E-Commerce

Small businesses are an essential part of the global economy. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, they employ almost half of America’s workforce, representing 43.5 percent of the country’s GDP. Their role is just as important as that of a big enterprise when it comes to driving customer satisfaction and keeping local economies afloat.…

Embedded finance refers to the integration of financial services into non-financial platforms, enabling businesses such as retailers to offer banking, lending, insurance and payment services directly within their existing products. This can improve customer satisfaction, loyalty and open new revenue streams. In fact, one study predicts that embedded finance revenue will increase 148 percent from…

About 197 million Americans shopped over the five days from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday this year, data from the National Retail Federation (NRF) showed on Tuesday. The number of shoppers exceeded the retail trade association's forecast of 183.4 million, but was still lower than the 200 million shoppers in 2023. During the long weekend, consumers…

According to insights from Mastercard SpendingPulse™, U.S. retail sales excluding automotive were up 3.4 percent on Black Friday (Nov. 29) compared to Black Friday 2023. Mastercard SpendingPulse measures in-store and online retail sales, representing all payment types, and is not adjusted for inflation. Other Black Friday data included the following: Online retail sales increased 14.6…

Consumers spent a record $6.1 billion online on Thanksgiving, up  8.8 percent year-over-year (YoY). Growth outpaced last year (Thanksgiving 2023: $5.6 billion, up 5.5% YoY), driven by big discounts across the board. Mobile shopping hit an all-time high on Thanksgiving, with 59.5 percent of online sales coming through a mobile device. This represents $3.6 billion in online spend via mobile, up…

In an era when artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming e-commerce, retailers are facing new challenges, including malicious price-scraping bots and rising privacy concerns. AI has created a number of opportunities for the e-commerce landscape, but it isn’t without risks. Consumers are increasingly cautious when considering how their data is used and shared online. Trust is…

Consumers provided a positive start to the 2024 holiday season, boosting October online sales over last year. This is despite shoppers leaning on discounts and trading down for more affordable items to stretch their gift-giving budgets, according to holiday data from commerce protection provider Signifyd. The October figures matched Signifyd’s earlier projection of a 5…

Ron Offir, managing director of retail and consumer products at Deloitte Consulting, has tracked the evolution of the retail industry over his 35-year career. In this video interview, recorded at Total Retail Tech earlier this year, he shares what he's hearing from retailers about their digital commerce needs. "Consumers are really looking for increasing levels…

More and more people are turning to the internet for their shopping needs, even for day-to-day necessities like groceries. Does that mean we're moving away from traditional grocery shopping? Or do we simply want the best of both approaches? A recent survey of 1,516 Americans across different age groups reveals interesting insights into modern shopping…

Sucharita Kodali, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester, has kept a watchful eye on the evolution of the retail industry over the last 20 years. In this video interview, Kodali shares the current industry trends she's closely following, her holiday forecast, and what retail executives should be focusing on now. She also reflects on…