Hi r/Shopify - I'm Paul and I follow the e-commerce industry closely for my Shopifreaks E-commerce Newsletter, which I've published weekly since 2021.
I was invited by the Mods of this subreddit to share my weekly e-commerce news recaps (ie: shorter versions of my full editions) to r/Shopify. Although my news recaps aren't strictly about Shopify (some weeks Shopify is covered more than others), I hope they bring value to your business no matter what platform you're on.
Let's dive into this week's top stories...
STAT OF THE WEEK: In the 18 months after ChatGPT was released, speakers used words like “meticulous,” “delve,” “realm,” and “adept” up to 51% more frequently than in the three years prior, according to researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, who analyzed 280k YouTube videos from academic channels. The study found that words like “prowess” and “tapestry,” which are favored by ChatGPT, are creeping into our vocabulary, while words like “bolster,” “unearth,” and “nuance” have declined in use. They forgot about “robust” — my personal dead giveaway that ChatGPT was involved!
PayPal introduced Storefront Ads, a new ad format that turns open-web display ads into fully functional storefronts with built-in checkout via PayPal and Venmo. The ads, which feature prominent “Buy with PayPal” or “Buy with Venmo” buttons, let consumers purchase products without ever leaving the page they’re on, aiming to reduce friction and boost conversions. The new ad format is powered by the PayPal transaction graph, which the company describes as a “repository of real, cross-merchant purchase signals that drive relevant advertising,” containing over 430M consumer and merchant accounts spanning across 200 markets. Storefront Ads are expected to debut this summer in the U.S. as IAB-standard units and then evolve into brand carousels and sponsored listings.
Reddit, in celebration of its 20th birthday, is introducing new features for brands. 1) Reddit Insights are an AI social listening tool that provides insights to help marketers plan campaigns and validate ideas. Effectively this feature is, “Here's a summary of what Redditors think about your brand.” 2) Conversation Summary Add-ons dynamically integrates positive content from Reddit users directly below an advertiser's creative. This feature surfaces posts and comments from Reddit's archives that talk about the brand in a positive light, which means anything good you ever said about a brand can effectively become an ad.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy is taking heat for a memo he wrote highlighting the company's AI achievements and noting that the use of AI will ultimately reduce its workforce. Workers in Amazon's corporate offices tore into Jassy's messages across internal Slack channels, with some calling for a shift in the company's mindset, while warning of the risks of relying too much on AI. At the same time, per the Financial Post, Amazon is ordering thousands of U.S. employees via one-on-one meetings to relocate to Seattle, Arlington, and Washington DC, which in some cases would require them to move across the country. One employee said their manager informed the team to either begin their relocation process within 60 days or submit their resignation, with no severance offered. So Amazon wants me to relocate for a job that I'm actively being told will soon be replaced by AI? That'll be a no from me, dawg.
On June 18, the U.S. Senate passed the bipartisan GENIUS Act to establish a federal regulatory framework for USD‑pegged stablecoins, marking a major milestone for crypto regulation. The act requires issuers of stablecoins to back each coin with safe assets at a 1:1 ratio, publish monthly reserve disclosures, and comply with anti-money laundering rules. Issuers with over $50B in market cap must also provide annual audited financial statements. Banks, crypto firms, and tech companies are quick to make moves including Coinbase rolling outs its stablecoin acceptance platform, JPMorgan Chase, Fiserv, and JD-com launching stablecoins, with Amazon, Walmart, Expedia, and major airlines potentially to follow.
Klarna is entering the mobile market with an unlimited phone plan, beginning in the US and soon followed by a launch in the UK, Germany, and other countries. The mobile plan will offer uncapped, unlimited 5G data, talk, and text for $40/month, with coverage on the AT&T network. Premium and international plans are expected to roll out later this year. That's cool I guess, but does it come with a Gold Phone? Klarna says that its research shows that half of Americans believe “switching phone plans is too difficult” — so it's promoting how effortless it is to transfer their number and activate their new plan within the Klarna app. However frankly, you could say the same of most MVNO-powered mobile networks, which are mostly all app-based solutions.
A new lawsuit against Costco could have major implications for all omnichannel retailers if victorious, raising the question, “Can I charge more online than in-store?” A California woman is suing Costco for advertising “free shipping” on their website, but actually baking the cost of shipping into their product price. Sounds normal so far, right? However Costco sold the couch for $250 more online with “free shipping” than the couch actually costs in their stores. The suit claims that Costco’s online pricing model violates state and federal consumer protection laws, breaches contracts and warranties, and misleads customers through false advertising.
WhatsApp is introducing new features to its Updates tab, which is home to both Channels and Status, including: 1) Channel Subscriptions – users can now support channels with paid subscriptions to receive exclusive updates for a monthly fee. 2) Promoted Channels – admins can now boost their Channel's visibility in the directory with paid placement. 3) Ads in Status – brands can now purchase advertisements in Status updates, similar to how ads appear within Facebook and Instagram Stories. It's great timing, because just this morning I woke up and thought to my self, “My WhatsApp could sure use some ads!”
Amazon is expanding its Prime Day sales event to four days for the first time this year because “members have told us they just need more time to shop the deals.” Amazon originally launched Prime Day as a on-day event in 2015, before turning it into a two-day event in 2017, which it's run as since. The sales event is scheduled for July 8th thru 11th. (I say — why stop at 4 days? Why not a month? Temu made their Prime Day year round…) Amazon is also heavily pushing its new AI shopping tools during the event such as Rufus, which delivers personalized deal recommendations, Interests, which create custom prompts for customers based on their previous purchases, and Shopping Guides, which make it easy to research product categories.
Other retailers also announced their competing summer sales events including TikTok Shop's Deals For You Days (July 7-19), Walmart Deals Summer Sales Event (July 8-13), Target Circle Week (July 6-12), and Best Buy's Black Friday in July (July 7-13). Happy shopping!
Salesforce is raising prices for several of its products by an average of 6% on August 1st, justifying the price “update” by the platform's increased AI capabilities that few want and less use. (Why is every “increase” in price called an “update”?) Salesforce also made generally available new SKUs of Agentforce, its platform for building and rolling out AI agents, which are replacing similar named Einstein products, it's old and now disfavored branding for all of the company's AI tech.
Meta introduced new generative AI tools at Cannes Lions aimed at advertisers and agencies, enhancing branding, video production, and customer engagement. Highlights include new Advantage+ features that let advertisers integrate logos, colors, fonts for brand consistency, upgraded video generation from static images, and AI-powered business assistants integrated into ad formats like Instagram Stories and Reels. Meta also unveiled tests for creative sticker CTAs that integrate company slogans and virtual try-on features using generative AI, pushing deeper into personalization and creative automation.
Amazon is exploring ways to collaborate with third-party AI shopping agents while simultaneously developing its own tools to reduce reliance on those same services. As external agents like OpenAI’s Operator gain traction, Amazon is considering building a system that allows such agents to speak with its platform, providing real-time data like inventory and shipping details — similar to what OpenAI has done with eBay and Instacart. At the same time, Amazon is tightening legal policies around agent access and pushing its own AI tools like Rufus and Buy for Me to keep users on-site and protect its $56B advertising business. My guess is that Amazon will forge deals with third-party AI platforms that allow access to their platform, but limit availability to all features in order to give its own AI tools a competitive edge.
President Trump officially issued his third executive order delaying enforcement of the law that bans TikTok in the U.S. unless ByteDance sells a controlling stake of the app to American-owned companies. Trump told reporters that China was holding up the sale and that ultimately it required President Xi's approval. Ars Technica reporter Ashley Belanger says the extension suggests that “China may have an upper hand in TikTok negotiations, and perhaps TikTok is losing its sheen as a US bargaining chip in Trump's bigger trade war.” TikTok has now had over a year to divest.
TikTok refuted Rep. Brad Sherman's claim that its owners were buying $300M in TRUMP memecoins to bribe President Trump into extending its deadline to divest or face a ban in the U.S. The allegations potentially stem from a press release by GD Culture Group, a Nasdaq-listed AI company that has nothing to do with TikTok or its parent company ByteDance (that we know of), which announced that it would commit $300M of its corporate funds into investing in both TRUMP memecoins and Bitcoin. TikTok called the allegation “patently false and irresponsible.”
Amazon is implementing a new standalone policy on June 30, 2025, strengthening its existing ban on selling stolen goods in response to new government regulations. While the policy doesn’t change Amazon’s enforcement approach, it formalizes sellers’ obligations to verify the legitimacy of their supply chains, sparking renewed debate over the legality of retail and online arbitrage on Amazon, as well as calls for the platform to crack down on fraudulent buyer behavior and listing hijackers.
The Chinese government is seeking to centralize the process of identity checks with a new virtual ID that will allow users to sign in across various social media apps and websites — kind of like a state-run “Sign in with Google.” The rules for the new system were released in late May and will be implemented in July. Critics of the new system argue that a centralized system like this will make it much easier for the government to wipe out a user's presence across multiple platforms at once. The Chinese government defends the virtual ID as a “bullet-proof vest for personal information,” claiming that the system can greatly reduce the risk of personal data leaks. For now the virtual ID is strictly voluntary, but the government is strongly encouraging various industries and sectors to integrate with it.
eBay is testing a feature that gives buyers 30 minutes after payment to cancel or update their orders, including address or payment details. While potentially helpful for buyers, sellers are raising concerns about delays in order notifications that could lead to overselling, especially for one-of-a-kind or cross-listed items. eBay has not confirmed full rollout details, and sellers are calling for added protections if the change becomes permanent.
Two nonprofit tech watchdogs have released The OpenAI Files, a 50+ page interactive report highlighting concerns about OpenAI’s governance, leadership, and potential conflicts of interest. Led by Tyler Johnston of the Midas Project and in collaboration with the Tech Oversight Project, the report compiles legal filings, disclosures, and media reports to map OpenAI’s corporate evolution and financial entanglements. It also outlines CEO Sam Altman’s extensive investment ties to companies doing business with OpenAI. The report is available at OpenAIFiles-org.
TikTok Shop is looking to enter Japan as soon as this month, a market which has been dominated by Amazon Japan and Rakuten up until now. The app currently has over 33M monthly users in the country, with an average screen time of 96 minutes per day, according to the Japan External Trade Organization. In preparation of TikTok Shop's launch, many agencies are launching services that specialize in assisting merchants on the platform. I can only imagine the taglines: “Experts in TikTok Shop optimization since June 2025.”
Speaking of TikTok… the company is rolling out new generative AI tools under its Symphony suite, including Image to Video and Text to Video, to help brands rapidly produce short-form content, and Showcase Products, which introduces digital avatars that can hold goods, model clothing, and show off an app on a phone screen. Several of the tools will be directly accessible within Adobe Express and WPP Open.
Temu entered into a cloud-hosting deal with Oracle to localize its U.S. user data as it faces lawsuits and political scrutiny over potential ties to China’s government — a similar playbook that the U.S. is using against TikTok. Can Temu get an extension too, Trump? Critics argue that data storage agreements like this do little to dispel fears of Chinese government access. Hours before Temu confirmed the Oracle agreement, Nebraska filed a lawsuit accusing the company of using malware to siphon off users’ personal data, which Attorney General Mike Hilgers claims might end up in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party.
Sam's Club started delivering its Member's Mark 16-inch pizzas, salads, bakery items and other products after an overwhelming amount of requests from users. The pepperoni pizza costs $8.98, which is substantially less than the cost of most pizzas that size from franchise or local pizzerias. The company is offering pizza delivery as a means to introduce customers to its broader delivery services. CFO Todd Sears explained that oftentimes pizza is the first time customers have ever ordered a delivery through Sam's Club.
Facebook announced that all videos on its platform will soon be shared as reels no matter their length or orientation as a means to streamline its video offering. Up until now, users have been able to share both video posts and reels, but now the company is renaming its “Video” tab to the “Reels” tab, and users won't have to choose between the two formats. Instagram took a similar move with new video posts under 15 minutes back in 2022.
Last week I reported that Meta is forming an AI Superintelligence Team with Mark Zuckerberg personally overseeing recruitment, offering compensation packages and signing bonuses reaching tens of millions of dollars. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said on an interview podcast that “none of our best people” had taken Meta's offers, but Meta's CTO Andrew Bosworth later revealed that OpenAI had been countering their crazy offers. Bosworth also told CNBC that the market rate he's seeing for AI talent has been “unprecedented.” It was also reported by CNBC that Meta recently tried to acquire Safe Superintelligence, the AI startup launched by OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever, but when Sutskever refused the offer, Mark Zuckerberg moved to recruit the company's CEO and co-founder Daniel Gross instead, now planning to hire Gross and former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman to beef up the company's AI team.
Last week Value Added Resource reported that Etsy was cracking down on 3D and laser printed items via updates to its creativity standards. This week they surfaced even more unannounced changes including a major overhaul of Etsy's Services policies, which now allow certain tailoring, repair, and modification offerings that previously had been prohibited. Several new digital services have also been added to the list of allowed services such as logo/brand design, music/audio production, video editing, and illustration work sold as digital files. Is Etsy becoming Fiverr? Didn't they already fail at trying to become Amazon? My only guess is that Etsy is looking to open the door for these digital services to be product add-ons as opposed to standalone services, but they didn't specify. For example, I've ordered custom onesies off of Etsy for my friends' babies and submitted the design myself, however, I could see a “Custom Design” option as an upsell being a new thing — which encompasses the graphic design and illustration addition to the digital services.
Good news for French perverts… Pornhub is accessible in France again, following a suspension of the country's controversial age verification law which went into effect earlier this month, requiring that porn sites install a third-party technical system to verify users' ages. On June 16th, the Administrative Court of Paris suspended the law until it's deemed legal under EU law, which says that a country can't regulate a company based in another EU state unless a specific notification process is followed. So while France might have forgotten to dot a few i's and cross some t's in the paperwork, it's expected that the law will soon go into effect, and Pornhub will have to choose to abide by it or end service in the country again.
Is France and the rest of the EU becoming too strict with their digital laws? That's what Germany’s e-commerce association Bevh said when urging the EU to reassess its Digital services Act, which it claims unfairly targets large online marketplaces with stricter rules meant for social media platforms. Bevh argues that platforms like Amazon and Zalando face excessive regulation compared to physical retailers, despite already being governed by extensive consumer protection and product safety laws. The group voiced its concerns before the European Court of Justice, warning that current VLOP requirements could stifle innovation and disadvantage ecommerce across Europe.
Amazon UK is under investigation by the UK's grocery industry watchdog over allegations that the company is failing to pay its suppliers on time. The Groceries Code Adjudicator, which is responsible for regulating the relationships between the UK's 14 largest grocery retailers and their direct suppliers, said it had “reasonable grounds” to suspect that Amazon had breached a part of the groceries supply code of practice, which mandates that there should not be delays in payments made to suppliers. GCA is calling on suppliers to send in evidence by August 8th.
The BBC is threatening legal action against Perplexity AI to protect its content from being scraped without permission after gathering evidence that Perplexity's model was trained using its content. The publication sent a letter to CEO Aravind Srinivas threatening an injunction against the company unless it stops scraping all BBC content and deletes any copies of material it holds unless it provides “a proposal for financial compensation.” Perplexity told the FT that the BBC’s claims were “manipulative and opportunistic” and that it had a “fundamental misunderstanding of technology, the internet and intellectual property law”.
Intel is planning to outsource a substantial portion of its marketing work to Accenture, a global consulting firm, with AI to play a central role in the transition. The move is expected to result in significant layoffs within its marketing division, with most affected employees expected to learn if they still have a job by July 11th. Intel is also reportedly preparing to lay off up to 20% of its Intel Foundry workforce in July, affecting more than 10,000 employees and marking one of its largest job cuts in history. Intel's workforce has steadily declined from nearly 125,000 employees in 2023 to less than 109,000 by the end of 2024, and counting.
eBay's VP of Design, Aaron Carámbula, is leaving the company after 2.5 years to rejoin Meta, where he previously served various roles for more than a decade prior to working at eBay. Carámbula says he looks forward to “supporting the next evolution of Facebook.” eBay has not yet announced a replacement.
Kroger announced plans to close approximately 60 underperforming stores over the next 18 months as part of its effort to streamline operations and improve efficiency. At the same time, the company is ramping up its e-commerce efforts, creating a dedicated digital business unit and reporting 15% growth in online sales for Q1 2025. Leadership emphasized on a recent earnings call that the closures will not impact full-year guidance, as savings will be reinvested into enhancing customer experience and accelerating digital growth, likely fueled by its need to compete with Amazon's grocery efforts.
X is suing to block New York’s Stop Hiding Hate Act, which entered into effect last week, claiming it violates the First Amendment and is a “carbon-copy” of a similar California law already struck down in court. The law requires social media platforms to disclose how they moderate hate speech, which X argues is a veiled attempt at censorship and just another attempt by the government to “eliminate” certain speech it didn’t like. New York lawmakers behind the bill say platforms like X have become “cesspools of hate” and accuse Musk of using free speech as a shield against accountability.
Santa Monica launched a citywide e-procurement platform powered by Glass’ G-Commerce software to consolidate departmental purchasing into a centralized system. Since initial testing began in May 2024, the platform has been adopted by over 10 departments and is expected to handle $3M annually in transactions, primarily through government-issued credit cards. City officials say the new system improves compliance, transparency, and efficiency, and offers real-time tracking, automated approvals, and vendor analytics across mobile and desktop devices.
A TikTok influencer with over 2.6M followers named Le Van Hai was arrested for his involvement in selling over 800,000 counterfeit food and cosmetics products on his TikTok channel over the past two years. Investigators found that items were not as they were advertised to be, such as a syrup touted as a remedy for stimulating children's appetites actually having less than 70% of vitamins that were advertised on the labels. His TikTok account has now been suspended and a police investigation is seeking to learn the full extent of the operation.
A crypto user lost $6.5M after purchasing a tampered cold wallet via Douyin, China’s TikTok equivalent, which had its private key compromised before shipping. Blockchain firm SlowMist reported the wallet appeared factory sealed but was drained just hours after funds were transferred. The case mirrors past scams involving counterfeit wallets and highlights the risks of buying cold wallets from unofficial sources. So this is why the Winklevoss Twins store their private keys on paper?
LeBron James humorously teased retirement in a new “What's Next?” commercial for Amazon's upcoming Prime Day. James reportedly collaborated closely with Amazon ion creating the 60-second spot, from brainstorming comedic bits to picking Phil Collins' song “In the Air Tonight” as the music. The growing relationship between James and Amazon is leading to speculation that he could eventually join Prime Video's upcoming coverage of the NBA.
🏆 This week's most ridiculous story… A 26-year-old crypto TikTok influencer was kidnapped on his way home last week and beaten by his captors who demanded €50k in cryptocurrency. However it turns out, he barely had any crypto! The kidnappers must've felt sorry for him and his low account balance because they let him go without payment. Turns out anyone can be a crypto influencer — no cryptocurrency required.
Plus 11 seed rounds, IPOs, and acquisitions of interest including Wix acquiring Base44, a six-month-old AI platform that lets users build functional software using natural language in a chat-based interface, for $80M in cash, which Wix called a milestone in the company's mission to expand AI-driven creation tools.
I hope you found this recap helpful. See you next week!
PAUL
PS: If I missed any big news this week, please share in the comments.
