commerce
Style DNA gets a generative AI chatbot that suggests outfit ideas based on your color type
Style DNA, an AI-powered fashion stylist app, creates a personalized style profile from a single selfie. The app is particularly useful for people interested in seasonal color analysis, a process…
LTK (formerly LiketoKnow.it and RewardStyle), the influencer shopping app with 40 million monthly users, announced on Thursday the launch of a free direct message tool for creators to instantly share…
True Fit leverages generative AI to help online shoppers find clothes that fit
True Fit, the AI-powered size-and-fit personalization tool, has offered its size recommendation solution to thousands of retailers for nearly 20 years. Now, the company is venturing into the generative AI…
Sam’s Club customers who pay either at a register or through the Scan & Go mobile app can now walk out of the store without having their purchases double-checked.
Jumia reduces losses by over 90% in Q4 amid focus on restoring order and GMV growth
In 2023, Jumia revised its adjusted EBITDA loss guidance thrice: $100 million to $120 million in Q1; $90 million to $100 million in Q2; and $80 million to $90 million…
Postmates’ founder’s new app TipTop offers instant cash for your stuff
When TechCrunch’s former editor-in-chief Matthew Panzarino joined a startup, we knew it was one that would pique our interest. Panzarino, well-known among TC staff as an avid collector of everything…
Amazon’s ‘Just Walk Out’ tech now works with employee badges
Amazon’s computer vision and sensor-powered Just Walk Out retail technology, which allows customers to shop at stores and then skip the cashier line when it’s time to check out, is…
Amazon turns to AI to help customers find clothes that fit when shopping online
After recently turning to generative AI to enhance its product reviews, e-commerce giant Amazon today shared how it’s now using AI technology to help customers shop for apparel online. The…
Keep IT complexity in check with pragmatic composable commerce
Legacy digital commerce architectures are no longer sustainable in today’s commerce arena. With every component tightly integrated into a monolithic architecture, a legacy platform’s inflexibility, low reliability, and high maintenance…
YouTube’s latest features aim to help creators make more money from shoppable videos
Only weeks after TikTok Shop’s entry into the U.S. market, YouTube today is making it easier for consumers to shop products presented by its own creator community. The company is…
Peer-to-peer fashion rental marketplace Pickle picks up $8 million
New York-based peer-to-peer fashion rental marketplace Pickle, which lets users earn passive income from their closets, is readying an expansion with the close of an $8 million seed round. The…
Elon Musk’s X to test livestream shopping in partnership with Paris Hilton
As Elon Musk’s X expands its efforts to become an “everything app,” the company formerly known as Twitter announced today it will run a livestream shopping event with media icon…
Walmart returns to Roblox after its first games were attacked by consumer advocacy groups
Walmart is returning to Roblox, but this time with a virtual world where gamers can discover new virtual items and accessories to personalize their experience, not browse or shop items…
Amazon’s new Just Walk Out cashierless checkout system uses RFID tags to track apparel purchases
Amazon today introduced a new version of its Just Walk Out retail technology that allows customers to skip the cashier lines when they make a purchase by having their payment…
Pinterest’s Gen Z-focused Shuffles app has now inspired a new Pinterest feature
A year ago, Pinterest’s then brand-new collage-making app Shuffles was going viral on TikTok as Gen Z users sought out invites in order to create their own inspirational image boards.…
Amazon updates visual search, AR search and more in challenge to Google
Amazon is introducing new features that make it easier to search for products on mobile and is challenging other product search engines, like Google and Pinterest in the process. The…
In a surprise tie-up, Shopify merchants will be able to offer Amazon’s ‘Buy with Prime’ option
Amazon and Shopify this morning announced a significant integration that will now allow Shopify merchants to offer “Buy with Prime” on their Shopify stores. The Buy with Prime feature allows…
Starbucks is experimenting with ‘scanless checkout’ for drive-through users
Starbucks is testing a new way for customers to pay for their favorite beverages — without even having to pull out their phone. The company confirmed an internal test of…
After filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April, online wholesale retailer Boxed has been acquired. U.S.-based regional distributor MSG Distributors, Inc. announced this morning its acquisition of Boxed.com and…
You can now order Starbucks with your Target Drive Up order pickup
Nationwide retailer Target is encouraging more consumers to use the convenience of its curbside order pick-up service with the addition of a new perk: Starbucks coffee. The company announced today…
Walmart+ Assist halves the price of its Prime competitor for those on government assistance
Walmart+, the U.S. retailer’s Prime competitor, is introducing a new program designed to help those on government assistance take advantage of its membership benefits, like free shipping and delivery, gas…
Amazon’s palm-scanning payment technology is coming to all 500+ Whole Foods
Amazon’s palm-scanning payment technology known as Amazon One is prepared to make a significant expansion across the U.S. The retailer announced this morning the payment tech will come to all…
Amazon’s palm-scanning payment tech will now be able to verify ages, too
Amazon One, the retailer’s palm-scanning payment technology, is now gaining new functionality with the addition of age verification services. The company announced today that customers using Amazon One devices will…
Snapchat’s AR technology comes to the real world with ‘AR Mirrors’
Snap today offered an update on its AR Enterprise Services (ARES), the company’s recently announced initiative focused on providing AR tools and expertise to businesses that want to leverage Snapchat’s…
Snap quietly acquired Amsterdam-based 3D-scanning studio Th3rd in the second quarter of last year, at a time when the company was looking to bolster its AR-powered commerce ambitions. A spokesperson…
Target will allow you to return items from your car starting this spring
Curbside pickup of groceries and other big-box retailer goods had been growing for years, then boomed during the pandemic, reaching mainstream adoption. Now, Target is taking the opportunity to offer…
Instagram is killing live shopping in March, will focus on ads instead
As Meta gears up for its “year of efficiency,” the company announced today it’s exiting the livestream shopping business on Instagram, following a similar shutdown on Facebook. Starting on March…
Hands on with Walmart’s new (but buggy) ‘Text to Shop’ feature
Walmart recently introduced a new way to shop: via text. Last month, the retail giant launched its “Text to Shop” experience which allows mobile consumers across both iOS and Android…
Instacart launches Connected Stores, a suite of in-store tech for retailers
Instacart announced today that it’s launching Connected Stores, a suite of new and existing technologies that aim to help retailers create a personalized experience both online and in-store. The company…
Wegmans discontinues its in-store scan-and-go mobile app, citing high losses
Wegmans, the popular supermarket chain, will kill off its in-store scan-and-go app this Sunday, September 18, 2022. The company informed customers of the news in an email yesterday, stating that…
