E-commerce giants of the late ’90s and early ’00s like Amazon and eBay changed how the world shopped. Some of those companies have stuck around, but a new generation of commerce platforms is quickly gaining ground. Ultracheap retailers like Temu, Shein, and AliExpress are winning over customers, luring them in with bargain bin prices on products shipped directly from manufacturers in China. Shopping has also become a core part of business for social media companies — your TikTok feed is both a stream of videos and an endless shelf of products for sale. The Verge’s online shopping section covers how and what we buy and the forces driving this sprawling and opaque market.
According to Reuters’ sources, the FTC was investigating Shein over “delivery delays and other customer complaints,” adding that the settlement would be “equivalent to 44% of Shein’s second-quarter profit.” The European Union also opened an investigation into Shein earlier this year over concerns about “addictive design” features and illegal product listings.
AI agents are getting blocked left and right — but even when they work, it suggests a more annoying future for humans.
As reported by Reuters, the job cuts will impact around 1,100 employees. In a memo seen by the outlet, eBay CEO Jamie Iannone tells workers the company must make “thoughtful choices about where we focus and invest” to “capture the significant opportunity ahead.”
As reported by BBC News, search terms like “reclaimed vintage”, “glamorous wide fit” and “Asos petite” appeared in the breached data. Asos says an “unauthorised party” accessed an Asos employee’s account by “impersonating a trusted contact,” The Guardian reports.
Earlier this week, alleged hackers sent a push notification to Asos users, warning they have “fully compromised” the UK-based clothing retailer.
Delivery apps like DoorDash and Uber Eats have changed how diners eat and how restaurants operate. AI could force a new kind of reckoning for the industry.
Internal communications viewed by Bloomberg suggest that Phoebe Gates — Bill Gates’ daughter — knew that her shopping app, Phia, claimed commission for sales it didn’t drive using a method known as “cookie stuffing:”
Phoebe Gates was aware of features that automatically set cookies from at least Dec. 18, according to an internal Slack discussion reviewed by Bloomberg and confirmed by people familiar with the matter… Gates wanted to verify that Phia’s cookie was being dropped automatically when the box popped up even if the shopper didn’t click to use a coupon, according to two of the people. This would allow Phia to take the credit and commission for the total value of products sold.
Nearly two years after the YouTuber’s first video accusing PayPal’s Honey browser extension of ripping off customers, affiliated creators, and even retailers, he’s back.
This time, there are updates about how others like Rakuten have (belatedly) ended relationships with Honey, and the current state of the legal proceedings, while Austin Evans’ recent video examines how this scandal has both shaped and changed YouTuber sponsorships.
Bloomberg reports on Phia, the price comparison app launched by Bill Gates’ daughter:
Bloomberg tested the Phia mobile browser extension across more than 50 websites and found that during the checkout process, Phia opened a background tab without user interaction and injected its own referral code that overrode legitimate referrals from other publishers… This allows Phia to claim a commission for sales it did not meaningfully influence.
Phia tells Bloomberg it “has since resolved the issue.”
Starting July 1st, small parcels valued at less than €150 (about $171) that enter the EU will be subject to a fixed €3 (about $3.42) customs duty. This temporary measure aims to protect local businesses by reducing competition from foreign low-cost retailers like Temu and Shein, while the EU works out a permanent solution.
A major case surrounding lookalike products (“dupes”) came to a close this week, in which Deckers, the maker of UGG boots, sued direct-to-consumer brand Quince, alleging it had knocked off its shearling ankle boot. A jury found that Quince’s version was indeed substantially similar to the design patent for the UGG boots — but also that the patent itself was invalid in the first place.
As I wrote last year, brands are increasingly using design patents to go after dupes. The Deckers decision stress-tests that tactic.
The deal is valued at $100 million according to Puck, and would add a US-based brand to Shein’s portfolio after President Trump ended the de minimis exemption on cheap imported goods. If true, that’s a notable pivot for Everlane, which until now has built its brand around sustainability.
PR people look out for the brand that pays them, but in this case, they’ve only increased public awareness of a quip with an unintended Streisand effect.
Sephora is partnering with Korean beauty retailers Olive Young to bring more K-beauty products to international consumers in-store and online. In the last decade, K-beauty has had a meteoric rise outside of Korea; the industry has especially thrived in the TikTok social media era, where new products and releases are used to relentlessly drive beauty trends. Now US retailers are in an “arms race” to cash in on the popularity.
[The Business of Fashion]
From window shopping and browsing to reviews and recommendations, retailers and tech companies envision a future filled with artificial intelligence — whether shoppers want it or not.
Small businesses told Modern Retail they were shocked to find their products for sale on Amazon without their consent as part of a “Buy For Me” feature the retail giant announced in 2025. Some sellers actively choose not to associate with Amazon; others found errors in listings on the platform, or that Amazon was selling out-of-stock items.
It’s part of a larger push by retailers into AI-powered agentic shopping — that’s now causing headaches for humans.
After going a year between his first and second videos investigating the PayPal-owned shopping extension, MegaLag didn’t make us wait long for part three.
Here, he says he has evidence of how Honey evaded detection by affiliate networks with “stand-down” rules against referral-fee-stealing behavior, and responses to Honey co-founder Ryan Hudson’s Reddit AMA. PayPal has not responded to requests for comment.
Beyond part one’s exposure of affiliate revenue hijacking, MegaLag digs into Honey’s “extortion” by adding limited-use “friends and family” type discounts and lying to the store owners about never removing codes for unaffiliated businesses while trying to sign them up as partners.
Other misdeeds described include marketing Honey’s for-adult-use-only browser extension to kids in partnership with channels like Mr Beast, who encouraged kids to install it everywhere they could, while collecting data on everyone who installed its extension, even if they never signed up. And despite a cease-and-desist from PayPal’s lawyers, this series isn’t over yet.
Europe wants to tax the flood of cheap packages from Chinese retailers like Shein and Temu, just like Trump did. From next July, a €3 charge will apply per item type to parcels below €150, a temporary fix while the bloc works on removing the exemption altogether.
Nearly a year ago, I wrote that impending tariff policies seemed poised to turn American consumerism upside down. In the months since, many people have said that Donald Trump’s tariffs — and the higher costs passed on to shoppers — could force people to buy less stuff they didn’t need in the first place. But as the Wall Street Journal reports, even sky high tariffs might not be enough to break the habit for good.
