Hi Shopifreaks Major news this week -- de minimis is officially coming to an end! Learn more in this week's headline story below. I’d love to hear your thoughts on how this will impact the economy, the retail industry, and/or your business in particular. Hit reply and...
#232 – Walmart dark stores, Target wants to be Temu, & AI’s failed vending machine business
Hi Shopifreaks Is AI ready to run a small business by itself? Is Target leadership running out of ideas? Can "dark stores" give Walmart a leg up in its battle against Amazon? Answers to these questions and more in this week's edition! Btw, feel free to forward these...
#231 – Shoppable PayPal Ads, Reddit UGC Ads, & Amazon’s Controversial AI Agenda
Hi Shopifreaks I can't control the news, and inevitably, some weeks are more interesting than others in the world of e-commerce. That being said -- today's edition is by far one of my favorites of the year! Big news this week, so let's dive right in... In this week's...
#230 – Stablecoins, Superintelligence Teams, and Shopify’s landmark lawsuit
Hi Shopifreaks I hope all the fathers who read this newsletter had a great day yesterday, which personally marked my 3rd Father's Day since Mia was born. When I launched this newsletter in Jan 2021, I had no idea that four years later I'd be celebrating 18,000...
#229 – Humanoid Delivery Robots, Defense Contractors, & Meta quits e-commerce again
Hi Shopifreaks I saw a LinkedIn post by Eduardo Ordax talking about how AI isn't so random, and to put it to the test, he asked various AI chatbots to come up with a random number. I almost didn't believe his results until I tried it for myself! Watch my video on...
#228 – Blocked tariffs, Amazon’s product purge, & Meta’s fully automated advertising
Hi Shopifreaks Does Amazon have TOO MANY or TOO FEW products to choose from? Are Trump's tariffs legal? Will businesses trust Meta to create and manage their ad campaigns completely with AI? After reading today's newsletter, you be the judge! In this week's edition I...
#227 – Summer ’25 Edition, Google AI Shopping, and… boobies?
Hi Shopifreaks Have you been as excited for Shopify's Summer '25 Edition as I have? Or I a just an e-commerce nerd? I've got another jam-packed edition for you this week (that will likely get clipped in Gmail), so let's dive right in! In this week's edition I cover:...
#226 – Walmart Raises Prices, Consumer Protections, & Temu Ships from China again
Hi Shopifreaks In the past few weeks, I've received e-mails from readers introducing themselves that said: "My new manager at BigCommerce suggested your newsletter." "This newsletter was recommended to me by the founder of my old company when I asked for advice on...
#225 – Postmaster Generals, Amazon Haul UK, and Tariff Ceasefires
Hi Shopifreaks Before we begin, I want to take a moment to recommend Jon Elder's Amazon Insiders newsletter if you or your company sell on Amazon. Jon has actually become one of my sources that I use to keep up with Amazon news, however, his newsletter also dives...
#224 – De Minimis is Dead, Temu goes domestic, & Amazon’s rumor
Hi Shopifreaks Have you tried OpenAI's new shopping feature in ChatGPT? (Read more about that in story #4.) I've dabbled with a few test product searches today and it's -- okay. For example, when searching for "laptops great for video editing, but light enough for...
#223 – Browser Wars, ChatGPT E-commerce, and India’s $125B Market
Hi Shopifreaks Quick note before we begin... Last week I was informed by several readers that their their e-mail replies to me were blocked. Thanks for the heads up about that! And apologies to anyone else who had their e-mails returned to sender. Turns out my e-mail...
#222 – OpenAI’s social network, Google’s monopoly, and Temu & Shein slash US ad spend
Hi Shopifreaks This is one of my favorite editions of the year. AI social networks, antitrust cases, influencer lawsuits! What's not to love? Get ready for another jam-packed edition. Let's dive right in... In this week's edition I cover: OpenAI building a social...
#221 – Shopify demands AI use, BeReal ads, & Walmart’s big ask
Hi Shopifreaks I hope you've had a great week. My family and I are finishing up our second week in the Galapagos, currently on Santa Cruz island. On Saturday we went on nature hikes and got to visit the island's famous tortoises up close and personal, and tomorrow...
#220 – Amazon “Buy for Me,” TikTok misery profiteering, & Google reads your newsletters
Hi Shopifreaks Before we begin, I'd like to welcome doola to the Shopifreaks family as our newest official News Partner! 🎉🥳 doola is an all-in-one platform for e-commerce bookkeeping, taxes, and analytics that offers merchants a game-changing single point of contact...
#219 – OpenAI Images, Amazon Interests, & FedEx Easy Returns
Hi Shopifreaks Before we begin, I'd like to welcome Agital to the Shopifreaks family as our newest official News Partner! 🎉🥳 Agital is an award winning e-commerce marketing agency that specializes in driving revenue for brands and retailers by optimizing their...
#218 – Republican FTC, Amazon fee increases, & Google says news is worthless
Hi Shopifreaks I want to give a shoutout this week to my buddy Jason Greenwood for producing his 500th episode of The Ecommerce Edge Podcast! Putting out content consistently is no easy task -- let alone 500 episodes. I pride myself on having published 218 consecutive...
#217 – USPS & DOGE, Meta’s Streisand Effect, and Small Dollar Loans
Hi Shopifreaks What are you working on nowadays? If you've never previously done so (or if you're working on something new), please hit reply and introduce yourself. I appreciate knowing who's on the other end of these e-mails, and it's been my pleasure to connect...
#216 – BigCommerce’s App Ambitions, Agentic AI, & Meta’s love / hate relationship with China
Hi Shopifreaks Is it just me or does e-commerce news feel more combative lately? I feel like I use the words "war" and "retaliation" a lot more than I used to in these editions... This week I've got another jam-packed edition for you featuring app store ambitions,...


















