Brands Can Now Deploy Their Own Agents Inside Publisher Chatbots
Dappier unveiled Sponsored Conversations, a new ad format that inserts brand‑specific AI agents into publisher chatbots. The agents engage users in real time, pulling from the site’s own content and, for brands like Miku, driving qualified leads with roughly 50 % of engaged users clicking a purchase CTA. Early publisher trials, such as Lilly Broadcasting, show about 5 % reader interaction, suggesting a viable revenue stream that complements existing programmatic ads. The approach aims to boost monetization without disrupting the user experience.
8 Best E-Commerce Analytics Software I Recommend for 2026
Hasitha Varre’s G2 guide identifies the eight top e‑commerce analytics platforms for 2026, including Stackline, Glassbox, Luigi’s Box, Edrone, Fullstory, Decodo, Lucky Orange and Hotjar. The selections are based on G2’s Winter 2026 Grid Report, user reviews, and criteria such as KPI coverage, integration...
Secondhand Apparel Growing Twice as Fast as Rest of Market
The global secondhand apparel market is forecast to hit $393 bn by 2030, expanding at twice the pace of the broader clothing sector, according to ThredUp research. This rapid growth reflects a shift from a linear to a resale‑centric model, where...
Amazon to Take ‘Now’ Quick-Commerce Service to 100 Cities at Rs 2,800 Cr Investment
Amazon is investing over Rs 2,800 crore (about $300 million) to roll out its ultra‑fast delivery service, Amazon Now, across 100 Indian cities. The plan includes building more than 1,000 micro‑fulfillment centres to enable minute‑level deliveries of groceries, personal care items and other essentials....
Complete Guide to Building a Revenue-Generating eCommerce CX
Retailers seeking to grow eCommerce revenue must first audit the customer journey, which spans awareness, consideration, purchase, retention, and advocacy. Optimizing each stage—through SEO and emerging GEO tactics, streamlined checkout, personalized upsells, and robust loyalty or gamification programs—directly lifts conversion...
In Commerce Media, the Hardest Part Is Getting to “Ship It”
Commerce media still offers abundant opportunities, but the era of easy, incremental dollars is ending. Retailers like Foot Locker are expanding into new channels such as same‑day delivery with DoorDash, creating fresh monetization prospects. However, the growing complexity of multiple...
Zalando to End Its Connected Retail Program
Zalando announced it will retire its Connected Retail program, which has enabled brick‑and‑mortar partners to list inventory on its marketplace since 2018. The service will be replaced by a new, integrated platform called zDirect that promises tighter data integration. The...
Agentic Commerce Forces a Rethink of Card Infrastructure
Agentic commerce—AI agents that initiate purchases—is moving from concept to reality, with nearly 50% of consumers expressing interest in autonomous shopping. Existing payment card infrastructure, built for human‑driven, linear transactions, struggles to handle the speed, scale, and parallelism of machine‑initiated...
Australia’s Addiction to Amazon Is Set to Blow Past $5 Billion
Amazon’s Australian arm posted AUD$4.77 billion (≈US$3.15 billion) revenue in 2025, topping the $5 billion mark for the first time. Growth was driven by a 62% surge in advertising, a 32% jump in Prime subscriptions and a 36% rise in third‑party merchant fees,...
Guide to eBay Video Ads Promoted Listings
eBay has launched video ads for Promoted Listings using its priority strategy, currently in beta. Sellers can attach a 5‑60 second video that autoplays in eligible placements, with no change to cost‑per‑click pricing. The new format adds video‑specific metrics such...
Platforms, Brands Accelerate Agentic Commerce Push as Fintechs Plug Payment Gaps
Digital platforms and brands such as Flipkart, Bigbasket, Ajio and Firstcry are building AI storefronts to enable agentic commerce—AI‑driven shopping where agents autonomously search, select, order and pay. Fintechs like Razorpay and Cashfree have introduced payment protocols, with Razorpay piloting...
Welcome to the Golden Age of Thrifting
A recent eBay pop‑up in New York forced attendees to list a personal item before they could browse curated resale selections, highlighting the merging of thrifting and resale into a single shopping journey. Savers Value Village reported a 20.6% revenue jump...
Williams-Sonoma Relaunches Dormify a Year After Acquiring IP
Williams‑Sonoma, Inc. has relaunched the Dormify dorm‑room brand after acquiring its intellectual property for about $1 million in May 2025. The new Dormify website features a wishlist, a 3‑D bed visualizer and fresh products such as the $149‑$199 GellyRoll Mattress Topper,...
Built to Adapt: How Modular POS Powers the Future of Retail
Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions released an infographic highlighting how modular point‑of‑sale (POS) systems enable retailers to adapt quickly to changing market demands. The modular approach combines interchangeable hardware and flexible software, allowing seamless updates, faster checkout, and uninterrupted operations. Insights...
Giordano’s CEO on the Company’s Reset and Why He Thinks Its Best Chapter Is Still Ahead
Giordano International reported a 3.9% revenue increase for the quarter ended March 31, with same‑store sales climbing 8.2% – its strongest growth in years. Mainland China e‑commerce surged 46.7%, while Southeast Asian markets delivered double‑digit gains. CEO Colin Currie, appointed in...
Temu and Shein ‘Hollowing Out’ German Retail
A new report finds Chinese ultra‑fast‑fashion platforms Temu and Shein are draining Germany’s retail economy. The study quantifies an annual net value‑added loss of €2.4 billion (about $2.6 billion). While EU retailers shoulder costly compliance with the Packaging Act, GDPR and product‑safety...
Optimove Insights: Nearly Half of Mother's Day Shoppers Use AI Tools, and 64% Are Open to Buying From a Brand...
Optimove’s 2026 Mother’s Day Shopping Report finds that 49% of U.S. shoppers use AI tools to discover gift ideas, while 64% are open to buying from a brand they have never tried. The study of 648 consumers with incomes above...
At 55, Email Is Vital for Marketers
Email celebrated its 55th anniversary, yet it remains a cornerstone for ecommerce marketers as one of the few truly owned media channels. In an AI‑driven landscape where social and search algorithms dominate, email offers a direct, controllable line to customers....
The Best of the Way Day Sale—All Under $100
Wayfair’s three‑day Way Day Sale showcases more than 20 home‑goods items priced under $100, ranging from dinnerware sets and premium knives to bedding, pillows, and decorative accents. The promotion bundles full four‑person dinnerware sets for $57, high‑quality Zwilling and Henckels...
Johnson & Johnson Joins TrumpRX
Johnson & Johnson has begun offering three branded diabetes drugs—Invokamet, Invokamet XR and Invokana—and the blood‑thinner Xarelto on the government‑run TrumpRX site and its own JNJ Direct platform. All three diabetes products are priced at $225, a 62% cut from...
I’ve Made Hundreds Selling My Clothes Online: Here Are 5 Tips for Getting Started
The author shares how selling personal clothing on resale apps like Depop, Poshmark, and Mercari generated a few hundred dollars from 37 items. Five actionable tips are outlined: selecting the right platform, researching comparable listings, providing detailed measurements, photographing items...
My Mom Has Shopped Nearly 1,000 Instacart Orders — Here Is Exactly How Much She Makes in a Day
Ali Domrongchai spent a day shadowing his mother, a veteran Instacart shopper with nearly 1,000 completed orders, to reveal what the gig looks like from the inside. Over a five‑hour shift across Costco, Publix and Food Lion, she fulfilled five...
Joybuy and STABILO Draw up a Colourful New European Partnership
Joybuy, JD.com’s new European online marketplace, has teamed up with German stationery leader STABILO to sell the brand’s highlighters and fineliners in the UK and France. The partnership leverages Joybuy’s rapid "Double 11" delivery promise—same‑day service for orders placed before 11 am...
Independent Bookstore Day: Bookshop.org Founder on How Small Retailers Are Taking on Amazon
Independent Bookstore Day returns on April 25, highlighting a surge in small‑shop resilience. Founder Andy Hunter of Bookshop.org notes a 70% increase in U.S. independent bookstores over the past six years, reversing a two‑decade decline. The pandemic and rising cost‑of‑living...
Flood of Small Parcels From China Pushes Belgian Airport’s Capacity to Limit
More than 4 million small parcels from China have been arriving each day at Liège freight airport in Belgium since early 2026, overwhelming the facility’s handling capacity. The airport’s customs team consists of just 80 inspectors, far fewer than needed to...
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Understanding Backorders: Definition, Causes, Examples
Backorders occur when demand outpaces available inventory, allowing customers to place orders for items not immediately in stock. Companies use backorders to keep inventory levels low, reduce storage expenses, and signal product popularity, but prolonged backorders can expose supply‑chain weaknesses....
VF Corporation Adds Inventory Visibility Technology From Nedap
VF Corporation announced a partnership with Dutch tech firm Nedap to deploy its Inventory Engine across more than 1,500 global stores. The RFID‑based solution will give item‑level visibility from distribution centers to retail shelves, starting with The North Face in...
Rare Sales at Mejuri, Glossier, Lola, and More This Weekend
A wave of weekend sales is sweeping major retailers, with Outdoor Voices and Beyond Yoga slashing 25% off site‑wide, even on already‑discounted items. Gap is offering up to 50% off most merchandise and an additional 10% discount through its app,...
Instacart Connects with AI Platform Claude
Anthropic’s Claude AI platform has added a native Instacart integration, allowing users to browse live product inventory and build grocery carts directly within a chat. The feature syncs with users’ existing Instacart accounts and can suggest the app based on...
American Industrial Partners to Acquire Honeywell Warehouse Automation
Private equity firm American Industrial Partners (AIP) announced it will acquire Honeywell’s Warehouse and Workflow Solutions (WWS) unit. WWS, which posted roughly $935 million in 2025 revenue and employs over 3,300 people, provides sortation, robotics and software under the Intelligrated and...
Retail Technology Show Review – Differentiating Through People and Technology
The Retail Technology Show in London highlighted how retailers are racing to embed advanced technology while keeping people at the core of the experience. Executives from Currys, Matalan, Holland & Barrett and Marks & Spencer discussed rapid AI adoption, data‑driven...
Reliance Retail Expands 2-Hour Delivery Network; JioMart Daily Orders Rise 300% in Q4
Reliance Retail’s Q4 FY26 results show hyper‑local commerce exploding, with JioMart’s average daily orders surging 300% year‑on‑year and 29% sequentially. The retailer posted roughly $12 billion in gross revenue and $845 million EBITDA, delivering a 7.9% margin while expanding its footprint to...
UK Online Retail Now Accounts for 28% of All Sales
The Office for National Statistics says online retail made up 28% of all UK sales in January 2026, up from 24% a year earlier. Internet turnover hit £2.7 billion—about $3.4 billion—and grew 1.8% over the prior three months. The average online transaction...
The Friday Checkout: Is Agentic AI the Next Frontier for Grocers?
Agentic AI, which enables autonomous actions within a chat interface, is emerging as the latest frontier for grocery retailers. Instacart announced integration with Anthropic’s Claude, allowing shoppers to build carts directly in a chatbot conversation. A FMI‑NielsenIQ report shows only...
AI Creator Platform Markable Launches Free Tier, Opening Commerce Tools to All Creators
Markable, an AI‑powered creator platform that has processed over $1 billion in social commerce sales across more than 1,000 creators, announced a free tier that unlocks its core commerce tools. The free plan includes smart deep links, AutoDM automated replies, an...
Still Betting Your Business on Hype? Why Serious Ecommerce Owners Are Focusing on Stability First
Entrepreneurs are moving away from hype‑driven growth tactics and prioritizing operational stability in ecommerce. The article argues that reliable systems, integrated tech stacks, and consistent customer experiences now serve as the primary growth levers. By reducing fragmented tools and reactive...
Surviving D2C’s Boom and Bust
Koio, a luxury D2C shoe brand founded in 2015, raised nearly $20 million over a decade before the pandemic collapsed its retail footprint and D2C funding. Facing $3 million annual losses, the company cut 70% of its New York staff, closed stores, and...
Nykaa Pushes House of Brands Beyond Its Own Platform; Two New Labels in Pipeline
Nykaa is scaling its House of Brands strategy beyond its own e‑commerce site, treating each label as a standalone brand rather than a private label. The company plans to launch at least two new beauty brands, which may not carry...
A Quarter of All Online Sales in Europe Come From Abroad
Cross‑border e‑commerce now accounts for a quarter of Europe’s online retail, generating €108 billion in 2025 – roughly $117 billion USD. After a brief dip in 2024, the segment recovered but growth has shifted from sheer volume to efficiency and profitability. The...
Editors' Top Reads: News From John Lewis, Clarks and More...
Clarks, the 200‑year‑old British shoe maker, unveiled its first online marketplace, “Brands Now at Clarks,” hosting more than 100 brands across apparel, accessories and lifestyle, mixing full‑price and heavily discounted premium items. Designer Amanda Wakeley returned with a curated capsule...
I've Earned Nearly $700 Just by Using Rakuten - Here's How I Did It
ZDNet shopping editor Kayla Solino reports earning roughly $700 in cash back over two years using Rakuten’s rebate platform. She details six tactics—consistent use, timing big purchases, monitoring rate changes, holiday shopping, leveraging amplified offers, and stacking with promo codes...
AI Referrals Deliver Almost Three Times the Conversion Rate of Traditional Search, New Research Suggests
Lebesgue’s analysis of 35,000 Shopify merchants shows AI referrals convert at 3.6% versus 1.23% for Google search, nearly three times higher. AI‑driven visits also produce about 30% more revenue per session. The findings signal a shift from click‑volume tactics to...
Nearly Half of Ecommerce Entrepreneurs Say Market Saturation Is Costing Them Customers
A new survey by The Accountancy Partnership reveals that 45.3% of UK ecommerce entrepreneurs blame market saturation for losing customers, as competition intensifies on online marketplaces that capture roughly one‑third of retail spend. Algorithm‑driven rankings and platform fees are hurting...
Glovo Says Nigeria Is Its Fastest-Growing Market After Expansion Push
Glovo announced that Nigeria has become its fastest‑growing market in 2025, after investing $27 million and delivering 38 million items last year. The company said merchant sales grew sharply, with product and technology upgrades accounting for 35% of the increase. Glovo also...
Klarna Resell Sees 75% Rise as Users Earn ‘Real Money’
Klarna’s resale feature, now available in 15 countries, posted a 75% jump in listings between August 2024 and March 2026. Users earn an average of $137 per sold item, with 38% of activity coming from repeat sellers. Millennials and Gen‑Z shoppers (ages...
Zomato Adjusts Pricing Clause After Pushback
Zomato has removed a contract clause that penalised restaurants for offering lower in‑house prices than those listed on its app. The clause, which could fine eateries up to three times the price differential, was never enforced but faced strong opposition...
Tineco Launches Spring Sale on Amazon
Smart home appliance maker Tineco announced a limited‑time spring sale on Amazon, offering deep discounts on its flagship floor‑care products. From April 22 to May 3, the FLOOR ONE S7 Stretch Ultra drops to $399 (38.5% off), the Carpet One Cruiser to...
Emma Sleep Fined $15 Million for Fake Discounting
Emma Sleep, the Australian arm of German bedding brand, was hit with a court‑ordered penalty of roughly US$10 million for deliberately inflating original prices and advertising false discounts. The Federal Court found that 58 of the 74 advertised products never sold...
Fintech Meets Marketing: How Payment Innovations Are Driving E-Commerce Growth
Payment innovations have moved from a back‑end step to a front‑line growth engine for e‑commerce. Faster checkout tools such as one‑click payments and mobile wallets cut friction, while Buy‑Now‑Pay‑Later and embedded finance boost average order values. Cross‑border payment platforms unlock...
Rapidflare and McFadyen Digital Partner to Accelerate B2B eCommerce with AI Agents
Rapidflare and McFadyen Digital announced a strategic partnership to embed Rapidflare's AI‑powered agents into Adobe Commerce platforms. The collaboration targets manufacturers, distributors and technical product firms that struggle with 1‑2% B2B e‑commerce conversion rates. By replacing static filters with conversational...