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 emerging Tier 2/3 markets. Newme’s offline push is paired with its quick‑commerce service, Newme Zip, which is already live in Delhi and Bengaluru. The expansion underscores the company’s shift from a digital‑first model to a fully omni‑channel experience.
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...
Virgin Media O2 Opens Experiential Store at Westfield White City
Virgin Media O2 launched a 3,860‑square‑foot experiential store in Westfield White City, London, expanding its UK retail footprint. The open‑plan space features four themed discovery zones—including a Gamers Paradise, TV and broadband area, Meta Zone, and O2 Priority rewards hub—allowing...
Zus Coffee Brews up Indonesia Expansion
Malaysian specialty coffee chain Zus Coffee has launched its first outlet in Jakarta’s Puri Indah Mall, marking the brand’s entry into Indonesia. The store is operated in partnership with local roaster Kapal Api Group, part of a broader Southeast Asian...
British Streetwear Label Palace Makes Shanghai Debut
British skate‑and‑streetwear label Palace is opening its first stand‑alone store in mainland China, located in Shanghai’s historic Zhangyuan district. The shop, debuting this Friday, mirrors the architecture of Yuyuan Garden with ponds, pavilions and winding pathways while preserving the original...
The 8 Best Stripe Alternatives in 2026
The Zapier guide lists eight leading Stripe alternatives, ranking them by ease of setup, merchant‑of‑record capabilities, global reach, e‑commerce integration, POS support, volume‑based pricing, multi‑method consolidation, and cross‑border functionality. PayPal, Paddle, Adyen, Shopify Payments, Square, Helcim, PayPal Enterprise Payments, and...
AWS Launches Agentic Shopping Assistant to Help Retailers Build AI Tools
Amazon Web Services introduced the Agentic Shopping Assistant (ASA), a new offering that bundles AWS AI services such as Bedrock, OpenSearch, and the Alexa for Shopping tool with professional services to help retailers embed generative AI assistants in their e‑commerce...
Coca-Cola’s New LTO Cans Create a Shopping Problem
Coca‑Cola has introduced limited‑edition America250 mini‑cans, each featuring a unique state or district design and sold only in blind 10‑ and 20‑packs. The promotion, tied to the nation’s 250th birthday, adds a prize‑scan component that can award a Jeep and...
Alibaba Integrates PicCopilot with Google Ads, Eyeing Conversion for Ecommerce
Alibaba has launched a new integration that connects its AI‑powered PicCopilot platform with Google Ads, enabling merchants to generate display ads and video creatives in seconds. The feature, dubbed Good Ads, is aimed at small‑ and medium‑size ecommerce operators, many...
How Checkout Costs Retailers a Share of $18 Trillion in Spending
Retailers risk losing a share of the $18 trillion global disability spending because checkout pages often lack basic accessibility features. Blind shoppers using screen readers encounter unlabeled form fields, nameless buttons, and keyboard traps, leading to complete conversion loss at the...
New PayPal Study Reveals that 44% of Irish SME Online Sales Are Cross-Border
PayPal’s new study of Irish SMEs that sell online finds that 44% of their revenue now comes from cross‑border transactions. A strong digital shift is evident, with 78% of respondents using AI tools and the same share relying on social...
Why London Was the Right ‘Gateway Market’ for Janie and Jack
Go Global Retail has opened its first international flagship on London’s King’s Road, housing US premium childrenswear brand Janie and Jack alongside maternity label Hatch. The combined store is positioned as a “gateway market” entry point, leveraging London’s affluent consumer base, tourism flow, and...
Top Brands Get Half Their Email Revenue From 6% of Sends. Here’s What Those Sends Are and How to Replicate...
Automated email flows, which represent only 6 % of total sends, generate $513 per 1,000 emails—about eight times the $62 earned by standard campaigns. Leading DTC brands capture more than half of their email revenue from these flows by leveraging branching logic,...
Google Announces Universal Cart: What It Means for Online Stores
Google announced Universal Cart, an AI‑powered shopping hub that lets users add items from any retailer while browsing Google Search, Gemini, YouTube or Gmail. The cart tracks price changes, flags incompatibilities and streamlines checkout through Google Pay via the Universal...
Small Retailers Need More Than Tech to Adopt Digital Payments
A 2018 Mexican program gave free digital‑payment terminals to small retailers, but only 12 % were still using them after six months. Stanford researchers found that the main barrier was the complex setup, not device cost. Providing hands‑on installation, troubleshooting, and...
Small Store, Strong Signal: Radio Gives Local Brand A Major Edge
A Quantilope study commissioned by Cumulus Media/Westwood One found that Henkle’s Ace Hardware in Joplin, Missouri, achieved 47% unaided brand awareness – second only to national chains Lowe’s and Home Depot. Radio advertising lifted aided awareness to 51% among listeners, outpacing...
Rephr’s Co-Founder on Learning Physical Retail on Its Own Terms
Japanese makeup‑tool brand Rephr, a seven‑year‑old direct‑to‑consumer company, opened its first physical outlet inside Sephora Hong Kong. Co‑founder Kenny Leung says the partnership lets the brand bring its brushes to customers who prefer to touch and test products, without the...
Flipkart Targets Students with Major Tech Discounts in ‘Back to Campus’ Sale
Flipkart launched its 2026 “Back to Campus” sale from May 22 to May 28, offering steep discounts on a wide range of AI‑enabled laptops, tablets, wearables and audio gear. The promotion highlights new releases such as the Apple MacBook Air M5, Samsung...
Ecommerce Earnings Recap: BJ’s Wholesale, Williams-Sonoma and More
The latest ecommerce earnings roundup shows digital sales accelerating across the sector, with BJ’s Wholesale Club reporting a 9.9% rise in net sales to $5.53 billion and a 28% jump in digitally enabled comparable sales. Williams‑Sonoma posted a 4.4% revenue increase...
Saving for a Switch 2 Is Easier with Newegg’s Gift Card Deal
Newegg is offering a $200 Nintendo eShop gift card for $170, delivering roughly a 15% discount. The cards can be accumulated, giving shoppers enough credit to offset the cost of the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2. Nintendo’s current $499.99 “Choose Your Game”...
Ending the “Easy Vs. Enterprise” Compromise with Storefront Next for B2C Commerce
Salesforce unveiled Storefront Next, an AI‑first B2C Commerce platform that blends enterprise‑grade capabilities with the ease of a lightweight solution, aiming to end the “easy vs. enterprise” trade‑off. The platform promises a full storefront launch in under 30 minutes, AI‑enabled...
Will Krispy Kreme Succeed Where Dunkin’ Donuts Failed?
Roberto Fava, the entrepreneur who previously oversaw Dunkin’ Donuts’ troubled Dutch relaunch, is now steering Krispy Kreme’s entry into the Netherlands. The American doughnut chain will open its first Dutch store this fall under Jafa Holding, Fava’s Amsterdam‑based venture. Dunkin’...
How Blueland Reinvented Its Packaging for the Retail Aisle
Blueland, the eco‑focused cleaning brand founded in 2019, has launched a full retail‑shelf rebrand as it moves beyond its direct‑to‑consumer model. The company introduced a refreshed logo, brighter color schemes, and fully recyclable cardboard packaging designed to cut through the...
Google Merchant Center Conversational Attributes For AI-Driven Surfaces
Google Merchant Center has launched a set of conversational attributes designed for AI‑driven surfaces such as AI Mode, Gemini and Business Agent. The optional fields—question_and_answer, document_link, related_product, item_group_title, variant_option and popularity_rank—supplement the standard product feed and let merchants convey nuanced...
Consumers Don’t Want More AI – They Want Retailers to Understand Them
Unlimited Conversions has unveiled its Deterministic Cognitive AI platform, a customer‑intelligence solution designed to replace generic personalization with deep behavioural insight. After four years of pilot work with major retailers, the system claims to map 211 variables per shopper, far...
German Grocer Deploys Interactive Touchscreen Kiosk Powered by Eyefactive
Edeka Jensen in Uetersen, near Hamburg, has partnered with eyefactive to install an interactive touchscreen kiosk at its fresh‑meat counter. The pilot, launched at the end of 2025, is the first eyefactive no‑code kiosk deployment across Edeka Germany. Powered by...
The TikTok Effect: How Viral Trends Are Changing Visual Merchandising
The rise of TikTok has compressed retail product cycles, turning weeks‑long launches into five‑day flash events. Brands such as Audemars Piguet × Swatch, Rhode Beauty, and Nestlé Carnation illustrate how viral moments force retailers to accelerate visual merchandising, from precise planograms to pop‑up...
Nayax Adds AI-Powered Product Discovery To Its Retail Platform, Processing 3.5 Billion Transactions Yearly
Nayax has rolled out AI‑powered product discovery and personalization tools within its retail platform, which already handles roughly 3.5 billion transactions a year. The in‑house AI engine automatically tags catalog items and delivers visual and text‑based search results as well as...
Crew Clothing Opens New Lake District Store in Time for Summer
British lifestyle brand Crew Clothing opened a 1,400‑sq ft store in Ambleside, Lake District, just before the summer holiday rush. The outlet showcases the brand’s coastal‑inspired collections, from rugby shirts to knitwear, and mirrors a similar launch in Barnard Castle last...
How Olly Is Updating Its Product Detail Pages for the AI Era
Olly is revamping its product detail pages (PDPs) to capture shoppers arriving via AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Gemini. The brand added extensive FAQ sections, refreshed its Wikipedia entry, and used analytics to eliminate friction on ingredient descriptions. These changes,...
Vitkac Partners With Italian Designer Rodo as Consumers Continue Seeking Curated Luxury Fashion Online
Vitkac Luxury Online Shop announced a partnership with Italian heritage brand Rodo, adding the label’s refined handbags and footwear to its curated digital marketplace. The collaboration reflects a broader shift toward understated luxury, as affluent consumers favor craftsmanship, longevity, and...
Publicis Sapient, Salesforce Signal New Era for Retailers with Agentic Commerce Report
Salesforce and Publicis Sapient released a joint whitepaper titled “Agentic Commerce: Unlocking the Emerging Shopping Experience,” forecasting AI‑agent‑orchestrated commerce could generate $3‑5 trillion in global revenue by 2030. The report highlights rapid consumer shifts, with 44% of AI‑search users preferring it for...
You’ve Been Trying to Get Around Amazon – but It’s Not that Easy
On May 4, 2026 Amazon launched Amazon Supply Chain Services, opening its vast warehousing, trucking and delivery network to businesses of any size. The service, an extension of the Multi‑Channel Fulfillment program, already supports more than 200,000 U.S. merchants and...