How UPS stays steady in center of e-commerce shipping storm

Despite Amazon's shipping ambitions and myriad other forces driving market upheaval, UPS continues to invest in a future defined by e-commerce opportunities and obstacles.

By Dan O'Shea • Nov. 15, 2016

Amazon expands Home Services to 20 more US cities

Customers can request services like house cleaning, which can be helpful during the busy party season, as well as assembly or installation of products.  

By Daphne Howland • Nov. 14, 2016

Explore the Trendline➔

How the purpose of stores is evolving

Stores have always evolved in order to compete as times, technology and tastes change. And, most of all, to please customers.

By Retail Dive staff

Alibaba's Singles Day shatters expectations with $18B in sales

Sales across Alibaba's China and international retail marketplaces increased 32% over last year's shopping event, with mobile gross merchandise volume accounting for 82% of that total, compared to 69% in 2015.

By Daphne Howland • Nov. 14, 2016

Alibaba's Singles Day nears record sales, boosted by virtual reality

Shoppers wearing Buy+ virtual reality headsets experienced Singles Day from a 360-degree perspective, exploring merchandise from Alibaba partners across the globe, including Macy's in New York.

By Dan O'Shea • Nov. 10, 2016

Reports: With Trump in White House, Amazon could face antitrust probe

President-elect Donald Trump earlier this year blamed Amazon's "monopolistic tendencies" for "the destruction of department stores and the retail industry.”  

By Dan O'Shea • Nov. 9, 2016

Survey: Retailers progressing on omnichannel, but not fast enough

While omnichannel adoption is growing, almost half of merchants believe they are making little headway in their omnichannel efforts.

By Dan O'Shea • Nov. 9, 2016

Wayfair tumbles as fulfillment, delivery expenses surge

The furniture retailer not only offers free shipping with a minimum order on most items, but also boasts a range of dynamically priced delivery options from curbside drop-off to full in-home delivery.

By Daphne Howland • Nov. 9, 2016

Facebook enables retailers to link newsfeed ads to chatbots

Brands that operate chatbots on Messenger can now buy targeted newsfeed ads that link directly to their bots, allowing them to immediately initiate conversations.

By Dan O'Shea • Nov. 8, 2016

Chinese regulators put Singles Day merchants on notice over counterfeit sales

Chinese regulators met with Alibaba, JD.com, Amazon.com Inc, Baidu Inc, Tencent Holdings and several others to warn against a number of dubious sales and accounting practices.

By Daphne Howland • Nov. 8, 2016

Amazon unveils Alexa skills marketplace to enrich customer experience

The marketplace offers Alexa developers a detail page for each offering, enabling better optimization and search engine discovery rates.

By Dan O'Shea • Nov. 7, 2016

Report: Bonobos raising $100M to expand brick-and-mortar footprint

The menswear retailer was founded on the notion that men don’t like shopping in stores. How things have changed.

By Daphne Howland • Nov. 7, 2016

Amazon begins requiring free returns at the cost of some sellers

Sellers are complaining, but the new return policy is a classic customer-first move from the e-commerce giant.

By Daphne Howland • Nov. 4, 2016

Study: Amazon private label brands crushing competitors across categories

The e-commerce giant's private label initiatives are experiencing runaway growth, even emerging as the online leader in some categories, according to research conducted by 1010data Market Insights.

By Daphne Howland • Nov. 4, 2016

Fanatics, Uber deliver Cubs gear on demand after team delivers World Series title

Almost 30 vehicles hit Chicago streets stocked with official Cubs championship-themed merchandise available for sale through the Uber app.

By Dan O'Shea • Nov. 3, 2016

Hollar's dollar store-like app draws $30M in new funding

Available online and as an iOS or Android app, Hollar features 10,000 live SKUs for a variety of items, most priced between $2 and $5.

By Dan O'Shea • Nov. 3, 2016

Sephora brings more beauty bot tools to Facebook Messenger

The new Sephora Reservation Assistant allows customers to book appointments for makeovers at stores nationwide, while Color Match augments the existing Virtual Artist lipstick finder tool.

By Dan O'Shea • Nov. 3, 2016

Study: Fake retailer apps bedevil mobile shoppers

Two out of three retailers still don’t have an official Apple iOS or Google Android mobile application, leaving open an opportunity for fake retail apps to emerge.

By Dan O'Shea • Nov. 3, 2016

How retailers can maximize mobile revenues this holiday shopping season

More and more consumers are visiting retailers via mobile devices, but few are completing purchases. Here’s how merchants can turn mobile into a moneymaker. 

By Jason Ankeny • Nov. 2, 2016

Prime members get discounts at Amazon's physical bookstores

The new pricing scheme could indicate the company's approach for other brick-and-mortar plans and an extension of its overall Prime strategy.

By Daphne Howland • Nov. 2, 2016

Wal-Mart e-commerce execs exit in wake of Jet merger

The retail giant also plans to incorporate Jet's “smart basket” dynamic pricing system into its flagship Walmart.com site.

By Daphne Howland • Nov. 2, 2016

IBM acquires Fluid's personal shopper unit to beef up Watson

Fluid's bot-based conversational product recommendation platform uses Watson-enabled natural language interaction to assist shoppers across digital channels.

By Dan O'Shea • Nov. 1, 2016

Shoppable photos coming soon to Instagram

Images can be tagged with pricing information and product descriptions, and will link directly to brand websites for purchase.

By Peter Adams • Nov. 1, 2016

Amazon rolls out Black Friday exclusives, app enhancements

The shopping app's new features allow customers to scan delivered packages to see what's in them without opening them and to compare real-life items with other product options.

By Daphne Howland • Nov. 1, 2016

Inside the final days of Borders' bankruptcy — and what Mike Edwards learned as its last CEO

Despite several CEOs' best turnaround efforts, Borders bookstores are no more. The liquidated chain's last CEO opens up on just what went wrong — and what other retailers can take away.

By Corinne Ruff • Nov. 1, 2016

Moody's: Retail sector stable, healthy holiday sales ahead

Home improvement, dollar stores, specialty retail and off-price will drive revenues, while other segments — including department stores, apparel and footwear, office supply and discounters and warehouse clubs — face headwinds.

By Daphne Howland • Nov. 1, 2016