eCommerce
Jumia shares rise as the company’s e-commerce business revs up in Q2
African e-commerce giant Jumia reported its second-quarter financial performance today. In the wake of its financial reporting this morning, Jumia’s shares climbed sharply, gaining more than 15% in early trading…
Shopify makes $100M strategic investment in marketing automation startup Klaviyo
E-commerce marketing automation platform Klaviyo has received a $100 million strategic investment from Shopify, according to documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The disclosure coincided with the…
Vetted lands $14M for AI that helps shoppers find top products and deals
Vetted, the startup formerly known as Lustre, today announced that it secured $14 million to fund development of its AI-powered platform for product reviews. The cash infusion comes as part…
Amazon’s shares rise on earnings beat, despite $2B loss
E-commerce giant Amazon reported its second-quarter results today, and despite inflation and a net loss of $2 billion, the results were surprisingly better than expected. All of the loss is…
For e-commerce brands, the wave of bad economic news is a shot across the bow heralding a major change in consumer spending. Bleak times are ahead, but there’s room for…
Tedooo raises $3M to scale its social network for buyers and sellers
Tedooo, a Tel Aviv-based social network marketed toward the trade world, has raised $3 million in seed funding led by Stardom Ventures. The platform is designed to help boost and…
DoorDash introduces dual ID verification for alcohol deliveries
DoorDash is introducing a new in-app safety measure designed to ensure that alcohol is only delivered to people over the age of 21. The new measure requires the company’s delivery…
YouTube rolls out new shopping features, announces partnership with Shopify
YouTube announced today that it’s launching several new shopping features for both viewers and creators. Most notably, YouTube is partnering with Shopify to allow creators and merchants to feature their…
Instagram’s new payments feature lets users buy products via DMs
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced today that the company is launching a new “payments in chat” feature on Instagram. With this new feature, users can purchase products from small businesses…
ChowNow, a startup that builds branded online ordering systems for restaurants, today announced layoffs internally, TechCrunch has learned. According to several sources who spoke to this reporter on the condition…
London fails to retain Atlassian as it heads stateside in search of a ‘broader set’ of investors
Despite multiple overtures by the British government to woo tech companies and keep the largest ones from defecting to the U.S., the latest example of the failure of this policy…
Instacart’s new rewards program gives shoppers exclusive early access to orders and more
Instacart announced today that it’s launching a new “Cart Star” rewards program for shoppers on its platform. The program will offer incentives in three tiers: gold, platinum and diamond. To…
Pinterest launches new shopping features for merchants
Pinterest announced today that it’s rolling out new merchant features, including product tagging on Pins and a Pinterest API for Shopping. The company says all of the new features are…
Walmart folds its InHome grocery delivery service into Walmart+ as an optional add-on
Walmart announced today that its InHome grocery delivery service is now available as an optional add-on within its Walmart+ membership, the retailer’s low-cost alternative to Amazon Prime that offers free…
TikTok reportedly drops plans to expand its live e-commerce ‘Shop’ venture to the US
TikTok has reportedly dropped plans to expand its live e-commerce “TikTok Shop” initiative to the United States and additional parts of Europe, according to the Financial Times. The company launched…
TikTok tests a dedicated Shop feed that highlights products you can buy now
TikTok is testing a dedicated “Shop” feed tab that lets users browse and purchase products from a number of different categories, such as clothing and electronics. The company confirmed to…
Marketing automation startup Retail Rocket nabs $24M for expansion
Retail Rocket, a retention management platform for brands, today announced that it raised $24 million in a Series A round led by Cyprus-based private equity fund Flintera. In addition to…
Amazon’s new physical retail analytics service gives brands insights about product and ad performance
Amazon announced today that it’s launching a new physical retail store analytics service that offer brands insights about the performance of their products, promotions and ad campaigns. The new service,…
Amazon reportedly plans to hold a second Prime shopping event in the fall
Amazon is reportedly planning to hold two Prime shopping events this year, according to a report from Business Insider. The online retailer already revealed the July dates for its Prime Day…
eBay is launching an interactive live shopping platform
EBay announced today that it’s launching eBay Live, a dedicated shopping platform that gives users a way to purchase products in a live and interactive environment. The new experience is…
Prime Day, Amazon’s annual event where it and sellers on the platform discount a huge number of items for a burst of sales activity, is coming to a screen near…
Goat Brand Labs, a house of D2C brands in India, raises $50 million
Goat Brand Labs has raised $50 million in fresh funding as the Indian direct-to-consumer brand aggregator looks to acquire more premium brands and help them scale globally. Winter Capital, Vivriti…
Instacart renames its subscription service to Instacart+, adds new family shopping features
Instacart announced today that it’s introducing Instacart+, a revamped version of its subscription service previously called Instacart Express. The subscription service costs $9.99 per month or $99 per year and…
Zoovu lands $169M to drive online product discovery experiences
The competition in e-commerce has become fiercer as the pandemic drives shoppers online. At the same time, customers have grown to expect better experiences. According to help desk software vendor…
Influencer shopping app LTK adds creator product reviews in its latest update
Most of us dread the thought of having to return a piece of clothing we purchased online. In recent years, a newer generation of shoppers — mainly Gen Z —…
Etsy is launching a purchase protection program, investing $25M to cover refunds in some cases
Online marketplace Etsy is launching a new Purchase Protection program for buyers and sellers on its platform, the company announced on Monday. Starting August 1, buyers on Etsy will be…
Dave Clark, the longtime head of Amazon’s consumer division, departs
Amazon today announced that Dave Clark, CEO of the company’s worldwide consumer division, will step down after 23 years in the position. In a note to leadership, Amazon CEO Andy…
Amazon is launching an invite-based ordering option, starting with the PS5 and Xbox Series X
Amazon is launching a new invite-based ordering experience for high-demand, low-supply products. The company told TechCrunch that the purpose of the new option is to help prevent inventory shortages and…
Amazon flexes its retail muscle with a brick-and-mortar clothing store
Signaling its ambitions to make a dent in the apparel market, Amazon today opened its first physical clothing store, Amazon Style, in the Greater Los Angeles Area. Offering a twist…
Co-founded by brothers Ani and Ayan Sanyal, Kolkata Chai wants to be “the place to get good chai” in the United States. It’s a big market. The Sanyal brothers estimate…
