Marketplaces are fighting for the crown in US ecommerce. Though Amazon remains solidly atop ecommerce sales, Walmart and Shopify are attempting to carve into Amazon’s revenues. Here are the latest updates in ecommerce, advertising, and partnerships from these major players.

A year in, Buy with Prime is struggling to attract retailers: Opposition from Shopify and UX limitations are keeping merchants away, despite the opportunity to reach Amazon Prime users.

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).

ChatGPT’s latest update could turn it into a shopping engine: Instacart, Klarna, and Shopify are experimenting with offering users personalized recommendations.

The South by Southwest festival returned to Austin, Texas, in full force this year, with discussions on the future of technology, brands, and marketing. Here, we lay out the top trends and takeaways.

Deal-seeking by consumers, heavy discounting from retailers, and a longer holiday shopping season drove an uptick in returns during the 2022 holiday season. Retailers will need to plan their promotional calendars carefully to manage returns in 2023.

This second installment of the “Payments Ecosystem” collection unpacks how point-of-sale (POS) hardware, software, and payment gateway services are becoming increasingly intertwined as merchants adapt to economic turmoil and consumer payment changes.

Economic uncertainty and rapid technological innovation are shifting industry dynamics for players across the payments ecosystem, including acquirers and processors, networks, and issuers.

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

Mercado Libre closed 2022 with record gains in sales: Strong performances in Brazil and Mexico drove the Latin American ecommerce giant’s gains.

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.

Instagram is shutting down its livestream shopping business: The move is the latest sign of US shoppers' disinterest in livestream commerce.

Retailers start to test the waters of generative AI: While companies like Carrefour and Fanatics are using it to improve engagement, Amazon has concerns over data privacy.

Shopify delivered a stronger-than-expected Q4: But the company’s efforts to turn around its lackluster 2022 remain a work in progress due to the tough economic environment.

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.

Buy with Prime launch could be a turning point for Shopify: The ecommerce platform raised prices and diversified its retailer appeal to protect revenues, but could still take a hit should merchants flock to its biggest rival.

Can a new service help Shopify attract more enterprise retailers? Commerce Components by Shopify allows large retailers to integrate Shopify’s tools and services into their online platforms.

As ecommerce growth slows, Shopify hedges its bets: The ecommerce platform is enhancing its lending services, seller tools, and enterprise solutions as part of its “everything but the kitchen sink” growth strategy.

Shopify exceeded expectations for the third quarter, reporting higher-than-expected revenues and a smaller-than-expected loss.

Just over 10% of B2B product sales—$1.676 trillion—will take place via ecommerce websites in 2022. Growth will remain strong through 2026.