Report: Target to stuff $75M into Casper funding round

Casper has broken into the mattress industry with simplified pricing and e-commerce fulfillment, while Target is beefing up its retail partnership by participating in the company's latest funding round.

By Daphne Howland • May 26, 2017

Report: Alibaba doubles down on Chinese food startup, leads $1B funding round

The Chinese e-commerce juggernaut's investment in Ele.me may be part of a long-term strategy to boost its Alipay usage.

By Dan O'Shea • May 25, 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

Bulletin draws seed funding to play host to startup retailers

The company raked in $2.2 million to construct more flexible rental spaces that allow e-commerce companies to rent on a month-to-month basis.

By Dan O'Shea • May 24, 2017

Ikea’s smart lights plug into voice assistant market

In a move to broaden the appeal of its new Tradfri smart lighting system, Ikea will let Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri control its devices.

By Dan O'Shea • May 24, 2017

Handmade at Amazon is getting into the bridal business

The move is a challenge to rival Etsy, which innovated an artisans marketplace 12 years ago, but is increasingly facing investor pressure to turn around.

By Daphne Howland • May 24, 2017

Warby Parker develops eye tests via mobile app

The once pure-play retailer is testing a new app allowing customers to confirm their vision prescriptions, but claims it isn't trying to replace eye doctors — yet.

By Dan O'Shea • May 23, 2017

Voice AI startup hires Google’s text-to-speech leader

Ian Hodson, an industry veteran and mentor of engineering talent, has left Google to join Voysis as a Distinguished Architect.

By Dan O'Shea • May 23, 2017

Report: 'Ultra-fast' fashion players gain on Zara, H&M

Boohoo, ASOS and Missguided can produce merchandise in two to four weeks, compared to five weeks for Zara and H&M and the six- to nine-month cycle for traditional retailers, according to Fung Global Retail & Technology.

By Daphne Howland • May 22, 2017

Amazon takes early steps to develop Go stores in UK

With approval from the U.K. on Go trademarks, the e-commerce retailer could be paving the way for European expansion of its "checkout-free" concept.

By Daphne Howland • May 22, 2017

Target reportedly offered $1B for Casper Mattress

The price tag on the mattress seller was too steep, sources told Recode, and as merger discussions broke down, executives settled on a partnership.

By Daphne Howland • May 22, 2017

Lowe’s unveils AR app for in-home projects

The new Vision app for the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro lets shoppers envision redesigned living spaces with virtual drop-ins of the retailer's products.

By Dan O'Shea • May 21, 2017

Report: Automation threatens up to 7.5M retail jobs

Retail cashier jobs, 73% of which are held by women, are at highest risk of loss to automation technologies, according to a study conducted by Cornerstone Capital Group.

By Dan O'Shea • May 21, 2017

New Aptos Labs funnel millions into ‘unified commerce’ platform

The company's innovation development team is working on a "cloud-native, mobile-first" platform that promises new features and integration with its Singular platform.

By Dan O'Shea • May 18, 2017

Android Pay, PayPal deepen partnership

Users of the payment app can now link to their PayPal accounts to pay with one touch at more than 16 million PayPal merchants.

By Dan O'Shea • May 18, 2017

Alibaba revenue rises, but investments in growth take toll

Sales continue to soar — and a shift toward an increasingly consumption-based economy in China provides long-term opportunities for the company, executives said.

By Daphne Howland • May 18, 2017

Amazon's reported interest in pharmacy business hurts CVS, Walgreens

The e-commerce giant may be getting serious about entering the highly regulated but highly lucrative retail space, much to the dismay of sector incumbents.

By Daphne Howland • May 18, 2017

Target gets into bed with Casper Mattress

While the retailer wasn't able to buy the upstart outright, the partnership continues its penchant for tie-ups with premium, popular designers and brands.

By Daphne Howland • May 18, 2017

Salesforce injects AI into Commerce Cloud Einstein

The company has enhanced its platform with order management, predictive sort and other e-commerce support features.

By Dan O'Shea • May 18, 2017

Google touts Assistant’s new e-commerce features

At the company's developer conference, an executive demonstrated the conversational commerce capabilities by ordering delivery from Panera and paying via fingerprint technology.

By Dan O'Shea • May 17, 2017

Report: US e-commerce sales rose 4.1% in Q1

While e-commerce growth continues to outpace overall retail sales, it still accounts for less than 10% of total sales, according to a report released by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

By Daphne Howland • May 17, 2017

Etsy faces more pressure as new investors buy in

The moves come two weeks after Josh Silverman took the CEO spot and hedge fund Black-and-White Capital, which owns 2% of Etsy’s shares, released letters highlighting critical issues.

By Daphne Howland • May 17, 2017

Pinterest expands visual search tech to ads

Extending the feature gives ads more relevancy by enabling them to show up adjacent to similar products sought in visual search.

By Dan O'Shea • May 16, 2017

Reflektion, Mad Mobile team to give retailers omnichannel view

The partnership will allow retailers who are joint clients of the firms to access data about customers' online activity while they're in stores.

By Dan O'Shea • May 16, 2017

Fashion Tech Lab aims to fund, innovate, connect with sustainability in mind

Digital entrepreneur Miroslava Duma is spearheading the startup accelerator, which is focused on investing in and developing sustainable technologies for the fashion industry.

By Dan O'Shea • May 15, 2017

Lowe's 'exosuit' gives employees a robotic boost

The home improvement retailer is piloting the use of robotic-enhanced suits that help employees lift and move products more efficiently to reduce fatigue.

By Dan O'Shea • May 15, 2017