Ecommerce/page/245 news and trends

Amazon Wants Alexa to Look Inside the Fridge and Fill the Cart

August 13, 2026
Amazon Alexa
Grocers Drop Online Markups to Turn Delivery Into a Habit
Retail // August 11, 2026

A grocery retailer can collect an extra dollar by marking up an online order, or it can give up that dollar and try to win more of the household’s grocery budget. Get the Full Story Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited...

Amazon Markets to Student Shoppers With College Campus Locker Additions
Amazon // August 11, 2026

Amazon has added 750 Locker locations at more than 500 college and university campuses across the United States, the company said in a Tuesday (Aug. 11) press release. Get the Full Story Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free access to all PYMNTS content —...

Rakuten Turns Profit as Ecosystem Revenue Hits Record High
Earnings // August 10, 2026

Rakuten Group achieved its first quarterly profit in six years in the second quarter as it saw revenue growth across its three segments: Internet Service, FinTech and Mobile, the company said in a Monday (Aug. 10) press release. Get the Full Story Complete the form...

Why Merchant-Owned Apps Are Retail’s Fastest-Growing Sales Channel
Mobile Commerce // August 10, 2026

Merchant-owned apps are becoming more important to retail growth at precisely the moment when the traditional customer journey is beginning to break apart. Get the Full Story Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free access to all PYMNTS content — no...

Interviews & Exclusives
Amazon Wants Alexa to Look Inside the Fridge and Fill the Cart

August 13, 2026
Amazon’s latest Alexa demonstration looked almost trivial: photograph a refrigerator, ask what groceries are missing, and let artificial intelligence assemble the shopping list. Get the Full Story Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free access to all PYMNTS content — no additional logins required. yesSubscribe to our daily newsletter, PYMNTS Today. […]

Why Merchant-Owned Apps Are Retail’s Fastest-Growing Sales Channel

August 10, 2026
Merchant-owned apps are becoming more important to retail growth at precisely the moment when the traditional customer journey is beginning to break apart. Get the Full Story Complete the form...

Payment Choice Now Defines The New American Shopper

August 05, 2026
American shoppers aren’t waiting for retail to catch up. They’re already using mobile devices and AI to find products, compare choices and decide where to spend. Their shopping habits are...

Amazon Narrows AI Ambitions as Retail Rivalry Intensifies

July 30, 2026
Amazon’s decision this week to scale back parts of its homegrown artificial intelligence portfolio has been taken by the marketplace as a retreat from the frontier-model competition. Get the Full...

Quick Reads
Amazon Markets to Student Shoppers With College Campus Locker Additions

August 11, 2026
Amazon has added 750 Locker locations at more than 500 college and university campuses across the United States, the company said in a Tuesday (Aug. 11) press release. Get the Full Story Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free access to all PYMNTS content — no additional logins required. yesSubscribe to our daily newsletter, PYMNTS […]

Rakuten Turns Profit as Ecosystem Revenue Hits Record High

August 10, 2026
Rakuten Group achieved its first quarterly profit in six years in the second quarter as it saw revenue growth across its three segments: Internet Service, FinTech and Mobile, the company...

CarParts.com and CarGurus Turn Proprietary Data Into Moats

August 07, 2026
CarParts.com and CarGurus are each leveraging their own proprietary data to differentiate their platforms from competitors, executives at the two companies said in their Thursday (Aug. 6) earnings reports. Get the Full Story...

Retailers Steer AI Traffic Back to Own Checkouts

August 07, 2026
Retailers are looking to market their products through artificial intelligence platforms while bringing the transactions and data that come with them to their own platforms, Reuters reported Friday (Aug. 7)....