Wal-Mart doubles down on Chinese e-commerce with same-day delivery bet

Ahead of Singles Day, the retail giant expanded its Chinese presence with a $50 million investment in grocery and same-day delivery company New Dada.

By Daphne Howland • Oct. 21, 2016

Alibaba launches 'Singles Day' promotions three weeks early

The Chinese e-commerce giant, which raked in $14 billion last year, is setting the stage for another blockbuster holiday.

By Daphne Howland • Oct. 20, 2016

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

EBay debuts chatbot for Facebook Messenger

The e-commerce platform wants its new shopping assistant to learn how to find the right products from live customer search queries.

By Dan O'Shea • Oct. 18, 2016

Walgreens introduces click-and-collect option

The drugstore retailer is also sweetening the deal by offering free shipping with no minimum for online orders picked up in its stores.

By Daphne Howland • Oct. 18, 2016

EBay launches Collective curated antiques, art marketplace

The effort uses visual search artificial intelligence and image recognition technologies to curate products on an interactive platform.

By Dan O'Shea • Oct. 17, 2016

Everlane mulling brick and mortar efforts

A growing number of pure-play e-commerce darlings including Warby Parker and Bonobos are opening physical stores to boost sales and brand recognition.

By Daphne Howland • Oct. 17, 2016

Instacart revives online tipping following customer outcry

The grocery delivery service eliminated tipping capabilities last month in an effort to increase and guarantee shoppers consistent earnings per delivery.

By Dan O'Shea • Oct. 16, 2016

Alibaba CEO: Pure-play e-commerce faces 'tremendous challenges'

China’s largest e-commerce firm is taking steps to upgrade its retail businesses and targeting efficiency gains across product manufacturing, distribution and service.

By Daphne Howland • Oct. 13, 2016

Pinterest touts 150M monthly users, marketing enhancements

The social media site has been working diligently to prove its worth to marketers ahead of a widely anticipated initial public offering.

By Daphne Howland • Oct. 13, 2016

Researcher: Thousands of shopping sites hacked, card data skimmed

Multiple culprits likely were able to skim credit cards used at online stores run by retailers, consumer brands, automakers, government entities and other parties.

By Dan O'Shea • Oct. 13, 2016

Amazon adds toys to Alexa's repertoire in time for holiday shopping

Consumers can now use the Alexa voice-activated virtual assistant software to shop for toys available through Amazon Prime.

By Dan O'Shea • Oct. 13, 2016

Salvatore Ferragamo launches shoppable collection online

The Italian footwear and apparel label tapped Rose Gilroy to model a "shop the look" feature on its website, which allows shoppers to see-now, buy-now.

By Daphne Howland • Oct. 13, 2016

Crate and Barrel turns to tablets to enhance in-store experience

Customers are given a store-provided Mobile Tote for scanning product barcodes for more information, as well as searching items and adding them to a wishlist.

By Dan O'Shea • Oct. 11, 2016

GE unveils dishwasher integrated with Amazon Dash Replenishment

The dishwasher tracks detergent pod usage by counting wash cycles, and when the supply runs low, it automatically reorders more.

By Dan O'Shea • Oct. 11, 2016

How mobile is transforming product search — and why voice may be next

Often overshadowed by flashier digital innovations, search remains the foundation of online shopper satisfaction. But search deficiencies on mobile are leaving customers feeling lost.

By Jason Ankeny • Oct. 11, 2016

Wall Street warms to Wal-Mart's shift to e-commerce

Wal-Mart is earmarking $11 billion in capital spending to boost online sales while drastically slowing down the number of new physical stores it will open.

By Daphne Howland • Oct. 11, 2016

Macy's to launch e-commerce site for China market in 2017

The retailer began selling in China last year via Alibaba's Tmall Global storefront, offering products from brands including Tommy Hilfiger and Fossil.

By Dan O'Shea • Oct. 10, 2016

Staples enables Apple Pay through mobile site and app

The announcement comes two years after the retailer became one of Apple Pay's first supporters of in-store payments.

By Dan O'Shea • Oct. 9, 2016

Delivery drivers sue Amazon over contractor status

Three drivers in the retailer’s “Amazon Flex” program say their work requirements mean they should be compensated as employees.

By Daphne Howland • Oct. 7, 2016

Wal-Mart slows store openings as focus turns to e-commerce

“I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say we are going through a transformative period,” Wal-Mart CEO Doug McMillon told investors and analysts Thursday.

By Daphne Howland • Oct. 7, 2016

EBay scoops up visual search engine developer Corrigon

Corrigon's image recognition technologies promise to help the web marketplace improve the quality of product photos and other visuals in its search results.

By Dan O'Shea • Oct. 6, 2016

Capital One buys price-match tracking startup Paribus

Paribus helps shoppers obtain automatic refunds when the price of an item purchased from an e-commerce site goes down.

By Dan O'Shea • Oct. 6, 2016

Amazon expands Dash ordering wand beyond grocery to all items

The wand allows consumers to add a product to their shopping cart by speaking its name or scanning a bar code.

By Daphne Howland • Oct. 6, 2016

Wayfair releases API to 3D model library to drive app development

Software developers gain access to more than 10,000 3D furniture and décor models, enabling them to integrate more realistic content into their applications.

By Dan O'Shea • Oct. 5, 2016

Shopify adds Facebook Messenger direct sales channel

Merchants have had almost 2 million unique conversations since Shopify began Messenger support earlier this year.

By Dan O'Shea • Oct. 5, 2016