Forecast: Amazon will command half of US e-commerce market by 2021

Prime membership, mobile penetration, third-party marketplace sales and web services profits are poised to vault the e-commerce giant to a new level of market dominance, according to Needham.

By Daphne Howland • April 11, 2017

Flipkart acquiring eBay's Indian business

EBay also is paying $500 million for an equity stake in the Indian e-commerce giant, alongside major investments from Microsoft and China’s Tencent.

By Daphne Howland • April 11, 2017

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

Survey: Cross-channel commerce errors costing retailers millions

Product content network 1WorldSync also found that 51% of merchants can’t support mobile commerce, and 80% don’t integrate product information management across web, mobile apps and physical stores.

By Dan O'Shea • April 10, 2017

Mastercard brings 5 new startups into Start Path accelerator program

Three of the startups are focused on using AI to analyze consumer behavior, enhance in-store or in-branch customer engagement and compute bill and payment data.

By Dan O'Shea • April 10, 2017

Report: Amazon Marketplace sellers hacked, robbed of thousands in sales

Hacks of dormant third-party seller accounts also have been on the increase: In these cases, non-existent products are offered at steep discounts in an effort to steal payment information from customers who try to buy them.

By Dan O'Shea • April 10, 2017

Samsonite picks up eBags for $105M

The acquisition brings eBags full circle: It was founded in 1998 by former employees of Samsonite and other luggage companies who were intent on disrupting luggage retail.

By Daphne Howland • April 10, 2017

Valentino getting omnichannel upgrade through YNAP partnership

Customers will gain access to inventory from Valentino boutiques and logistics centers and YNAP's fulfillment centers, in addition to in-store mobile features.

By Dan O'Shea • April 9, 2017

GameStop e-commerce site 'likely' hacked, card data potentially stolen

Customer card numbers, expiration dates, names, addresses and card verification values are among the information potentially compromised between mid-September 2016 and the first week of February.

By Dan O'Shea • April 9, 2017

Report: Amazon outpaces US market growth in sales of household items

Amazon's growth rate in housewares sales is three and a half times that of the total U.S. domestic market, according to a report from One Click Retail.

By Daphne Howland • April 7, 2017

Cross-border e-commerce enabler Flow earns $16M in Series A

The startup's cloud-based software platform leverages artificial intelligence and virtualization to support multi-currency pricing, rapid shipping, international payment options, taxes and duties, and simplified returns.

By Dan O'Shea • April 6, 2017

Study: Shoppers more willing to consult mobile phones than associates while in stores

About 77% of shoppers use smartphones to search for product information while shopping in stores, while just 35% are willing to consult an in-store salesperson.

By Dan O'Shea • April 6, 2017

Wal-Mart cutting 300 jobs in information systems unit

The layoffs come after two separate rounds of cuts announced in January and barely a week after a trio of Wal-Mart tech executives were elevated to new jobs.

By Dan O'Shea • April 5, 2017

Amazon to use Plug Power fuel cells to boost fulfillment network efficiencies

The e-commerce goliath plans to power industrial equipment at 11 fulfillment centers with Plug Power’s GenKey technology, corresponding to faster charging times, reduced costs and energy efficiencies.

By Dan O'Shea • April 5, 2017

Petco acquires PetCoach, adding digital pet health resource to offerings

PetCoach co-founder and CEO Brock Weatherup will join Petco to drive growth through innovation and enterprise-wide, consumer-focused tech initiatives.

By Dan O'Shea • April 4, 2017

Fanatics buys Majestic months after winning deal to replace it as MLB partner

Fanatics and Under Armour last year teamed up to win a 10-year contract from Major League Baseball to make player uniforms and manufacture and sell licensed fan apparel.

By Dan O'Shea • April 4, 2017

UPS outlines expansion plans for Saturday pickup and delivery

The shipper is looking to bring weekend services to almost 4,700 U.S. cities and towns ahead of the upcoming holiday shipping season, and wants to expand to about 5,800 markets in 2018.

By Dan O'Shea • April 3, 2017

Amazon launches social media influencer referral program

People with “large followings and a high frequency of posts with shoppable content” can generate referral fees on purchases driven through social platforms.

By Daphne Howland • April 3, 2017

Wal-Mart's Jet scrapping Jet Anywhere rewards program

The program, which ends May 1, enables consumers to leave Jet's own site to shop across more than 600 affiliate sites, collecting "JetCash" earmarked toward future orders.

By Daphne Howland • April 3, 2017

Retailers with pressing questions soon can ask Jicco what to do

The search engine uses crowdsourced data and photos to help retailers obtain real-time answers about store-level promotions, pricing and shopper sentiment.

By Dan O'Shea • April 2, 2017

Marketplace sellers up next in state sales tax battle

Increased collection of state sales tax levies erodes one of e-commerce’s advantages and could complicate sales and returns for smaller players.

By Daphne Howland • March 31, 2017

Reports: Amazon, Wal-Mart escalate CPG pricing war

Amazon is bringing together major consumer goods companies to brainstorm packaging and supply chain reforms and to convince them to sell directly to consumers via Amazon Marketplace.

By Daphne Howland • March 31, 2017

Study: Only 22% of consumers have engaged with a chatbot

Vibes' 2017 Mobile Consumer Report also found that consumers carefully curate the number of brands that can send them mobile alerts, subscribing to four on average.

By Dan O'Shea • March 30, 2017

Amazon shutters unprofitable Quidsi

Founded by Marc Lore, who now spearheads Wal-Mart's e-commerce efforts, Quidsi (acquired by Amazon in 2010 for $500 million) encompassed six no-frills sites including Diapers.com and Soap.com.

By Daphne Howland • March 30, 2017

Dunkin’ Donuts enables Order Ahead feature through Google’s Waze app

Customers may now order and pay before they arrive at a Dunkin' Donuts location and then skip the line to pick up their purchase when they arrive.

By Dan O'Shea • March 29, 2017

Wal-Mart promotes three tech executives amid ongoing Jet integration

The promotions follow other changes in the highest ranks of the retailer's technology operations, with several executives departing in recent months.

By Dan O'Shea • March 28, 2017