The proposed class action had been dismissed by a lower court judge and a three-judge 9th Circuit Court of Appeals panel but was brought back to life Monday (April 21) in a 10-1 decision by the full 9th Circuit, Reuters reported Monday.

In the proposed class action, California resident Brandon Briskin alleges Shopify installed tracking software on his iPhone without his consent when he made a purchase from a retailer and then used his data to create a profile and sell it to other retailers, according to the report.

Shopify, a Canadian company that operates across the U.S., argued that it should be sued in Delaware, New York or Canada rather than California, the report said.

In the Monday ruling, the court said Shopify can be sued in California because it targeted residents of the state with its tracking software, per the report.

Following the decision, a lawyer for Briskin told Reuters that the court’s ruling will make internet-based companies accountable for their actions.

A Shopify spokesman said, per the report, that the decision makes online retailers vulnerable to lawsuits anywhere and “attacks the basics of how the internet works.”

The ruling could make it easier for American courts to assert jurisdiction over online platforms, the report said, noting that 30 states and Washington, D.C., sided with the plaintiff and said they should be able to enforce their consumer protection laws against companies that do business in their marketplaces.

Shopify reported in February that during the fourth quarter of 2024, the unified commerce platform saw a 31% increase in revenue to $2.81 billion, a 26% rise in full-year revenue to $8.88 billion, and a 9.1% increase in subscription revenue.

“2024 was one for the books and further solidified us as a leader in unified commerce,” Shopify President Harley Finkelstein said during the company’s quarterly earnings call. “I’m especially proud to share that in the U.S. alone Shopify is now over 12% of the eCommerce market share. And we continue to grow rapidly in places like Europe and Japan.”

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So far, it’s not clear if these increases — scheduled to go into effect April 25 — have caused the companies’ traffic to spike, Ars Technica reported Friday (April 18). 

However, the report said, data from Similarweb suggests that Temu has significantly scaled back on paid advertising, leading to an 80% downturn in paid search traffic. This could suggest that if Temu cuts back on ads, it could also push away shoppers, destabilizing its price models even further.

Both Shein and Temu sent almost identical letters to customers informing them of the price increases and encouraged them to shop “now at today’s rates.” 

As covered here last week, the two companies had been able to keep prices down due to the “de minimis” exemption that allowed duty-free entry for goods priced below $800. However, the new U.S. tariff policy closes that loophole starting May 2.

“Due to recent changes in global trade rules and tariffs, our operating expenses have gone up. To keep offering the products you love without compromising on quality, we will be making price adjustments starting April 25, 2025,” the statements from both companies said.

In addition to the end of the de minimis exemption, Shein and Temu are also dealing with U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports, which has led the companies to seek workarounds such as moving their production lines out of China.

Meanwhile, online sales have been muted recently, according to new government data, as consumers up their spending on big ticket items like electronics and cars in anticipation of the new tariffs.

“But there were some indications that consumers and households bought new wheels and TVs at the expense of other categories,” PYMNTS wrote.

“Furniture and home furnishing stores reported $11.7 billion in sales, reflecting a 0.7% month-over-month decline, though sales were still up 7.7% compared to March 2024. Department stores — which are key channels for home furnishings — performed poorly for the second consecutive month, with sales declining 0.3% in March and 1.6% in February, resulting in a 2.5% decrease compared to March 2024.”

Also last week, quarterly earnings from Bank of America, PNC and Citigroup all reinforced the same conclusion: Robust consumer spending is propping up results, even as businesses and institutions wrestle with an uncertain macroeconomic landscape.

“Tariffs and the potential for a recession have not yet dramatically curbed consumer appetite, though some pullback in commercial lending and elevated caution on credit were evident,” PYMNTS wrote. “Digital adoption across retail banking and payments continues at a brisk pace, reflecting banks’ strategic push toward technology-driven growth.”

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Both retailers sent nearly identical letters to customers saying prices would go up on April 25 and encouraged them to shop “now at today’s rates,” according to a Wednesday (April 16) report from Reuters.

Shein and Temu have been able to keep prices low because of the “de minimis” exemption that allowed duty-free entry for merchandise priced below $800.

However, a recent executive order from President Donald Trump will close that loophole on May 2.

“Due to recent changes in global trade rules and tariffs, our operating expenses have gone up. To keep offering the products you love without compromising on quality, we will be making price adjustments starting April 25, 2025,” the statements from both companies said, according to Reuters.

Besides the termination of the de minimis exemption, Shein and Temu are also facing an uphill battle against U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports, set in motion by Trump.

Both companies have sought workarounds such as moving their production lines out of China, PYMNTS reported in February.

Temu responded to the tariffs by raising prices and encouraging its suppliers to store inventory in the U.S. Over one-third of the products it sells to consumers in the U.S. are fulfilled with inventory maintained in the U.S. The company is also boosting its efforts to expand its global footprint and sell in countries other than the U.S.

In addition, Temu is restructuring its supply chain management style. The company is asking factories to ship their own goods in bulk to U.S. warehouses, employing what it refers to as a “half-custody” policy, where it only manages its online marketplace.

Meanwhile, Shein’s efforts to shift production overseas was met with disapproval from China, which opposed the move.

“A source familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that China’s Ministry of Commerce has communicated with Shein and other companies to dissuade them from diversifying supply chains by sourcing goods from other countries,” PYMNTS reported earlier this month.

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That’s according to a report late Wednesday (April 9) by Reuters, citing interviews with those merchants and the head of China’s largest eCommerce association.

The shift follows President Donald Trump’s announcement that he would increase tariffs on Chinese imports to 125% from the 104% level already in place, even as the White House placed tariffs on other nations on hold.

“This isn’t just a tax issue, it’s that the entire cost structure gets entirely overwhelmed,” Wang Xin, head of the Shenzhen Cross-Border E-Commerce Association, told Reuters.

“It’ll be very hard for anyone to survive in the U.S. market,” she said, pointing out the tariffs could also lead to customs delays and increased logistics costs.

“So for all of us in the cross-border eCommerce business today, this is truly an unprecedented blow,” said Xin, whose organization represents more than 3,000 Amazon sellers.

The report notes that China is home to roughly half of Amazon merchants, with more than 100,000 based in the city of Shenzhen alone, generating annual revenues of $35.3 billion.

Of the five sellers interviewed by Reuters, three said they would look at hiking prices for their exports to the U.S., while two planned to exit the market altogether.

In related news, a report earlier this week by Bloomberg News said that Amazon had canceled orders from multiple vendors in China and other Asian countries. While the cancellation orders did not mention the tariffs, their timing suggests they were in response to the duties.

The extent of the cancellations wasn’t clear. One vendor told Bloomberg that Amazon had canceled a $500,000 order, while an eCommerce consultant said the company had canceled orders from “several” clients.

Meanwhile, PYMNTS on Thursday (April 10) examined the fallout from the tariffs so far in the wake of Trump’s suspension.

“The pause provided temporary relief to many industries and markets, as seen in the Dow Jones surge by nearly 2,200 points,” that report said.

“However, companies and economists remain cautious about its long-term implications. The freeze does not eliminate tariffs entirely, leaving uncertainty about future trade policies but also pulling the covers on what companies may do if the temporary freeze is lifted for an appreciable amount of time.”

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It’s part of an effort by the Chinese government to avoid manufacturers from leaving the country following new U.S. tariffs, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday (April 8).

A source familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that China’s Ministry of Commerce has communicated with Shein and other companies to dissuade them from diversifying supply chains by sourcing goods from other countries.

This source said the requests came before President Donald Trump announced his “reciprocal tariffs” on countries like China, leading companies to seek ways to avoid the levies. For Shein, this has meant doing things like stopping the reconnaissance tours it arranged for its major Chinese suppliers of factories in places like Vietnam, another source said.

Most Chinese products are facing a tariff of at least 54% upon entering the U.S., which has placed suppliers under pressure to take on most of the tariff burden or consider shifting production to somewhere else to lower costs, the report added.

The Bloomberg report noted that the tariffs are threatening China’s future as a major expert hub. Tariff exemptions on small parcels are due to expire, which will drive up the cost of products sold by Shein and its rival fast fashion company Temu. This will in turn likely raise prices for American shoppers who had flocked to those retailers instead of Amazon.

The news follows reports from earlier in the week that Apple is planning to deal with the tariffs on goods made in China by bringing more Indian-made iPhones to the U.S. As the Wall Street Journal reported, the tariffs on products coming from India are 26%, half of the levy charged on goods imported from China.

Meanwhile, forthcoming research by PYMNTS Intelligence — set to be published Wednesday (April 9) — examines the impact of the tariffs on smaller businesses.

As noted here Tuesday, these small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) could be in for “acute pain” as the tariff situation drags on and the chances of a recession increase.

“While large companies typically have financial safety nets through retained earnings, lines of credit and options such as raising capital through debt or equity offerings, fully half of all U.S. SMBs — the backbone of the American economy — currently rely on their day-to-day sales just to keep the lights on,” PYMNTS wrote. “Nearly one in five are pessimistic about their odds of survival over the next two years. Almost 7% think they might not make it.”

For all PYMNTS B2B coverage, subscribe to the daily B2B Newsletter.

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The eCommerce and FinTech firm will focus its investment on logistics, technology, marketing and increasing its staff in the country by 14,000, to reach a total of 50,000, Bloomberg reported Monday (April 7), citing an emailed statement from the company.

MercadoLibre’s investment in Brazil follows its announcement that it plans to invest $3.4 billion in Mexico, which is the company’s second largest market behind Brazil, according to the report.

The firm has not disclosed its plans for Argentina, where it was founded more than 25 years ago, the report said.

MercadoLibre is Latin America’s most valuable company, with a market capitalization of $92 billion and operations in 18 countries across the region, per the report.

The company reported in February that it saw double-digit growth year over year in unique active buyers and items sold across its marketplace, along with momentum in its credit card business, during the fourth quarter.

The number of unique buyers rose by 24% to 67.3 million individuals and the number of items sold was up 27% to 525.5 million.

During a Feb. 20 conference call with analysts, MercadoLibre Chief Financial Officer Martin de los Santos said, in discussing the credit card business, “having a solid credit card offering is critical to our ambition of being the largest digital bank in Latin America, and leveraging our unique competitive advantages in underwriting and distribution. So we’ll continue investing in our platform to capture these opportunities even if some time they put short-term pressure on margins.”

It was reported in December that MercadoLibre, which has its roots in the eCommerce world, aims to become Latin America’s dominant digital banking force by gleaning data from its customer base of tens of millions of consumers to offer products like loans and insurance.

Brazil has emerged as the global leader in digital engagement among its consumers, according to the PYMNTS Intelligence report, “How the World Does Digital.”

The report found that among the 11 countries studied, Brazil had the highest number of activity days — days consumers engaged in core activities of digital life, such as banking, shopping and entertainment.

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The collaboration, announced in a news release Wednesday (April 2), is designed to simplify operations for online businesses by linking Clearco’s funding options with Cavela’s network of more than 200,000 suppliers.

“With tariffs on everyone’s radar, this partnership is timely,” Cavela CEO Anthony Sardain said in the release. “We’re helping brands scale confidently and efficiently through these market shifts. In times of change, it’s crucial to conserve production costs, and that’s exactly what we unlock.”

According to the release, eCommerce brands that use Cavela can now access Clearco’s capital to pay manufacturers and suppliers more efficiently, with the goal of improving vendor relationships and managing costs, particularly in light of tariffs.

The companies say the partnership is designed to remove funding obstacles and enhance sourcing capabilities, allowing faster scaling and better margin control for eCommerce merchants and streamlining the product lifecycle, from sourcing to payment, for online retailers.

The announcement comes hours ahead of the White House’s planned unveiling of new reciprocal tariffs on a number of countries. These will join the tariffs President Donald Trump has already imposed on Canada, Mexico and China, and on automobiles, steel and aluminum.

As noted here Tuesday, economists say the tariffs — intended to drive down other countries’ trade barriers by applying rates matching the tariffs each country levies on American imports — could hurt America’s GDP, thanks to lower sentiment for the country and product boycotts.

PYMNTS explored some of the ways companies can survive the tariff situation in a recent conversation with Matt Carey, senior vice president, office of the CFO at FIS.

“There’s technology that can help,” Carey said. “But it really depends on the industry. If I’m a computer manufacturer and I have a bunch of chips on order from my suppliers, I can’t just change my chip supplier overnight.”

He added, “If I have visibility into my working capital, I can negotiate better agreements and pre-buy materials like aluminum or steel,” and noted that for companies lacking large reserves, supply chain financing solutions present an alternative. “That’s a win-win for businesses, suppliers, and even banks, who favor these financing arrangements.”

Visibility is key to these strategies, Carey told PYMNTS, noting that without a centralized view of their finances, it’s tough for a company to gain the upper hand when negotiating.

“Banks love when companies have clear financial visibility because it mitigates risk,” he said. “Risk mitigation is what payments and finance are all about. If you demonstrate accurate liquidity management, it strengthens credit ratings and lowers the cost of capital.”

For all PYMNTS B2B coverage, subscribe to the daily B2B Newsletter.

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The agreement gives merchants a front-row seat on Perplexity’s rapidly growing GenAI-driven platform, giving them a potential sale at the moment they seek detailed buying guidance. Several sources have put Perplexity’s user base north of 15 million users.

According to exclusive interviews with executives from both companies, the move is set against a backdrop of rapid adoption of GenAI-based shopping tools, with more consumers turning to Perplexity’s “answer engine” to guide their purchases.

By teaming with firmly, Perplexity users will be able to browse and buy products without leaving the platform, preserving consumer attention while streamlining the journey from inquiry to checkout. The technology also promises to protect merchants’ data and brand identity by allowing them to remain the merchant of record, even as they plug into this new digital sales channel.

firmly’s business model centers on what it calls an “Agentic Commerce Platform,” enabling merchants to reach new buyers across diverse digital channels with minimal engineering effort. Acting as the behind-the-scenes connector, firmly allows merchants to integrate once — through a single API — and instantly make their products available to platforms like Perplexity, social media sites and other digital touchpoints.

By letting merchants maintain full control over transactions and customer relationships, firmly positions itself as a discreet ally in the eCommerce ecosystem, removing the technical hurdles that typically hamper multi-channel expansion.

The Perplexity Shopping Vision

Yet the ultimate vision for shopping on Perplexity is about more than plug-ins.

According to Taz Patel, Perplexity’s head of advertising, the strategy hinges on following “user behavior traits” to serve the consumer at the right moment in their path to purchase.

Speaking in a recent conversation hosted by PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster, Patel said that Perplexity’s approach is user-driven: “We’re seeing that the users are actually acting and engaging with the queries they’re putting into Perplexity,” he told Webster. “Once we provide them the ability to actually shop in a quicker fashion, they’re doing it.”

He emphasized that shoppers who find the right product details and trusted sources in one place “tend to do more of it and do more of it frequently.”

When asked how Perplexity differs from giants like Amazon and from traditional search engines, Patel described Perplexity’s evolving “answer engine,” which is less about linking people out to various sites and more about equipping them with the details they need right then and there.

“We have something called ‘related questions,’” he said, “which really enhances the experience for someone to have a follow-up that feels very natural to their initial query. When people get the information with the right citations and sources provided in a way they can consume it, they feel more comfortable taking action.”

That comfort factor, he suggested, was key to the decision to integrate a native checkout feature — an undertaking that, on the back end, required a scale partner like firmly to tie in real-time inventory, shipping data and merchant of record status without burdensome integrations.

Partnership Insights

The basis for Perplexity’s new partnership was the platform’s emerging insight that consumers were already doing more than simple product comparison. Shoppers posed long, specific questions — “Which 55-inch TV under $2,000 fits in a 10-by-10 room?” — that signaled strong intent to buy.

Patel noted that by the time these users arrive at Perplexity with such detailed queries, “they’re already moved down the funnel because they’re thinking about something.”

That insight underpinned the need for a frictionless, in-platform checkout. “We launched in our initial sort of shopping experience, and it was fantastic,” Patel said. 

Enter firmly, which solves a long-standing hurdle in eCommerce: bridging merchants to new channels without expensive or lengthy tech revamps. “It’s almost impossible for an individual merchant to integrate with these types of platforms one by one,” said firmly Co-Founder and CEO Kumar Senthil during the conversation. “And that’s where we come in and provide this type of bridge, which connects to all the merchants and also makes it easier for a marketplace like Perplexity to scale quickly.”

The firm’s zero-engineering approach means that merchants can reach Perplexity’s users simply by opting in — no 18-month development cycles or complicated point-of-sale overhauls. “If I have to go and integrate with these types of platform experiences, it’s a problem for both parties,” Senthil said. “We’re solving for both.”

Patel stressed that Perplexity sees consumer trust and user privacy as integral to its approach. While typical search engines rely heavily on sponsored links and targeted ads, Perplexity relies on a combination of paid Pro subscriptions, an early-stage advertising program, and — now — transaction-based partnerships.

“Yes, it’s early. But we see ads as a natural integration over time,” Patel said. “And I’m sure there will be new things we don’t know, because we’re really following what our users are doing.”

From a monetization standpoint, he outlined several high-growth areas: personal subscriptions through Perplexity Pro, an API for third-party developers building on top of Perplexity’s platform, and commerce streams enabled by the new checkout experience.

Shopper Behavior

As for how users are specifically employing Perplexity for shopping, Patel shared that the earliest power users often asked about technology gear — computers, televisions or software. But the platform is moving swiftly into new verticals, including household essentials, meal planning and even health and wellness products. Travel and sports are on the launch pad as well, particularly as consumers use Perplexity to structure more complex questions or trip-planning routines.

“We don’t just have this navigational use,” Patel said. “People aren’t coming to Perplexity to get to something.com, they’re coming for an answer that helps them do something. In this case, it’s about shopping. But there’s a lot more that folks are doing, and we want to enhance each category.”

By furnishing real-time data — inventory, shipping times and user reviews — Perplexity aims to save people the typical “blue link chase” that can leave them uncertain or lost.

Much of the excitement stems from a vision of personalized, concierge-like GenAI assistance. Patel envisions a day when Perplexity can detect that a user is planning a trip to Las Vegas — perhaps after scanning their queries about flights, hotels and show tickets — and recommend a last-minute rain jacket if inclement weather is forecast. 

Asked about the business model behind these efforts, Patel said merchants do not pay a fee to join Perplexity’s marketplace, while consumers gain immediate, frictionless access to purchase flows.

“We’re not looking to disintermediate anyone,” he said.

Instead, the aim is to deepen the ecosystem that Perplexity’s GenAI engine has been cultivating since its inception in 2022. Patel also said Perplexity is not planning to stop with retail: “We introduced enriched experiences initially for finance, and now for shopping. Next is travel, sports, and who knows what else? If we see a need for a new feature, or if user behavior points that way, we’ll pursue it.”

Longer term, Patel believes that personalization — learning from each user’s history of queries — is where Perplexity will shine, since the platform can serve more relevant recommendations and results.

“We’re not dictating user behavior,” Patel told Webster. “We’re following it, seeing how and where we can remove friction.” He added that all signals point to a future in which consumers carry out more of their everyday tasks, from product comparisons to final checkouts, within Perplexity itself. The key challenge is maintaining the trust that has drawn millions of queries each week.

Yet in Patel’s own words, the journey is just getting started.

“Yes, growth is important,” he said, reflecting on where Perplexity’s commerce experiment might go in the next 12 months. “But personalization is going to be embedded across everything you do on Perplexity,” he added. 

Ultimately, however, Patel acknowledged that the true roadmap will be shaped by unpredictable user demands. 

“We have a good handle on the things we do know,” he said. “But I’m sure there’ll be new things we don’t know yet — because we’re really following what our users are doing.”

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The online seller of auto parts and accessories has historically served cost-conscious consumers and used paid search to reach them. However, those consumers made a “significant pullback” on their spending in 2024, and paid search has proven to be “expensive,” CarParts.com CEO and Director David Meniane said Tuesday (March 25) during the company’s quarterly earnings call.

CarParts.com refocused its strategy early in 2024 to add new customers, including business-to-business (B2B) ones, and to prioritize nonpaid marketing initiatives, Meniane said.

By the end of the year, the company’s net sales had dropped from $675.7 million to $588.8 million, its gross profit had declined from $229.4 million to $196.7 million, and its gross margin dipped from 33.9% to 33.4%, according to a Tuesday earnings release.

Meniane said during the call that the sales were “slightly below expectations,” while the gross profit and gross margin were “near the upper end of guidance.”

“2024 was a transformation and investment year as we look to upgrade our customer base and change the long-term margin profile and unit economics of the business,” Meniane said.

To expand its customer base, CarParts.com is expanding its product assortment and growing its wholesale channel, Meniane said. The company is adding last-mile transportation and higher-touch sales in key markets to boost its B2B business.

The company also launched a premium paid membership that currently has 3,000 members.

“Over time, we expect this part of our business to help raise our net profit margins,” Meniane said.

To reduce its marketing costs, CarParts.com is enhancing its site conversion, strengthening its search engine optimization and driving its mobile app adoption, he said.

“Our best-in-class mobile app, with over 800,000 users in less than 18 months, now accounts for over 10% of eCommerce revenue and growing, while allowing for a long-term change in our paid versus nonpaid traffic mix,” Meniane said.

Meniane said during the call that he would not comment on the strategic alternatives process the company announced March 5.

“That process is being overseen by our board of directors with the assistance of financial and legal advisers,” Meniane said.

The company said in a March 5 press release that it began exploring strategic alternatives, including a possible sale of the company, after receiving inbound strategic inquiries.

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Radial Fast Track, announced Tuesday (March 25) is designed for business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) fulfillment, the company said in a news release.

“With the volatile economic environment, emergence of new market disruptors and shifting consumer behavior, brands need a dependable partner to help them adapt their logistics operations,” said Tom Schmitt, CEO of Radial. 

“Radial Fast Track offers businesses an efficient, cost-effective way to confidently address market challenges with an experienced and reliable 3PL [third-party logistics].”

The company says its in-house surveys show that nearly half of growing retailers are struggling to manage growth and scale within their fulfillment operations and or have limited ability to add new fulfillment channels and capabilities. 

Fast Track, the company added, lets brands scale fulfillment capabilities with Radial’s network of 20-plus centers as their needs shift, while benefiting from Radial’s transportation, returns and payment solutions offerings.

“The cost-effective, pay-as-you-go solution provides high-performance, reliable technology systems with prebuilt integrations with hundreds of commerce platforms and retail channels, as well as simple setup to get operational in as little as one week,” the release said.

In other eCommerce news, PYMNTS wrote recently about efforts by direct-to-consumer (D2C) retailers to eliminate the middleman in selling their products, which have met limited success.

“The combination of the D2C and wholesale models (and the availability via, say, Amazon), is an implicit nod to the fact that consumers want to find their brands on shelves in more ‘general’ forms of commerce,” that report said.

Research by PYMNTS Intelligence has underscored the appeal of the hybrid approach, as illustrated through the rise of the Click-and-Mortar shopper. 

According to that research, nearly 40% of consumers across the seven countries surveyed by PYMNTS said they use digital tools across their shopping journeys. However, 71% of consumers stated that a brick-and-mortar location and interaction is integral to the shopping experience. 

“The thought of no shipping costs or waiting, along with the desire for in-person assessments of product quality and suitability, drive consumers to stores,” we found.  In addition, consumers want rewards to travel with them across channels, as the data shows that 71% of shoppers surveyed across the countries said they’d want to see coupons and other promotions offered in-store and online.

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