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Retail technology teams face a paradox: artificial intelligence is transforming how software gets built, yet the very tools that accelerate delivery are outpacing the security processes designed to protect it. For retailers competing on digital experience, faster development is essential. However, as the use of generative AI to create code and automate features becomes standard…

When considering fundamental shifts in how shoppers define value in today’s retail environment, at the center is continuity. It's the expectation that a shopper’s relationship with a brand doesn’t reset when they move between channels, but instead flows seamlessly across them. For retailers, this is where the challenge becomes operational. While digital channels have evolved…

Criteo bought its way into ChatGPT. Advertisers can now place sponsored products inside artificial intelligence responses, the same way they buy display inventory across the open web. It's a logical move. It's also the clearest signal yet that the ad industry is about to repeat its worst mistake at scale. Picture this scenario: a user…

Products from Ace Hardware are now available on Uber Eats nationwide as the hardware cooperative becomes the latest retailer to dive into on-demand delivery services and Uber Eats works to recast itself from the "Eats" part of its brand. The two companies announced the partnership Tuesday, saying it would allow customers who already shop locally…

A brand posts a TikTok video about its new perfume and watches it take off overnight. Thousands of orders pour in and it looks like the breakthrough every founder works towards. Then the fulfillment team realizes there’s an issue. Orders are open to both domestic and international buyers, but shipping the product overseas will cost…

Artificial intelligence is already reshaping retail payments in practical ways. The impact is not theoretical. It is visible in how transactions are approved, how devices operate, and how customers move through the buying journey. The biggest structural change is in real-time decisioning. Retailers rely on fast, consistent payment flows, and friction at checkout directly affects…

Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer a theoretical line item in retail supply chain and fulfillment discussions. It's real, it's advancing rapidly, and it's fundamentally reshaping how retailers forecast demand, manage inventory, and deliver to customers. From automated decision-making to advanced recommendation engines, the technological landscape is evolving quickly. Yet, as these systems become more…

Retail and consumer packaged goods (RCPG) companies have entered a definitive phase where operational precision is no longer a competitive advantage but the baseline for survival. In 2026, the industry is grappling with a stark consumer polarization. On one side, a value-seeking segment is trading down and scrutinizing every penny; on the other, a premium…

Amazon.com said Monday it has reached a ‌new agreement with the United States Postal Service (USPS) ‌on package deliveries, reports Yahoo Finance. Sources told Reuters the deal will result ​in Amazon, which is USPS's largest single customer, retaining around 80 percent of its existing deliveries with USPS, or more than 1 billion packages ‌per year.…

Scam robocalls continue to generate the largest volume of consumer complaints received by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Recent data show that scam and telemarketing calls increased by 15.6 percent in 2025 compared to the prior year, adding roughly 420 million additional scam calls each month. For retail and e-commerce companies, the implications are real…

Returns fraud is accelerating, and “keep it” policies are making it worse. Frankly, they should be illegal. On paper, telling a customer to keep a low-cost item and issuing a refund looks efficient. No shipping. No processing. No restocking. No warehouse touch. In practice, it's lazy operations dressed up as customer convenience. It creates fraud…

Retailers have spent the past several years optimizing for efficiency. Lower acquisition costs, clearer attribution, tighter dashboards. Digital channels delivered speed, precision and performance, so budgets followed. But as commerce becomes more connected and competitive, retailers are rediscovering a simple truth: purchase decisions do not happen only on screens. Shoppers move fluidly throughout their day.…

After years of rapid growth, new networks launching monthly, and brands eagerly shifting budgets closer to the point of sale, the conversation around retail media has evolved into one of accountability. Advertisers are asking harder questions about what retail media actually delivers, and whether reported performance aligns with real business outcomes. This shift is both…

Bed Bath & Beyond has entered into a definitive merger agreement to buy The Container Store in a transaction valued at $150 million. In a regulatory filing, the retailer said its newly created subsidiary, Falcon Merger Sub, will be merged into The Container Store, leaving the latter as a wholly owned unit of Bed Bath…

As customer acquisition costs climb and digital channels become increasingly saturated, many direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands are hitting a growth ceiling. They're asking themselves, "What comes next?" Yet many still treat TV as something to “graduate” to — an expensive and exclusive awareness channel that’s been reserved for the biggest brands with even bigger budgets. Performance…

Retailers are currently operating in a golden age of autonomous commerce, where artificial intelligence-driven personalization and seamless customer journeys are the standard. However, there is a massive backdoor threat that many in the sector are ignoring. According to Valimail’s 2026 State of DMARC report, while online retail leads the world in email authentication adoption, a…

For years, retailers have understood something simple but powerful: consumers rarely begin their purchase journey on retailer websites. They start with research. Increasingly, that research happens on Reddit. According to the platform, 71 percent of people who discover a brand go on to research it there, while 74 percent say Reddit helps them make faster…

In today’s retail market, the hottest item isn’t always the original product. Increasingly, it’s the dupe. Across social media, influencers regularly spotlight lower-cost alternatives to luxury and premium products, and consumers eagerly pursue these “dupes,” turning imitation into a viral shopping strategy. But for retailers, the dupe economy raises an important question: When does an…

The Commerce Department's latest U.S. retail sales report — delayed because of last year's government shutdown — shows that Americans spent more than expected in February following three consecutive months of decline. The report comes at a time of extreme consumer wariness: gas prices have reached a national average of $4 a gallon as the…

Shoptalk 2026 had little choice when creating the theme for this year’s show: “Retail in the Age of AI.” But what artificial intelligence actually means to the thousands of retailers and brands that will be attending the show varies significantly. Some brands and retailers care about intelligence, some about automation, while others want to improve…