How Amazon and Walmart's head-to-head competition is changing retail

The evolution of the two shows that being a retail giant means more than selling merchandise.

By Maria Monteros • March 3, 2021

7 UX benefits driving retailers to adopt virtual waiting rooms in 2021

Retailers have been embracing virtual waiting rooms to deliver high-quality user experiences in the face of overwhelming web traffic.

March 1, 2021

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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

Outdoor Voices names Urban Outfitters vet CEO

Gabrielle Conforti, who has 15 years of retail and apparel experience, will be in charge of launching products and setting the vision for the DTC brand.

By Caroline Jansen • Feb. 26, 2021

Bernie Sanders' mittens propelled $1.9M in Etsy sales last month

The marketplace embraced its maker ethos after a detour a few years ago. That and demand for masks led to massive growth during the pandemic year.

By Daphne Howland • Feb. 26, 2021

Best Buy cuts 5K jobs as it shifts to more part-time workers

The electronics retailer is also closing stores and reducing sales space as it preps for long-term digital shifts. 

By Ben Unglesbee • Feb. 26, 2021

Madison Reed rakes in $52M to fuel 'omnichannel expansion'

The DTC hair color brand saw 130% growth in 2020, and opened 16 of its Color Bars, as part of a plan to expand to 600.

By Cara Salpini • Feb. 25, 2021

The Backroom: Amazon enters a new phase

The team talks about how retailers have paved their own way, as Jeff Bezos prepares to hand over the CEO reins at the e-commerce giant.

By Daphne Howland • Feb. 25, 2021

Benefiting from the home category boom, Wayfair posts 45% revenue increase

But the longevity of its success, largely built on pandemic-induced spending trends, remains a question as consumers eventually venture outside the home.

By Caroline Jansen • Feb. 25, 2021

Walmart opens its marketplace to BigCommerce merchants

The new partnership helps the retail giant catch up to Amazon, where revenue from third-party sellers has soared.

By Maria Monteros • Feb. 24, 2021

Shippo raises $45M to fuel expansion

Amid the e-commerce spike, the shipping technology startup wants to facilitate Amazon-level deliveries for other marketplaces.

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • Feb. 24, 2021

Macy's mostly sticks to 'Polaris' turnaround after brutal pandemic year

The department store is stoking its e-commerce and off-price operations in anticipation that its recovery will gain strength in the back half of the year.

By Daphne Howland • Feb. 23, 2021

Allbirds names Glossier CEO Emily Weiss to board

Also joining is e.l.f. Beauty's Chief Financial Officer Mandy Fields, though the company is not launching into beauty, a spokesperson said.

By Cara Salpini • Feb. 23, 2021

Walmart says its automated supply chain is 'ready to scale'

There's a limit to how much the retailer can pick, fulfill and ship from stores, the CEO said. Walmart is banking on automation to change that.

By Matt Leonard • Feb. 22, 2021

What big-box retailers have to gain from DTC brands

The benefits for a direct-to-consumer brand sitting on a Walmart or Target shelf seem obvious. But mass merchants have a lot to learn from those brands.

By Caroline Jansen • Feb. 22, 2021

ThirdLove expands into loungewear

This launch marks the first real expansion for the DTC brand, which up to this point, has been focused squarely on bras and underwear.

By Cara Salpini • Feb. 19, 2021

Walmart posts 'record' Q4 thanks to online and holiday demand

The retailer said it expects sales growth to slow in the coming months as it attempts to maintain pandemic growth.

By Maria Monteros • Feb. 18, 2021

Livestream shopping platform Talkshoplive raises $3M

Other companies have been experimenting with livestream commerce to connect with homebound consumers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • Feb. 18, 2021

DTC holding company eyes expansion with Gravity acquisition

Win Brands Group, which buys and scales DTC brands, also closed a $50 million funding round aimed solely at adding to its portfolio.

By Cara Salpini • Feb. 18, 2021

DTC soap brand's first Super Bowl ad reaps rewards in market share

Dr. Squatch's top seller gained 200% in market share in its category on Amazon, according to Profitero.

By Maria Monteros • Feb. 17, 2021

Amazon acquires small digital commerce platform to challenge Shopify

Australian startup Selz is a bit player, but the takeover signals the e-commerce behemoth's intentions to reenter a space it abandoned years ago.

By Daphne Howland • Feb. 17, 2021

BarkBox parent revenues grow 78% in Q3

Ahead of its public debut through a SPAC deal, the online pet retailer released preliminary financial results, which also reveal unprofitability. 

By Caroline Jansen • Feb. 16, 2021

One year later: How COVID-19 upended retail and what it means for 2021

Temporary store closings in March were the kickoff to a brutal year, but businesses learned a few things about what it takes to stay afloat.

By Cara Salpini • Feb. 16, 2021

Walmart+ gains traction 5 months after launch

Less than a year after its release, the subscription service has attracted up to 8.2 million members, a CIRP study found.

By Maria Monteros • Feb. 12, 2021

WSJ: Best Buy cuts jobs, hours for some store workers as it pivots to digital

The electronics retailer has been making changes to its operating model in stores as its channel mix adjusts to more online purchases.

By Ben Unglesbee • Feb. 11, 2021

Poshmark enters into the pet category

The secondhand marketplace is getting into the popular pet segment just a few weeks after its IPO. 

By Kaarin Moore • Feb. 11, 2021