DTC's impact on marketing unlikely to cool despite slew of bad news, analysis says

GroupM's Brian Wieser ​suggests blows to would-be disruptor brands like Brandless may tell a story that's more negative than underlying trends.

By Peter Adams • Feb. 26, 2020

Raising capital: What investors look for before writing a check

When it's still just a pitch deck, how can founders make investors believe in a brand as much as they do?

By Caroline Jansen • Feb. 26, 2020

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

Google tops Facebook, Instagram in e-commerce activity, study finds

Google's ability to drive stronger sales and web traffic than the social giants indicates key differences in how people use the respective platforms.

By Robert Williams • Feb. 25, 2020

Target poised to be a top e-commerce player in 2020

The retailer's investments are "paying off," while Amazon still commands the lion's share of the market, according to eMarketer.

By Ben Unglesbee • Feb. 25, 2020

Startup Shogun raises $10M to help DTCs compete with Amazon

The funding will help the company give emerging retailers better digital commerce capabilities.

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • Feb. 24, 2020

BorderX Lab reports traffic, customer growth amid coronavirus outbreak

The company states that Chinese consumers are turning to e-commerce to buy luxury goods and essentials as the epidemic lingers.

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • Feb. 21, 2020

Holiday online sales reached over $137B

An eMarketer report found that total retail sales during the season exceeded $1 trillion for the first time.

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • Feb. 19, 2020

Walmart posts 'tepid' Q4 as toys, apparel sales fall short

The retailer missed expectations for sales during the quarter, but executives and analysts still see a strong underlying business. 

By Ben Unglesbee • Feb. 18, 2020

Bed Bath & Beyond sells keepsakes site to 1-800-Flowers for $252M

The struggling retailer bought PersonalizationMall.com in 2016 for $190 million. Analysts hailed the sale, and called for even more.

By Daphne Howland • Feb. 18, 2020

Stitch Fix officially launches 'Shop Your Looks'

The algorithm-led feature allows customers to choose items that go with pieces they already own, rather than leaving that to their stylist.

By Daphne Howland • Feb. 13, 2020

What stumbles at Harry's and Brandless mean for e-commerce

Federal regulators nixed one brand's takeover deal, and venture capital burned the other. Both moves reveal hard truths about direct-to-consumer retail.

By Daphne Howland • Feb. 12, 2020

Fourpost shutters, ending mall-based 'microstores' for online brands

The company's founder, a member of the family running Triple Five Group, will be co-CEO of the developer's new American Dream mall.

By Daphne Howland • Feb. 7, 2020

Bloomberg: Visa to roll out sweeping swipe fee changes

The changes boost rates for online purchases and decrease them for certain types of retailers in two waves that start in April and October.

By Dan Ennis • Feb. 4, 2020

Farfetch raises $250M to accelerate global growth

The investment, half of which was from Tencent, could prove useful in the luxury platform's ability to gain ground in China. 

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • Feb. 3, 2020

Avenue enlists Happy Returns amid transition to digital-only retailer

The plus-size women's apparel brand filed for bankruptcy in August, with plans to close all of its stores. 

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • Jan. 31, 2020

Amazon one-day delivery fuels sales boom — and shipping ambition

The e-commerce giant is once again growing a non-retail business that already gives it an edge, observers say.

By Daphne Howland • Jan. 31, 2020

Layoffs hit Walmart's Allswell brand

The cuts to more than half the digitally native home brand's staff come as the retail giant restructures its broader e-commerce strategy.

By Caroline Jansen • Jan. 29, 2020

Casper slashes IPO price

With the revision, the direct-to-consumer mattress brand's market cap comes to about half the $1.1 billion it projected last March.

By Caroline Jansen • Updated Feb. 5, 2020

Retailers see 42% of online sales from mobile devices, study says

Almost two-thirds of retailers said they're integrating mobile tech into e-commerce, but only 14% described themselves as a "mobile-first" organization.

By Robert Williams • Jan. 28, 2020

Discovery is lost in e-commerce. How can grocers improve?

The concept is core to bigger baskets and impulse buys online, but most companies have missed the mark, experts say. 

By Jessica Dumont • Jan. 28, 2020

Homeland Security vows crackdown on e-commerce counterfeiting

In a 54-page report, the department said the problem is mounting, poses a danger to consumer health and safety, and stifles innovation.

By Daphne Howland • Jan. 27, 2020

E-commerce could kill 30K stores and half a million jobs by 2025

A report from Euler Hermes details the destruction wrought in traditional retail as e-commerce grows, with jobs, stores and profits permanently lost.

By Ben Unglesbee • Jan. 23, 2020

Digital styling platform StyleBox announces beta launch

The company took aim at competitors in the space, claiming its service does not use AI to "fully replace humans or put stylists behind the scene."

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • Jan. 23, 2020

EBay lays off 102 Silicon Valley employees

Some analysts doubt the marketplace can continue to grow while losing share and point to rising competition and weak past performance.

By Daphne Howland • Jan. 22, 2020

Market research: A glance into the strategy of DTC furniture brand Article

Director of Marketing Duncan Blair talks about the allure of podcasts and the brand's approach to fostering loyalty.

By Cara Salpini • Jan. 22, 2020