Shopify is preparing for AI shopping agents to change everything, exec says
Shopify is preparing for an ecommerce transformation via AI shopping agents, says president Harley Finklestein.
Commerce
Apple drops commission rates in China without a fuss
Apple dropped its App Store commission rates to 25% in China, and commissions on auto-renewed subscriptions down to 12%.
Facebook Marketplace now lets Meta AI respond to buyers’ messages
When buyers inquire about an item’s availability, sellers can use Meta AI to automatically draft replies using information from their listing, such as the description, availability, pickup location, and price.
Ride-hailing inDrive acquires Pakistan’s Krave Mart to bolster grocery delivery
inDrive has closed its acquisition of KraveMart, expanding grocery delivery in a market dominated by Foodpanda.
Quince hits $10B valuation with giant $500M round led by Iconiq
E-commerce company Quince has raised another massive round, less than a year after its previous raise.
Meta didn’t buy Moltbook for bots — it bought into the agentic web
Meta’s Moltbook acquisition may look odd at first, but the deal could signal how Meta sees AI agents shaping future advertising and commerce on an agentic web.
Meta’s Moltbook deal points to a future built around AI agents
Meta’s Moltbook acquisition may look odd at first, but the deal could signal how Meta sees AI agents shaping future advertising and commerce on an agentic web.
Amazon expands a program that lets customers shop from other retailers’ sites
The changes allow more merchants to participate in Amazon’s Shop Direct program, which sends Amazon customers to other retailers’ websites.
AI-powered apps struggle with long-term retention, new report shows
AI can drive stronger early
monetization for apps, but sustaining value remains the challenge, RevenueCat’s latest report finds.
Uzbekistan’s Uzum valuation leaps over 50% in seven months to $2.3B
Uzum now reaches 20 million users and processes $11B in payments as it expands its e-commerce and fintech ecosystem across Uzbekistan.