Personalised Promotions Are Reshaping Loyalty Strategies Across Multichannel Retail
Retailers are moving away from generic discounts toward personalized promotions that reflect each shopper’s preferences across stores, apps, and digital channels. By leveraging point‑of‑sale, e‑commerce and loyalty data, brands can deliver targeted offers that align with real‑time behavior. This shift enables tighter cost control, higher average basket values, and stronger customer lifetime value. Consistency across all touchpoints is now essential to maintain trust and avoid discount fatigue.
Vinted Ventures Backs Tilt’s $26M Live-Commerce Round as Whatnot Pressure Mounts
Tilt, the London‑based live‑auction app, secured $26 million in new funding, with Vinted Ventures making its first investment in a live‑commerce platform. The round pushes Tilt’s total capital above $50 million as it expands across the UK, Italy, Spain and Poland, positioning...
Amazon Moves Prime Day Back to June and Keeps It a Four-Day Event
Amazon announced that Prime Day 2026 will run June 23‑26, maintaining the four‑day format introduced last year. The shift moves the flagship sale back to June, a schedule the company last used in 2021, and will feature deals across more...
Yodel by InPost Migration to InPost
Yodel is being fully absorbed into InPost, with the Yodel brand and its mobile app retired. Existing Yodel by InPost users must download the InPost app and sign in with the same phone number to migrate preferences automatically. The transition...
How Swisse Is Preparing for the Future of Search
Swisse Wellness appointed Alex Rienecker as head of digital five years ago and she now runs a 10‑person omnichannel team covering retail media, search marketing and CRM. The team has embraced TikTok to reach Australian consumers shifting toward social search,...
Tupperware Names Ankur Damani as India Commercial Director and Country Head
Tupperware has appointed Ankur Damani as Commercial Director and Country Head for India, effective May 26, 2026. Damani will lead an omnichannel growth strategy that blends retail, e‑commerce and partner networks to boost profitable expansion. The move reflects Tupperware’s broader shift from a...
Why Retailers Like Target and Aerie Are Moving Beyond Straight Affiliate Deals with Creators
Retailers such as Target, Urban Outfitters and Aerie are replacing generic affiliate schemes with hybrid creator programs that blend gamified communities, tiered rewards and performance‑based pay. Target has launched Club Target for emerging creators and an invite‑only Target Ambassadors tier...
Stitch Fix CEO Matt Baer on Why AI Can Supplement, but Not Replace, Human Stylists
Stitch Fix has spent the past year building an AI infrastructure to augment its signature personal styling service. Tools such as Stitch Fix Vision are being rolled out both to consumers and to stylists behind the scenes. At the Glossy...
Meituan Posts Another Loss, but Says Food-Delivery Wars Are Beginning to Abate
Meituan posted a third consecutive quarterly loss but met revenue expectations, indicating a tentative stabilization after a year of subsidy‑driven competition. Revenue reached ¥91 bn ($13.5 bn), up 5.6% year‑over‑year, while the adjusted net loss narrowed to ¥4.97 bn ($735 m) from ¥15.1 bn a...
Chipotle Revives Generous Offer for Customers After Price Hikes
Chipotle raised menu prices by about 2% in early 2025, triggering a 1.7% drop in comparable restaurant sales year‑over‑year. To counteract price‑sensitive diners, the chain relaunched its Summer of Extras promotion from June through August, rewarding members with free entrees...
Strip-Mall Fashion Giant Quietly Closed 246 Stores, Plans More
The Cato Corporation, a value‑priced women’s fashion retailer, has shuttered 246 strip‑mall locations since 2022 and now operates 1,065 stores across 31 states. In Q1 2026 it reported net income of $9.3 million, a modest 3% same‑store sales gain and higher gross...
Q4 Retail Holiday Shopping? There’s an App for That
eMarketer forecasts that 57% of Q4 2026 retail sales will occur on mobile phones, up from 45.9% in 2021 – a 24% rise and the bulk of e‑commerce growth. The always‑on nature of smartphones lets shoppers compare prices in‑store and complete...
What AI Should Never Be Allowed to Do Without Us
Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping retail, yet luxury brands risk losing loyalty if they let machines replace human interaction. A 2024 IBM study shows 75% of shoppers prefer physical stores, but fewer than one in ten are satisfied with the...
Flashfood Expands to All Gelson’s
Flashfood Inc. is extending its $9 grocery‑box program to every Gelson’s market in Southern California after a successful pilot in Los Angeles. The initial six‑store rollout sold more than 1,000 boxes, totaling roughly 10,000 pounds of produce. The expansion will cover...
Amazon Now Replaces Google Maps With MapmyIndia’s Mappls APIs
MapmyIndia’s Mappls APIs have been integrated into Amazon Now’s delivery platform, replacing Google Maps in Bengaluru and now expanding to Mumbai. The partnership was highlighted in MapmyIndia’s Q4 FY26 earnings call, underscoring the company’s deeper push into India’s fast‑growing quick‑commerce...
The Very Group Is Latest Business to Expand Delivery Choice via InPost Link-Up
The Very Group, owner of Very and Littlewoods, has partnered with InPost UK to offer locker‑based delivery across the retailer’s network of more than 14,000 locations. Customers can now collect orders from lockers or choose next‑day delivery, complementing an earlier...
MediaMarkt Brings Shopping by Appointment to Belgium as Well
MediaMarkt is extending its free, appointment‑based shopping service to all Belgian stores, allowing customers to schedule one‑on‑one consultations with product specialists. The model, already live in Germany and the Netherlands, lets shoppers book online by product category and receive tailored...
Google’s AI Search Ads Put Shopping Visibility Up for Grabs
Google announced new AI‑driven ad formats that embed sponsored recommendations directly within AI Mode conversations, including Conversational Discovery and Highlighted Answers. It also rolled out Merchant Center AI shopping visibility insights, giving retailers metrics on how products appear across AI‑led...
UK Issues Guidance on Spotting Counterfeit Secondhand Fashion
The UK Intellectual Property Office, backed by Vinted, issued new guidance to help shoppers spot counterfeit luxury items on resale platforms as the second‑hand fashion market expands at roughly 11% annually. Recent enforcement actions seized more than £4 million (about $5.1 million)...
New Lawsuit Against Amazon: 'Subscribe and Save' Program Can Actually Cost You More
Amazon faces a new class‑action lawsuit alleging its Subscribe & Save program raises prices after the first purchase, effectively turning a promised discount into higher costs. The complaint cites a case where a coffee subscription climbed from $16.60 to $28.69...
Vinted Brand Strength Could Fuel Second-Hand Growth Beyond Fashion
Vinted is outperforming traditional retailers on key brand metrics, according to YouGov data. Its Impression, Value and Satisfaction scores far exceed averages for UK clothing, high‑street and general retailers, with a Consideration rating of 33.9—more than three times the competition....
Retail’s AI Reality Check: The Data Behind Speed, Safety and the Human Factor
Artificial intelligence is rapidly entering physical retail, not to replace staff but to amplify their effectiveness. Recent research shows 43.6% of retailers plan to deploy AI within the next year and 28.1% already have implementations, targeting faster checkout, inventory visibility,...
Lune & Wild Raises €2.3 Million to Scale Female-Founded, Chef-Led Baby and Children’s Food Brand
London‑based Lune & Wild, a female‑founded, chef‑led baby and children’s food brand, secured a €2.3 million (≈$2.5 million) Series A round led by Guinness Ventures. The funding will boost production capacity, accelerate retail expansion—including a new Ocado.com listing—and fund key hires. The company,...
Mint Explainer: Why Are Quick Commerce Giants Betting Big on Digital Wallets?
Swiggy Instamart has rolled out a feature that lets shoppers top up their Swiggy Money wallet to cover any shortfall in the minimum order value required for free delivery. The change eliminates the need to add extra items merely to...
Amazon May Be Bigger, but Zomato's Deepinder Goyal Says Blinkit Has the Edge in Quick Commerce- Here's Why
Deepinder Goyal, Zomato’s co‑founder, argues that Blinkit is better positioned than Amazon to dominate India’s fast‑growing quick‑commerce market. Blinkit now commands roughly half of the sector and remains profitable while rivals chase market share with heavy discounting. The company has...
Netcore Unbxd Launches AI-Powered Insights Agent to Transform Ecommerce Search Into Instant, Actionable Intelligence
Netcore Unbxd unveiled its AI‑powered Insights Agent, a conversational analytics layer that lets ecommerce teams query search and merchandising data in natural language. The tool replaces complex dashboards with real‑time, actionable answers, enabling instant identification of low‑converting queries, campaign performance, and revenue‑driving...
Walmart Brings 30-Minute-or-Less Delivery To 33 U.S. Markets
Walmart is rolling out its 30‑minute‑or‑less delivery service to 33 U.S. markets, adding a hyper‑fast option to its existing same‑day portfolio. Shoppers can order from more than 100,000 eligible items, ranging from fresh groceries to electronics, for a $10 fee...
Mikey Moran Launches GLZD, Combining Skincare and Fragrance Into Men’s Grooming Routine
Atlanta‑based entrepreneur Mikey Moran has unveiled GLZD, a men’s grooming brand that introduces a water‑free “body glaze” combining skincare, fragrance, and a subtle skin finish. The debut line offers five distinct scent profiles—Midnight, Saddle, Barber, Harbor, and Seaglass—formulated with plant‑derived...
Genius Facebook Marketplace Sellers Use AI Models to Sell Products No One Wants
Sellers on Facebook Marketplace are using AI‑generated female models in product photos to attract attention to listings that normally receive little interest. One seller, Brandon Carone, added AI women to ads for $10,000 worth of Caterpillar equipment, generating nearly 3 million...
From QVC to Countdown Timers — How eCosmetics Is Turning Beauty Shopping Into a Live Auction Game
eCosmetics Live is turning beauty shopping into a real‑time auction game, where creators host short, timed bidding sessions that lock in purchases the moment a countdown ends. The global live commerce market, already $15.5 billion in 2024, is forecast to explode...
Bass Pro Shops Plans First Store in New York Metro Area
Bass Pro Shops announced plans to open a 130,000‑square‑foot Outdoor World store in Hicksville, New York, marking its first location in the New York metropolitan area. The company seeks a 20‑year PILOT, mortgage recording, and sales‑tax exemptions from Nassau County’s...
Newme Opens 25th India Store, Plans 25 More by Year End
Newme opened its 25th brick‑and‑mortar store in Vadodara, marking a milestone for the Gen Z‑focused fashion‑tech brand. The retailer now operates in 14 Indian cities and plans to add at least 25 more locations by year‑end, targeting both metro hubs and...
Google 1st Order Price Labels On Shopping Ads (Again)
Google is testing a new “1st order price” label on Shopping ads, indicating a special discount for a shopper’s first purchase with a retailer. The label is a variation of the “First order” tag tested over a year ago. The...
Reducing Shrink without Dismantling Customer Experience and Trust
Retail shrink tops $100 billion annually, with roughly 80 % of theft occurring before checkout. Traditional loss‑prevention tools focus on point‑of‑sale monitoring, missing the majority of concealed shoplifting. Daniel Gabay of Trigo argues AI must capture the full product journey to enable...
AS Colour Makes Yorkshire Debut at Victoria Leeds
AS Colour, a New Zealand‑born premium blank‑clothing retailer, opened a 4,351 sq ft flagship across two levels in Victoria Leeds, marking its first presence in Yorkshire. The store showcases the brand’s slow‑fashion staples and adds a new premium option to the historic Victoria...
Deal or No Deal: Can JD.com Fix The Very Group’s Fashion Problem?
Chinese e‑commerce giant JD.com is in talks to acquire UK‑based retailer The Very Group. The deal is seen as a way to inject capital and technology into Very’s struggling fashion division, which posted a 12% revenue decline in 2025. JD.com...
K Beauty Brand Purito Seoul Enters OLIVE YOUNG US to Accelerate North American Retail Push
Purito Seoul, the Korean skincare brand, is launching in the United States through Olive Young’s new Pasadena store on May 29, marking its first offline foothold in North America. The partnership arrives as U.S. demand for K‑beauty accelerates and follows Purito’s recent...
Nosto Launches Agentic AI Workflows for Shopify Sidekick
Nosto unveiled agentic AI workflows that embed its product discovery and personalization engine directly into Shopify’s AI assistant, Sidekick. The integration lets merchants issue natural‑language prompts to adjust recommendations without leaving the Shopify admin. A live demo at the OMR...
E-Commerce Group Otto Doubles Profits Despite Weaker Revenue
The Otto Group reported a near‑doubling of profit for the fiscal year ending February, even as revenue fell 7.4% to €13.8 billion ($15.2 bn). The decline was driven by the sale of fashion retailer About You to Zalando and weaker performance at Bonprix....
Shopping with AI Leads to More Sales than by Traditional Online Searches
AI‑driven shopping is now outpacing traditional search in the UK, with Adobe reporting a 182% year‑on‑year rise in conversion rates and a 543% jump since January. AI referrals to retail sites surged 393% in Q1 compared with a year earlier,...
Asda Embarks on Ecommerce Partnership with Ocado
Asda announced a strategic partnership with Ocado to overhaul its online grocery operation. Beginning in 2027, Ocado’s Smart Platform will be integrated across Asda’s website, mobile app, in‑store picking and last‑mile delivery, delivering faster search, personalized recommendations and a streamlined...
When AI Meets Desire: Innovating Human-Centered Luxury Experiences in the Agentic Age
Luxury brands are confronting a shift as AI‑driven agentic commerce moves the point of desire upstream, with McKinsey estimating $3‑5 trillion of goods commerce could be mediated by AI agents by 2030. Consumers are already embracing the technology—85% use multipurpose AI...
Reddit Expands Shopify Integration Access Globally
Reddit has opened its Shopify integration to every merchant on the platform, allowing global Shopify sellers to link Reddit Ads accounts, sync product catalogs, and install a codeless Reddit Pixel. The upgrade streamlines campaign creation and data tracking, aiming to...
Retail Predictive Analytics for Like-for-Like Growth
Retailers are moving from price‑driven growth to disciplined like‑for‑like volume expansion as tariffs and higher operating costs erode margins. The new normal demands continuous intelligence that links boardroom strategy to shop‑floor execution, using AI to optimize store layouts, inventory, and...
Kiabi Launches Online Garment Repair Service
French apparel retailer Kiabi has rolled out an online garment‑repair service across mainland France, extending its pilot programmes that began in 2023. The digital platform, built with repair specialist Save Your Wardrobe, lets shoppers submit photos, pay online and ship...
East Meets West: How AI and Social Commerce Are Reshaping the Future of Retail
NielsenIQ’s new report highlights a split between fast‑adopting APAC markets, where 58% of consumers use quick commerce and 59% shop via social platforms, and Western regions, where roughly two‑thirds have never tried these services. The study says AI‑driven agents are...
Scooter’s Coffee Growth and the Future of Franchise Marketing
Scooter’s Coffee has surpassed 900 locations in 32 states and is closing in on the 1,000‑store milestone. To tame the operational headache of managing reviews, listings and local engagement across hundreds of sites, the chain deployed SOCi’s AI‑driven local marketing...
Zalando Is Adding Secondhand Luxury Fashion From Vestiaire Collective
German e‑commerce group Zalando is partnering with France‑based Vestiaire Collective to add second‑hand luxury items to its platform. The collaboration launches in 14 European markets, marking the first time Zalando’s “Pre‑owned” category will host external sellers. Shoppers will access over...
BNPL’s Biggest Opportunity May Be Its Least Likely User
Buy‑now‑pay‑later (BNPL) is widely available, requiring no credit score and offering interest‑free installments. A PYMNTS Intelligence survey of 2,283 U.S. adults finds that only 8% of “reactive” consumers—those who cut spending and savings—use BNPL, while 48% of “proactive” consumers—who add...
Lithuania’s Kopa.ai Raises €2 Million to Scale Its Agentic AI Co-Pilot for E-Commerce Teams
Lithuanian AI startup Kopa.ai announced a €2 million (≈$2.2 million) seed round led by XTX Ventures and Practica Capital. The Vilnius‑based platform, which bills itself as an operating system for e‑commerce teams, already serves more than 2,000 merchants and posted €2 million in...