Consumers Spend More When Payments Are Frictionless, an NMI Study Finds
A new NMI study of 1,000 U.S. adults shows that frictionless payments boost both purchase frequency and spend. Half of respondents say they shop more often when checkout feels seamless, and 48% admit to spending more at the point of sale under the same conditions. One‑click checkout is favored by 52% of shoppers, rising to 61% among busy parents, while half of consumers abandon carts when they encounter payment friction. The research also highlights generational splits, with Gen Z especially responsive to incentive‑driven, digital‑first checkout experiences.
Rapido’s Ownly Launch Signals Food Delivery Push Amid $600-Million Fundraise
Urban mobility platform Rapido is entering India’s crowded food‑delivery space with its Ownly service, rolling out initially in Bengaluru. The launch coincides with a $550‑600 million fundraising round led by Prosus, aimed at financing diversification beyond ride‑hailing and logistics. Ownly promises...
Niceshops: ‘Revenue Increased 20% in 2025’
Austrian e‑commerce provider Niceshops reported a 20 percent revenue jump to €169 million in fiscal 2025, alongside an EBITDA increase to €8 million. After cutting 20 percent of its workforce in 2024, the firm now employs roughly 400 staff and serves 1.3 million active customers...
NutraCast: Amazon’s New Supplement Policy Could Trigger Delistings
Amazon announced a new supplement policy that will take effect on March 31, 2026, requiring every product claim on its marketplace to exactly match the information on the supplement facts panel. The enforcement will be driven by AI systems that scan...
Sitma Introduces PackHub, a Compact Automated Bagging System for Faster Order Fulfillment
Sitma unveiled PackHub, a compact automated bagging system that streamlines order fulfillment by automating bag feeding, orientation, and labeling. The unit’s 500‑bag hopper and precision friction feeder can cut packaging time by up to 50% per order while preserving a...
How Vessi Sells Waterproof Shoes
Vessi, a Canada‑based direct‑to‑consumer sneaker brand, leverages its patented Dyma‑tex fabric to sell waterproof yet breathable shoes. Director of ecommerce Ray Hua explains that Meta ads dominate customer acquisition, while TikTok and Reddit generate traffic with low conversion quality. The...
UK Brands Risk Billions as One-Third of Customers Switch Due to a Poor Digital Retail Experience
New MSQ DX research shows a widening perception gap between UK retailers and consumers, with one‑third of shoppers abandoning brands due to poor digital experiences. The gap is most acute among 25‑34‑year‑olds, where 64% switched brands in the past year....
From Bedroom Demos to Studio Dreams: Why Brands Ditch Influencers for High-Production Livestreams
Brands are abandoning low‑budget influencer livestreams in favor of high‑production, brand‑controlled video commerce. Zara’s recent five‑hour Douyin showcase, hosted by a supermodel, drew over one million viewers, illustrating the power of polished, immersive experiences. The shift is driven by the...
How Digital Asset Management Helps Retailers Scale up and Attract Customers
Retailers are still stuck with fragmented digital storage—44% use local servers and 41% rely on individual hard drives, while 51% track product details in spreadsheets. This patchwork creates version‑control issues and slows time‑to‑market. Canto’s State of Digital Content 2026 report...
DPD Opens Two New Purpose-Built Distribution Centres in South East
DPD has opened two new 60,000‑square‑foot distribution centres in Crawley and Sittingbourne, replacing older depots and adding state‑of‑the‑art automation. Each hub can process up to 80,000 parcels daily and will support more than 100 new driver routes in the South...
The Need for “Grounded AI” – Not Hype
The 2026 Retail Technology Show in London gathered senior brand leaders from River Island, Pentland Brands, Goddiva, Noble Panacea and Azzurri Group to discuss retail’s next evolution. Panelists emphasized “grounded AI” as an enabler, citing River Island’s 80% drop in...
Expressions Gift Card Kiosks Bring Personalization to Retail Gifting
Expressions Gift Card Kiosk merges personalized greeting cards with instant digital gift cards, printing on glossy stock in under 41 seconds. The self‑service unit occupies just four square feet, replacing traditional 20‑60‑foot aisles and reducing inventory valued up to $40,000...
What Makes the Automated Retail & Kiosk Innovation Show a Must-Attend Event?
The Automated Retail & Kiosk Innovation Show (ARKI) returns Dec. 14‑16, 2026 in Miami Beach, targeting operators, brands, and technology providers. Since its 2020 debut, the event has evolved from a pure tech showcase to a deployment‑focused forum emphasizing scalability, reliability, and...
From Vending Machines to Autonomous Retail: The Evolution of Grab and Go Shopping
Physical retail is rapidly adopting autonomous, checkout‑free models that let shoppers pick items and leave without scanning. The piece traces the technology from early vending machines through digital payments, smart vending, and finally AI‑driven grab‑and‑go stores. These stores rely on...
SiriusXM VP Talks Music Impact Within the Retail Digital Signage Experience
SiriusXM’s VP of commercial music, Stuart Larking, highlighted the growing role of music in digital signage, citing its ability to increase dwell time and sales. He noted that Pandora CloudCover’s new signage features let retailers pair curated, fully licensed music...
New Balance Adds Apparel to Its Resale Platform Reconsidered
New Balance is extending its Reconsidered resale platform, originally launched two years ago, to include apparel alongside its already‑circulated 100,000 pairs of shoes. The service refurbishes returned items and sells them through a dedicated site, while consumers can trade in...
Why Payment Technology Is Now Central to the Restaurant Experience, Especially on Mother’s Day
Lloyds Merchant Services’ latest research shows contactless payments, mobile wallets and integrated point‑of‑sale systems are reshaping the restaurant experience, especially on high‑traffic days like Mother’s Day. The study found a 45% year‑over‑year rise in contactless transactions within hospitality and a...
Ulta Beauty CEO Announces TikTok Shop Launch, 11.8% Net Sales Jump: ‘We Got Our Swagger Back’
Ulta Beauty announced it will launch a storefront on TikTok Shop next week, becoming one of the few multi‑brand retailers on the platform. The launch was revealed during the Q4 2025 earnings call, where the company reported an 11.8% rise...
Cymbiotika Lands in Ulta Just Months After Launching in Target
Cymbiotika, the liposomal supplement startup, is launching on Ulta’s website on March 15 and in more than 1,000 Ulta stores on March 29, expanding its retail footprint after a Target debut last fall. The rollout introduces four products, including an NAD formula...
The Errand Kids Now Run Quick Commerce in Flipkart’s Gudi Padwa Ad
Flipkart launched a Gudi Padwa commercial that reimagines the traditional role of the youngest family member as the go‑to errand runner. Set across 1975, 2000 and 2026, the ad shows a child simply tapping a phone to order a missing...
Amazon Plans to Shift Annual Prime Day Sale to June From July
Amazon is advancing its flagship Prime Day event from July to late June, shifting the promotional window by roughly six weeks. The timing change means the massive sales boost will now be recorded in the second quarter rather than the...
Instacart’s Partnership with Uber Eats Has Helped with Grocery
Instacart’s 2024 partnership with Uber Eats is delivering a measurable “flywheel” effect, driving more frequent grocery orders. By lowering the minimum basket to $10 and promoting its Instacart+ membership, the company is shifting users from quarterly to weekly activity. The...
Need Kids Winter Wear? Used Gear Seller Announces New Trade-In Deal
Town Hall Outdoor Co. has teamed with Geartrade to launch RePlay, a resale program for kids' winter apparel. The initiative lets parents trade in outgrown garments for credit toward future purchases, with Geartrade handling evaluation, repair, warehousing and online resale....
Petco Builds Around ‘Integrated Omnichannel’ Experiences
Petco reported FY2025 net sales falling 2.5% to $5.96 billion and comparable sales down 1.6%, after closing 16 stores and ending the year with 1,382 locations. CEO Joel Anderson highlighted a four‑prong, integrated omnichannel strategy to blend digital and physical channels....
Ecommerce Trends: Who Are the Top Online Retailers in Health & Beauty?
Hims & Hers Health Inc. posted $2.35 billion in 2025 ecommerce sales, propelling it into the top‑five Health & Beauty online retailers in North America and ranking #68 overall in Digital Commerce 360’s Top 2000. The company’s revenue surged 63.2% year‑over‑year after...
Turn Your Old Tech Into Cash at the 7 Best Places to Sell It
CNET lists the seven top services for selling used electronics in 2026, highlighting Swappa as the overall leader for value and protection. The guide compares each platform’s payout methods, device eligibility, and turnaround times, from Amazon’s instant e‑gift cards to...
Instacart Partners with Fareway to Expand Online Grocery Pickup Options
Instacart announced a partnership with Midwest grocer Fareway to roll out online ordering and curbside pickup across the chain’s more than 140 locations. The collaboration leverages Instacart’s Storefront Pro platform, allowing customers to shop via Fareway’s website or the Instacart...
Spreetail Introduces the Brand Experience Portal (BEx)
Spreetail has unveiled the Brand Experience Portal (BEx), a real‑time dashboard that consolidates sales, advertising, and fulfillment data for its brand partners. The platform integrates existing tools such as Price Pulse, Promise Pro, True Ads, and Smart Shelf, delivering AI‑driven...
Reverse Logistics - the Key To Parcel And E-Commerce Deliveries
Reverse logistics has become as vital as forward delivery amid the surge in e‑commerce shipments. Handling returns now demands specialized processes to manage cost, legal exposure, and brand reputation. Retailers and logistics providers must strengthen compliance with data‑privacy, intellectual‑property, and...
The UK’s Online Retail Sector Defies Rain and Global Instability to Deliver a Stable February at £9.25bn
UK online retail delivered £9.25 billion in February, a 3.3% year‑on‑year increase despite rain and geopolitical tension. The growth was powered by mobile commerce, social‑driven discovery and a rapid uptake of generative AI tools in the purchase journey. Falling prices in...
Levi Strauss Picks SCAYLE as Global Ecommerce Platform Provider
Levi Strauss & Co. announced it will adopt SCAYLE as the core technology for its global ecommerce operations. The migration of Levi’s online storefronts to the SCAYLE platform will begin in 2026 and continue through 2027, covering multiple international markets....
Amount of Online Shoppers Increases in Portugal
Portugal's e‑commerce market reached 5.8 million online shoppers in 2025, a 4 percent increase year‑over‑year and representing 67.9 percent of the population. The Marktest E‑commerce Barometer found free delivery to be the most influential purchase driver, ahead of price discounts and loyalty incentives....
FedEx Introduces Reusable Shipping Boxes for B2B Shipments
FedEx has launched a reusable shipping box system for B2B shipments, created with Returnity. The collapsible containers hold up to 50 lb, survive roughly 50 reuse cycles, and fit existing FedEx sorting equipment. FedEx says the solution can slash packaging costs...
Gino Van Ossel on RetailDetail’s Omnichannel Congress: “E-Commerce Is Not ‘Mature’; It Remains a Battlefield”
Retail expert Gino Van Ossel warned that e‑commerce, while technically mature, remains a fiercely contested battlefield. He highlighted that omnichannel is now the baseline, with supermarkets such as Delhaize and Colruyt expanding click‑&‑collect, subscriptions and home delivery to capture online...
Santander and Visa Launch LatAm Agentic Payments Project
Santander and Visa have launched Latin America’s first end‑to‑end agentic commerce pilot, completing real‑world transactions in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Uruguay using Visa Intelligent Commerce. AI agents bought chocolates in Brazil and books in the other markets, proving that...
Sigma Sports Opens Marketplace to Specialist Sellers
Sigma Sports announced a specialist marketplace launching in summer 2026, powered by Mirakl, to give niche cycling and triathlon brands a premium, high‑converting sales channel. The platform imposes no listing fees, lets sellers control pricing, and offers weekly payouts while...
The End of Keywords: How Intent Modeling Is Reshaping Amazon Search (and What It Means for Modern Commerce)
Amazon is replacing keyword‑based search with intent modeling through its COSMO system. The AI‑driven engine analyzes shopper behavior—search, clicks, purchases—to infer purchasing motivations, turning each product into a node within a behavior‑focused knowledge graph. Brands must restructure listings to answer...
Akurateco Payment Hub Partners with Kushki to Expand PSP Access Across Latin America
Payment infrastructure provider Akurateco announced a strategic partnership with Latin American payments firm Kushki to broaden PSP connectivity across the region. The deal integrates Kushki’s suite of local payment rails into Akurateco’s Payment Hub, giving merchants, PSPs and fintechs a...
What Is Conversational Marketing & Why Are Retail Brands Investing in It?
Conversational marketing is becoming essential for retailers as shoppers demand real‑time, personalized communication. A 2025 Infobip‑Retail Economics survey found 61% of UK consumers view retailer messages as irrelevant and 56% say they lack personalization. Retailers are turning to live chat,...
The EU-Startups Podcast | Interview with Refurbed Founder Kilian Kaminski
The EU‑Startups Podcast featured Kilian Kaminski, co‑founder of Refurbed, a Vienna‑based marketplace that resells professionally refurbished electronics. Since its 2017 launch, Refurbed has become one of Europe’s fastest‑growing platforms for sustainable consumption, operating in multiple markets and securing more than €120 million...
Exotec and Komar Launch ‘Next-Generation’ Automated Fulfilment Centre in Savannah
Exotec is deploying its Skypod robotic system at Komar Distribution Services' 760,000‑square‑foot Savannah fulfillment centre. The modular solution promises up to 50% higher throughput and 30% greater storage density while handling both case and single‑item picking. Full automation is slated...
The Hidden Risks Behind Retail's AI Shopping Boom
AI shopping assistants drove $67 billion in Cyber Week 2025 sales, representing one in five digital purchases. However, 82 % of AI failures are hallucinations—confidently wrong answers that erode trust. Traditional QA misses these errors because it tests ideal scenarios, not real‑world shopper...
Serve Robotics and White Castle Launch Autonomous Delivery via Uber Eats
Serve Robotics and White Castle have teamed up to ship the chain’s sliders and other menu items using autonomous sidewalk robots through Uber Eats. The rollout adds Serve’s third‑generation delivery bots to the existing Uber Eats network, which already operates in major...
Rethinking Affiliate, Creator, and Marketplaces with Levanta
Levanta is urging e‑commerce brands to dissolve the long‑standing divide between affiliate and creator marketing by consolidating tools, data, and budgets onto a single platform. The company’s one‑click integration with Amazon, Shopify and Walmart replaces multi‑tool spreadsheets, while its AI‑driven...
How Zalando Is Preparing for an AI Retail World
Zalando is positioning itself for an AI‑driven e‑commerce future, where analysts expect AI agents to handle 15 % of online sales by 2030. The retailer, which has been experimenting with AI for fifteen years, now creates 90 % of its marketing content...
Zalando Reports Double-Digit Growth in 2025 as It Accelerates Investment in AI Innovation
Zalando posted double‑digit growth in 2025, with GMV rising 14.7% to €17.6 billion, revenue up 16.8% to €12.3 billion and EBIT reaching €591 million. Active customers hit a record 62 million and non‑fashion categories grew 13%. The July 2026 acquisition of ABOUT YOU is expected...
Furniture.com Was Built for SEO. Now It’s Trying to Crack AI Search
Furniture.com, a legacy domain acquired by Rooms To Go’s venture arm, relaunched in 2023 as a market‑aggregation platform for over 70 furniture retailers. Facing the rise of AI‑driven chatbots, the company is shifting from traditional SEO to generative engine optimization...
Why Vintage Sellers Are Taking Resale Live
Vintage resale sellers are shifting from static listings to livestream auctions, with Whatnot emerging as a primary platform. Stephania Garcia’s Costura channel grew annual revenue from $25,000 to over $250,000 by hosting multiple weekly live shows. Whatnot’s fashion category now...
How ECDB Is Bringing Transaction-Level Transparency to Global E-Commerce Trends
ECDB, founded in 2022, delivers transaction‑level e‑commerce market intelligence by processing more than 1 billion purchases each month—about 1‑2% of global online sales. Its platform normalises and enriches this data to provide near‑real‑time visibility across categories, retailers and markets. Retailers using...
Vivid Seats Inc (SEAT) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
Vivid Seats reported a sharp decline in Q3 2025, with Marketplace Gross Order Value down 29% YoY to $618 million and revenue falling 27% to $136 million. A leadership change placed CFO Lawrence C. Fey as CEO and interim CFO Ted Pikus,...