Alibaba Integrates Qwen AI with Taobao for End-to-End Agentic Shopping
Alibaba is embedding its Qwen generative‑AI app into Taobao and Tmall, giving the chatbot access to more than four billion products and a suite of logistics, customer‑service and checkout skills. The AI can search, compare, run virtual try‑ons, track prices and complete purchases end‑to‑end through Alipay, stepping back only for final user confirmation. The move is part of Alibaba’s $53 billion AI investment and represents the most ambitious agentic‑commerce test in China. Early metrics show Qwen reaching 300 million monthly active users and 140 million first‑time AI‑shopping experiences during the Chinese New Year campaign.
Flipkart Turns up the Heat with ‘Too Hot to Handle, Uncle’ Summer Campaign
Flipkart has rolled out the "Too Hot to Handle, Uncle" summer campaign ahead of its SASA LELE half‑yearly sale starting May 9. Developed by 22feet Tribal Worldwide, the ad leverages the familiar Indian "summer uncle" archetype to showcase cooling appliances and other...
MacBook Neo Gets a Massive Discount During Amazon Summer Sale, Available for ₹57,990: How the Deal Works
Apple’s entry‑level MacBook Neo is now listed for ₹57,990 (≈ $700) on Amazon’s Great Indian Summer sale, after a ₹4,000 instant discount for HDFC credit‑card users. The price drop from the original ₹69,900 launch price (≈ $842) makes the 13‑inch laptop the...
Love Bonito Eyes Middle East’s Long-Term Prospects as Losses Trim
Love Bonito, a Singapore‑based womenswear retailer, trimmed losses in 2024 by streamlining operations and focusing on regional growth, achieving EBITDA break‑even and a 34.7% drop in pre‑tax loss to US$8.7 million. Revenue rose to US$72.2 million, driven by strong performance in Hong Kong,...
Nike Says It’s ‘Deeply Committed’ to Snkrs App After Speculation Swirls
Nike reaffirmed its "deeply committed" stance to the SNKRS app after rumors of its demise following a tech‑team overhaul. The company said SNKRS will remain a core element of its digital marketplace, delivering curated drops, storytelling, and seamless shopping, now...
Nike Releases Official Statement Regarding The Future Of SNKRS
Nike announced that its SNKRS engineering team has been merged with the broader Nike App group and relocated to the company’s Philip H. Knight campus in Oregon. The unified team will combine expertise from both sides to streamline handoffs, enhance...
Swiggy Q4: Food Delivery Beats ‘LPG Crisis’ Fears But Instamart Cools Off
Swiggy reported Q4 FY26 food‑delivery revenue of about $278 million, up 23% YoY, with gross order value reaching roughly $1.08 billion despite the LPG supply shock that closed restaurants in key cities. The company kept contribution margin steady, improving to 7.8% and...
Japan’s Cedar and Cypress Trade Goes Online as Plantation Cuts Bite
Japan’s forest council and the Japan Forestry Mechanisation Society have launched an online marketplace that connects small cedar and cypress plantation owners with buyers nationwide. The platform aims to disrupt traditional bilateral timber sales, allowing owners to set asking prices...
Retail Returns Climbed to $850 Billion Last Year — Try These 3 Fixes Before Your Profit Margins Disappear
U.S. retailers processed about $850 billion in product returns in 2025, equal to 15.8% of total sales. E‑commerce returns are even higher, hovering around 24.5% of online orders, which strains fulfillment centers and erodes profit margins. Experts argue that treating returns...
JioHotstar, Swiggy Turn Live Cricket Into an In-App Food Court
JioHotstar and Swiggy have rolled out an in‑app food‑ordering feature that lets cricket fans order meals without leaving the live stream, already used by more than 37 million users across 690 cities. The mobile‑only experience lets viewers browse restaurants, unlock match‑triggered offers,...
Target Launches 2-Tier Creator Program: One For Superfans, One For Pros
Target unveiled a two‑tier creator initiative aimed at boosting social commerce. Club Target rewards everyday creators and superfans with weekly challenges and gift‑card incentives, while Target Ambassadors, built on the LTK platform, courts professional creators with higher commissions and deeper...
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Amazon Just Dropped New Outdoor Furniture—Shop Chic Seating, Porch Swings, Tiki Bars, and More Up to 68% Off
Amazon has launched a refreshed outdoor‑furniture collection, offering everything from patio seating and dining sets to umbrellas and storage solutions. Many items are already discounted, with price cuts of up to 68 percent. The lineup includes 7‑person conversation sets, recliners,...
Duluth Trading’s Entire Bags Lineup Is 20% Off
Duluth Trading is running a site‑wide promotion that slashes 20% off its entire bags and travel‑gear collection through Sunday. The discount pushes premium items like the Lifetime Leather Crossbody to $75.18 (down from $189.50) and the Fire Hose Bulldozer Backpack 2.0...
How AI Is Changing The Economics Of Amazon As A Retail Channel For Canadian Brands
Amazon.ca attracts 159 million monthly visits and holds roughly 41.5% of Canada’s e‑commerce market, making it a mandatory channel for Canadian brands. Most sellers still rely on manual, reactive processes, which hide costs such as missed keywords, wasted ad spend, and...
Thailand Targets High E-Commerce Platform Fees
The Thai Commerce and Digital Economy and Society ministries are preparing talks with major e‑commerce platforms to lower the gross profit (GP) fees that merchants pay. Currently, fees average about 30%, which the government deems excessive, and officials suggest a...
Retail AI Has a Data Problem: Here’s How to Fix It
Retailers’ experiments with AI‑driven checkout, such as Walmart’s ChatGPT pilot, revealed conversion rates three times lower than traditional web checkout, prompting OpenAI to retreat from instant checkout and refocus on product discovery. Analysts at Bain project the U.S. agentic commerce...
GameStop's eBay Bid, Xbox's Leadership Reset and Candy Crush's Marketing Lessons | Week in Views
GameStop announced a $55.5 bn unsolicited offer for eBay, despite a market cap of $10.8 bn, raising questions about financing. Microsoft’s Xbox division is undergoing a leadership overhaul under Asha Sharma, bringing in AI and tech talent while veteran executives step back....
Is AI Going To Take Retail Jobs? Maybe, But Not The Ones You Expect
Andon Labs launched Andon Market, an experimental retail store run by an AI chatbot named Luna. Luna immediately hired human staff to handle customer interaction, positioning the AI as a manager rather than a floor worker. The experiment highlights a...
Fulfilmentcrowd: ‘Stock Localization to Become More Important’
Fulfilmentcrowd, a logistics provider for online retailers, is urging a shift from single‑warehouse models to distributed, in‑country stock networks as order volumes and cross‑border sales rise. The company runs 16 fulfilment centres worldwide, serving more than 250 brands, and uses...
Apple Adds Verification Checks to Education Store After MacBook Neo Discount Surge
Apple is tightening its Education Store by requiring academic‑status verification for purchases in the United States, Australia, Canada, Chile and Hong Kong, using UNiDAYS as the vetting partner. The move follows criticism that the $499 education price for the newly launched...
Levanta Makes the Case That Creator Channels Belong Alongside Every Amazon Ad Budget
Levanta, the Seattle‑based affiliate and creator platform, announced the acquisition of Perch+, an early Amazon‑focused affiliate network. The deal brings hundreds of brands and publishers into Levanta’s marketplace, consolidating two of the longest‑standing players in the Amazon affiliate space. Levanta...
River Island Is Now Available on M&S's Marketplace
River Island has launched on Marks & Spencer’s online marketplace, joining more than 100 fashion labels on the platform. The move aligns with M&S’s 2026 plan to boost e‑fashion sales to half of its total fashion turnover, up from the...
Inside Beardbrand’s Expansion Plan
Beardbrand, the 15‑year‑old direct‑to‑consumer grooming brand, is confronting a revenue plateau and intensified competition. Founder Eric Bandholz outlines a growth plan that triples Meta ad spend, taps TikTok creator affiliates, and tests a $300 ultra‑premium beard trimmer. The company is revising...
How Ojamaker Is Powering Instant Online Stores in Africa with AI
African entrepreneurs face fragmented commerce built on Instagram, WhatsApp, and manual payments, limiting data ownership and scalability. Ojamaker, launched in November 2025, offers Africa’s first AI‑native e‑commerce ecosystem that creates fully functional storefronts in under five minutes. The platform embeds...
Amazon Brings Content-To-Commerce Technology Into Publisher Services
Amazon Publisher Services has added Shopsense, an AI‑driven content‑to‑commerce platform, to its Connections Marketplace. Shopsense analyzes images in articles, videos and photos, automatically generating product‑listing ads that link to more than 1,000 retailers. The integration requires no code and promises...
Omnichannel Grocery Fuels Shopper Choice – but Fragments Retailer Loyalty
Shoppers are increasingly distributing grocery purchases across digital and physical channels, eroding traditional retailer loyalty. Brands and grocers must adopt data‑driven stocking and omnichannel strategies to retain repeat trips in an attention‑fragmented market. Loyalty programs, targeted promotions, and consistent messaging...
Inside the Growth of First-Party Fraud
First‑party fraud—where customers themselves commit scams such as de‑shopping and lost‑in‑transit returns—is exploding as e‑commerce scales. The practice has moved from isolated incidents to a systemic threat that drains merchant revenue and inflates operational costs. Fraudsters are leveraging artificial intelligence...
Flowspace Launches Omnichannel Fulfillment Solution for Brands Scaling Across DTC, Retail and Wholesale Channels
Flowspace unveiled its B2B Retail Fulfillment Solution, an omnichannel platform that gives brands a single operational view across direct‑to‑consumer, retail and wholesale channels. The offering introduces Inventory Allocation Pools and Order Compliance Automation to prevent inventory mix‑ups and automate retailer‑specific...
Jumia Leans on China Imports as Nigeria Becomes Top Market
Jumia is doubling down on Chinese-sourced inventory as it leans into Nigeria, now its biggest market, to hit profitability by the end of next year. International seller volume surged 87% year‑on‑year in Q1, led by China and Turkey, while revenue...
Paula's Choice Boosts India Presence with Tira Beauty Launch
Paula's Choice, the Seattle‑based skincare line owned by Unilever, is expanding its Indian footprint by launching on Reliance Retail’s omni‑channel platform Tira. The partnership gives the brand presence across both digital storefronts and select brick‑and‑mortar locations, debuting with three flagship...
OTB Group and Google Cloud Launch AI-Powered Hyper-Personalised Shopping Experiences
OTB Group, the owner of Diesel, Jil Sander, Maison Margiela, Marni and Viktor & Rolf, has teamed with Google Cloud to roll out an AI‑driven, hyper‑personalised shopping experience. The service uses Google Cloud’s Virtual Try‑On API, powered by Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform,...
Online Hustle Podcast: The Future of Live Selling and Scaling Retail Brands
The Online Hustle podcast episode with Avask explores e‑commerce’s journey from early eBay days to today’s live‑selling and AI‑driven retail. The hosts break down strategic decisions around inventory, marketplace focus, and international expansion, spotlighting eBay Live, TikTok, and Amazon’s fulfillment...
Amazon India to Scale up Rest Facilities for Delivery Associates to 250 in Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Other Cities
Amazon India announced it will expand its Ashray rest‑stop network to 250 centres across Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and other cities, adding 50 new sites by the end of May. The facilities offer air‑conditioned seating, water, electrolytes, charging points...
Mobility at the Forefront: How Mobile POS Is Redefining Specialty Retail
Mobile point‑of‑sale (POS) systems are rapidly reshaping specialty retail by allowing associates to complete transactions anywhere on the sales floor. A Toshiba × Retail Dive survey shows 67% of retailers have adopted mobile POS, bringing the average store to 3.04 checkout options....
Why Click and Collect Is Winning Australia’s Fuel Price Crunch
Rising fuel prices in Australia—now about US$1.65 per litre for petrol and US$2.00 for diesel—are forcing shoppers to treat trips to physical stores as a calculated expense. Coles Group saw its online share surge from 3% to roughly 14% in...
How Merchant Choice Routing Can Boost a Retailer’s Bottom Line
Debit cards now represent over 75% of Australian card payments, making transaction‑cost efficiency a priority for retailers. Merchant Choice Routing (MCR), also called Least‑Cost Routing, lets merchants direct debit transactions to the cheaper network—typically the domestic eftpos system—without altering the...
How Can Beauty Brands Prepare for the Next Wave of Agentic Shopping?
A new Pattern Group report finds 59% of beauty brands are exploring AI‑powered search and shopping agents, yet only 27% feel fully prepared to make agents a primary discovery and purchase channel. Fiona Reid, Director of International Business at Pattern,...
Opinion: Europe Can’t Afford to Sit on the Agentic Commerce Sidelines
At Stripe Sessions 2026, industry leaders warned that the traditional bot‑vs‑human model of e‑commerce is collapsing as AI agents become the primary shoppers. Merchants must expose product details in a machine‑readable format, prompting the rollout of the Universal Commerce Protocol...
Apple India Store Policy on Refunds and Exchanges
Apple clarified that products purchased at its Indian Apple Store cannot be refunded or exchanged unless they are defective. The rule applies to both the online portal and the company‑owned retail locations in major metros. Defective items covered by warranty...
Bullish on Quick Commerce, Says Walmart CEO John Furner at Flipkart Townhall
Walmart CEO John Furner told a Flipkart town‑hall in Bengaluru that the retailer is bullish on India’s quick‑commerce market. He highlighted that Walmart has already sourced more than $40 billion of goods from Indian manufacturers and is meeting Prime Minister Narendra...
5 Takeaways From Glossy’s Leaders Dinner: Retail’s Growth Playbook Is Getting More Human
At the Glossy and Modern Retail Leaders Dinner hosted with Global Payments, senior brand and retail executives examined the forces shaping growth, including AI, climbing customer‑acquisition costs, wholesale channel volatility, shifting discovery habits, and the changing purpose of physical stores....
Luxury Briefing: Pinterest’s Luxury Pitch Is AI Discovery, Not AI Answers
Pinterest’s latest earnings call revealed a sharpened luxury strategy that pivots the platform toward AI‑driven visual discovery rather than conversational answers. The company aims to become the go‑to engine for shoppers who start with images and want instant, shoppable recommendations....
Bunnings Set To Launch Online Store For Customers In Fiji
Bunnings announced the launch of a dedicated online store for Fiji, offering 20,000 curated hardware and home‑improvement products. The e‑commerce platform will be powered by Bunnings’ Australian distribution centre and international shipping partners, with longer delivery windows clearly disclosed. The...
Mercado Libre Sacrifices Short-Term Profits to Fuel Growth
Mercado Libre reported a 49% year‑over‑year jump in net revenue to $8.8 billion in Q1 2026, fueled by aggressive investments in free‑shipping, a new credit card, first‑party inventory and cross‑border trade. Despite the revenue surge, net income fell 16% to $417 million...
Half of Luxury Shoppers Prefer Resale, and The RealReal Saw It Coming
Luxury resale is moving from niche to mainstream, with nearly half of luxury shoppers now weighing resale value and almost 60% preferring the secondary market. The RealReal leveraged its AI‑driven Athena intake system to process 35% of items in Q1,...
1stdibs.Com Inc (DIBS) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
1stdibs.Com reported its first quarter of adjusted EBITDA profitability, posting $1.3 million at a 6% margin, a 1,300‑basis‑point improvement year‑over‑year. Net revenue rose 1% to $23 million while GMV slipped 5% to $90.2 million, hitting the low end of guidance. Operating expenses...
Online Vendors Object to Fee Hikes
Thai online merchants are pressing the government for stricter regulation after e‑commerce platforms repeatedly raised sales‑commission fees, which now consume 22‑30% of their revenue. The Thai e‑Commerce Association has gathered complaints from about 200 vendors and will submit them to...
DoorDash Reports Record Membership Signups, New High for Monthly Active Users in Q1
DoorDash reported $4 billion in Q1 2026 revenue, a 33% year‑over‑year increase, alongside a 27% jump in orders to 933 million. Adjusted EBITDA rose 28% to $754 million, and the company posted record membership signups and its highest monthly active‑user count. Growth was...
I Found Max Mara, On Running and Birkenstock on Sale This Week & Couldn’t Keep It to Myself
Rue La La, a free‑membership flash‑sale site, is featuring a wave of designer discounts this week, including Max Mara items under $50 and Birkenstock sandals under $150. The platform’s “featured events” appear unpredictably, offering deeper price cuts for a limited window. Shoppers are...
TikTok Users Are Motivated by Affiliate Links
TikTok’s shopping ecosystem is accelerating, with affiliate links prompting deeper consumer research. Donte Murry reports that 77 % of viewers who encounter affiliate content immediately search for additional product information. Comments from other users serve as a powerful social‑proof layer, influencing first‑time...