Here’s a Peek Behind the Jetblack Curtain

Walmart announced its $50-a-month, invitation-only Jetblack shopping service to consumers in Manhattan and (part of) Brooklyn back in May, and said it would be under the helm of Rent the Runway founder Jennifer Fleiss. However, details have been sparse, until now. At Recode’s Code Commerce event last week, Fleiss shared new details about the text-to-shop…

Crate & Barrel Teams Up With Zola, Hoping to Win Over Millennial Couples

Rival wedding registries have called a truce in their battle for millennials: Home d?cor retailer Crate & Barrel and wedding company Zola announced a partnership in which Zola users will be able to register for more than 3,500 Crate & Barrel products starting Oct. 1. Zola offers what it calls “an all-in-one registry for the…

Amazon Takes Third in the Latest Digital Ad Rankings

In the Olympics of digital advertising, Amazon has earned itself a bronze medal. That’s because market research firm eMarketer says U.S. advertisers will spend $4.61 billion on Amazon’s platform this year, accounting for 4.1 percent of overall spend, which will make it the No. 3 digital advertising platform in the U.S. That means it is…

Instacart Thinks It Can Democratize Online Grocery. Here’s How

As it seeks to become the de facto grocery-delivery service in the U.S., Instacart announced a partnership with discount supermarket chain Aldi to bring online delivery to 1,300 of Aldi’s 1,800 U.S. locations. The deal will let customers in 35 states–including California, New York, Florida, North Carolina and Minnesota–get Aldi goods, including organic produce and…

Sephora Teams Up With Ecommerce Company Memebox for a New Korean Beauty Line

Data meets beauty in Kaja, the new Korean beauty line, formed in partnership with ecommerce company Memebox and Sephora. The 47-product line of items like eyeshadows and lip stains arrives online today, and will fully roll out to 58 of Sephora’s “best performing stores” on Sept. 28. A smaller collection of the full product line…

Instagram Introduces a Shopping Tab to Its Explore Page, Presenting New Opportunities for Brands

It’s no stand-alone shopping app, but the Explore page on Instagram is getting a dedicated channel to shopping. The Explore page, which groups different types of content together (like an animal or photography <span aria-describedby="tt" class="glossaryLink " data-cmtooltip=" Channel A distribution method; In advertising, it's an outlet used by advertisers to reach audiences, such as…

This Vitamin Startup Is Delivering Its New Product Directly to Consumers in NYC

Despite GNC, the vitamin-shop giant, announcing the closure of about 200 stores this year, vitamins and supplements are still a thriving market for at least one direct-to-consumer brand that’s releasing a new product today. Care/of, which was founded in 2016, is a monthly subscription box of vitamins and supplements. The company is releasing its second…

Bonobos’ New Campaign Celebrates the Diversity of Men’s Bodies

Bonobos wants its customers in Chicago and Austin, Texas, to know it stands for more than just clothes–it also promotes inclusivity and acceptance. The company’s latest campaign, “Project172,” is a 30-second TV spot showing 172 men of varying races, gender identities, ages and body types wearing the same style of pants. “Not only can we…

Adobe Spent Big to Compete in CRM, and Analysts Say It Was a Good Buy

The third time was the charm for Adobe in its $1.68 billion acquisition of commerce platform Magento, which leaves it poised to spar in earnest with CRM heavyweights like Salesforce, SAP and Oracle. Per Forrester senior analyst Mark Grannan, this marks at least Adobe’s third attempt to make an acquisition in commerce after SAP snatched…

The Most Popular Mobile Payment App Isn’t Apple Pay … It’s Starbucks

In an era in which an ecommerce platform is a personal assistant and a social media platform is a news source, it is perhaps not surprising that a coffee company can also be a bank. According to market research firm eMarketer, 23.4 million consumers ages 14 and up will use the Starbucks app to make…

Adobe Acquires Magento Commerce for $1.7 Billion

Adobe has acquired Magento Commerce for $1.68 billion. The Magento Commerce Cloud–which includes digital commerce, order management and predictive intelligence–will enable Adobe to integrate commerce into its Experience Cloud to enhance B2B and B2C shopping experiences, including industries like consumer-packaged goods, retail, wholesale, manufacturing and the public sector. In addition, Magento’s partners provide thousands of…

Allbirds Created a Shake Shack Shoe for New York’s Biggest Burger Fans

Ground yourself Shake Shack-lovers: the food chain is releasing a limited edition collaboration with Allbirds, a footwear company. On May 24, Allbirds will sell the Shake Shack Tree Runner shoe at the original Shake Shack stand in New York’s Madison Square Park. The sneakers come in the company’s most well-known design, but with a mostly…

The Top 25 Cities to Live in If You Love Amazon

Los Angeles holds the dubious distinction of being the most polluted city in the U.S.–and having the most traffic congestion in the world. And, if you really love Amazon, it’s where you really should be living. That’s according to a report from packaging company Shorr, which looked at factors like the number of Prime Now…

Gizmodo Media Group Is Starting a Dedicated Ecommerce Site

These days, it’s not enough to be a publisher that just produces content–you also need a way to turn clicks into cash. It’s a lesson that Gawker Media (now known as Gizmodo Media Group) learned in 2012 when it first started a daily deals digest, a stand-alone post that was eventually renamed Kinja Deals where…

In an Expected Move, Amazon Offers Exclusive Whole Foods Deals to Prime Members

It was only a matter of… Prime. Ten months after acquiring Whole Foods, Amazon announced exclusive savings to Prime members who shop in-store. Prime members can use the Whole Foods app (or set up to use their phone number at checkout) to access discounts like receiving “an additional 10 percent off sale items,” deals on…

Glossier’s Second Retail Store May Be It’s Most Instagram-Friendly One Yet

These days, if consumers can’t Instagram a store, it’s almost not even worth going. The growing trend of digitally native brands opening stores with strong visual elements meant for Instagram continues with Glossier’s second retail location. The store, located on Melrose Place in Los Angeles, includes a pink floor, pink shelf space, messages on mirrors…

Amazon Is Slapping SmileCodes on a Third of Its Boxes in the U.S.

Amazon shipped more than 5 billion items worldwide with Prime in 2017, which means it also shipped a lot of boxes (it would not specify how many). And now it is putting its QR code-like SmileCodes on about a third of the boxes it ships in the U.S. to make them more engaging–and perhaps less…

Fresh Del Monte Produce Inks Plant-Based Deal With Purple Carrot

Fresh Del Monte Produce, which grows and distributes fruits and vegetables primarily under the Del Monte brand, has invested just over $4 million in plant-based meal-kit company Purple Carrot. Purple Carrot CEO Andy Levitt said the company can now leverage Fresh Del Monte’s supply chain, gain access to a developing retail channel and pursue opportunities…

Walmart Scores 2 Major Victories Over Amazon

As Walmart confirmed its $16-billion investment in Indian e-commerce platform Flipkart, news also emerged that its subsidiary, Jet.com, is now an Apple authorized reseller where consumers can buy a full range of Apple products. These wins signal two big victories in Walmart’s long-running battle against Amazon. They also reflect a more aggressive and proactive Walmart….

Architectural Digest’s Newest Digital Site Is Starting a Unique Ecommerce Relationship

These days, publishers don’t just want people to read their content–they want them to shop on their sites, too. And Clever, the eight-month-old digital website from Architectural Digest, also wants to style readers’ homes. A new partnership with Modsy, a home design company that uses 3D technology, allows Clever readers to take a quiz to…