Amazon’s search capabilities are set for an AI-powered upgrade: The retailer will incorporate a chatbot to offer customers personalized suggestions based on their queries and shopping history.

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.

DoorDash’s grocery business is booming, and Instacart is leaning on advertising to tide it over as its delivery volumes are down. Perhaps taking a cue from both, Uber Eats continues to add non-restaurant delivery partners while also building out its advertising platform.

On today's episode, in our "Retail Me This, Retail Me That" segment, we discuss the changes in how US consumers buy groceries, strategies for building future growth in grocery, and who has the best shot at winning. Then in a newish segment, "Loyalty Point, Counter Point," we present arguments both in favor of and against Uber and DoorDash being able to push even further into grocery. Join our analyst Sara Lebow as she hosts analyst Blake Droesch and director of content Becky Shilling.

Nike and Hoka battle it out over young consumers and runners; Shein and Temu are caught up in controversies and litigation; and DoorDash and Instacart take different approaches to the same problem.

NBCUniversal and Roku experiment with shoppable ads to reach viewers in their homes, while Netflix courts customers in the real world. Here’s how each company is leaning into commerce to diversify revenue streams.

Evolving consumer behavior and easing regulations are opening new pathways for long-term growth.

Powered by cloud-based APIs, modern card issuing leapfrogs traditional issuer processing to help non-financial services companies launch and customize card programs. Here’s where their offerings will be most disruptive.

Retail media provides a significant boost to Instacart’s bottom line: The company’s advertising business reportedly grew 30% last year to $740 million.

DoorDash and Uber Eats deliver solid results: That’s thanks to their strong customer retention, which will prove important if the economy worsens.

A ban isn’t swaying brands from spending on TikTok: Apple, Pepsi, and DoorDash are among brands increasing ad spend despite hefty political problems.

Total US retail return volume will reach $627.34 billion this year, a 2.2% increase YoY, according to our forecast. Some retailers are turning to return fees to make up for increased costs, but that’s a risky move that may end up alienating customers. Here are three alternatives to return fees, ranging from the short term (building out product descriptions and customer reviews) to the long term (creating a returns as a service offering).

Pacvue expands beyond retail media to offer retailers a holistic ecommerce solution: The goal is to provide some consolidation in a highly fragmented, competitive marketplace.

Victoria’s Secret, Party City, and Lush Cosmetics are the newest retail partners DoorDash has added to its platform as it expands beyond restaurant delivery to offer customers on-demand delivery for alcohol, grocery, and convenience items.

Amazon expands its ultrafast delivery options: The retail giant is investing in same-day delivery amid growing competition from Target and others.

Target is spending $100 million to expand its next-day delivery capabilities: The retailer plans to have at least six new sortation centers to make delivery cheaper, faster, and more efficient.

Generous returns policies have encouraged shoppers to buy online, but an unsustainable wave of returned goods is forcing retailers to rethink their strategies.

Retail layoffs garner headlines but they’re not the full picture: The number of people working in retail continues to grow—we break it down.

Click-to-door time was as low as 4.4 days in July 2022 for non-Amazon digital retailers in the US, according to NielsenIQ. But Amazon has them beat by a lot, with an average click-to-door speed of 1.9 days.

Instacart will retain its status as grocery delivery king this year, capturing 73.0% of US digital grocery sales among third-party delivery services, per our forecast. However, competitors such as DoorDash and Uber will continue to eat away at its dominance.