Amazon looks to blunt Shopify’s momentum: Buy with Prime extends the marketplace’s reach by letting shoppers use their Amazon Prime membership to receive fast shipping on other retailers’ websites.

Amazon and others are rapidly rolling out contactless checkout: While the pandemic sparked interest in contactless technology, the tight labor market could lead more retailers to adopt the tools.

Brands and retailers prioritize sustainability for Earth Day, but actions speak louder than words: Amazon, Apple, and Coca-Cola are some of the brands touting their green initiatives this April amid growing consumer concern over the environment.

After less than a year, Just Eat might sell Grubhub: The news is the latest sign that the oversaturated food delivery industry is struggling.

Retailers need multiple approaches to curb the cost of returns: With online returns costing retailers 21% of their order value on average, retailers need several ways to lower associated fees.

Amazon flexes its market power with seller surcharges, anti-union stance: Despite rapid growth during the pandemic, the ecommerce giant is passing fuel and inflation costs onto its sellers while resisting calls to improve working conditions.

The apparel resale market heats up: We expect annual average sales per buyer via online fashion resale marketplaces will more than double between 2021 and 2025.

Brooklinen and Parachute push to gain market share: The two D2C home goods brands are opening stores and expanding into new channels to drive sales growth.

Restaurants are experimenting with robots, but customers aren’t enthused: Labor crunches and high costs are pushing fast-food chains like Chipotle and Panera Bread to adopt automation front and back of house.

A number of economic headwinds threaten to pummel retailers: The war in Ukraine, continued supply chain bottlenecks, and rising inflation are increasing the risk of recession.

Inflation isn’t stopping consumers from buying premium brands: Levi’s and Birkenstocks are some of the companies leveraging their brand equity to raise prices and secure favorable retail partnerships.

2022 stands to be a record year for weddings: Retailers that cater to the growing number of couples planning to tie the knot this year should generate strong gains.

Farfetch and Neiman Marcus join forces to update luxury retail for the ecommerce age: The fashion platform will invest up to $200 million in the retailer, with the latter using Farfetch’s ecommerce tools to power digital channels.

European consumers are changing their buying habits vis-à-vis inflation: The war in Ukraine is impacting economic conditions in numerous European markets, driving up prices to near-record levels and reversing recent gains in consumer confidence.

Amazon workers vote to unionize as labor activism remains potent: A historic victory in New York could forever change Amazon’s relationship with its workers.

Chinese fast-fashion retailer Shein seeks a $100 billion valuation: That’s more than the combined worth of H&M and Zara, despite Shein selling exclusively online.

High prices are taking their toll on people’s desire to shop: Consumer spending in the US increased slightly in February, but consumer sentiment remains depressed.

Delivery apps race to sign up retailers to their platforms: DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Gopuff each inked new deals to grow their retailer network and bring fast delivery to more customers.

Grocers fine-tune their retail media networks to attract CPG dollars: Kroger and Walmart’s new features aim to improve advertisers’ experiences and results, but they may fall short of expectations.

Apple joins other retailers looking for ways to maximize recurring revenue: A hardware subscription program could help the tech giant make up for softening consumer demand and build deeper relationships with consumers.