Dick’s Sporting Goods Tries Out AI-Powered Coaches From Adobe
Dick’s Sporting Goods has partnered with Adobe to embed AI‑powered “digital coaches” into its mobile app, offering sport‑specific training tips and personalized product recommendations. The rollout leverages Adobe Brand Concierge, while Adobe Experience Platform will unify shopper data across the app, website and stores. Additional Adobe tools such as GenStudio, Firework, and Experience Manager will streamline on‑brand content creation and workflow. The initiative is part of Dick’s broader AI strategy that includes agentic AI for inventory, labor forecasting and deeper personalization across channels.
Voice Is the New AI Interface: Why the Next Great UX Won’t Feel Like Software
Retail’s shift from static menus and typed chat boxes to voice‑first AI restores the natural conversation that drives sales. Typed prompts force users to translate intent into precise keywords, leading to low completion rates, while voice lets shoppers and staff...
Ulta Partners With Google Gemini To Power Agentic AI For Beauty Shoppers
Ulta Beauty has teamed with Google to embed the Gemini generative‑AI model into its website, mobile app, and product listings across Google Search, Shopping, YouTube, Lens and the Gemini discovery platform. The partnership leverages Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol, allowing shoppers...
UPS Expands Product Return Network
UPS Inc. announced the addition of more than 1,700 new Return Bar locations, bringing its box‑free, label‑free drop‑off network to 10,000 sites nationwide. The expansion, driven by partnerships with Annex Brands and PackageHub Business Centers, now places 79% of the U.S. population...
Temu Named Portugal’s Leading International Marketplace
Temu, the U.S.-based Chinese‑origin e‑commerce platform, was named Portugal’s leading international marketplace by Portal da Queixa’s Recommended Brand 2026 awards. The distinction reflects its 2025 performance, especially fast complaint resolution and high consumer satisfaction. An Ipsos study shows roughly 80%...
Why Old School Pizza Delivery Won’t Disappear, Despite Third-Party Dominance
Third‑party aggregators like DoorDash and Uber Eats dominate pizza delivery volumes, but major chains such as Domino’s, Pizza Hut, and Papa John’s continue to operate their own driver fleets for orders placed through proprietary apps. The hybrid approach lets brands capture the...
Rebuilding The Etsy Brand Around The Moments Of Your Life
Etsy is reshaping its brand around "milestones and mini stones," leveraging spontaneous cultural moments like breakup parties to fuel social‑first advertising. The new Festival Shop, launched this month, pairs musical artists such as Laufey, PinkPantheress and Willow Avalon with independent...
Sony’s PlayStation 5 Is $200 Off for the First Time Since December
Sony’s PlayStation Direct site is offering the slim PS5 Digital Edition for $399, a $200 cut from the $599.99 retail price. The bundle includes a DualSense controller, power and HDMI cables, plus exclusive Fortnite cosmetics. An optional disc‑drive add‑on is...
The Future of Customer Loyalty Is in the Return Line
Retailers have shifted from speed‑focused loyalty to experience‑driven retention, according to SAP’s 2026 Engagement Index. The study finds 48% of consumers care more about how a brand makes them feel, while 71% are turned off by repetitive, disjointed interactions. Although...
Vegancuts Turns 15 Under New Ownership with $100,000 Giveaway
Vegancuts, the U.S. vegan subscription service founded in 2011, marks its 15‑year anniversary with a sweepstakes offering a Rivian R2 electric SUV or a $100,000 cash prize. The promotion runs through June 4, 2026, granting one entry per dollar spent on...
As Agentic Commerce Targets Mainstream, Who’s Going to Handle Disputes?
AI‑driven agents are poised to become autonomous shoppers, prompting fintech firms to build standardized payment protocols and control layers. While the technology promises frictionless transactions, the rise of agentic commerce raises a critical question: who will adjudicate disputes when autonomous...
FTC to Rein in Hidden Grocery Delivery Fees After Multimillion-Dollar Settlements with Walmart, Instacart, Grubhub, Amazon
The Federal Trade Commission has issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to address hidden fees in online food and grocery delivery, inviting public comment on potential federal regulations. The move follows multimillion‑dollar settlements with Walmart ($100 million), Instacart ($60 million), Grubhub...
87% of Ecommerce Businesses Likely to Change Manufacturing Locations
A Fidelity Fulfilment‑Opinion Matters survey of 1,500 ecommerce firms shows 87 % plan to relocate primary manufacturing within three years, driven by geopolitical uncertainty and supply‑chain disruptions. At the same time, 86 % intend to add new fulfilment centres, creating more distributed...
Block and Uber Expand Partnership Across Several Global Markets
Block and Uber announced an expanded global partnership that adds Cash App Pay as a payment option on Uber rides and Uber Eats in the United States, giving Uber access to roughly 59 million monthly Cash App users. The deal also...
Flipkart Extends Recommerce Model to Fashion with Denim Take-Back Scheme
Flipkart has broadened its circular‑economy push by launching “Swap on Jeans,” a denim take‑back scheme under its Flipkart Reset recommerce arm. The program, which started as a Bengaluru pilot, now operates in more than 260 pin codes across Delhi NCR...
Ocado Retail Launches ‘Future of Food Edit’ Aisle This Earth Day to Support a More Sustainable Food System
Ocado Retail has introduced a curated "Future of Food Edit" aisle on Earth Day, showcasing brands that meet strict standards for nutrition, responsible sourcing, and waste reduction. The initiative partners with the not‑for‑profit Future of Food platform and verification firm...
EBay Publish AI Activate Prompt Library
eBay has launched an AI Activate Prompt Library as part of its AI Activate programme, which gives UK small businesses free access to ChatGPT and tailored training. The library offers plug‑and‑play prompts covering listing optimisation, customer communication, market research, performance...
A Better Way To Fail: How This Platform Aims To Turn Startup Shutdowns Into Something Salvageable
SimpleClosure, a Los Angeles‑based platform founded in 2023, raised just over $20 million to automate and simplify startup shutdowns. The company has launched Asset Hub, a marketplace where founders can sell or transfer source code, workplace data, domain names and physical...
OKA to Extend North West Reach with First John Lewis Concession
Premium interiors brand OKA will open its first concession inside John Lewis Liverpool in June 2026, showcasing a curated selection in‑store while offering a broader catalogue of 200 products on johnlewis.com. The move extends OKA’s limited presence in the North West and...
Iran War Weighs on the DIY Market
European DIY retailers are feeling the squeeze as online giants reshape the market. Amazon now commands roughly 15% of the continent’s DIY sales, translating to about $9.8 billion in 2024 out of a total $71.9 billion online market. Low‑cost Asian platforms such...
L.L. Bean Taps Amerpirty to Revamp Customer Journey, Boost Loyalty
L.L. Bean has partnered with Amperity to overhaul its end‑to‑end customer journeys using the firm’s Customer Data Cloud. The new platform will replace legacy systems, unify data, and enable predictive, real‑time personalization across email, direct mail, web, and catalog channels. By...
Why Checkout Is Becoming the Most Valuable Moment in Commerce
The article argues that checkout has shifted from a simple transaction to the most valuable moment in commerce. Consumers now demand instant, one‑click payments and the ability to use preferred methods, while merchants can capture additional revenue by embedding financing,...
China Delivery Giants Fined £390m After Violent Clashes
China’s State Administration for Market Regulation imposed record fines totaling 3.6 billion yuan (about $500 million) on seven e‑commerce and food‑delivery platforms, including PDD Holdings, Meituan, JD.com, Alibaba and ByteDance. The penalties followed a probe marked by violent clashes, with employees injuring...
EBANX Expands Recurring Alternative Payments Offering
EBANX, the Brazil‑based payment‑tech firm, announced that its recurring alternative payment methods (APMs) will now be available in six new markets: the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, South Africa, Colombia and Peru. The rollout was unveiled at Money20/20 Asia in Bangkok, extending...
Target’s Creator Program Exit Is a Warning Shot for E-Commerce Affiliate Strategy
Target has quietly discontinued its Creator affiliate program, replacing it with a gamified nano‑influencer strategy that emphasizes smaller, community‑focused creators. The shift reflects the difficulty of scaling hybrid affiliate‑influencer models and the growing consumer preference for authentic, low‑reach recommendations. At...
Mountain Warehouse Ecommerce Upgrade: SMEs Take Note
Mountain Warehouse has retired its decade‑old ecommerce platform in favor of a composable architecture built on BigCommerce’s Catalyst frontend and a suite of best‑of‑breed services. The switch aims to boost site speed, improve security, and give the retailer the flexibility...
Retail Media Is Not Just About Retailers Any More
Retail media is expanding beyond traditional retailer‑owned inventory to capture shopper intent before a purchase decision is made. Multi‑retailer apps, digital leaflet aggregators, and deal platforms now generate pre‑purchase intent signals that can be packaged into targetable audience segments. Brands...
Akeneo Architects “The Great Restack” Of Global Commerce with Adaptive Product Cloud Evolution
Akeneo unveiled its Spring Release, rebranding the Product Cloud as an adaptive, extensible engine that places product data at the core of commerce. The update introduces a continuous feedback loop that ingests AI discovery trends, search performance, and marketplace signals...
Ajinkya Rahane Joins Chupps Footwear as Investor and Advisor
Chupps Footwear, the Delhi‑based D2C open‑footwear brand, has brought Indian cricketer Ajinkya Rahane on board as an equity investor and strategic advisor in its pre‑Series B round. While the exact amount was not disclosed, the capital will fund product innovation, offline...
Amazon Ramps up Efforts to Curb Counterfeits
Amazon is expanding its Counterfeit Crimes Unit (CCU) to India, establishing an on‑ground team to work closely with law‑enforcement, brands and sellers. The company will use AI‑driven scans that process billions of listings daily to identify counterfeit products and fake...
Quick-Commerce, Nescafe Coffee Push and Ad Spends: Inside Nestle India's Growth Play
Nestle India posted its strongest quarterly results in nearly a decade, with FY 2026 sales reaching ₹23,071.5 crore (≈$2.8 bn), a 15% year‑on‑year rise. The fourth quarter alone grew 23.4% to ₹6,445 crore (≈$777 m), driven by double‑digit volume gains across e‑commerce, quick‑commerce and beverages....
Losing at Checkout? Fix Delivery Choice in Minutes – Webinar
E‑commerce teams can change pricing and campaigns within minutes, yet delivery options at checkout often lag weeks behind. A new nShift webinar promises to cut that delay, showing how to update delivery rules, pricing and arrival estimates in minutes. The...
‘We’re Not Looking for Brand Exclusivity’: How Amazon Is Looking to Win over Beauty Consumers
Amazon announced its fourth‑annual Summer Beauty Event, running April 27 to May 10, with flash deals of up to 50% off across makeup, tools and grooming products. While the discount window competes with Sephora’s spring sale and Ulta’s 21 Days of Beauty, Amazon...
How Thorne Drove 63% Growth in DTC Sales After a Brand Awareness Push
Thorne, a leading supplement brand, achieved a 63% increase in direct‑to‑consumer (DTC) sales after launching a focused brand‑awareness campaign. The initiative leveraged data‑driven media mix modeling, influencer collaborations, and personalized content to convert research‑heavy shoppers. Nearly 90% of supplement buyers...
Samsung Partners With AnyMind Group to Boost Live Commerce in Eight Markets
Samsung Electronics has partnered with AnyMind Group to power its live‑commerce efforts in eight Asia‑Pacific markets using AnyMind’s AI‑driven AnyLive platform. The rollout adds roughly 4,450 livestream hours each month and introduces ten AI‑generated avatars that can answer shopper questions...
Expedia-Owned Last Minute to Close Down
Expedia Group announced that its Australian budget travel site Lastminute.com.au will cease operations on June 2, 2026, with new bookings ending May 15. The closure follows Expedia's broader effort to streamline its online portfolio after acquiring the site in a 2014 deal valued...
Planning Under Pressure: Beating Retail Volatility with AI
Retail Express chief strategist Ed Betts warns that the current wave of consumer‑demand swings and supply‑chain disruptions is forcing retailers to abandon intuition‑based planning. He argues that AI‑driven forecasting, scenario modeling and dynamic pricing now provide the clarity needed to...
Over 400K Records Allegedly Stolen From Major Dutch Webshop Bol, Data Leaked
A hacker using the alias “Jeffrey Epstein” claims to have stolen data on over 400,000 Belgian customers of Dutch e‑commerce giant Bol. The alleged dataset includes names, birthdates, contact details, shipping information and order history, though passwords and bank data are...
Unified Commerce Is Redefining the Future of Retail
Retailers are moving beyond fragmented omnichannel approaches to adopt unified commerce, a single real‑time platform that merges inventory, order management, and customer data. Manhattan Associates’ 2025 Unified Commerce Benchmark shows that leaders using this model achieve higher conversion rates, lower...
Sneaker and Heel Emojis Are Fueling the Rise of ‘Vibe Shopping’
Fast Simon reports that emoji usage in e‑commerce search surged 42% in 2025, with the sneaker emoji ranking first and the high‑heel emoji second. The trend, dubbed “vibe shopping,” reflects shoppers using visual shorthand instead of traditional product terms. Retailers...
Kroger Highlights Benefit of Ecommerce Leading Into Online Deal Days
Kroger announced its Online Deal Days promotion, running from April 22 through May 5, offering discounts tied to pickup and delivery orders. The retailer highlighted that delivery customers save an average of 47 minutes per order, while pickup shoppers save about 29...
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Walmart Makes the Next Move to Match Delivery with Amazon
Walmart is piloting a back‑room shelf‑staging system in Dallas stores to accelerate same‑day, third‑party deliveries. The retailer’s e‑commerce unit posted its first profit in April 2025, crediting store‑based logistics and customers’ willingness to pay for speed. Walmart now reaches 95% of...
Could Device Trade-Ins Be Retail’s Most Underutilized Sales Tool?
Retailers are underutilizing device trade‑in programs despite strong consumer demand. Alchemy’s research shows only 61% of U.S. smartphone purchasers are presented with a trade‑in option and less than half complete it, leaving roughly $83 billion of devices idle. A compelling trade‑in...
MKM Launches First Mobile App for Trade Customers and DIYers
UK building‑materials distributor MKM has rolled out its first mobile application, targeting both trade professionals and DIY shoppers. Developed entirely in‑house, the app lets users browse local branch inventory, view branch‑specific pricing, assemble baskets and pay invoices, with biometric login...
Building Cost-Aware Product Roadmaps Using Real-Time Data From Distributed Logistics Systems
Traditional product roadmaps rely on static cost and demand assumptions, limiting agility. Leading retailers are now integrating real‑time logistics data—shipping costs, inventory levels, and warehouse capacity—directly into roadmap tools. Predictive analytics and automated cost‑threshold alerts further enable dynamic reprioritization of...
Fintechs Push Bill for Fed Payment Rail Access
U.S. Representatives Young Kim (R‑CA) and Sam Liccardo (D‑CA) introduced the Payments Access and Consumer Efficiency (PACE) Act, a House bill that would allow qualified fintechs to access the Federal Reserve’s FedACH and FedNow payment rails as “registered covered providers.”...
Quick Commerce Discounts Plateau as Firms Balance Growth, Profitability: Report
India’s quick‑commerce and e‑grocery platforms are tempering discount levels after two years of aggressive price cuts, with average grocery discounts now around 17% versus 15‑24% across major players. Flipkart Minutes’ XtraSaver leads the pack, offering up to 24% off, while...
Your Next Customer Will Find You Using AI. Now What?
AI‑powered large language model (LLM) search is reshaping how consumers discover products, with 44% of U.S. online buyers now starting their journey in an LLM or AI tool. Adoption is twice as fast among Gen Z and millennials, but the trend...
O9 Survey Reveals Summer Shopping Will Be Omnichannel and Youth-Driven, Putting Pressure on Retail Inventory and Supply Chain Agility
The o9 Solutions survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers shows 69% will shop both in‑store and online this summer, while only 12% of Gen Z and 9% of Millennials plan to shop exclusively online. Younger shoppers are driving higher summer spending, especially...
B2B Ecommerce Powers Africa Retail
African consumer ecommerce is hampered by high acquisition costs and fragmented delivery, prompting a pivot toward B2B platforms that supply physical retailers. Companies like Nigeria’s TradeDepot and the MaxAB‑Wasoko merger are turning trucks into high‑density supply nodes while also offering...