At its launch, Verishop had roughly 160 verified brands, and around 4,000 items including AllSaints, Diane von Furstenberg's DVF, and Levi's, and expects to gather over 300 more brands by the end of this year. 

In addition to their recent efforts towards simple centralized pickup, and beefing up their brick and mortar presence, Amazon launched a new pickup option in the US called Counter.

Moonfish’s online platform finds users the cheapest flights possible- like a flight to Barcelona out of PHL for $200. 

The Drop aims to provide "exclusive access to limited-edition, street-style inspired collections designed by fashion influencers from around the world”.

The brand is teaming up with Uber in major cities to offer free, on-demand rides to the “L.L.Bean Backyard Campsite,” pop-up destination. 

Over half of all of the 15,000 Dollar General stores in the US will offer secure FedEx drop-off and collection services by the end of 2020.

Google has started testing a feature on its YouTube video platform that will show product prices and recommendations beneath videos so viewers can make purchases directly. 

The robots have no idea that they’re just in a giant robot park in a simulation and believe that they’re really outside in neighborhoods. 

The company specifically chose fitness equipment that was interactive, and  items that virtually connect you with coveted fitness trainers to help you “stay motivated, have fun, and get the most out of  your workout.”

Amazon has announced that Amazon Restaurants is shutting down in the United States, and will cease operations on June 24. The 4-year-old service has lurked in the shadows of its competitors for too long, and Amazon has decided to pull the plug. 

Sam’s Club is introducing a tool called "Sam's Garage" that will enable members to get "personalized tire recommendations in less than five minutes”.  Sam's dug through 25+ year old technology, 600 clubs, five systems and inventory for each, totaling 1,100+ data sources to built the app in 9 months.  Sam’s Club employees will carry tablets to use the app to assist customers. 

Macy’s recently launched an out-of-home experiential campaign that asks consumers to use their phones at popular summer spots around the United States.  In partnership with Pinterest, these places feature Pinterest Pincodes that consumers can scan with their phones, and are then directed to a Pinterest board with outfits curated for that specific location.

Amazon has recently introduced StyleSnap, an AI-powered feature that helps you shop for those pieces that you just can’t seem to find. 

As of this month, Walmart is fully integrating Jet’s teams into its own ecommerce operations. 

Consumers interested in the limited collection had to put on a headset and prove they were having an intense reaction to one (or more) of the designs. 

The new card is another attempt by Amazon to make its retail services accessible to more consumers.

DRNKPAY not only helps control spending but also creates awareness as to how much the user is drinking.

Shopify has taken a page from Amazon’s playbook by announcing the launch of a network of fulfillment warehouses and shipping logistics capabilities in the United States. 

A Super-sized 500th episode:  • Shopify Unite 2019 Recap • eCommerce Landscape for Q3/Q4 • Thoughts on Magento 1 Sundown • Our newest Whitepaper • Announcing our new podcast

Together with Finnish tech company Fourkind and Microsoft, Swedish distiller Mackmyra is creating the world’s first whiskey developed with artificial intelligence. 

The world’s first digital dress has been purchased for $9,500, and it’s only available to wear online. 

Good Cheap and Fast finds above-average products selling for below-average prices by using data science, price tracking and human analysis.

A Vancouver market has introduced plastic bags with embarrassing designs in order to deter customers from using single-use plastic bags. 

The multi-currency backed stable coin can be used for purchases in products such as Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp with zero fees and across the internet more broadly. 

The Carefree Boat Club gives members all of the perks of being out on the water without any of the expenses or hassles of actually owning a boat.

Flexa has established a network and launched an iOS wallet app called Spedn that allows you to spend cryptocurrencies at brick-and-mortar retailers

Amazon has been conducting research that involves digital 3D "scans" of people's bodies in exchange for a $25 Amazon gift card. The purpose of the study is to “learn about diversity among body shapes,” for customizable apparel and not for marketing purposes. 

Your Alexa devices will now allow you to request that your conversations or commands be deleted from the database.  

Shopify’s acquisition of Handshake brings domain expertise and product efficiency to Shopify Plus and its expanding market of huge merchants.

Car shopping is one of the most dreaded, anxiety-inducing financial decisions. People repeatedly list car shopping as the worst shopping experience.   Cars.com understands this fear and feeling of vulnerability, so they decided to do something about it.  They’ve introduced technology that will match you with a real-life salesperson tailored perfectly to fit your shopping style. 

Taco Bell announced that it is debuting The Bell, a hotel and resort in Palm Springs, California. The hotel plans to open its doors on August 9, but only for a limited time.  The hotel will feature a pool with themed activities and sauce packet floaties; a nail and a hair salon inspired by Taco Bell, and a gift shop selling exclusive branded apparel.  The entire establishment will feature taco-inspired decor, and everything from the guest rooms to the cocktails will have a ‘Taco Bell Twist’. 

Amazon is developing a voice-activated device worn on the wrist, that can recognize human emotions, described as a health and wellness product.  According to Bloomberg, the Alexa voice software team and Amazon’s Lab126 hardware division are collaborating on the new device. 

Coupang is the largest online retailer in South Korea, with more than $3.8 billion in annual sales.  The startup is celebrating its 9th birthday this year, and half of South Korea’s 51 million people have downloaded its mobile app.   Coupang is the fastest-growing and best-financed e-commerce site in South Korea. 

The games allow employees to compete against each other, which also sneakily pushes workers to up the ante among themselves to pack more boxes, and in turn, raises overall productivity levels. 

On May 15, 2019, Binji, a financial tech company launched the most fully realized personal finance platform to pay and receive payments in today's digital age. It's the only platform offering the ability to consolidate credit and debit cards into a single card to use as funding sources for your Binji Account

Crazy Cazboy’s  is changing the way pricing and sales dynamics work; it’s a store where prices decrease steadily throughout the week.  On Friday, the discounter brings out new merchandise all priced at $6. On Saturday, prices drop to $5. Continuing the day-to-day decline, on Wednesday the price on all products reaches a low of 25 cents.  The store then closes on Thursday to restock, and the prices go back to $6. 

Amazon has officially begun rolling out machines that do an important job that is held by thousands of people; boxing customer’s orders.  Amazon’s plan is to reduce labor and boost profits using automation to do common warehouse tasks, and not just solely for speed reasons as some may speculate. 

Dunkin’ has recently introduced a limited edition line of nail polishes throughout the United States in a partnership with vegan nail polish company, Lauren B. Beauty.  The featured shades are inspired by Dunkin's Signature Lattes, Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream Flavored Coffees, and their iconic orange and pink logo colors. Dunkin’s coffee inspired shade range features colors such as: Cocoa Mocha (a chocolate brown) and Caramel Craze (a candy-colored brown), and one of Baskin Robins’ inspired shades is Pistachio Almond Fudge (a turquoise). 

Amazon has just released an update for your Echo that will listen for signs that someone is breaking into your home.

Walmart Brazil has struggled with its e-commerce presence and has decided instead to focus on bricks and mortar retail.

For the first time, shoppers will be able to use their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program online for groceries.

Burger King has recently begun to roll out its ‘Traffic Jam Whopper’ campaign in Mexico City. This delivery platform will bring BK food to consumers in the most heavily gridlocked areas within a 1.8 mile radius of a Burger King restaurant.

The skills might allow patients to book appointments, check on prescription deliveries, identify wait times at emergency rooms, and access some limited healthcare information. 

Walmart has announced its undercutting Amazon's newest Prime-member perk and launching free, next-day shipping on hundreds of thousands of products.

The streaming music and podcast service announced the launch of voice-enabled advertisements, which will encourage the listener to say a verbal command to take action on the ad’s content.

The program will allow non-travelers each Saturday to access shops and restaurants beyond the security checkpoint year-round. 

The world's biggest retailer is launching an online pet pharmacy and will expand its in-store veterinary clinics. Walmart's online pet pharmacy site is WalmartPetRx.com, similar to PetSmart's Chewy.com, that will deliver pet meds straight to your door. 

Users are rewarded for making environmentally friendly decisions and earn points, such as recycling old clothes or walking to work instead of driving.  These points can then be redeemed to plant trees.   To date, more than 100 million actual trees have been planted covering 580 square miles in desert regions of the country.

Soon you'll be able to shop with your smartphone just by pointing it at your TV. That's the concept behind Shoppable TV which was recently unveiled by Comcast's NBCUniversal. 

Timed to Mental Health Awareness Month in May, the "Real Meals" include the Blue Meal, Salty Meal, Yaaas Meal, and DGAF Meal. Burger King is also making a donation to Mental Health America, but says that's "just a plus," as awareness was the key goal of the partnership.

The company will then use facial recognition software to make sure they know exactly who is delivering your packages. 

The hotel chain is launching its own version of home sharing for vacation rentals to compete with the likes of digital sellers like Airbnb and VRBO. The initial offerings will include 2,000 homes in 100 destinations.  The company says it will focus on premium and luxury homes in the U.S., Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean.  Among its listings, you will find unique homes like a castle in Ireland with a private lake, a 6-bedroom London townhome with a climbing wall, and an oceanfront villa in Anguilla with a private beach, butler, and staff.

Walmart has unveiled its new “store of the future” which will serve as a testing ground for new technologies. The store concept is called the Intelligent Retail Lab — or “IRL” for short —  features AI-enabled cameras and interactive displays.

The rebranded Souq will allow customers to shop Amazon in Arabic for the first time on its websites and apps.

7-Eleven is testing some new concepts for its convenience stores.  It’s opened up an experimental testing ground in Dallas that company execs have named the Lab Store.   With its rebranded lab store, 7-Eleven is testing its ability to be seen as a convenient place to pick up healthy snacks and enjoy a better-for-you meal. 

The grocer plans to participate in a program called Produce RX to help give their customers in the Washington DC area access to healthy foods.  The program is in partnership with DC Greens, a nonprofit that works to improve food education, increase food access and advocate for better food policy.

Clothing and fashion retailer Forever 21 announced its shutting down its online stores in China. The company announced that it would close all its online shops, while huge clearance sales are ongoing in its physical stores.

Target is joining the growing ranks of retailers shifting product lines to organic, all-natural, and recyclable products. Everspring is the name of a new suite of products launched by Target that are made from renewable materials, recycled products, and plants.   The Everspring line will encompass more than 70 household products, such as paper towels, napkins, cleaning products, laundry detergent, and hand soaps.

Amazon will speed things up even further with One Day shipping for eligible Prime items.

A company from Washington called StixFresh has developed a solution formulated from all-natural ingredients that can help extend the shelf-life of avocados, citrus fruits, mangoes, and apples up to 14 days.

It’s not clear exactly how Facebook expects to use the assistant, but one sign may be in the team that’s heading up the project.   CNBC reports that Facebook's Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality group is leading the effort.  That’s the division overseeing development on its AR Oculus headsets.   The voice-enabled tech might be incorporated into devices like Oculus and its Portal video chat.

We recycle paper, glass, and plastic.  We recycle metal and cardboard.  But have you ever thought about recycling your sneakers? Adidas thinks it's time.   They're launching a new performance shoe made entirely of recyclable materials. Adidas says that, by enabling a manufacturing model where raw materials from one shoe can be used to make another, it intends to take responsibility for the entire life of a product.

If you're starting to feel your 'morning joe' just isn't cutting it ti anymore, we've got a blend for you. It's called Black Insomnia Coffee.  Dubbed "the world's strongest coffee," a single cup contains 736 mg of caffeine. 

Amazon is pulling the plug on its Chinese marketplace.  The U.S. e-commerce giant will instead focus on the lucrative businesses of selling overseas goods and cloud services in the world’s most populous nation. This means Amazon customers in China will no longer able to buy goods from Chinese merchants.

Meal kit convenience comes with a massive downside. A typical meal kit delivery comes with insulation, gel-filled icepacks, and tiny lil containers or bags holding individual ingredients–like a few sprigs of herbs or a few spoonfuls of sauce or condiments –all  this inside a giant cardboard box. The Liviri containers eliminate single-use packaging and can be reused up to 75 times. 

Hungry, but short on cash? Listen close, we've got some good news. Nissin Foods, makers of the iconic Cup Noodles, has teamed with food and drink blog Foodbeast to create a vending machine that trades Instagram posts for prizes.

Walmart is going robotic. The largest retailer in the world announced it is adding thousands of robot workers to its stores.  Some robots will be autonomous floor scrubbers.  Walmart also plans to use robots that can scan inventory on shelves and bots to automatically scan deliveries as they roll off trucks. The company said it’s a high-tech approach to solving workplace problems.  

Amazon Go has been touted to be the convenience store of the future - no cashiers, no cash - just use your phone to check in, grab your things and go. A frictionless transaction for the customer on the go.  Well, we might have to put a pin in that last part about being cashless.  Responding to growing criticism, Amazon has revealed that it plans to allow customers who shop at its Amazon Go stores to pay with cash.

Millions of consumers have embraced the voice revolution, using their devices for news, music, games, and ecommerce. But, With any new-fangled tech, there's always that one person you know who says, "I won't use that, someone might be listening." Well, this time your conspiracy-minded friend is actually right. According to a report from Bloomberg, Amazon employs thousands of workers who listen to voice recordings captured by the company's Echo "smart" speaker devices in people's homes.

Fashion designers are always pushing the envelope when it comes to the latest designs.   Is the next trend in fast fashion, natural and organic materials from plants? H&M’s latest collection is using materials from Pineapple leaves, Orange Peels, and Algae. 

After acheiving success as an online furniture and home decor website, Wayfair.com is now looking to the real world for its next investment. The company is opening up its permanent first brick-and-mortar store inside a Massachusetts mall.  Shoppers will be able to buy an assortment of home decor products, as well as place orders for home deliveries.  A spokeswoman said the store’s “front of the house” will cover more than 3,700 square feet. 

They announced lower prices on hundreds of items and plan to double the number of weekly deals for Prime members.

The rumors are flying that Microsoft is planning one of two things – either unleashing a Shopify competitor or try to buy up Shopify itself. Microsoft officials told The Information that Microsoft is seriously considering such a move because its customers, especially larger ones, are asking for such a capability.

The grocery battle between Walmart and Amazon rages on.  Walmart is rolling out a new voice-ordering capability called  Walmart Voice Order, which works across Google Assistant-powered platforms. Voice shopping for grocery pickup will be offered at more than 2,100 Walmart stores and for online delivery at more than 800 stores.

Have you ever woken after a particularly rough night and found those Amazon emails in your inbox listing several strange items on their way to your doorstep? No need to feel shame - You're not alone. A survey carried out by tech and business newsletter The Hustle revealed that waking up with a hangover plus a confirmation receipt for a purchase while drunk is actually a pretty common thing in the United States. 

Square, Inc. recently announced a retooling of its Square Online Store and Square for Retail products. These tools allow merchants to add e-commerce to their sales operations, including tools like Instagram selling, shipping and in-store pickup. The products are partly the result of the payment company's acquisition of Weebly last year. 

McDonald's corporation recently announced its biggest acquisition in 20 years with the 300 million dollar purhcase of Dynamic Yield Ltd., Dynamic Yield is a startup that provides retailers with algorithmically driven “decision logic” technology and allows McDonald's to better personalize menus.

eCommerce platform Big Commerce is rolling a new platform for business-to-business solutions for online merchants. It brings together services for wholesalers, manufacturers, and distributors to create a unified B2B e-commerce solution.

At the Adobe Summit last week in Las Vegas, Adobe announced the launch of Commerce Cloud, the newest part of the company's Experience Cloud.  Commerce Cloud is built on the company's 1.68 billion dollar acquisition of the Magento platform last May. Commerce Cloud is essentially a fully managed cloud-based version of the Magento platform fully integrated with the rest of Adobe’s tools, including its Analytics Cloud, Marketing Cloud and Advertising Cloud.

Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba has unveiled a futuristic model for hotels.  The 290 room “Flyzoo Hotel” in Hangzhou, China was brought together by Alibaba's online travel platform Fliggy. The hotel brings together technology and hospitality to find innovations that empower the hospitality industry in the digital age. 

The pop-ups were a way for Amazon to test various retail concepts but were never meant to be permanent. They were an experiment to let customers try out and buy products like tablets, smart speakers, and other tech gadgets. With the closing, the company is focusing on more traditional brick and mortar stores. 

In a blog post earlier this week, Instagram announced Checkout, a new feature that allows users to buy items they find in their feeds without having to click out of the app. Checkout offers a secure shopping environment and doesn’t require members to log in because it stores members’ payment information.

MailChimp states that Shopify had released updated terms that would negatively impact their business and put users at risk.

In this super-sized episode, co-hosts John Suder and Bart Mroz break down the announcements made at Apple's "It's Show Time" event on March 25, 2019.

For  $36  a year - plus about $11.29 per order, depending on the blend, Bottomless will keep you stocked with your favorite beans before you even run out. Bottomless sends its members an internet-connected scale free of charge, which members place under their bag of coffee grounds. The scale weighs the beans and when it sees you running low, it sends a fresh bag o' beans to your doorstep.

Attempting to make your next trip to Walmart a more pleasant one, Walmart will allow shoppers to return purchases and get a refund without having to walk more than a few steps into a store.  Employees called “customer hosts” will personally process shopper returns by the front doors of select Walmart locations.  Greg Foran, President, and CEO of Walmart US, announced this new service at the UBS Global Consumer and Retail Conference on March 6. 

Amazon recently announced a new feature that could help stop the porch pirates.  The new feature is called Amazon Day, and it allows Prime members to pick the day on which all their orders from the week will be delivered all  – at once. Calling it “a new level of delivery convenience and predictability,” Amazon says Amazon Day will be available immediately for U.S.-based Amazon Prime members.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is teaming with the New York City Department of Sanitation and NYC Economic Development Corp. for a citywide social media campaign titled #WearNext in order to reduce the amount of clothing being dumped in landfills. The NYC Department of Sanitation has created a map that will guide people to more than 1,100 locations across the city where they can take clothes they no longer wear. Participating stores and other locations across the city will act as drop-off points. The campaign also encourages consumers to find ways to repair, reuse, resell or swap old clothing.

A recent report by Bloomberg says the retailer will be releasing a tablet device in the near future. The tablet will be marketed under Walmart's ONN brand.  The report states that the tablet is being manufactured by a supplier in China and will run on Android. The target audience for the device is children.

The Wally Shop is a Brooklyn, New York-based startup that bills itself as a zero-waste grocery store. It is an eco-friendly way to get your groceries.  When you order, a bike courier will head to a farmer’s market or food co-op and deliver it to you.  This cuts down on carbon emissions.  All of the packaging that is used is recyclable, which cuts down on trash.

The first store is set for Los Angeles in the fall of 2019 and the company has reportedly signed at least two additional locations for 2020 openings.  It is negotiating to open stores in San Francisco, Seattle, and Philadelphia.  The Journal also reports Amazon is exploring buying regional grocery chains to accelerate its growth. Unlike Whole Foods, the new grocery chain is expected to be more like a traditional supermarket.  \Whole Foods targets higher-end shoppers and good typically cost more.  A new grocery chain may target more price-sensitive shoppers.

Airbnb is buying HotelTonight, the hotel-booking application that lets travelers arrange last-minute accommodations. The financial terms weren’t disclosed, but sources told Axios the homeshare giant paid close to Hotel Tonight’s last private valuation of about $463m. This would make it Airbnb’s largest acquisition ever. HotelTonight partners with hotels to offer un-sold rooms, catering to business travelers or those looking to make last-minute arrangements. 

Amazon has stopped selling the Dash button, although -  if you’ve got one already -  it will still work. The idea behind the button was to make it really simple to buy replacement products for goods when you’re running low.  It also meant a direct pipeline to brands and sellers, which effectively removed the temptation to shop for lower prices. Amazon created more than 300 Dash buttons for various products.  Not only did they provide a fast way to re-order things, they also served as brand advertising for products when placed in homes.

A super-sized episode: Co-hosts John Suder and Bart Mroz recap Shoptalk 2019, the huge retail show held yearly in Las Vegas.  Since 2015, Shoptalk has been widely regarded as retail’s best show with 8,000+ attendees, including more than 750 CEOs, and the world's best speaker lineup and agenda.

Martha Stewart is the latest celebrity to lend her name to line of CBD-infused products. CNBC reports that Stewart has signed on as an adviser to Canopy Growth, one of the largest marijuana producers in the world, to develop a line of CBD products for animals. 

FedEx has developed an autonomous battery-powered delivery robot to facilitate same-day, last-mile deliveries. This episode sponsored by SendPro Online from Pitney Bowes eCommerce Minute listeners get a free 30-day trial at pb.com/minute

Once approved, brands that join Project Zero will be able to directly flag and remove counterfeit listings of their products from Amazon on their own. This episode sponsored by SendPro Online from Pitney Bowes eCommerce Minute listeners get a free 30-day trial at pb.com/minute

Tide Cleaners will offer several laundry services, including 24/7 drop boxes located in high rise buildings, offices, and storefronts. The service lets customers pre-pay for laundry and pick up the clean clothes once the app notifies them they’re ready.  This episode sponsored by SendPro Online from Pitney Bowes eCommerce Minute listeners get a free 30-day trial at pb.com/minute

PayCode allows people to shop and buy from Amazon’s online store and then pay for their purchases at local Western Union locations. This episode sponsored by SendPro Online from Pitney Bowes eCommerce Minute listeners get a free 30-day trial at pb.com/minute

The technology allows shoppers to use their smartphones to scan products on grocery shelves and helps pinpoint items that help meet their dietary needs.  This episode sponsored by SendPro Online from Pitney Bowes eCommerce Minute listeners get a free 30-day trial at pb.com/minute

A group of former company executives have joined together to create a new company, called Tru Kids. This episode sponsored by SendPro Online from Pitney Bowes eCommerce Minute listeners get a free 30-day trial at pb.com/minute

Sensors and cameras will scan faces and estimate age and gender to deliver targeted messages. This episode sponsored by SendPro Online from Pitney Bowes eCommerce Minute listeners get a free 30-day trial at pb.com/minute

There is no way for sellers to apply to the program; instead, Target explains that each partner is “carefully selected” and then invited into the program. This episode sponsored by SendPro Online from Pitney Bowes eCommerce Minute listeners get a free 30-day trial at pb.com/minute

The concept reduces floor space for retail and seasonal items and expands space for health care and wellness. This episode sponsored by SendPro Online from Pitney Bowes eCommerce Minute listeners get a free 30-day trial at pb.com/minute

The luxury cannabis lifestyle shop, in its Beverly Hills flagship store, makes it the first major retailer to open a legal cannabis department.  This episode sponsored by SendPro Online from Pitney Bowes eCommerce Minute listeners get a free 30-day trial at pb.com/minute

LinkedIn Live will allow individuals or organizations to broadcast real-time video to LinkedIn Groups or to the entire LinkedIn platform. This episode sponsored by SendPro Online from Pitney Bowes eCommerce Minute listeners get a free 30-day trial at pb.com/minute

Attendees will be able to conveniently order items like sunscreen, hats, and phone chargers and have shipped to the lockers onsite at the festival.  This episode sponsored by SendPro Online from Pitney Bowes eCommerce Minute listeners get a free 30-day trial at pb.com/minute

The world’s largest furniture retailer is doing a proof of concept test starting in its home base of Switzerland by leasing office furniture. This episode sponsored by SendPro Online from Pitney Bowes eCommerce Minute listeners get a free 30-day trial at pb.com/minute

According to a new patent filing, your Amazon package could be riding on a nearby bus, waiting for your pickup. This episode sponsored by SendPro Online from Pitney Bowes eCommerce Minute listeners get a free 30-day trial at pb.com/minute

Using Apple’s ARKit and Face ID technology, the app can show users what glasses would look like by rendering them in 3D and overlaying them on top of your face. This episode sponsored by SendPro Online from Pitney Bowes eCommerce Minute listeners get a free 30-day trial at pb.com/minute

Ahrendts had served in the role at Apple for five years. Executive Director Deirdre O'Brien will assume Ahrendt's role. This episode sponsored by SendPro Online from Pitney Bowes eCommerce Minute listeners get a free 30-day trial at pb.com/minute

Amazon Live will feature hosts demonstrating products that are for sale on the platform.     This episode sponsored by SendPro Online from Pitney Bowes eCommerce Minute listeners get a free 30-day trial at pb.com/minute

The coffee is a medium-dark whole-bean blend with “flavor notes of cherry and cocoa.” Each 8 oz. cup contains 7 mg. of hemp-derived CDB. This episode sponsored by SendPro Online from Pitney Bowes eCommerce Minute listeners get a free 30-day trial at pb.com/minute

Zipsell is a self-hosted platform that allows you to set up a fully-functional online store for selling digital products.  This episode sponsored by SendPro Online from Pitney Bowes eCommerce Minute listeners get a free 30-day trial at pb.com/minute

The company is using a virtual simulation video game called “Spark City” to train its employees.  The game puts employees in charge of a fictional dry grocery department and challenges them with making it run efficiently. This episode sponsored by SendPro Online from Pitney Bowes eCommerce Minute listeners get a free 30-day trial at pb.com/minute

Called WW Studio, Kohl’s will launch an 1,800 square foot studio within its store and offer wellness workshops.  Kohl’s will also begin selling the WW Healthy Kitchen products, branded kitchenware, and cookware later this year. This episode sponsored by SendPro Online from Pitney Bowes eCommerce Minute listeners get a free 30-day trial at pb.com/minute

Dream Drive is a suite of apps for both driver and passenger, where users can accumulate points for vouchers for discounts.  This episode sponsored by SendPro Online from Pitney Bowes eCommerce Minute listeners get a free 30-day trial at pb.com/minute

Walmart calls it “smart accessories for an untethered world.”  It’s a private level line of tech accessories under the brand name “Motile.” This episode sponsored by SendPro Online from Pitney Bowes eCommerce Minute listeners get a free 30-day trial at pb.com/minute

Loop is a circular shopping platform that transforms the packaging of your everyday essentials from single-use disposable to durable, feature-packed designs. This episode sponsored by SendPro Online from Pitney Bowes eCommerce Minute listeners get a free 30-day trial at pb.com/minute

Parcel Guard is an anti-theft mailbox that can only be accessed by your delivery person and you.  This episode sponsored by SendPro Online from Pitney Bowes eCommerce Minute listeners get a free 30-day trial at pb.com/minute

Pensa Systems has developed a drone that can fly around a store and examine items on shelves and in coolers. This episode sponsored by SendPro Online from Pitney Bowes eCommerce Minute listeners get a free 30-day trial at pb.com/minute

The Caper cart is an AI-powered smart shopping cart that lets customers skip the checkout line.  This episode sponsored by SendPro Online from Pitney Bowes eCommerce Minute listeners get a free 30-day trial at pb.com/minute

Liquid Death is Austrian mountain water sold in cans. Mike Cessario, a West Coast agency creative, created the brand last year as a side project.  This episode sponsored by SendPro Online from Pitney Bowes eCommerce Minute listeners get a free 30-day trial at pb.com/minute

The company is using the autonomous robot to deliver packages.  This episode sponsored by SendPro Online from Pitney Bowes eCommerce Minute listeners get a free 30-day trial at pb.com/minute

According to the filing and claims, it’s “an example system for capturing and analyzing sounds in a shopping facility.”  This episode sponsored by SendPro Online from Pitney Bowes eCommerce Minute listeners get a free 30-day trial at pb.com/minute

The new service will allow their customers to receive certain products on a schedule - weekly, monthly, twice a year, or any timeline of their choosing.  This episode sponsored by SendPro Online from Pitney Bowes eCommerce Minute listeners get a free 30-day trial at pb.com/minute

Yahoo Finance reports that Whole Foods is taking a serious look at abandoned Sears and K-Mart stores. This episode sponsored by SendPro Online from Pitney Bowes eCommerce Minute listeners get a free 30-day trial at pb.com/minute

Those with higher scores get special perks for things like waived banking fees, elimination of deposits on rentals, and hotel bookings.  WeChat Pay Points analyzes spending behavior and social media connections to formulate a credit score for even those without established financial history. This episode sponsored by SendPro Online from Pitney Bowes eCommerce Minute listeners get a free 30-day trial at pb.com/minute 8huDHNsoEAlJZ5SKwxTo

The card, which is free to obtain and use, will allow Square connected businesses to withdraw and spend the money brought in via Square payments.  This episode sponsored by SendPro Online from Pitney Bowes eCommerce Minute listeners get a free 30-day trial at pb.com/minute

Axios reports the online giant has partnered with brands including Folgers and Maybelline to send free samples directly to your home.  The companies will target Amazon Prime subscribers based on the company’s massive collection of personal data on its users, including things like browsing, order, and engagement history. This episode sponsored by SendPro Online from Pitney Bowes eCommerce Minute listeners get a free 30-day trial at pb.com/minute

WeWork recently announced a $32 million investment in Laird Superfood, started by surf star Laird Hamilton. This episode sponsored by SendPro Online from Pitney Bowes eCommerce Minute listeners get a free 30-day trial at pb.com/minute

This new feature would let users do their own live videos to show products and do live demos.  This episode sponsored by SendPro Online from Pitney Bowes eCommerce Minute listeners get a free 30-day trial at pb.com/minute

The Arby's subscription box unveiled at the announcement contained a store serving tray, an Arby's hat, a bacon scarf, and some Arby's temporary tattoos.  This episode sponsored by SendPro Online from Pitney Bowes eCommerce Minute listeners get a free 30-day trial at pb.com/minute

Weebly Photo Studio lets you send products to Weebly to have the items professionally photographed. The service costs $75 per item. This episode sponsored by SendPro Online from Pitney Bowes eCommerce Minute listeners get a free 30-day trial at pb.com/minute

The advanced technology records microscopic differences in manufactured products then houses those recorded differences as "product fingerprints". This episode sponsored by SendPro from Pitney Bowes eCommerce Minute listeners get a free 30-day trial at pb.com/minute

Amazon is expanding their checkout-free Go stores to airports targeting busy travelers. This episode sponsored by SendPro from Pitney Bowes eCommerce Minute listeners get a free 30-day trial at pb.com/minute

The Snackbots are outdoor, self-driving robots on wheels making its way around college campuses delivering snacks and soft drinks. This episode sponsored by SendPro from Pitney Bowes eCommerce Minute listeners get a free 30-day trial at pb.com/minute

Eileen Fisher takes your used clothing and gives them new life.  This episode sponsored by SendPro from Pitney Bowes eCommerce Minute listeners get a free 30-day trial at pb.com/minute

That’s what some folks at Amazon have dubbed products they are offering that sell for less than what it costs to buy and deliver. This episode sponsored by SendPro from Pitney Bowes eCommerce Minute listeners get a free 30-day trial at pb.com/minute

Users will be able to bypass the lines by letting a biometric kiosk scan their face when they’re ready to leave the rental car lot. This episode sponsored by SendPro from Pitney Bowes eCommerce Minute listeners get a free 30-day trial at pb.com/minute

The social media giant is in talks with HBO, Showtime, and Starz about adding streaming video.  Facebook would offer subscriptions to these channels which users would watch within the Facebook platform. This episode sponsored by SendPro from Pitney Bowes eCommerce Minute listeners get a free 30-day trial at pb.com/minute

Their "Clever Cups" are reusable cups that include a contactless payment chip. Instead of cups being used for single-usage, the cups are for continuous use. This episode sponsored by SendPro from Pitney Bowes. eCommerce Minute listeners get a free 30-day trial at pb.com/minute

Alibaba helped Mars create a new flavor of Snickers bar for the Chinese market – all based on collected consumer data. 

The Season Three premiere of the eCommerce Minute. In this super-sized episode John and Bart discuss the holiday break, take care of some podcast announcements and make their predictions for 2019. This episode sponsored by SendPro Online by Pitney Bowes. eCommerce Minute listeners can get a FREE 30-day trial when you visit pb.com/minute

On this super-sized episode, Bart and John take a fond look back at some of the episodes from 2018 and look ahead to the trends and stories for 2019. The eCommerce Minute will return with new episodes in January.

Kelloggs has teamed up with Seven Bro7thers Brewery to use "rejected" Corn Flakes in their beer production.

The new program allows sales assistants to help customers find items and complete transactions in-store using their handheld devices.

RedThread aims to do away with sizes and instead focus on actual fit.

WeWork and salad startup Sweetgreen have teamed up to make it easier for WeWork members and employees to get a healthy meal.

The new feature allows users to share and collaborate on collections of saved content and share them with friends and family.

Art.com is largest online art sellers in the world with more than two million curated images in its inventory.

Coin2Shop is a browser extension that you can use to shop on Amazon or eBay using your cryptocurrencies as cash.

HiO is a new retail concept in Brooklyn is testing the idea that consumers will find value in discovering new brands through a brick-and-mortar experience.

Smart Touch is a smart screen that was developed by Alibaba and Damo Academy to assist visually and physically disabled individuals with mobile device tasks, specifically shopping tasks.

Founder and CEO Patrick Byrne is selling the entire business and going all in on crypto.

As part of a viral ad campaign, the shoe retailer opened a fake luxury store and filled it with its discount shoewear.

Italic is betting big that consumers might be more interested in the quality and design rather than the showy label and brand name.

The task was part of a partnership with Adobe's annual analytics challenge where teams of students compete to win a $35,000 prize as well as potential employment.

District showcases items from about 140 retailers and features a dynamic real-time feed that presents shoppers with trending products tailored to each user based on past actions, as well as information shared with the app.

In its latest product update, users will now be able to shop from the videos in their feed.

The magazine has launched Marie Claire Edit, an aggregator site where readers can shop from retail partners.

Ford Motor Company is joining forces with Walmart and Postmates to create an autonomous grocery delivery service in Miami, Florida.

This holiday season, eBay is following Amazons lead and releasing a holiday toy catalog. The online retailer is putting out a Toy Book with the hottest gifts this year, as well as listings for rare and retro playthings from your childhood.

Uber has launched a new loyalty program called Uber Rewards.

Two Jet.com alums have created a community of shoppers you can trust with their new social shopping platform called MASSE.

The new Tide liquid detergent comes in a container about the size of a small shoebox is designed for e-commerce sales only.

The ‘Town Center’ features amenities that would conceptually make Walmart a community gathering space.

Kroger has partnered with Geoffrey LLC to put Geoffrey’s Toy Box merchandise in nearly 600 stores this holiday season.

The online shaving supply company will be rolling out a line of vending machines featuring trail-size versions of its products.

Facebook organized the 9 pop up stores to be part of The Market @ Macy's. The Market @ Macy's concept debuted earlier this year to provide space and exposure to small brands.

When it was all said and done, the total for this year was a staggering $30.8 Billion. That number topped the $25.3 billion record set in 2017 and shows a nearly 27 percent year-on-year rise. This is a huge number, of course, but smaller than the 39 percent year-on-year growth recorded in 2017.

The patent is for autonomous robotic bees, technically called pollination drones, that could potentially pollinate crops just like real bees.

CarePass members get free delivery on most prescriptions and online purchases, access to a pharmacist helpline, a 20 percent discount on all CVS-branded products and a monthly $10 coupon.

Amazon is offering free shipping during the holidays for all US customers on hundreds of millions of items.

Shopify has announced the addition of Venmo as a payment option at checkout for its 600,000 merchant clients.

‘Check Out With Me’ will enable customers to pay for items directly with associates using hand-held devices equipped with a Bluetooth receipt printer.

New perks include same-day and one-day shipping for free on over 1 million items, spending analytics, buying guides.

Jet.com's newly launched City Grocery offering is now selling Blue Apron meal kits, featuring menu offerings exclusive to Jet customers. This is the first time they've been available through an online retailer.

Just 20% of shoppers who placed an order on the site in the fourth quarter of 2017 placed another order a quarter later, according to data from Edison Trends.

The Prime Day outage was caused by Amazon moving its database for an Ohio warehouse off of Oracle's to its own technology.

The event is in its 10th year and now a monthlong shopping festival, and the company says this will be its biggest ever.

Target will offer free 2-day shipping on hundreds of thousands of items ordered between November 1 and December 22.

Online marketplace eBay has filed a complaint in California Superior Court alleging that Amazon "perpetuated a scheme to infiltrate and exploit eBay's internal member email system" in order to "recruit high-value eBay sellers to Amazon." eBay is demanding a jury trial for the suit.

The coworking giant is partnering with designer rental service Rent the Runway. Rent the Runway is staging 15 drop-off points at locations in New York, San Fransisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Miami.

Terminal is an all-in-one device that can process payments over Wi-Fi and print out receipts. The Terminal accepts chip cards inserted at the front, mag-stripe cards swiped along the edge, and the tap of a smartphone/smartwatch to make a mobile payment.

Last week, Lyft unveiled their All-Access Pass. The plan costs $299 upfront. Riders can take 30 rides each month, as long as those rides cost $15 or less each.

The robot is called Space Egg and is designed to act like a robot porter, used to ferry items around hotels to guests.

The new collection features over 70 products that successfully received funding from the popular “Shark Tank” TV show during seasons 1 through 9.

BuzzFeed is planning to open a toy store in the Flatiron District of New York City, just in time for the holidays.

DoneGood makes it easy to use your purchasing power to make the world better every time you shop online.

CommerceHub streamlines the last-mile delivery process of large or bulk merchandise.

Farmers Fridge makes eating healthy food for people on the go as easy as using a vending machine.

Target has launched a new essentials brand called Smartly featuring over 70 products with most items less than $2.

Deliverr helps business offer rapid delivery experiences for their customers and uses machine learning and predictive intelligence to determine which of its warehouses to store its client’s goods.

The tiny home measures just 275 square feet and is powered by an oil that’s produced from spent Dunkin’ coffee grounds.

The service, called Square Installments, will enable small business sellers to offer financing on purchases from $250 to $10,000.

Snap, Inc. has announced an updated set of eCommerce ad products.

Walmart wants to know if its shoppers are stressed out. That's the idea behind a patent application for a biometric feedback shopping cart handle was recently published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

eBay now lets you add a prepaid wireless phone plan as an add-on option in the listing.

The site now has a stronger focus on the needs of city dwellers and millennials and features a new, three-hour grocery delivery service.

Amazon has opened a 4-star concept store in New York City's Soho neighborhood featuring only products that have been rated 4 stars or better.

Snap announced a new visual search tool for the company's Snapchat app in partnership with Amazon.

FedEx has announced that they will be expanding their ground operations to add a sixth day to their delivery schedule.

StoreMe is an on-demand mobile app that connects travelers and tourists with a place to safely store their stuff, from a few hours to up to seven days.

A Houston area car dealership is the first Rolls-Royce dealer to accept bitcoin and bitcoin cash for the purchase their luxury cars.

Amazon will wrap and ship fresh-cut, full-size Christmas trees beginning in November.

Alibaba co-founder and executive chairman Jack Ma has announced he's getting ready to leave the company he founded in 1999.

Lolli is a startup that wants you to earn bitcoin as you shop. Lolli's mission: Put cryptocurrencies like bitcoin into the hands of consumers, risk-free. Lolli offers a browser extension for Chrome and Safari that so far pairs with more than 600 retailers, like Bloomingdale's, Macy's, Lucky Brand, Home Depot, Hotels.com, Jet.com, SeatGeek ,Walmart, Best Buy and ClassPass.

The Cafe X concept identifies and remedies the pain points of the coffee buying experience and then using robotics and automation to solve those issues.

In honor of this last Blockbuster, 10 Barrel Brewing Company is creating a beer fittingly called "The Last Blockbuster."

Glasses USA has created a free app called Prescription Scanner that will allow you to scan and pull your current prescription right from your existing glasses.

The two patents describe a "virtual showroom" and a fulfillment system that connect shoppers equipped with VR headsets and special sensory gloves to a VR Walmart store.

Imperfect Produce partners with farmers, taking their weird-yet-edible outcasts and offering them to the public through discounted subscription boxes.

IBM has secured a patent for a coffee drone that not only flies around public spaces to provide hot java but also may predict which people need a caffeine boost.

A real-life recreation of the iconic Kwik-E-Mart convenience store from the series has just opened in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The store was designed with the same look and feel from the animated series, and the store's creators said four years of planning went into the attraction.

The store will offer Walmart online shoppers access to an assortment of outdoor specialty items that weren’t available on the site in the past.

The site offers lightly used gear that was returned to REI under its guarantee program, with items discounted up to 65% from the original.

The company announced a partnership with Rakuten Kobo to bring you ebooks, available in-store and online. The service will be called Walmart eBooks.

Kroger has launched a new shopping app called OptUP, a data-driven app to help consumers make more informed decisions about the food they buy.

The Porsche Charging Service app will simplify the process of finding an electric-car charger and paying to use it.

According to a report, Google has signed a lease on a 14,000 square foot space to be used as a two-level permanent retail store.

The Plano, Texas location is 2,900 sq ft & has eight fuel pumps, grab-and-go foods, a wall of cold beverages and a walk-in beer cooler.

Great Call has with over 900,00 subscribers and provides connected health and emergency response services to the aging population.

Iconic South Philadelphia steak shop Pat's Steaks is now offering nationwide delivery of its signature sandwiches.

Kroger is venturing into the international market with the launch of Our Brands through Alibaba's Tmall platform.

Its called the Workonomy Hub and is integrated into their Los Gatos, California store.

Online mattress startup Casper is planning to open 200 retail stores over the next three years, including 18 “pop-up” locations that will become permanent.

Cargo makes it easy for rideshare drivers to sell goods to their passengers.

Seattle sports fans will be the first in the U.S. to buy booze with a fingerprint.

Optoro uses data analytics to help brands determine the best way to sell off excess inventory.

The Alphabot robots will help associates pick and package grocery orders.

GM announced a new peer-to-peer car-sharing service in which owners of GM-branded vehicles would rent their cars to other people.

The Grocery giant has announced they're launching their own delivery service called 'Kroger Ship'.

Co-working giant WeWork is getting into retail, with the launch of WeMRKET a “modern retail space” that will be piloted at WeWork 205 Hudson in New York City.

The service would be run through Alibaba's food delivery unit called Ele.me

CallPage allows you to call interested visitors to your site.

Walmart is teaming up with driverless car company Waymo on a one-store test project that will allow shoppers who ordered groceries online to be shuttled to and from the store in Waymo vehicles.