Online shopping stories - Page 4

Fake Olympics shop ads on Meta push fans to cloned sites mimicking Milano Cortina 2026 store to steal card and personal details.

More consumers now treat generative AI as an everyday aide and even a companion, using it for routine decisions despite trust concerns.

AliExpress tempts budget-conscious UK shoppers away from Amazon, as new research highlights price as the dominant factor in purchases.

Online Valentine's discounts shrink as shoppers browse earlier, research more and spread spending beyond traditional romantic gifts.

Cyber experts warn Valentine's Day brings a surge in romance and shopping scams, urging users to be wary of links, apps and payment requests.

Mastercard taps Peter Schmeichel to front a UK push for tokenised Click to Pay checkouts, aiming to end manual card entry by 2030.

UK startup Sendr launches AI-personalised videos for eCommerce, claiming a 33% uplift in abandoned-cart revenue and 10x more clicks.

UK health and wellbeing spend is smoothing into year-round habits, with fewer shoppers spending more and January gym spikes fading.

UK consumers are embracing AI tools but trust is splintering, with most cross-checking search, social and brand sites before deciding.

AI shopping assistants win over UK and US consumers, but most abandon tools instantly when product suggestions feel irrelevant or pushy.

UK retailers brace for GBP £1.05bn in post-Christmas returns as fashion fit woes, social commerce and ageing habits strain logistics.

Affirm extends Wayfair buy now, pay later to UK and Canada, offering instalment plans on higher-ticket home purchases amid tighter scrutiny.

UK shoppers value accurate parcel tracking and honest delivery updates far more than rapid shipping promises, a new Locus survey suggests.

Criteo launches an AI-powered commerce service that plugs into shopping assistants, promising more relevant product picks from real purchase data.

Loop integrates Sendcloud into Ship by Loop 2.0, giving Shopify merchants wider UK and EU carrier choice for simpler, label-free returns.

AI-powered tools are rapidly reshaping UK retail as most shoppers embrace chat-based assistants and retailers ramp up investment for 2026.

Self-gifting and friend-gifting are reshaping UK Valentine's Day, lifting total spending to GBP £2.1 billion, Flowwow data shows.

Holiday refunds jumped 18.1% in 2025, with each USD $1 million in refunds costing retailers about USD $1.3 million once overheads are included.

Address validation on Shopify cuts failed deliveries, trims shipping costs and boosts loyalty by ensuring accurate, standardised customer data.

UK online parcels jumped 17% in late 2025 as pet care and beauty surged, even as fashion and homewares shipments slid, Scurri data shows.