Is Taking on FedEx and UPS. That May Not Be so Simple.
Amazon announced the launch of Amazon Supply Chain Services, a platform that opens its freight, distribution, fulfillment and parcel‑shipping capabilities to businesses of any size. The move, dubbed an “AWS of Logistics,” sent UPS shares down more than 10% and...
RSA America, URM Stores Begin Digital Transformation Partnership
RSA America has partnered with URM Stores, a Spokane‑based wholesaler serving roughly 265 independent grocery retailers, to roll out a centrally managed loyalty, digital marketing, retail media and AI‑enabled commerce platform. More than 60 URM‑affiliated stores are already live, with...
Inside AMEX’s Agentic Commerce Stack: How Intent Contracts and Single-Use Tokens Enforce AI Transactions
American Express unveiled its Agentic Commerce Experiences (ACE) developer kit, a closed‑loop system that lets AI agents shop and pay on behalf of users within Amex’s own network. The kit introduces intent contracts, proof‑of‑intent tokens and single‑use payment tokens that...
GameStop's CEO Is Annoyed You Don't Understand How He's Buying eBay
GameStop announced a $56 billion bid to acquire eBay, proposing a mix of cash and stock. CEO Ryan Cohen appeared irritated during a CNBC interview when pressed about financing, directing viewers to the company website for details. While GameStop holds a...
Italian Ecommerce Reached 90 Billion Euros in 2025
Italy’s e‑commerce market is projected to reach €90.6 billion (about $99 billion) in 2025, a 6.1% rise from 2024. Travel and tourism remain the dominant online sector, accounting for over €22 billion ($24 billion) in sales, followed by marketplaces at €17.1 billion and leisure at...
Amazon Has a Swarovski Necklace That ‘Shines Beautifully’ for Over 50% Off Ahead of Mother's Day
Amazon is offering the Swarovski Imber All Around Necklace for $116, a 53% discount from its regular $249 price, just in time for Mother’s Day. The gold‑plated brass piece features crystal and zirconia accents that sit at the collarbone, appealing...
Italian Travel Tech Startup Smartness Raises €47 Million In Series B Funding Round
Italian travel‑tech startup Smartness announced a €47 million (approximately $51 million) Series B round, led by existing backer XYZ Capital with participation from new investor ABC Ventures. The financing pushes the company’s post‑money valuation beyond €200 million, reflecting strong market confidence in its AI‑driven...
Attend Forrester’s Agentic Commerce Workshop To Ensure That You’re Asking The Right Questions About Agentic Commerce
Forrester is hosting a two‑day interactive workshop titled “Catalyze Agentic Commerce — How To Move From FOMO To Focus” in New York (June 16‑17) and San Francisco (June 29‑30). The sessions will help brands evaluate the emerging “agentic commerce” channel, which includes answer‑engine shopping...
MarketWatch: Shipping Stocks Fall After Amazon Launches Supply Chain Services Business
Amazon announced the launch of Amazon Supply Chain Services on May 4, 2026, opening its extensive logistics network – including one‑hour and three‑hour delivery options – to any business. The service bundles Amazon’s fulfillment, transportation and AI‑driven routing capabilities into a single...
Penske and Amazon Introduce Supply Chain Logistics Solutions Aimed at Businesses
Amazon and Penske Logistics each unveiled new supply‑chain offerings aimed at enterprise customers. Amazon introduced Supply Chain Services, a full‑stack freight, distribution, fulfillment and parcel platform that leverages the same infrastructure that powers its e‑commerce empire. Penske launched Supply Chain...
Locus Array: The AI-Powered Warehouse Robot System Transforming Fulfillment
Locus Robotics unveiled Locus Array, an AI‑driven warehouse robot system that delivers fully autonomous, end‑to‑end fulfillment workflows. The solution shifts the industry from traditional goods‑to‑person and AS/RS models to a robots‑to‑goods architecture, eliminating over 90% of manual labor while improving...
EU SMEs Hit 17 Billion Euros in Amazon Exports
More than 100,000 European Union SMEs used Amazon as a sales channel in 2025, pushing total Amazon sales to over €40 bn ($43.6 bn) and generating €17 bn ($18.5 bn) in cross‑border transactions—€2 bn ($2.2 bn) higher than the previous year. About 85% of those sellers...
GameStop Is Making a Bid to Buy eBay in a Deal Its CEO Admits Could Be ‘Totally, Totally Foolish’
GameStop, the $12 billion meme‑stock retailer led by Ryan Cohen, has announced a bid to acquire eBay for roughly $46 billion, a valuation about four times its own market cap. The proposal would rely on substantial debt financing as GameStop seeks to...
The End of the Marketing Blast: Retail Enters the Conversation Era
Retail CRM Endear reports a 50% year‑over‑year rise in personalized messaging, signaling a move away from one‑off blasts toward continuous, relationship‑driven conversations. Email open rates now peak in February at 56.1%, outpacing the traditional November surge. Brands are integrating email,...
Nordic Consumers Mostly Use Local Payment Methods
The PostNord Spring 2026 e‑commerce report shows 86 % of Nordic consumers shopped online in the past month, a 2‑3 % rise year‑over‑year. For the first time, local mobile payment solutions—Swish, Vipps and MobilePay—accounted for a larger share (23 %) than credit cards. Cross‑border...
Deals and Cashback Move Into ChatGPT Conversations
Minty has introduced an AI‑powered shopping companion that plugs into ChatGPT, surfacing deals and cashback offers directly within the conversation. The company says 70% of U.S. shoppers already turn to AI for discounts and has signed more than 10,000 brands...
Ahold Delhaize USA Brands Expand On-Demand Grocery Delivery with Uber Eats
Ahold Delhaize USA announced an expanded partnership with Uber Eats, adding nearly 2,000 stores from Food Lion, Giant, The GIANT Company, Hannaford and Stop & Shop to the Uber Eats grocery marketplace. Shoppers can now browse fresh foods, pantry staples, household essentials and alcohol directly in the Uber Eats app,...
Bolster AI Launches Marketplace Protection, Cutting Fraud Costs by 20X
Bolster AI unveiled Marketplace Monitoring & Takedowns, a service that continuously scans global e‑commerce platforms for counterfeit, unauthorized, and fraudulent listings. The solution pairs AI‑driven detection with evidence‑backed takedown requests, automating removal and suppressing repeat offenders. By streamlining the enforcement...
Amazon Opens Its Supply Chain Network to Outside Businesses
Amazon announced Amazon Supply Chain Services (ASCS), a new offering that lets any business tap into the same logistics network that powers Amazon’s own retail operations. Early adopters include Procter & Gamble, 3M, Lands’ End, and American Eagle Outfitters, which...
International Business Briefs | Amazon Opens Global Logistics Network to Third-Party Companies
Amazon announced Amazon Supply Chain Services, letting external firms tap its cargo fleet of over 100 planes and extensive warehouse network, a move that could pressure FedEx and UPS. The European Commission recommended banning Huawei and ZTE equipment, escalating cyber‑security...
Flipkart and Amazon Sale: Top Smartphone Deals Including iPhone 17, Pixel 10 and OnePlus Nord 6
Flipkart and Amazon are launching summer sales in early May, with Amazon beginning on May 8 and Flipkart on May 9, and offering early‑access deals for select devices. The promotions feature steep discounts on flagship smartphones, including Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra at ₹94,999 (~$1,145)...
Getting Ready for the World of Agentic Commerce: What Businesses Need to Know
Agentic commerce—AI‑driven digital assistants that shop, compare, and purchase for consumers—is poised to reshape retail. The market, valued at $46.7 billion in 2025, is forecast to reach $218.37 billion by 2031, growing at roughly 30% CAGR. Major players such as Google, Perplexity,...
Why Retail’s Next AI Breakthrough May Come From Convenience Stores
Retail AI is moving beyond e‑commerce personalization into the high‑velocity world of convenience stores. Operators are deploying machine‑learning models that forecast demand by the hour, adjust pricing, and optimize replenishment based on hyperlocal data such as weather and commuter patterns....
How Is AI Changing Retail Strategy Now?
Artificial intelligence is reshaping retail by moving shoppers from a traditional search model to an answer‑driven economy, evidenced by a 693% surge in AI‑generated traffic to retail sites by the end of 2025. This shift forces brands to prioritize Generative...
V4b.AI Unveils Proprietary AI-Powered Video Production for Brands, Ecommerce and Fashion Industry
V4b.AI announced a proprietary AI‑powered video production platform aimed at ecommerce, fashion and advertising brands. The system blends multiple foundational AI models, 3D‑based accuracy layers and structured post‑production workflows to deliver high‑quality, product‑accurate videos without physical shoots. By automating content...
App Spotlight: WooCommerce for Zoho Inventory
Roadmap Studios, now part of CommerceBird, launched a certified WooCommerce for Zoho Inventory integration that automatically synchronizes products, orders, customers, and pricelists. The solution uses real‑time webhooks or scheduled sync to keep data aligned, eliminating manual entry and stock mismatches....
How Whatnot Goes Beyond Dogfooding to Instill a Consumer Focus
Whatnot, the live‑shopping platform launched in 2019, mandates that all 1,000+ employees buy, sell, and handle support tickets on the app each quarter, receiving $150 in credits for purchases. This rigorous dogfooding policy is tied to performance reviews, ensuring staff...
Amazon Launches Amazon Supply Chain Services, Opening Its Logistics Network to All Businesses
Amazon announced Amazon Supply Chain Services (ASCS), extending its freight, distribution, fulfillment and parcel‑shipping capabilities to any business. The service leverages the same logistics infrastructure that powers Amazon.com, including a fleet of over 80,000 trailers, 24,000 intermodal containers and more...
British Supermarket Pilots Vending Machines to Curb Shoplifting
British supermarket Asda is testing ticket‑based vending machines for high‑theft items such as razor blades. The system lets shoppers select a product, receive a ticket, pay at checkout, then use a second ticket to dispense the item. The pilot follows...
Agentic AI, Fraud and the Fight for Customer Loyalty
Agentic AI is reshaping e‑commerce by automating the entire buyer journey, from product discovery to checkout. At the same time, fraud‑as‑a‑service is proliferating synthetic identities, deepfakes, and document forgeries, overwhelming traditional safeguards. Merchants must shift to proactive, data‑driven fraud prevention...
The AI Gap in Retail Operations Is Real. Here’s How to Start Closing It.
Retail executives overwhelmingly acknowledge that manual back‑office tasks are eroding sales and customer experience, with 72% citing operational drag. A ServiceNow‑Informa TechTarget survey reveals integration hurdles (54%) and unclear KPIs (67%) as the chief obstacles to AI adoption. Yet modest,...
What Keeps SMBs From Using Embedded Payments
Vertical SaaS platforms can leverage deep customer insight, but up to 40 % of SMBs that sign up for embedded payments never activate the feature. The gap stems from generic messaging, cumbersome onboarding and unclear pricing, not from resistance to change....
AmEx CEO Stephen Squeri - Why Agentic Commerce Is More Fraught with Risk than Traditional E-Commerce
American Express CEO Stephen Squeri said the firm’s AI rollout has already delivered a 30% productivity lift for its programmers, accelerating product development across its global network. He unveiled the ACE (Agentic Commerce Experiences) Developer Kit, enabling merchants to embed...
Fireside Ventures Leads $5 Mn Series A Round in Skincare Brand CHOSEN
CHOSEN, a Chennai‑based skincare brand focused on melanin‑rich skin, closed a $5 million Series A round led by Fireside Ventures, with participation from L’Oréal’s BOLD fund and several angel investors. The company previously raised $1.2 million in an angel round in 2024. Proceeds...
The Next Phase of AI: Digital Native Economy>
The article argues that AI is moving from answering questions to executing tasks, creating an "agent economy" where value shifts from consumer‑facing apps to the underlying execution layer. Platforms that own payments, logistics, merchant relationships and digital workflows will capture...
GameStop Offers R930 Billion for eBay
GameStop has offered to acquire eBay for about $56 billion, a 20 % premium of $125 per share paid half in cash and half in stock. The proposal is backed by a non‑binding $20 billion debt commitment from TD Bank and promises $2 billion of...
Your Commerce Backend Is Solid. Your Storefront Is the Bottleneck
Most online retailers have solved backend challenges with platforms like Shopify, but the storefront has become the new bottleneck. A growing majority are adopting headless commerce, separating the frontend to gain speed, design flexibility, and AI readiness. The headless market...
Moving up the Funnel
Agoda’s CEO says the company is shifting higher up the travel funnel, adding a generative‑AI‑driven itinerary‑planning layer between inspiration and booking. He predicts AI will let a single engineer do the work of ten within two to three years, though...
Winx Health Has Tripled Its Retail Revenue in the Last Three Months. Now, It’s Launching Into Walmart
Women’s health startup Winx Health is launching its products in more than 1,200 Walmart stores, Walmart.com and the Walmart app after tripling retail revenue in the past three months. The rollout features its UTI “Test + Treat” kit and a...
Online Food Delivery Still Just 11% of Total Food Services, Shows Large Untapped Market: Report
Investec Equities reports that online food delivery now accounts for just 11% of India’s total food‑services market, up from 3% in 2018. The segment expanded from $1.4 billion in 2018 to $9.1 billion in 2024, a 37% CAGR, and is projected to...
When the Buyer Is a Machine: Why Agentic Commerce Threatens the Trillion-Dollar Advertising Model
In 2025 the global ad market topped $1 trillion, but the same year saw the first AI‑agent‑mediated programmatic ad deal and ChatGPT’s Instant Checkout handling purchases on major retailers. This marks the rise of "agentic commerce," where AI agents complete discovery,...
Catch Group Founders Emerge as Click Frenzy Saviours
Click Frenzy, the Australian flash‑sale platform owned by Grant Arnott’s Global Marketplace, entered liquidation in early April with roughly $7 million in annual revenue and a 1.5 million‑strong consumer database. The Leibovich brothers—founders of Catch Group—announced they will take over the distressed...