Huawei and YowPay Launch Open Banking Smartwatch POS App
Huawei and fintech YowPay have introduced what they call the world’s first open‑banking smartwatch point‑of‑sale (POS) application. The solution lets merchants capture bank‑to‑bank payments directly from a Huawei smartwatch, removing the need for traditional card terminals or card‑based hardware. Built on open‑banking APIs, the app integrates YowPay’s payment orchestration with Huawei’s wearable ecosystem, offering real‑time transaction confirmation and biometric security. The launch targets small‑to‑medium retailers seeking low‑cost, contactless checkout options.
Los Angeles Small Business ‘Spreads’ Global Reach with Coupang
Los Angeles‑based organic nut butter maker Spread The Love is expanding into South Korea by partnering with e‑commerce giant Coupang. The partnership leverages Coupang’s AI‑driven export platform, which handled over $5 billion in U.S. export sales in 2025, to manage logistics,...
Doba Adds Walmart Marketplace Integration for Drop Shipping Sellers
Doba announced a verified integration with Walmart Marketplace, using OAuth 2.0 to automate product listings, inventory syncing, and order processing. The connection replaces legacy APIs, reducing manual errors and ensuring compliance with Walmart’s strict performance standards. Walmart ranks #2 among U.S....
Xandres Expands Its Secondhand Service Online
Xandres has launched its second‑hand platform, Xandres Preloved, via a dedicated website covering the Benelux region and Germany. After pilot programs in Ghent and Bruges, the brand is rolling out the service nationwide, allowing customers to buy and sell pre‑owned...
Marks & Spencer Becomes ‘Exclusive Digital Wholesale Partner’ for David Gandy Wellwear
Marks & Spencer has launched David Gandy Wellwear on its Brands at M&S platform, becoming the brand’s exclusive digital wholesale partner. The partnership adds the designer’s best‑selling T‑shirts, loungewear, underwear and robes to M&S’s expanding third‑party menswear portfolio. Gandy, who...
Klarna Hits 1 Million Merchants: BNPL Giant Signals Continued Global Expansion
Swedish buy‑now‑pay‑later provider Klarna announced it has surpassed one million merchants worldwide, a 47% increase from the previous year. The growth includes roughly 285,000 new merchants in 2025, with 115,000 added in the fourth quarter alone, and a 91% surge...
FonQ Is Struggling: Payment Deferral and Online Store Shut Down
Dutch online home‑furnishings retailer fonQ is facing collapse after its holding company filed for a stay of payments. An administrator will now assess options to keep the business afloat. The company, which also owns brand Naduvi, saw CEO Itai Gross...
Why Delivery Reliability Now Matters More Than Speed
Retailers have spent a decade chasing Amazon‑style speed, but a Locus survey shows only 9% of shoppers believe promises are consistently met. Missed windows and silent delays erode trust, with 92% of customers abandoning a brand after just a few...
Walmart and Target Are Battling to Show Up in AI Shopping Tools. Here’s How Their Strategies Compare
Walmart and Target are racing to embed artificial intelligence in the shopping journey, but their tactics diverge sharply. Walmart is building four proprietary AI "super agents" to power consumer assistance, supplier operations, and internal workflows, leveraging its massive transaction data....
Ikea Expands Its Secondhand Marketplace to Belgium
Ikea will launch its digital secondhand marketplace in Belgium on April 29, extending the service to six European countries. The free platform lets Ikea Family members scan items, receive auto‑generated pricing, photos and details, and sell for cash or a 15%...
Six Months After Launch at ING Germany, Wero Hits Major Adoption Milestones and Strengthens European Payment Collaboration
Six months after its launch at ING Germany, the Wero digital wallet has surpassed 500,000 activations, while the European Payments Initiative (EPI) now counts over 50 million users across its markets. Expansion plans include a Luxembourg rollout in 2026 and a...
A Fast Way to Find Triathlon Gear Deals
Triathlete has launched the Deals Finder, a new online hub that aggregates triathlon gear discounts from trusted retailers such as REI, evo, and Competitive Cyclist. The tool lets users sort results by biggest discount, brand, or price and refreshes its...
AI Tools Enter Retail Platforms as Canadian Adoption Grows
Canadian small‑business owners are moving from AI experimentation to everyday use, according to a 2026 Square survey showing 60 % of respondents already employ AI tools and 74 % are familiar with them. Commerce platforms such as Square, Shopify and Lightspeed are...
AI Is Changing How Shoppers Find Products – with Signs Pointing to Brands Creating AI-First Marketing Strategies
The Criteo 2026 Commerce & AI Trend Report shows AI is reshaping product discovery, with 47% of shoppers using it for comparison and 39% for finding new items, yet only 8% rely on AI to finalize purchases. Consumers crave “relevant...
How Delivery Platforms Are Becoming the New Digital Shelves for Brands
Food‑delivery aggregators such as Talabat, Deliveroo and Careem have turned into digital shelves for restaurants across the UAE and wider Middle East. Visibility on these apps—driven by algorithmic rankings, menu presentation and promotions—now determines a brand’s ability to attract orders,...
How CRO Drives Ecommerce Longevity
Founder Adam Pearce explains that ecommerce longevity hinges on diversified traffic sources and a robust conversion rate optimization (CRO) program. He details how CRO improves advertising efficiency, strengthens organic search and generative‑AI visibility, and fuels personalized email marketing. Real‑world examples—from...
Battersea Power Station Director on Why Social Influence Is Redefining Retail Destinations
Battersea Power Station’s leasing director says social influence has become a critical leasing KPI, reshaping how landlords curate retail mixes. Gen‑Z now turn to social media before search engines, prompting landlords to prioritize brands with strong digital followings. Battersea leverages...
Increase in DIY and Hardware Retailers Offering Same Day Delivery
New Gophr research shows UK hardware and DIY retailers increased same‑day delivery adoption from 22 % to 32 % year‑on‑year. Yet speed remains uneven: only 26 % can fulfil orders within an hour and 46 % impose conditions such as cut‑off times or location...
Kingfisher Partners with Google Cloud to Roll Out AI-Powered Shopping Across Europe
Kingfisher has entered a multi‑year partnership with Google Cloud to embed Vertex AI across its B&Q, Castorama and Brico Dépôt e‑commerce platforms in Europe. The collaboration replaces traditional keyword search with AI‑driven, conversational discovery and introduces agentic assistants that can...
Costco Adds Adtech Firm Moloco to Scale Retail Media Network
Costco has teamed up with ad‑tech firm Moloco Commerce Media to enhance the relevance of ads on its e‑commerce platform. The partnership will be rolled out as a beta program in Q2, coinciding with the launch of Costco Velocity, the...
New Rules Proposed to Hold Temu, Shein Accountable in SA
South Africa’s consumer regulators have released a joint position paper proposing new rules to hold offshore e‑commerce platforms such as Temu and Shein accountable. The draft guidelines would require foreign sellers moving significant volumes into the country to register locally,...
Miss Amara Rebuilds Online Store, Updates Brand Identity
Miss Amara, an Australian rug retailer, has launched a refurbished e‑commerce site and refreshed its brand identity to better align with its design‑led, customer‑obsessed strategy. The new platform offers streamlined navigation, richer educational content, and a smoother purchase journey across...
IPO-Bound Udaan to Kickstart Reverse Flip to India in Weeks: CEO
Udaan, the Bengaluru‑based B2B e‑commerce platform, will initiate a reverse flip to shift its corporate domicile from Singapore to India within weeks, a prerequisite for its upcoming IPO. The company aims to reach break‑even by mid‑next year while targeting an...
Wellbeing Marketplace Healf Tops Sifted’s Third UK and Ireland Leaderboard
London‑based Healf, a curated high‑end wellbeing marketplace, topped Sifted’s 2026 UK & Ireland leaderboard with a staggering 1,403% two‑year revenue CAGR. The ranking, which measures the fastest‑growing private firms by revenue growth, placed Fuse Energy and Apron in second and...
$20 Chewy Promo Code | March 2026
Chewy is offering a suite of March 2026 promotions, including a $20 e‑gift card for first‑time orders over $49 with code WELCOME and a 20% discount on prescription meds via RX20. Existing customers can access $20 off orders of $49+ using...
Booming Online Sales and Generational Differences: Australia’s Year in E-Commerce
Australia Post reports a record $82.6 billion in e‑commerce transactions for 2025, a 14% year‑on‑year rise. While total spend surged, the average basket slipped to $96 as shoppers make smaller, more frequent purchases—four extra orders per consumer annually. Millennials dominate frequency...
Why One Creator Commerce Platform Is Connecting Brands and Creators for ‘Flat-Fee’ Campaigns
Creator commerce platform LTK has introduced Quick Collabs, a new feature that lets brands launch flat‑fee, one‑click campaigns that creators can opt into. The tool leverages LTK’s data on 44 million monthly shoppers, $6 billion in annual spend, 400,000 creators and 8,000...
Some Creators Don’t See Immediate Value in Instagram’s Controversial ‘Shop the Look’ AI Test
Instagram tested an AI‑driven “Shop the Look” feature that automatically tags products in creator posts, aiming to boost social commerce. The rollout, launched in February, sparked backlash as tags appeared without creators’ consent, linking followers to unvetted items and knockoffs....
Why Parker Thatch Transformed Its Strip-Mall Storefront Into a Livestreaming Studio
Parker Thatch, an eight‑figure luxury handbag DTC brand, has turned its Orinda strip‑mall store into a hybrid retail‑studio space for weekly livestreams. The Friday broadcasts reach 179,000 Instagram followers and 101,000 YouTube subscribers, driving sales spikes of up to 50%...
5 Best Identity Verification Software Providers for Marketplaces
Marketplaces face coordinated identity fraud that threatens payouts, chargebacks, and brand trust. A specialized identity verification layer can quickly approve legitimate buyers and sellers while blocking malicious actors. The article ranks five top providers—AU10TIX, Jumio, Entrust IDV, Trulioo, and Shufti Pro—highlighting...
Report Finds Reddit Ads Drive Strong Performance for Retailers
Fospha’s State of Retail Commerce 2026 report shows Reddit’s influence on retail conversions surged in 2025, delivering an 82% lift in ROAS when Amazon sales are accounted for and a 257% increase in revenue attributed to the platform. The study...
Best Deals for Car Lovers at Amazon's Spring Prime Day
Amazon’s Spring Prime Day sale runs March 25‑30, featuring a broad lineup of automotive and garage products at steep discounts. More than a hundred items—from battery chargers and OBD‑II scanners to dash cams and EV chargers—are marked down up to 50%....
Best Buy's Spring Sale Is Live, Ahead of Amazon's 'Big Spring Sale'
Best Buy launched its Tech Fest spring sale on March 16, running through March 22, positioning the event as a direct counter to Amazon's upcoming Big Spring Sale. The week‑long promotion features a Deal of the Day and deep discounts...
What’s the Missing Link in Consumer AI Agents?
Consumer AI agents are moving from pilots to live retail interactions, handling tasks like refunds and bookings. While context graphs help preserve memory and relationships, they remain infrastructure rather than true intelligence. The article argues that without stateful, outcome‑focused reasoning,...
Court Temporarily Lifts Order Banning Perplexity From Amazon
An emergency petition by Perplexity succeeded, and a two‑judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a temporary order lifting the district court injunction that barred its AI shopping agent, Comet, from accessing Amazon.com. The stay is...
As Retail Media Enters Its Second Act, Savvy Brands Diversify Networks and Tactics
Retail media is evolving from a bottom‑funnel, search‑only model to a full‑funnel ecosystem that includes video, display, and off‑site formats. Amazon’s share of retail media spend dropped from 56% to 46% as marketers allocate more budget to Walmart and mid‑size...
Power Couple OpenAI + Amazon May Have Just Won Consumer Agentic Commerce
OpenAI and Amazon announced a strategic partnership on Feb. 27, 2026, featuring a $50 billion investment by Amazon. Within weeks, OpenAI removed its Instant Checkout from ChatGPT, while Amazon introduced Shop Direct feed support and expanded its Rufus chatbot to complete purchases....
Refurbed Hits €3 Billion GMV as Refurbishment Becomes Mainstream
refurbed has crossed €3 billion in cumulative GMV in under a year, following a €50 million funding round and its first profitable year. The marketplace expanded into 12 additional European countries, doubling its footprint and reaching an addressable market of roughly 486 million...
E.U. Law Tightens Marketplace Selling
The EU’s Digital Services Act, enforceable since February 2024, now obliges online marketplaces to verify seller identities, disclose contract details, and suspend non‑compliant traders. Enforcement has intensified, with authorities seizing 152 million illegal items worth €3.4 billion in 2023, more than double...
Trustpilot Partners with AI Companies as Traditional Search Declines
Trustpilot is forging partnerships with major eCommerce platforms to feed AI shopping agents with its review data. CEO Adrian Blair said AI‑driven search generated a 1,490% surge in click‑throughs and positions the company to hit a 30% operating margin by...
Alibaba Wants to Be a Global Ticketing Player — Starting with Malaysia Tour Stop for Chinese Rap Superstar GAI
Alibaba’s live‑entertainment arm, through its ticketing platform MAISEAT, landed its first primary ticketing contract outside China for Chinese rap star GAI’s concert in Kuala Lumpur. The presale tickets sold out within days, underscoring strong demand for cross‑border events. MAISEAT, part...
Amazon Adds 1-Hour and 3-Hour Delivery Options in the US
Amazon announced nationwide one‑hour and three‑hour delivery options, initially covering more than 90,000 SKUs. Prime members pay $9.99 for a one‑hour slot and $4.99 for three‑hour delivery, while non‑Prime customers face $19.99 and $14.99 respectively. The service launches in hundreds...
Sign up to Sell on eBay Live – New Categories
eBay has reopened its eBay Live seller program, adding new categories such as fashion, electronics, toys, and more. Existing interested sellers must re‑register even if they previously signed up. The platform targets creators with streaming or social‑media experience who can...
Retail Media X Europe 2026: Why Retailers Need to Be in the Room This May
Retail Media X Europe will convene over 750 senior executives, brands, agencies, and tech innovators in London on 14 May 2026 to discuss the fast‑growing European retail media market, projected to reach £25 billion by 2026. The conference features three tracks—scaling networks,...
THG Fulfil Launches on Shopify App Store
THG Fulfil has launched a native, zero‑code app on the Shopify App Store, enabling fast‑scaling and medium‑enterprise brands to connect directly to its global logistics network. The integration offers end‑to‑end fulfillment, inventory management, and courier coordination across 195 countries without...
OPINION: Retail’s $210 Billion Paid Advertising Blind Spot
Global ecommerce retailers—estimated at nine to twelve million—are collectively spending about $210 billion on paid digital advertising each year, yet confidence in the returns from that spend is eroding. The rise of privacy regulations, cookie deprecation and AI‑driven ad platforms has...
2026 Will Be a Year of Rapid Technological Advancement
In 2026 small‑business retailers will confront rapid AI‑driven efficiency gains alongside heightened cost pressures from persistent tariffs and a bifurcated K‑shaped economy. While AI promises customized sales content, autonomous logistics and robotics, many firms fear automation could erode core labor...
Lulus Becomes Victoria’s Secret’s Latest Brand Partner
Lulus, the 30‑year‑old occasion‑wear label, is expanding its wholesale footprint by adding Amazon and Victoria’s Secret to its distribution roster. The brand already entered all 350 Nordstrom stores and broadened its assortment at Urban Outfitters, aiming to capture customers where...
After Exiting CVS, Dermatologist-Founded Fig.1 Heads to Sephora
Dermatologist‑founded Fig.1, after exiting CVS in August, will debut its eight‑product facial line online at Sephora in March 2026. The brand’s retinol system, which accounts for 31% of sales, has seen 167% year‑over‑year growth, with the stronger level‑2 formula up...
Q&A with Johan Hellman From nShift – How AI Moves From Promise to Practice
nShift introduced the AI‑powered nShift Companion, an assistant embedded in its Checkout product that helps retailers configure delivery options using plain‑language prompts. The tool taps the company’s Model Context Protocol to pull real‑time carrier data, ensuring recommendations are grounded in...