Shopify looks to competitors for help as growth slows: The company’s partnerships with TikTok and Amazon should help with customer retention and acquisition.

Mcommerce sales growth will slow again this year as the market normalizes from the pandemic peak. But the channel is growing twice as fast as desktop as people do more online shopping on smartphones.

Walmart expands third-party seller features as it tries to take on Amazon: The retailer is seeing early results from its marketplace initiatives, but its share of the market will remain at just 2.2% this year compared with Amazon’s 72.4%.

Amazon’s advertising division ranked highest in our Power of Amazon in 2023 report. Its retail ecommerce division, Amazon’s biggest business by dollars, lost share between our initial rankings in 2021 and our current forecast.

Best Buy believes we’ve hit a low point in tech demand: The combination of inflation and shifting spending patterns has made for a tough environment for the consumer electronics retailer.

Amazon and Disney could team up on ESPN: Thursday Night Football could make Amazon a desirable partner for ESPN’s uncertain streaming future.

On today’s podcast episode, we take a deeper dive into lesser-known areas of Amazon’s business. First, we examine the initiatives at play for the company's TV and voice businesses. Then, we discuss Amazon's ambitions around “just walk out” and smart payment technology. Tune in to the conversation with our analysts Grace Broadbent, David Morris, and Yory Wurmser.

Target shifts away from a nationwide distribution network: By placing goods closer to customers, the retailer is delivering orders faster and speeding up store replenishment.

ByteDance is dead set on building up TikTok Shop in the US: Its aggressive moves to build a robust shopping service could lead to a $500 million loss this year.

Amazon wants to compete with FedEx and UPS: The retailer relaunched its Amazon Shipping service, which delivers products sold on Amazon's marketplace, sellers’ own websites, and other sites and marketplaces.

This month’s ad platforms update is all about analytics, with Google, TikTok, and Microsoft announcing improved reporting tools. Plus, Amazon announced on-site and off-site retail media innovations. And we saw some interesting ad network updates from Lyft and Intuit. Here’s a breakdown of what’s new.

Instacart’s gross transaction volume grew just 5% in the first half: That’s a troubling number that can’t be glossed over by the company’s 30% revenue growth.

The company has been beefing up its BNPL capabilities ever since its exclusivity period with Affirm ended earlier this year

Amazon's Sponsored Products ads now reach beyond its platform: High-performing format could grow retail media's share of market.

Amazon’s $10 billion loss from Alexa devices sparks the latest strategy shift away from consumer electronics as it and other companies focus on profitability and reduce aspirational projects.

Amazon implements new seller fee as FTC antitrust case looms: The retailer will take an additional 2% cut on sales from merchants not using its fulfillment services.

Though growth is slowing, digital grocery will continue to fuel overall ecommerce growth in the US. “Growth is no longer driven by new adopters, but heavy digital grocery users,” our analyst Blake Droesch said on a recent “Reimagining Retail” podcast episode. Here’s how retailers like Instacart, Amazon, and Walmart can capitalize on frequent buyers.

Digital commerce platforms are leaning heavily into payment processing to grow revenues and enhance customer engagement. But it’s still early innings: They are ripe for payment provider partnerships that can evolve as the platforms grow.

Instead of trying to compete with Amazon, Barnes & Noble is changing to appeal to consumers looking for the experience of an independent bookstore with the resources of a large chain. Leaning on local inspiration and a store layout that optimizes discovery, Barnes & Noble is revamping its 596 locations, as well as its membership program.