EBay Sponsors Sky’s Saturday Night Live UK
Sky Media has named eBay as the headline partner for the UK launch of Saturday Night Live, bringing the American comedy brand to British screens on March 21. The deal centers on eBay Live, the platform’s interactive shopping experience, with eBay‑branded idents, social‑clip sponsorship and a five‑part YouTube series called The SNL UK Style Edit that highlights pre‑loved fashion curated by eBay’s style director. Executives from both companies say the collaboration fuses premium live television with real‑time commerce, extending audience engagement across broadcast, on‑demand and digital channels. The partnership also positions eBay’s sustainability‑focused marketplace in front of a younger, entertainment‑savvy audience.
Puma Bets on Direct Sales Playbook of New Top Shareholder, China’s Anta
Puma reported a record €645.5 million net loss for 2025, driven by a 13% sales decline and heavy discounting in its wholesale‑dominant model. CEO Arthur Hoeld blamed over‑exposure to retail channels and has begun pulling inventory back from stores, while cutting...
Busy Month for N Brown: Adds Six Brands to Its Platforms with North Face the Key Highlight
N Brown Group announced a busy month of brand expansions, most notably adding The North Face to its Jacamo, JD Williams and SimplyBe platforms. The partnership launches an 85‑piece collection supported by a nationwide out‑of‑home campaign from 8‑31 March, with special projection ads in...
The AI Attribution Blind Spot
Artificial intelligence assistants are emerging as a primary channel for product discovery, compressing the traditional list of search results into a single answer. This upstream shift moves the consumer decision point into a system retailers cannot control or directly measure....
Why You Should Always Use The Panda Express App For Ordering Delivery
Panda Express encourages customers to order delivery through its own app, which eliminates the hefty fees charged by third‑party platforms like DoorDash. A Reddit user reported a $20 price gap for the same order, driven primarily by DoorDash’s $12.65 bundled...
Uber Eats Is Raising Delivery Fees for some Restaurants
Uber Eats announced its first delivery‑fee hike in a decade, raising the Lite tier from 15% to 20% and the Plus tier from 20% to 25% while keeping Premium at 30%. Custom contracts will see a 3% increase, capped at...
Modern Retail Podcast: The New Rules of Product Pricing
In a Modern Retail Podcast episode, Newell Brands’ learning and development chief Kris Malkoski explains how Graco is reshaping its pricing playbook amid AI‑driven insights, tariff volatility, and price‑sensitive shoppers. The discussion reveals Graco’s use of artificial intelligence to fine‑tune...
ZyG
ZyG has launched an AI‑driven Growth Engine designed to help early‑stage direct‑to‑consumer (DTC) startups scale their eCommerce operations. The platform delivers product‑market fit analysis, centralized access to third‑party tools, and automated workflows that streamline growth initiatives. ZyG’s leadership team combines...
EBay Is Selling a Cornucopia of Russian Peptides
A quick search on eBay reveals a flood of Russian‑origin peptide products, from injectable ampoules to dubious oral supplements. The items, marketed by Vita Stream Inc. – a firm linked to former footballer Roman Eremenko – claim bioregulation benefits but...
Alchemy Pay Hits 15 Money Transmitter Licenses With Delaware Win
Alchemy Pay announced it secured a Money Transmitter License in Delaware, bringing its total U.S. state coverage to 15. The company added four licenses this year, including Nebraska, South Dakota and West Virginia, expanding its regulated fiat‑crypto payment network. Alchemy...
OpenAI Quietly Scales Back Direct Checkout Plans for ChatGPT
OpenAI has quietly scaled back its direct checkout feature for ChatGPT, postponing a broad consumer rollout and limiting the capability to a small group of pilot merchants. The company cited technical integration hurdles and regulatory scrutiny as primary reasons for...
How Brands Are Leveraging Live Commerce to Move Excess Inventory
Brands are turning to live commerce to liquidate excess inventory, gaining real‑time pricing, product visibility, and storytelling that traditional bulk liquidation lacks. Platforms such as Whatnot, eBay Live, and Poshmark Live let sellers showcase condition and price instantly, targeting niche...
DSG Expands AI and Ecommerce Across Its Distribution Brands
Distribution Solutions Group (DSG) is embedding ecommerce and AI across its three main brands—Lawson Products, Gexpro Services and TestEquity—to boost sales efficiency and capture new customers. In Q4, Lawson’s online channel posted an 18% revenue increase, with over 30% of...
Swift Moves Ahead with Retail Cross-Border Payments Network
Swift has introduced a new framework for retail cross‑border payments, with over 25 banks slated to process transactions under the rules by June. The initiative expands Swift’s traditional focus on interbank and commercial transfers to consumer‑level payments, targeting faster settlement,...
Best Buy Online Marketplace Gains Traction as New Profit Driver
Best Buy’s U.S. online marketplace generated roughly $300 million in gross merchandise value in fiscal Q4 2026, supported by more than 1,100 third‑party sellers. The platform earns commissions and advertising fees, helping lift the retailer’s gross profit rate despite a 1% dip...
Voomi Supply Raises $10 Million to Expand B2B Ecommerce Platform for HVAC
Voomi Supply announced a $10 million financing round led by Asymmetric Capital Partners, with participation from Highmount Capital, David Hawkins, and existing backer Operator Partners. The capital will accelerate development of its AI‑driven B2B ecommerce platform, broaden its supplier network, and...
Amazon Website, App Glitch Impacts Online Customers
Amazon’s website and mobile app experienced a six‑hour outage on March 6, 2026, after a software code deployment went awry. The disruption prevented customers from accessing product pages, checking out, and viewing account information, prompting more than 20,000 issue reports. Amazon’s...
Sony's Testing PS5 Game Dynamic Pricing, Reports Shows
Sony is quietly testing dynamic pricing on its PlayStation Store, showing different prices for the same game to different users. The A/B test covers 139 titles, including first‑party hits like God of War Ragnarök and The Last of Us Part 2, across 68...
Aldi Expands Long-Term Supply Deals with British Growers
Aldi UK is expanding long‑term supply agreements with British growers, aiming to secure at least 50 % of its domestic produce by the end of 2027. The contracts, lasting two years or more, will be open to both large and small...
DataDome, Botify Partner on Agentic Commerce Control
DataDome and Botify announced a partnership to help retailers manage the emerging agentic commerce ecosystem, combining bot‑trust management with AI‑search optimization. Joint research shows 73% of consumers have used AI assistants and AI bot traffic surged 5.4‑fold in 2025, while...
How AI and Data Drive Compliance, Consistency and Scale
Europe’s e‑commerce market remains fragmented by languages, tax regimes and platform‑specific rules, forcing brands to adopt sophisticated back‑office operations. Luke Elliott of Pattern highlights that AI and real‑time data are now essential for meeting compliance, maintaining consistency and scaling across...
Affirm Pursues Affluent Consumers
Affirm is pivoting its buy‑now‑pay‑later offering toward affluent, high‑credit consumers by expanding 0% interest promotions. The company says interest‑free loans drive an 80% probability of repeat usage and currently account for about 16% of its transaction volume, with 80% of...
Is Amazon Automation a Profitable Passive Income Model — or Just an Overhyped Trend?
Amazon automation can generate profitable, semi‑passive income in 2026, but success hinges on disciplined execution and seasoned oversight. Modern automation relies on advanced software for research, pricing, inventory, and ad optimization, while strategic decisions remain human‑driven. The model now attracts...
From Teacher to Fashion Brand Founder
Nasrin Jafari left a middle‑school teaching career in 2019 to launch Mixed, a direct‑to‑consumer fashion label that grew from hand‑sewn Covid masks posted on Instagram. She built the brand using a pre‑order model, low‑minimum‑order factories in India, and in‑house Meta...
Digital Rupee vs Digital Euro: Which CBDC Is More Business-Friendly?
The article pits India’s Digital Rupee against the EU’s Digital Euro, evaluating which central bank digital currency (CBDC) best serves commercial users. It notes the Digital Rupee’s near‑real‑time settlement, open‑source APIs, and early integration with Indian e‑commerce giants, while the...
India’s Digital Rupee (E₹) and E-Commerce Giants: Facts and Myths Around Retail CBDC Launch
India’s central bank has continued its digital rupee (E₹) pilot, but a retail rollout on e‑commerce platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart remains unrealised. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has onboarded a handful of banks, fintechs and select merchants...
The End of the Endless Aisle: The Paradox of Choice in Ecommerce
E‑commerce’s “endless aisle” is backfiring as shoppers feel overwhelmed, with 74% abandoning carts according to an Accenture survey of 19,000 consumers. The paradox of choice is especially acute in niche categories like gifting, where longer browsing does not translate into...
Nexi Sets Course for €2.4 Billion Cash Generation and Sustained Dividend Growth Through 2028
Italian payments leader Nexi announced a strategic plan to generate €2.4 billion of free cash flow by 2028 while maintaining a rising dividend trajectory. The roadmap hinges on expanding merchant services, scaling digital‑payment solutions, and completing targeted acquisitions across Europe. Nexi...
Crypto Payment Gateways Market Set to Grow From $1.2B Today to Nearly $6B by 2035
The crypto payment gateway market, valued at roughly $1.2 billion in 2023, is projected to surge to $6.03 billion by 2035. Analysts forecast a robust 13.6% compound annual growth rate, reflecting a shift from niche tools to a core operating layer for...
Why Retailers Must Secure Transactional Emails to Combat Scam Threats
Retailers face rising fraud as scammers target transactional emails, with 85% of U.S. adults expressing concern and one in four having experienced a scam. Each consumer receives about 121 emails daily, making order confirmations and shipping notices prime phishing vectors....
Paysafe Unveils Strategic Partnership with Spreedly to Boost Global Open Payments
Paysafe announced a strategic partnership with payment‑orchestration provider Spreedly, integrating its gateway as an acquirer on Spreedly’s Open Payment Platform. The collaboration instantly enables card‑present and card‑not‑present transactions for merchants in Europe, North America and other regions, leveraging Spreedly’s connections...
3S Money Expands European Footprint with French IBANs and New Paris Office
3S Money announced the launch of French‑issued IBAN accounts, allowing European customers to hold and transact in euros locally. The fintech also opened a new office in Paris, staffed with a team focused on regulatory compliance and business development. These...
Composable Commerce Is Not About Tools – It’s About Operating Model
Retail leaders have long chased monolithic platforms that become bottlenecks, prompting a shift toward composable commerce. This approach assembles modular, API‑driven services—search, checkout, loyalty—allowing retailers to upgrade components independently. The article stresses that true agility stems not from the technology...
Mobile Payments Transforming the Retail Checkout Experience
Mobile payments are rapidly reshaping retail checkout, driven by consumer demand for speed and the pandemic‑induced shift to contactless transactions. Retailers report higher customer satisfaction, shorter transaction times, and lower processing costs as they adopt smartphone‑based wallets and biometric authentication....
Target CEO Says ‘Busy Families’ Will Be Company’s Focus as It Seeks Growth
Target’s CEO Michael Fiddelke announced a renewed focus on “busy families,” positioning them as the engine of the retailer’s turnaround. The strategy includes expanding baby‑care assortments with a premium boutique, boosting food and beverage space, and scaling same‑day delivery, which...
One in Five Australians Have Bought a Big-Ticket Item on Social Media
A Finder survey of 1,003 Australians reveals that one in five have purchased a big‑ticket item—such as cars, holidays, artwork or even a house—through social platforms like TikTok, Instagram or Facebook Marketplace. The study estimates roughly 4.4 million people were influenced...
UNIQLO India Clocks 60% CAGR, E-Com Soars 140%; Sees Massive Expansion Potential
UNIQLO India posted a 44% year‑on‑year revenue jump to Rs 1,100 crore in FY25, driven by a 60% compound annual growth rate since 2019 and a 140% CAGR in e‑commerce sales. The retailer opened its 18th store, a 17,000 sq ft flagship in Bengaluru,...
Retail and Grocery Brands Dominate ChatGPT Ads
OpenAI’s ChatGPT has entered its fourth week of serving contextual ads, with Sensor Tower reporting that retail and grocery promotions dominate the ad inventory. Over a two‑week sample, more than 100 distinct brand ads appeared, outpacing other categories such as...
Beef.com Plans Digital Platform to Connect Ranchers with Pricing and Payments
Beef.com is building a digital infrastructure platform to link cattle producers directly with real‑time pricing data, transaction routing and settlement services. The system will feature a Beef Index for verified price discovery, a digital settlement layer to accelerate payments, provenance...
Middle East War Disrupts U.S. B2B Ecommerce Supply Chains
Escalating conflict between Iran, Israel and the United States is disrupting key air and maritime corridors in the Persian Gulf, notably the Strait of Hormuz. The disruptions are lengthening transit times, raising freight costs, and forcing carriers like DHL to...
Brake on Shein’s Growth in Europe
Shein’s latest Digital Services Act transparency report shows the platform’s European monthly active users reached 155.7 million, a 6.9% increase over the previous six months. Growth has decelerated from the prior 11.6% rate, with France remaining the largest market and Germany...
Amazon Haul Has Over 3,000 Sellers
Amazon Haul, the low‑price, direct‑from‑China storefront, now hosts 3,287 sellers after launching in November 2024. The platform’s seller base is heavily China‑registered and generates roughly $2 billion in annual GMV, with most sellers offering items under $20. Amazon has backed the...
Ingram Micro Expands AI Automation and Digital Technology
Ingram Micro posted fiscal Q4 2025 net sales of $14.88 billion, up 11.5 % YoY, and net income rose 46 % to $121.4 million. Growth was driven by its Xvantage platform, which integrates over 400 AI/ML models to automate commerce functions such as pricing,...
JD.Com Reports Q4 2025
JD.com posted a challenging fourth‑quarter 2025, with total revenue slipping 14% year‑over‑year to $50.37 billion while expenses rose 5.8% to $51.21 billion, driving a net loss of $388 million. All major profitability metrics turned negative, including EBITDA of –$118 million and EBIT of –$836 million....
Back Market’s GMV Increased 32% in 2025
Back Market reported a 2025 gross merchandise value (GMV) exceeding €3.5 billion, a 32 percent rise from the prior year. The French marketplace also posted a 35 percent EBITDA margin in France and achieved global EBITDA profitability. In Germany, GMV and revenue jumped...
Inside a Startup Building Tools for AI Agents
Circuit & Chisel, a New York startup founded by former Stripe crypto executives, raised $19.2 million to launch ATXP, an agent transaction protocol that enables AI agents to navigate and execute payments autonomously. The company’s backers include Stripe, Polygon Labs, and Samsung Next, signaling strong...
Retail Technology Show Preview: Data, Speed to Market and Agentic Commerce
Retail leaders at a pre‑show panel highlighted three critical shifts shaping commerce: dwindling cookie data is forcing brands to seek new engagement tactics and own product lifecycles, headless architectures on platforms like Shopify are slashing implementation costs and enabling rapid...
Marketplace Briefing: TikTok Shop Recruits U.S. Sellers for Cross-Border Push Into Mexico
TikTok Shop announced a new US‑Mexico cross‑border program that lets U.S. merchants sell to Mexican consumers without establishing a local legal entity. The initiative, called the TikTok Shop US‑MX Program, allows sellers to use their existing U.S. shop credentials while...
D2C Channels Growing Faster Than E-Commerce Marketplaces in India: Report
McKinsey’s latest report finds India’s direct‑to‑consumer (D2C) market, now worth $10‑11 billion, is set to explode to $55‑60 billion by 2030, growing at a 38% CAGR. This outpaces traditional e‑commerce marketplaces, whose sales are expected to reach only $100 billion with a 10‑12%...
Exclusive Q&A: Why Retailers Should Leverage the Power of Dynamic Pricing
Retail experts argue that dynamic pricing can help merchants offset tariff‑driven cost spikes by aligning prices with real‑time demand. The approach builds on traditional markdown optimization, extending it to continuous price adjustments across channels. Altug stresses that supply‑chain resilience—through redundancy...