Starbucks' successful mobile ordering is causing in-store traffic jams

CEO Howard Schultz admitted the company's stores are getting congested with customers who have ordered and paid ahead of time via mobile.

By Dan O'Shea • Feb. 28, 2017

10 Items or Less: What retailers can learn from the Grateful Dead

Each week, Retail Dive editor Jason Ankeny weighs in on the industry headlines and trends capturing his attention. This time around: Deadheads, designers and drones.

By Jason Ankeny • Feb. 28, 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

Mastercard, Oracle team up on digital payments for stores, e-commerce

The partnership aims to provide retailers with a unified approach to in-store and online payments, starting with a Qkr! and Masterpass mobile app.

By Dan O'Shea • Feb. 27, 2017

Alibaba rails against lax counterfeit laws, enforcement

The Chinese e-commerce giant is calling for harsher penalties against convicted counterfeiters, stating “Criminals can escape any legal consequence, leaving law enforcement agents and consumers feeling helpless, and society bearing the damage."

By Daphne Howland • Feb. 27, 2017

Motorola brings Amazon's Alexa to accessories, smartphones

Google made a similar announcement, making its Google Assistant available across smartphones running Android 7.0 Nougat and Android 6.0 Marshmallow.

By Dan O'Shea • Feb. 26, 2017

Viber bolsters chat app with buying button for Macy's, other sellers

The new capability will be available as a beta offering in the U.S. early next month, and will be expanded on a worldwide basis as the year plays out.

By Dan O'Shea • Feb. 23, 2017

Survey: Digital transformation 2017's top priority for many retailers

Just over 50% of respondents have either not defined or not started implementing a digital transformation strategy, though progress varies by region.

By Dan O'Shea • Feb. 23, 2017

Jet boosts assortment with Wal-Mart brands

The e-commerce site is leveraging house brands including “Great Value,” “Equate” and “Sam’s Choice” to bolster its relatively thin product assortment.

By Daphne Howland • Feb. 23, 2017

Voysis raises $8M for AI-based voice shopping platform

Unlike other interactive technologies, the Voysis solution integrates directly with a retailer's customer-facing app or website, cutting out middlemen like virtual assistants and chatbots.

By Dan O'Shea • Feb. 22, 2017

Survey: Hacking incidents, security concerns not derailing online spending

Only 4% of consumers have stopped shopping online altogether as a result of cyberattacks and data breaches.

By Dan O'Shea • Feb. 21, 2017

Amazon lowers free shipping minimum for non-Prime members

Earlier this month, Wal-Mart swept away its shipping membership and declared two-day fulfillment “table stakes.” Amazon has just anted up.

By Daphne Howland • Feb. 21, 2017

Alibaba, offline giant Bailian team up on far-reaching retail tech initiative

The companies will leverage big data capabilities to boost integration between offline stores, merchandise, logistics and payment tools to improve efficiency and enhance consumer experience.

By Dan O'Shea • Feb. 20, 2017

IBM, Visa partner to embed payment capabilities into Watson-enabled IoT devices

More than 6,000 companies with Watson-driven Internet of Things architectures can integrate payments across product lines using Visa Token Service technology.

By Dan O'Shea • Feb. 20, 2017

Google Assistant now lets consumers shop retailers through Google Home

Owners of the interactive speaker may now shop via voice at Costco, Whole Foods Market, Walgreens, PetSmart and Bed Bath & Beyond, among others.

By Dan O'Shea • Feb. 16, 2017

ReplyYes lands $6.5M to further m-commerce platform for lifestyle brands

The startup has also inked an exclusive agreement with Universal Music Group to create music, tickets and merchandise shopping opportunities for UMG artists and their fans worldwide.

By Dan O'Shea • Feb. 16, 2017

Marketplace startup StockX draws celebrity-laden $6M funding round

Mark Wahlberg, Eminem, Steve Case, Scooter Braun, DJ Skee and Ron Conway have invested in the self-described online “stock market of things.”

By Dan O'Shea • Feb. 15, 2017

Wal-Mart lands online outdoor retailer Moosejaw for $51M

The world’s largest retailer continues gobbling up online merchants in its ongoing quest to resuscitate its flagging e-commerce efforts.

By Jason Ankeny • Feb. 15, 2017

Etsy to roll out craft supplies marketplace to sell to merchants

The crafts site aims to launch the new marketplace with at least 8 million craft supplies products available, compared to around 33,000 at many big-box retailers.

By Dan O'Shea • Feb. 14, 2017

Swych Giftbot handles person-to-person e-gifting requests for chat users

Beta testing is open on both the Apple iOS and Google Android platforms for users of Facebook Messenger, Skype and Apple’s Siri.

By Dan O'Shea • Feb. 14, 2017

Wal-Mart coordinating e-commerce, brick-and-mortar supply operations

The world's largest retailer is making moves to boost efficiency and consistency across channels.

By Daphne Howland • Feb. 14, 2017

Adobe: Prices on consumer goods surge past pre-holiday levels

The firm’s Digital Price Index showed that prices in December jumped 0.6% from November, a significant departure from last year when they remained flat.    

By Daphne Howland • Feb. 14, 2017

ComScore: Holiday spending topped $80B, driven by mobile commerce growth

Shopping via smartphones and tablets reached $17.1 billion over the last two months of 2016, corresponding to about 21% of total holiday digital spending, up from 17% in 2015.

By Dan O'Shea • Feb. 13, 2017

What retailers need to know about cybersecurity

Annual global costs tied to destruction of data, intellectual property theft, lost productivity and fraud are on pace to reach $6 trillion by 2021. Here's how retailers can avoid becoming a statistic.

By Jason Ankeny • Feb. 13, 2017

Pinterest deepens retail integrations with new visual search tech

A second new feature, "Shop the Look," lets users track down and purchase items they've seen in Pins. 

By David Kirkpatrick and Peter Adams • Feb. 10, 2017

Amazon reportedly plans private label lingerie expansion

The e-commerce giant, already the largest online apparel retailer, is taking advantage of major disruptions in the intimates market.

By Daphne Howland • Feb. 10, 2017