Amazon to hire thousands of tech workers

Dwarfing the hundreds laid off from corporate earlier this year, Amazon plans to hire 200 in a Minneapolis tech office, 2,000 in Boston and fill 3,000 jobs in Vancouver, mainly with technologists.

By Dan Alaimo • May 1, 2018

MM.LaFleur makes pop-up showroom permanent

The New York City location will now be a permanent hub for styling appointments, such as manicures and makeup.

By Daphne Howland • May 1, 2018

Explore the Trendline➔

What's shaping the e-commerce landscape?

From pivots in digital strategies to challenges retailers must overcome with reverse logistics, here are some of the forces shaping online retail.

By Retail Dive staff

Chico's to sell apparel via Amazon

The brand has been faltering amid slowing traffic to malls, but sending its older demographic of baby boomers to Amazon could be a boon for both.

By Daphne Howland • April 30, 2018

Amazon's ad business jumps in Q1, becomes 'multi-billion dollar' program

Ad sales growth appears to be accelerating, with the company's "other" revenues up 72% for the quarter. 

By Erica Sweeney • April 30, 2018

Google Assistant outperforms Alexa, Cortana and Siri, again

Will the gains in accuracy be the key to introducing more intelligent assistants?

By Alex Hickey • April 30, 2018

Amazon bringing memory, natural conversation capabilities to Alexa

By reducing friction in interactions, the new features will allow the assistant to better engage with users.

By Dan O'Shea • April 27, 2018

Walmart Labs on tech hiring binge in California, Arkansas

The retailer is trading traditional roles for highly skilled technical positions as it ramps up the R&D operations of Walmart Labs.

By Dan Alaimo • April 27, 2018

Amazon hiking US Prime fee to $119

The e-commerce giant is proving to be a tech and entertainment company with a retail arm more than a retailer, as it reports a Q1 sales increase of 43% to $51 billion.

By Daphne Howland • April 26, 2018

Amazon releases kid-focused Echo Dot, special Alexa version

The e-commerce giant adds another device to its growing line of "kid edition" tech, this time an Echo Dot with parental controls and special content.

By Dan O'Shea • April 26, 2018

Ebay fuels revenue growth but disappoints analysts

The marketplace reported its best revenue growth in more than four years on Wednesday, but can it keep the momentum going?

By Daphne Howland • April 26, 2018

Forrester: Share of online fashion spending outpaces overall digital sales

The share of fashion spending transacted over the web (20%) outpaced online spending in retail overall (13%), according to the report.

By Daphne Howland • April 26, 2018

Dormify plots pop-ups ahead of back-to-school season

The college and dorm supplies company is just the latest online retailer to seek out at least temporary digs in real life.

By Daphne Howland • April 26, 2018

Amazon generates five times more web traffic than Walmart

As the two retail giants fight for online consumers, Walmart's referral traffic is actually decreasing, according to digital market intelligence firm SimilarWeb.

By Daphne Howland • April 26, 2018

Sneaker brand opens virtual store

Six Hundred Four is an art gallery and a pricey sneaker store – a ‘Sneaker Gallery' – with a physical storefront and a 3D e-commerce shopping experience.

By Dan Alaimo • April 26, 2018

12 retailers at risk of bankruptcy in 2018

Six major retailers have already filed for bankruptcy in 2018, pointing to more struggles ahead. With data from CreditRiskMonitor, we looked at the companies that could be vulnerable in the next 12 months. 

By Ben Unglesbee • April 25, 2018

Macy’s email campaign nets a 6% reactivation rate

A fourth quarter email campaign boosted active subscribers, open and click-through rates, and resulted in increased online and in-store sales.

By Dan Alaimo • April 25, 2018

Why social commerce isn’t #trending yet

The channel has plenty of potential with young consumers, but disposable income in that demographic is low and retailers have yet to tackle issues of convenience.

By Cara Salpini • April 24, 2018

Amazon wants to Key your car

The e-commerce giant is expanding its Amazon Key at home delivery service to publicly accessible parked cars.

By Daphne Howland • April 24, 2018

Study: More than half of consumers have purchased through social media

Those who do purchase online, whether through social media or through a retailer's website, are looking for in-depth product info, according to a study by Avionos.

By Dan O'Shea • April 24, 2018

In search of the real J. Peterman

"Seinfeld," Oprah, venture capital, bankruptcy: Catalog retailer John Peterman has endured everything the world has thrown at him. Can his company survive the digital era and the aging of its customers?

By Ben Unglesbee • April 24, 2018

Amazon warehouse workers reportedly relying on SNAP

The Intercept found that in five states the e-commerce giant was among the top 20 companies with employees who rely on food subsidies.

By Daphne Howland • April 24, 2018

Resale e-retailer Rebag establishes two stores in Manhattan

The upscale handbag purveyor is operating in two of retail's best segments — resale and luxury.

By Daphne Howland • April 24, 2018

Retail jobs shifting from sales to tech

The move from bricks-and-mortar to online commerce is having a measurable impact on the jobs picture in the retail universe, according to research from LinkedIn.

By Dan Alaimo • April 24, 2018

Conversational Commerce: At Lowe’s, digital development isn’t all about that tech

Augmented reality, virtual reality and artificial intelligence are all defining the home improvement retailer's future. But there's one thing that's more important.

By Corinne Ruff • April 23, 2018

Toys R Us has $100 million offer from rival for European units

The bankrupt toy retailer said toy chain Smyths has agreed to buy its stores in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. 

By Ben Unglesbee • April 23, 2018