commerce
YouTube teases livestream shopping expansion with co-streams, live redirects
In recent years, YouTube has been working to transform its platform into more of a shopping destination with product launches like shoppable ads or more recently, the ability to shop…
Kevin raises $65M as it charges ahead on account-to-account payments over point-of-sale terminals
Payments remains a very fragmented business around the world: depending on where you’re buying or selling something (and whether you are selling online or offline) you will have different “standard”…
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Tiger Global is earning its stripes in Africa
You can count on one hand the number of funds bigger than Tiger Global. But in terms of influence, speed and number of investments made since 2021, Tiger has led the pack alongside Sequoia. Last year, the New York-based firm, known for its famous bets on Stripe, JD.com, Meituan and Roblox, raised $6.7 billion for…
Walmart launches AI-powered virtual clothing try-on technology for online shoppers
Last May, Walmart announced its acquisition of the virtual clothing try-on startup Zeekit, which leveraged a combination of real-time image processing, computer vision, deep learning and other AI technologies to…
Fast-growing livestream shopping platform Whatnot acquires Pastel Labs, hires VP of engineering
Livestream shopping platform Whatnot has come a long way from being run out of a garage in Phoenix to now a 120-person company, valued at $1.5 billion, that’s expected to…
Bain Capital Ventures taps ex-Affirm exec as its newest partner to focus on early-stage fintech and commerce
Bain Capital Ventures has named Christina Melas-Kyriazi, a former Affirm executive and angel investor, as its newest partner. Melas-Kyriazi will be based in the firm’s San Francisco office and focus…
Lightspeed buys Ecwid for $500M; NuOrder for $425M in ongoing e-commerce consolidation play
Lightspeed has picked up two more companies in what is shaping up to be an acquisition spree for the Canadian point-of-sale software provider. The company today announced that it would acquire…
Greece’s Viva Wallet raises $80M for its neobank targeting small business merchants
Challenger banks continue to make significant waves in the world of finance, with smaller outfits luring customers away from incumbents by providing an easier way for them to not only…
US e-commerce on track for its first $1 trillion year by 2022, due to lasting pandemic impacts
The COVID-19 pandemic boosted U.S. online shopping by $183 billion, according to a new report by Adobe’s e-commerce division, released this morning. This figure represents the increase in online shopping…
CVS becomes first national retailer to offer support for PayPal and Venmo QR codes at checkout
PayPal announced this morning that its customers can now use either PayPal or Venmo QR codes when checking out at more than 8,200 CVS retail stores across the U.S. This…
Salsify nabs $155M as its commerce experience platform sees a big surge of business from COVID-19
As traditional brands grapple with a new world where selling online is as much or perhaps even more important than how you are positioned in a physical store, a startup…
Facebook launches commerce and connectivity-focused accelerator programs
Facebook launched two 12-week accelerator programs for startups on Monday as the social juggernaut looks for new ideas and solutions to expand its commerce and connectivity efforts. Facebook’s Commerce Accelerator…
Apple says its App Store facilitated $519B in commerce in 2019
Amid increasing antitrust scrutiny by U.S. regulators, Apple announced an update on its App Store ecosystem. While the company normally shares some App Store metrics during its WWDC keynote, it’s…
Tinvio, a communication platform for supply chain merchants, gets $5.5 million seed round
Being a supply chain merchant often means cobbling together different ways of keeping in touch with buyers, including emails, text messages and paper invoices. Tinvio wants to simplify the process…
Airport retailer OTG will use Amazon’s cashierless technology starting next week
Earlier this week, Amazon announced it will now sell its cashierless technology, dubbed “Just Walk Out,” to other retailers. Today, airport hospitality group OTG, which operates more than 350 restaurants…
PayPal’s exiting COO Bill Ready to join Google as its new president of Commerce
In June, PayPal announced its Chief Operating Officer Bill Ready would be departing the company at the end of this year. Now we know where he’s ending up: Google. Ready…
JCPenney quietly ditched Apple Pay this month. The decision was announced in response to a customer complaint on Twitter, but without any context or further explanation at the time. JCPenney…
Amazon launches new tools that allow brands to proactively fight counterfeiting
Amazon this morning announced a new initiative focused on reducing counterfeiting on its site called Project Zero — a name that references Amazon’s lofty goal of driving counterfeit sales to…
Walmart tech incubator Store No. 8 launches VR startup Spatial&
Walmart’s tech incubator Store N°8 today launched its next startup, a VR merchandising company called Spatial&. The company offers VR experiences that enable customers to connect with merchandise, and is kicking…
Rapyd nabs $40M led by Stripe and GC for ‘fintech as a service,’ a single API for payments, money transfer and more
As ever more transactions move onto digital platforms, a startup that is building a Swiss army knife of financial services — from payments to currency transfers, ID verifications and card…
Walmart’s test store for new technology, Sam’s Club Now, opens next week in Dallas
Walmart’s warehouse club, Sam’s Club is preparing to open the doors at a new Dallas area store that will serve as a testbed for the latest in retail technology. Specifically,…
Square today launched a new service that will allow its small business sellers to offer financing to their customers. Square Installments, as the service is called, will be available at…
Glossier CEO Emily Weiss on why the company won’t sell on Amazon
E-commerce beauty startup founder, Glossier CEO Emily Weiss, dished on stage at TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2018 this morning about some of the company’s top competitors in the e-commerce space, including…
Walmart launches ‘Check Out With Me’ for on-the-spot checkouts in hundreds of US stores
Walmart announced on Thursday it’s beginning to test new technology that arms store staff with mobile devices for checking out customers from the floor. The devices will first be put…
Walmart to sell Handy’s in-home installation and assembly services in over 2,000 stores
Walmart this morning announced a partnership with home services provider Handy, which will allow customers to purchase in-home installation and assembly assistance in over 2,000 of Walmart’s stores. News of…
Alibaba rival JD.com posts first annual profit as a public company
When you hear ‘e-commerce in China’ you’ll probably ‘Alibaba,’ but another company is making progress to challenge the assumption that $450-billion company is China’s only online retail giant. JD.com, the…
Tradeshift Frontiers innovation lab hopes to drive blockchain adoption in the global supply chain
Tradeshift, a procure-to-pay supply chain management platform for SMBs and enterprise, announced Tradeshift Frontiers, an innovation lab and incubator that will focus on transforming supply chains through emerging technologies, such as…
Cargo raises $5.5M to let Uber drivers sell snacks and essentials nationwide
Cargo, a startup that wants to let every rideshare driver open their own convenience store in their car, has just raised $5.5 million in a round it’s calling seed preferred…
Apple Pay now in 20 markets, nabs 90% of all mobile contactless transactions where active
While we are going to have to wait a little longer for Apple to launch payments in iMessage, this weekend, Jennifer Bailey, Apple’s VP of Apple Pay, announced a series…
Sneaker and streetwear reseller Stadium Goods just launched their first app
Stadium Goods, the online (and brick and mortar) marketplace for highly sought after sneakers and streetwear, is launching its first app. Live today to coincide with the startup’s two year…
