AI Agent Traffic Jumps 1,300% as ChannelEngine Introduces AI Attribute Builder
AI‑driven traffic to retail sites surged 1,300% in the past year, signaling a shift toward agentic commerce. Morgan Stanley forecasts autonomous agents could shape up to $385 billion of U.S. ecommerce spend by 2030. At Shoptalk Spring 2026, ChannelEngine announced its AI Attribute Builder, launching in April to help brands generate, enrich, and standardize product attributes for AI agents. The tool aims to keep products visible as discovery moves from keyword search to structured‑data interpretation.
MAC Cosmetics to Combine ‘Social Discovery with In-Store Retail’ via TikTok Shop UK Debut
MAC Cosmetics, owned by Estée Lauder, will debut on TikTok Shop UK next month, turning its London store on Carnaby Street into a live‑broadcast studio. The brand will stream tutorials, product drops and interactive sessions hosted by in‑store makeup artists,...
Chinese Consumers Can Now Use the Qwen App to Hail Rides and Pay with Alipay AI Pay
Alibaba’s Qwen app now lets Chinese users hail rides and pay through Alipay AI Pay, creating a single‑conversation commerce flow. The integration ties Qwen to ride‑hailing, food delivery and travel services, allowing price comparison, booking and payment without leaving the...
The Order Management Imperative: How Outdated Order Management Is Holding You Back and What You Can Do About It
Retailers are confronting an order‑management crisis as legacy ERP systems fail to deliver real‑time inventory visibility and seamless omnichannel experiences. Customers now expect instant, consistent information across online and physical stores, a standard set by hyper‑convenient players like Amazon. Discrepancies...
The Question Commerce Media Needs to Ask Next
Commerce media, originally built on intent‑driven placements like search and checkout, is entering a new phase that prioritizes discovery within high‑trust moments of the customer journey. Checkout proved performance follows intent, but today brands seek value where attention, context, and...
E-Catalog and PriceHub.AI: The Evolution of Price Comparison Platforms
E‑Catalog, a long‑standing product aggregator, has integrated PriceHub.AI to turn static price lists into an intelligent shopping assistant. The AI engine pulls real‑time marketplace data, evaluates specifications, prices, and reviews, and delivers data‑driven, transparent recommendations. Personalization adapts to user preferences...
TikTok Shop to Launch Beauty Pop-Up at Westfield Stratford
TikTok Shop is launching a three‑day beauty pop‑up at Westfield Stratford from March 27‑29, coinciding with its spring sale. The immersive hub will showcase brands such as Dr. Melaxin UK, e.l.f. Cosmetics, and AXIS‑Y UK, with products purchasable via QR codes...
Razorpay Partners Sarvam to Power Voice-First Conversational Commerce
Razorpay has teamed up with Sarvam, a sovereign AI platform, to launch voice‑first conversational commerce in India. The collaboration blends Sarvam’s multilingual AI models with Razorpay’s payments infrastructure, enabling users to discover products, place orders and complete payments via natural...
Koovers Reports Rs 36 Cr Loss on Rs 198 Cr Revenue in FY25
Koovers, the Bengaluru‑based B2B automotive spare‑parts marketplace, posted FY25 revenue of Rs 198 crore, a 2.5‑fold increase over the prior year. However, expenses surged 145% to Rs 235 crore, pushing the net loss to Rs 36 crore, more than double FY24’s deficit. Material costs, which represent...
Best AliExpress Extensions: Which Ones Are Actually Worth Using?
The article evaluates the most effective AliExpress browser extensions, highlighting tools that streamline product sourcing, price comparison, and order automation. It references broader e‑commerce trends—Alibaba’s New Retail push, mobile lending apps, and marketplace revitalization—to illustrate why advanced extensions are essential...
Today Only: Up To 4x Bonus Airline Miles On Apple Purchases
A limited‑time promotion lets shoppers earn 3.5‑4 times the usual airline miles on Apple purchases through major airline shopping portals. The highest multiplier, up to 4x, is offered by Alaska Atmos Rewards and United MileagePlus, while American AAdvantage and Delta SkyMiles...
Agentic AI Commerce May Spell the End of Internet Ads: A16z Crypto
a16z Crypto warns that autonomous AI agents could replace traditional online advertising, reshaping the internet’s economic model. The article notes the $291 billion ad market in 2025 may erode as agents shop without distraction. Platforms like ChatGPT and Gemini already offer...
Aigner Taps Melchers to Navigate China’s Crowded Luxury Market
German leather‑goods label Aigner has signed a distribution deal with Melchers China to accelerate its expansion across Mainland China. The agreement gives Melchers control of Aigner’s retail and e‑commerce channels, beginning with a flagship store on Alibaba’s Tmall Luxury Pavilion....
Amazon Sees India as High-Growth Market, Expands Seller Incentives and Logistics Network: Report
Amazon is treating India as a long‑term growth market, expanding its zero‑referral‑fee program to cover roughly 125 million products. The company announced an additional $35 billion investment in India by 2030, on top of the $40 billion already spent. A new air...
12 Best Coffee Subscriptions (2026), Tested by Caffeine Hounds
The 2026 "Best Coffee Subscriptions" guide spotlights Partners Coffee as the most flexible option, featuring text‑based subscription management and two‑day roasting turnaround, and Sightglass Coffee as the top WIRED pick with flexible bag sizes and free bulk shipping. The article...
The Resale Paradox: How Sports Culture Is Driving Both Circularity--And Consumption
Resale platforms such as Depop and Poshmark are now embedded in the sports arena, where fan‑driven merchandise fuels a booming secondhand market. ThredUp projects the global resale sector to reach $367 billion by 2029, growing 2.7 times faster than overall apparel. Sports...
Sally Beauty Launches on TikTok Shop
Sally Beauty has opened an official storefront on TikTok Shop, launching more than 1,000 products over the next weeks. The assortment blends Sally‑owned labels such as Beauty Secrets and Silk Elements with national brands like Sauce Beauty and upcoming partners...
K-Beauty World Expands on Ulta Beauty Marketplace with 17 New Brands
K‑Beauty World has added 17 new Korean beauty brands to Ulta Beauty’s online marketplace, expanding its roster to 12 initial brands with five more slated for May. The assortment leans heavily toward skincare, featuring nine skincare labels alongside hair‑care, body‑care,...
Pep Technologies Cuts Losses 81% in FY25; Hyphen Drives Growth, mCaffeine Stalls
Pep Technologies posted a 23% rise in operating revenue to Rs 237.5 crore in FY25, while cutting its net loss by 81% to Rs 18 crore. The growth was driven almost entirely by its Hyphen brand, which surged over 6.5‑times to cross...
Perciva 5D Camera: Occlusion-Free 3D Vision for Industrial, Retail, and Robotic Imaging
Teledyne e2v introduced the Perciva 5D camera, a short‑range 3D vision system that combines 2D imaging and depth mapping in a single CMOS sensor. The device uses angular‑sensitive pixel technology and an on‑board neural‑processing unit to deliver real‑time, occlusion‑free depth maps...
Modern Retail Podcast: AI-Generated Review Summaries Could Upend Online Shopping
Generative AI is now creating condensed summaries of customer reviews that appear in AI‑powered search results such as Gemini, ChatGPT and Rufus. The Modern Retail Podcast discusses how these bot‑written snippets reshape product discovery and can strip essential context from...
Samsonite Leans on Ecommerce Growth as Wholesale Demand Weakens
Samsonite posted a modest rebound in Q4, with sales rising 2.2% to $963.3 million, though full‑year revenue slipped 2.5% to $3.5 billion. Ecommerce revenue surged 12% year‑over‑year to $145.5 million, lifting its share of total sales to 15.1% in the quarter. Direct‑to‑consumer channels...
Google Tightens Rules on Out-of-Stock Product Pages
Google Merchant Center now mandates that out‑of‑stock product pages display a visibly disabled, grayed‑out buy button instead of removing or keeping it active. The rule also requires a clear availability label—such as “out of stock” or “back order”—that matches the...
Walmart Says ChatGPT Checkout Converted 3x Worse than Its Own Website
Walmart’s real‑world test of OpenAI’s Instant Checkout showed that purchases completed inside ChatGPT converted at roughly one‑third the rate of transactions on Walmart.com, a 66% drop in conversion. The underperformance prompted Walmart to pull back from the in‑chat checkout model....
Ditch the Discount, Says Brand Marketer
Cherene Aubert, founder of Growth Capital, advises D2C brands to stop discounting slow‑moving inventory and instead use bundles or free‑gift tactics that preserve margins. She recommends pairing a popular full‑price product with a discontinued item, allowing customers to perceive added...
Amaze to Launch Live Shopping Tools Enabling In-Stream Purchasing for Creators, Brands
Amaze, the creator‑powered commerce platform, announced new live‑shopping capabilities that let creators and brands sell products directly within live streams. The tools include instant in‑stream purchasing, real‑time audience interaction such as comments, polls, dynamic product highlights, and time‑limited promo codes....
Mother’s Day Is No Longer a Last-Minute Rush as Shoppers Spread Demand and Embrace More Flexible Delivery Options
UK e‑commerce orders rose 8.47 % YoY in the week leading up to Mother’s Day, but the growth was evenly distributed rather than concentrated on a single rush day. Shoppers spread purchases across the entire week, with the strongest lifts on...
One Year on From Retail’s Devastating Cyber Attacks, What’s Changed?
A year after a wave of sophisticated cyber attacks crippled ecommerce platforms and supply chains, retailers have begun overhauling their security models. The industry is moving from perimeter‑based defenses to zero‑trust architectures, with roughly 63% of organisations adopting at least...
It’s Time to Reshore: Why AI-Augmented Development Changes the Equation
An engineer used Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4.5 and Claude Code to build a multi‑brand, multi‑locale e‑commerce platform for Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan in just 2.5 days, completing seven sprints that would normally require a distributed offshore team for weeks. The project...
How Can AI Transform Retail: 5 Key Ways
Artificial intelligence is reshaping retail by delivering hyper‑personalized experiences, real‑time inventory forecasting, and 24/7 virtual assistance. AI‑driven dynamic pricing and computer‑vision‑enabled in‑store tools are boosting sales margins while reducing stockouts. Fraud detection and supply‑chain optimization further enhance security and efficiency....
This Brand Broke the Biggest Rule of E-Commerce—And Made Customers 3.5x More Valuable
Huckberry’s newsletter, launched 15 years ago, includes external links to curated stories, defying the e‑commerce rule against outbound links. The brand treats customers as community members, offering entertainment, education, and connections beyond its product line. This content‑first approach yields customers...
5 Tips for More Reliable Shipping Operations
The article outlines five practical steps to make shipping operations more reliable: ensuring order accuracy, standardizing procedures, leveraging third‑party logistics (3PL), maintaining precise inventory records, and setting clear deadlines. Each tip targets common pitfalls such as mis‑picks, inconsistent packing, and...
Customers Reject AI Slop: Don’t Let Automated Ads Ruin Your Retail Marketing Strategy
Retail marketers are facing backlash as AI‑generated ad “slop” erodes brand trust. Recent incidents like Blue Apron’s gibberish copy highlight consumer rejection of low‑quality automated content, now dubbed Merriam‑Webster’s 2025 Word of the Year. While platforms such as Meta and...
DTC Bundles Engineered for UGC: How to Turn Every Kit Into a Content Machine
Direct‑to‑consumer brands are repurposing product bundles and starter kits as engines for user‑generated content. By pairing each kit with influencer storytelling scripts, companies can lift average order value while keeping customer acquisition costs flat. The article highlights micro‑influencer pods and...
From the Archive: Tesco Online
Tesco launched its online grocery platform in 1997 and by February 2001 had grown sales to £237 million, up from £59 million the previous year, on a modest £40 million investment. The retailer pioneered an in‑store picking model, expanding delivery from a single...
Instagram Affiliate Marketing: What Still Works In 2026
Instagram affiliate marketing now merges influencer and performance tactics as Meta expands shoppable posts and in‑app checkout. Brands must navigate new tagging workflows, tiered commission bands, and stricter FTC disclosures. Hybrid compensation models and native tagging drive higher ROI, but...
Strategies for Smooth Transactions in Healthcare E-Commerce Platforms
Healthcare e‑commerce is expanding rapidly, but its transactions must juggle payment security, regulatory compliance, prescription verification, and complex logistics. The article outlines eight strategic pillars—including PCI DSS‑compliant checkout, end‑to‑end encryption, AI‑driven order validation, cold‑chain shipping, and seamless EHR integration—to create...
The Works Closes Ecommerce Website with Immediate Effect
The Works announced it will shut its e‑commerce platform and convert its website into a non‑transactional brand showcase. The decision follows two years of operational problems with third‑party fulfilment partners and a loss‑making online division that contributed only a small...
How Are Smartphones Remaking Retail
South Africa’s e‑commerce market surpassed R130 billion in 2025, representing roughly 10 % of total retail sales, with 55 % of consumers using smartphones to shop online. Emerging mobile technologies—AI‑driven personalization, social commerce, and augmented reality—are reshaping how shoppers discover, evaluate, and purchase...
How an MBA Internship Led Mitsubishi to E-Commerce Platform Yami—And Into the U.S. Snacks Market
Japan’s largest food wholesaler, Mitsubishi Shokuhin, has signed a strategic partnership with U.S. e‑commerce platform Yami, giving the company direct access to millions of American consumers for its Japanese food and beverage brands. The collaboration originated from an MBA internship...
How AI Is Enabling Hyper-Personalisation at Scale for Online Marketplaces
In 2026 Indian online marketplaces are shifting from simple, history‑based recommendations to AI‑driven, intent‑led experiences. Real‑time interpretation of queries, browsing signals and context enables hyper‑personalisation across search, recommendations and support. AI also cleans and standardises chaotic multi‑vendor catalogs, creating a...
Paris Appeals Court Blocks Bid to Suspend Shein’s Marketplace
Paris’ Court of Appeal rejected France’s request to suspend Shein’s marketplace, upholding a December ruling that the platform must enforce stricter age‑verification for sensitive items. The decision follows a scandal where child‑like sex dolls and prohibited weapons were found on...
Dollar General, Five Below Each Seek to Enhance Omnichannel Experiences
Discount retailers Dollar General and Five Below used their Q4 earnings calls to outline new digital initiatives aimed at strengthening omnichannel experiences. Dollar General reported a 4.3% same‑store sales increase and highlighted its expanded delivery network, upgraded search, and a...
Amelia Van Camp: Preparing for Agentic Commerce Now and for the Future
At the Mirakl Summit in London, Head of Agentic Commerce Amelia Van Camp highlighted how AI is reshaping marketplace ecosystems. She explained Mirakl’s strategy for embedding large‑language models into category mapping, customer experience, product sourcing and retail media. The discussion...
Mexico’s Culture Ministry Urges eBay to Halt Sales of Pre-Hispanic Artefacts
Mexico’s Secretariat of Culture has flagged 195 pre‑Hispanic artefacts listed by the U.S.‑based eBay seller Coins Artifacts and formally asked the platform to halt the sales and return the items. The ministry’s letter cites Mexico’s 1827 export ban and alleges the...
Shoppers Turn to Verify Before Buying as Trust Erodes
Shoppers are increasingly using smartphones in physical aisles to verify product details as rising prices and a surge in fraud erode trust in online purchases. Recent Salsify research shows daily online shopping dropped from 21% to 9% within a year,...
Rezolve Ai to Showcase Production-Ready Agentic Commerce Platform at Shoptalk 2026
Rezolve Ai announced it will demo its production‑ready agentic commerce platform at Shoptalk 2026 in Las Vegas. The solution lets shoppers move from discovery to checkout within a single conversational experience, powered by the company’s proprietary brainpowa model suite, Brain...
DoorDash Deepens Retail Push with Foot Locker Partnership
DoorDash announced a partnership with Foot Locker, Kids Foot Locker and Champs Sports, adding nearly 1,300 store locations to its Marketplace. Shoppers can now order sneakers, apparel and accessories through the DoorDash app for same‑day delivery. The deal ties the...
Top 10 E-Commerce Marketplaces in 2026
Amazon remains the clear U.S. marketplace leader with roughly $300 billion in third‑party sales, dwarfing eBay’s $39 billion and the next tier of platforms. Temu, TikTok Shop and Walmart have converged in a tight $15‑22 billion GMV band, each leveraging distinct supply‑chain, content...
Amazon to Invest over 5 Billion Euros in Poland
Amazon announced a €5 billion investment in Poland between 2026 and 2028, adding to the €10 billion it has already spent since 2012. The funding will support a new 200,000‑square‑meter fulfillment center in Dobromierz equipped with 5,000 robots, expanding its logistics footprint...