📦 The Order : Weekly Roundup - Cart.com & Stord
Issue #216
Happy Sunday,
Here’s a quick roundup of last week’s news:
Chart of the Week:
Progress in US-China tariff talks this week - as covered by the New York Times in ‘U.S. and China Agree to Temporarily Slash Tariffs in Bid to Defuse Trade War’
As an direct result container rates increased 8% this week (as measured by Drewry’s World Container Index):
AI News of the Week 🤖
The Wall Street Journal this week covered Walmart’s AI agents plans in ‘Walmart Is Preparing to Welcome Its Next Customer: The AI Shopping Agent’. One specific angle is optimizing Walmart’s page for agents to shop.
Movers & Shakers 🙌
Cart.com Raises Additional $50 Million and Reaches Valuation of $1.6 Billion [Cart]
Stord raises $200 million in equity and debt to empower brands competing with Amazon [Fortune]
Strategy ♟
Marketplace Briefing: Amazon sellers recommit to Prime Day after tariff relief — but scramble to restock in time [Modern Retail]
TikTok's big bet on shopping is in trouble [Business Insider]
The Booming Business of Returned Products [The New York Times]
Trump Trade War Creates COVID-Like Dynamic [Marketplace Pulse]
US Shopper Retreat From Temu, Shein Boosts Macy’s, Kohl’s, Gap [Bloomberg]
Job Opportunities 👩💻
Join AutopilotBrand as Customer Success Lead - 👉 learn more here.
Events 🎤
NRF Nexus, Ranchos Palos Verdes, CA July 14-16
Amazon Solution Provider Summit, Seattle July 15-17
Amazon Accelerate, Seattle Sep 16-18
Make this week count 🙌
Christian