The hottest E-commerce Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top Technology Topics

#171 – Why E-Commerce Finally Looks Stable Again

Below the Line from Kevin LaBuz • 7 implied HN points • 14 Dec 25
💼 Business E-commerce
  1. E-commerce is stabilizing: companies that stick to simple, high-impact actions like broad selection, sharp pricing, and faster delivery are growing steadily and outperforming peers.
  2. AI is moving from experiment to a major business driver. Big capex and early product wins are showing up in agentic shopping, improved discovery, faster listing creation, and lower operating costs.
  3. Consumers are cautious and value-focused, with higher-income households doing more of the spending and resale gaining traction. Companies are starting to invest for growth again, but with restraint and an emphasis on profitability.

Black Friday - Happy Birthday sale

Computer Ads from the Past • 128 implied HN points • 30 Nov 24
💼 Business E-commerce
  1. There is a special sale going on for Black Friday and a birthday celebration, offering 38% off subscriptions until December 8th. It's a fun way to mark the occasion and give people a discount.
  2. Readers can also support through one-time donations on various platforms like Ko-Fi or Patreon. There are flexible options for those who want to contribute.
  3. Gift subscriptions are available, making it an ideal present for anyone interested in computer ads or a fun way to share unique content. It's a thoughtful holiday gift for a nerdy friend.

Is Now the Time for Slow Commerce?

Life on the Trail • 78 implied HN points • 06 Jul 23
💼 Business E-commerce
  1. Slow commerce promotes reusing and sharing clothes to extend their life.
  2. Slow fashion brands prioritize sustainability, quality, and ethical practices.
  3. Lucky Sweater provides a community-driven platform for trading unique items and fostering personal style.

Greenlist Decarbonizes Online Retail Returns

Warming Up to Climate Tech • 78 implied HN points • 21 Mar 23
🌞 Climate & Environment E-commerce
  1. Greenlist enables peer-to-peer returns, reducing carbon footprint and connecting customers with out-of-stock inventory.
  2. Retail returns cost over $800 billion annually and contribute to pollution, but Greenlist cuts costs and waste by reducing miles traveled and promoting packaging reuse.
  3. Founder Jess Owens prioritizes sustainability, aiming to make a positive impact on the planet despite challenges in fundraising and market adoption.

How Jeff Bezos saw the world 25 years ago.

Jon’s Newsletter • 199 implied HN points • 11 Dec 22
💼 Business E-commerce
  1. Jeff Bezos recognized early on that the internet was growing rapidly, with web usage increasing by 2,300% a year. He used this opportunity to start Amazon as an online bookstore.
  2. Bezos believed that capturing people's attention was crucial. He focused on providing innovative services that added real value, which helped Amazon grow mainly through word of mouth instead of paid ads.
  3. He viewed the late 20th century as a unique time for innovation, comparing the beginnings of e-commerce to the 'Kitty Hawk' stage of flight. He felt excited about the possibilities for the future.
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1/25/2024: PayPal's *Innovation Event*

depression2022 • 39 implied HN points • 25 Jan 24
💼 Business E-commerce
  1. PayPal announced new innovations at an event, like a one-click checkout product and making Venmo more business-friendly.
  2. The stock initially rose but then fell after the announcement, indicating mixed reactions from the world.
  3. The new CEO highlighted the potential for improvement by implementing simple, customer-focused changes, which could positively impact PayPal's business.

Boring Mattress Co.

The Burning Bed • 39 implied HN points • 22 Jan 24
💼 Business E-commerce
  1. Boring Mattress Co. offers a simple, comfortable mattress without all the hype and gimmicks in the market.
  2. The mattress industry is overly complex with too many brands, models, and misleading marketing tactics.
  3. Consumers need a brand like Boring Mattress Co. to provide clarity and quality in the midst of the chaotic mattress market.

Tariff Engineering, Explained

SatPost by Trung Phan • 84 implied HN points • 07 Feb 25
💼 Business E-commerce
  1. Tariff engineering is when companies change their products slightly to pay less in import taxes. This can involve using different materials or designs that fit into cheaper tariff categories.
  2. Some well-known brands, like Converse and Subaru, have used tariff engineering to give their products lower duty rates. This practice can lead to legal debates but is generally accepted as long as rules are followed.
  3. Recent changes in tariff rules, especially related to low-value imports, can affect companies like SHEIN and Temu significantly, potentially leveling the playing field for U.S. businesses and impacting the prices consumers pay.

How Amazon Survived The Dot Com Bust

Jon’s Newsletter • 139 implied HN points • 29 Jan 23
💼 Business E-commerce
  1. Amazon's stock price fell a lot during the dot com bust, but the company's internal metrics showed growth. Jeff Bezos believed that as long as their business got better, the stock value would eventually catch up.
  2. Having enough cash was crucial for Amazon to survive the tough times. They raised a significant amount of money right before the downturn, which meant they didn't have to scramble for funds later.
  3. Knowing when to stop investing in losing ideas helped Amazon save money. Bezos made tough choices to cut losses on companies that weren't performing, ensuring Amazon could focus on what was truly important for its future.

Amazon's $43B ad business, explained

SatPost by Trung Phan • 329 implied HN points • 01 Sep 23
💼 Business E-commerce
  1. Amazon's ad business has grown significantly, reaching a revenue run rate of $43 billion annually, surpassing other social media platforms.
  2. Amazon's shift towards embracing ads was influenced by the need to reduce dependence on Google search slots and utilize its valuable first-party transaction data.
  3. Amazon ads have become highly profitable and could rival its AWS business in terms of generating absolute profits, signaling a significant shift in the digital advertising landscape.

The collapse of Alibaba’s New Retail? - Part 2: Hypermarkets, Supermarkets and Convenience Stores

Tech Buzz China Insider • 19 implied HN points • 30 Mar 24
💼 Business E-commerce
  1. Alibaba's New Retail strategy faced challenges and issues over the years, leading to significant organizational changes and reversals in course.
  2. The article explores Alibaba's investments in hypermarkets and supermarkets, examining their performance in the past eight years.
  3. Hema (Freshippo), Alibaba's self-operated supermarket startup, has been experiencing rapid developments and both successes and failures.

Bilibili - The Story Mode So Far

Tech Buzz China Insider • 59 implied HN points • 08 Jul 23
🕹 Technology E-commerce
  1. Bilibili struggles to turn a profit and has seen a decline in Monthly Active Users for two quarters
  2. Bilibili's growth strategy is multi-screen, with Story Mode as a new feature focusing on high-quality long-form video content
  3. Bilibili aims to differentiate from competitors like Douyin, focusing on long-form videos and performance-based advertising

UX Roundup: Image Models Compared | Writing for the Web | AI vs. Human Cognition | E-Commerce Usability | Multimodal Music Models

Jakob Nielsen on UX • 9 implied HN points • 17 Nov 25
🕹 Technology E-commerce
  1. New image generation models like Microsoft's MAI-Image-1 and Grok Image 0.9 are being compared. Grok is currently outperforming Microsoft, showing that competition is important for improvement.
  2. When writing for the web, start with the most important information first. This 'inverted pyramid' style helps users quickly find what they need without wasting time.
  3. AI is increasingly being used in e-commerce and is leading to measurable increases in sales. However, improvements vary by the size of the seller, with smaller sellers benefiting more from AI.

Beni Makes Secondhand Shopping Seamless

Warming Up to Climate Tech • 58 implied HN points • 02 May 23
💼 Business E-commerce
  1. Beni aims to reduce carbon emissions from the clothing industry by making secondhand shopping seamless through a browser extension.
  2. The browser extension targets 'aspirational secondhand shoppers' who understand the value of secondhand but find it time-consuming and inconvenient.
  3. Beni's goal is to transform norms of consumption by making secondhand shopping the new norm and helping to increase the share of circular business models in the fashion industry.

How Shopify Balances Database Shards Without Downtime

Arpit’s Newsletter • 58 implied HN points • 01 Mar 23
🕹 Technology E-commerce
  1. Shopify uses a distributed architecture with pods to handle a large number of shops sharing the same database.
  2. Shopify balances database shards without downtime by moving shops between pods using a tool called ghostferry.
  3. To ensure no downtime or data loss, Shopify follows three phases when moving a shop from one pod to another: batch copy, prepare for cutover, and cutover and updating the routing.

Introducing WhatsApp Domination: The All In One Course to Monetize WhatsApp.

Day One • 579 implied HN points • 10 Jul 20
💼 Business E-commerce
  1. To make money on WhatsApp, focus on effective strategies beyond just posting products or sending broadcast messages.
  2. Module One of the course teaches essential steps to grab attention on WhatsApp, like avoiding common mistakes and building an audience.
  3. Module Two covers creating sales-driven content and understanding key principles to sell more effectively to your WhatsApp audience.

What happened in Marketing -AI Firewall, TikTok-Trump Stickup & Meta's Talent Heist

The Social Juice • 29 implied HN points • 06 Jul 25
💼 Business E-commerce
  1. Cloudflare is now blocking AI bots from accessing its clients' websites to improve security. This is a big step to protect online spaces from unwanted AI interference.
  2. TikTok is looking for new owners, as Trump claims he has wealthy backers ready to buy the platform. This news is creating a buzz about its future.
  3. Meta is focusing on enhancing its marketing strategies, especially through WhatsApp, and is forming a new group aimed at creating superintelligent systems. This could change how businesses engage with customers.

Death to DTC? Enabling the future of cross-channel commerce

Equal Ventures • 138 implied HN points • 07 Jun 22
💼 Business E-commerce
  1. The acceleration of e-commerce due to COVID led to a significant shift in consumer behavior towards online shopping, particularly in categories like groceries.
  2. Direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands are facing challenges with rising customer acquisition costs, impacting their margins and leading to a shift towards omnichannel strategies for survival.
  3. New business models are emerging in retail, emphasizing the importance of marketplaces, brick-and-mortar stores, and multi-channel management software to drive growth for merchants in a rapidly evolving landscape.

The Unbundling of Retail

Equal Ventures • 59 implied HN points • 23 Jan 23
💼 Business E-commerce
  1. Economic fundamentals in retail are shifting, highlighting the limitations of a direct-to-consumer-only strategy.
  2. Traditional principles like vertical integration may not always lead to better outcomes in the retail industry, as seen with several DTC brands.
  3. Outsourcing non-core functions and embracing the 'Great Unbundling' can help emerging brands achieve economies of scale and operational excellence in the retail sector.

Alexa, WTF Happened?

The Radar • 19 implied HN points • 05 Mar 24
💼 Business E-commerce
  1. Amazon's customer service has shown signs of declining quality, leading to customer dissatisfaction.
  2. The shift from customer obsession to profit focus at Amazon is evident in interactions with customers.
  3. There are concerns about Amazon's business practices and treatment of customers, as highlighted by various incidents of mishandling customer issues and funds.

WeChat Channels - The Hope of Tencent

Tech Buzz China Insider • 59 implied HN points • 31 Mar 23
🕹 Technology E-commerce
  1. Tencent found success in the short video market by integrating WeChat Channels into its ecosystem, pivoting from standalone apps like WeiShi.
  2. WeChat Channels differentiated itself by focusing on knowledge and current affairs videos, targeting older users, and achieving higher e-commerce revenue per user compared to competitors.
  3. Recognizing the importance of short videos, Tencent CEO Pony Ma named WeChat Channels as the 'hope of the whole company.'

This musical instrument retailer does not exist

Conspirador Norteño • 24 implied HN points • 04 Jul 25
🕹 Technology E-commerce
  1. Many Facebook ads for musical instruments are actually scams. They look real, but they link to fake websites.
  2. These fake sites offer huge discounts and use names that sound familiar, but they just steal images and listings from real retailers.
  3. Some of the Facebook pages running these ads change their names often, and they use AI-generated faces that look weird if you pay attention.

A Guide to Switching Platform to Shopify

Cristian’s Substack • 39 implied HN points • 10 Apr 23
💼 Business E-commerce
  1. Shopify offers benefits like fast-loading websites, scalable infrastructure, and a great back office user experience.
  2. Potential drawbacks of Shopify include dependency on apps, development costs, mismanagement risks, and limited content management.
  3. Steps before switching to Shopify include assessing pain points, trying out a test store, evaluating costs, planning migration, and making necessary platform checks before the switch.

India’s Operations Revolution: Lessons from Zepto, Rebel Foods, and the Dabbawalas

Gad’s Newsletter • 50 implied HN points • 20 Jan 25
💼 Business E-commerce
  1. Zepto has transformed grocery delivery in India with its promise of delivering products within 10 minutes. This model responds to customer demand for fast service, using small warehouses to ensure quick order fulfillment.
  2. Rebel Foods leads the cloud kitchen market by creating multiple food brands under one roof. This strategy maximizes kitchen use and caters to different tastes, enabling rapid growth in a competitive environment.
  3. The Dabbawalas have a long history of reliably delivering home-cooked meals in Mumbai. Their simple, synchronized system shows how effective human coordination can be, even as newer tech-driven services emerge.

🎂 Birthday lil gift from me to you

Creative Samba • 59 implied HN points • 11 Jul 23
💼 Business E-commerce
  1. Copywriting involves marketing, psychology, and understanding your audience's needs to create compelling content.
  2. Writing copy effectively requires using distinctive claims backed by evidence, not generic superlatives.
  3. Crafting compelling copy involves creating unignorable headlines and expanding on promises in the first paragraph to maintain reader interest.

That Smells Expensive

Tigerfeathers! • 16 implied HN points • 01 Aug 25
💼 Business E-commerce
  1. India's fragrance market is booming thanks to a new generation of consumers who see perfumes not just as luxury items but as everyday essentials that reflect their identities.
  2. Brands are tapping into India's rich history of perfumery and using modern marketing and distribution methods to create appealing products that resonate with younger shoppers.
  3. The success of these fragrances relies not just on appealing scents, but also on the emotional connections they create, making fragrances a part of daily life rather than just for special occasions.

My Introduction

Become a Senior Engineer • 19 implied HN points • 09 Jan 24
🕹 Technology E-commerce
  1. The author's journey in software development started with self-teaching, from HTML to dynamic elements with JavaScript and PHP. Dreamweaver was a helpful tool for learning.
  2. After a period of exploring different jobs, the author's career accelerated when they focused on e-commerce, leading to full-time software engineering roles.
  3. The author achieved a six-figure salary milestone in a SaaS company after overcoming self-doubt. They highlight the importance of continuous learning and self-improvement, even after facing setbacks like getting fired.

The Ultimate Guide to SaaS Pricing Pages

Good Better Best • 4 implied HN points • 14 Nov 25
💼 Business E-commerce
  1. A good pricing page needs to be clear and simple. It should help visitors understand what they will pay and what they will get in under a minute.
  2. Include key sections like a hero, pricing menu, feature comparison, and FAQ. These help guide potential customers through their decision-making process.
  3. Having clear calls to action in your pricing menu is important. Visitors should know exactly what steps to take after seeing the pricing options.

What happened in marketing: Google's gift to marketers, OpenAI's response to Deepseek and Meta's weird future

The Social Juice • 31 implied HN points • 02 Feb 25
💼 Business E-commerce
  1. Google launched a new tool to help marketers measure their advertising effectiveness across different platforms. This tool should make it easier to understand what works best for their campaigns.
  2. OpenAI introduced a smaller version of their AI model, making it available for free. This aims to provide more people access to AI tools for their projects.
  3. There are concerns about privacy and safety in social media, especially with bills being proposed to limit access for kids under 13. This shows a growing tension between tech companies and government regulations.

Sea Limited

Modern Value Investing • 19 implied HN points • 19 Nov 23
💰 Finance E-commerce
  1. Sea Limited operates in three main segments: Digital Entertainment (Garena), E-commerce (Shopee), and Digital Financial Services (SeaMoney).
  2. Using a sum of the parts valuation approach, Sea Limited is considered undervalued, offering significant upside for long-term investors.
  3. Shopee is a dominant player in Southeast Asia's e-commerce market with a strong localized approach, mobile-first strategy, and a potential future valuation of $91 billion by 2033.

29 things that didn’t exist last time Argentina won the World Cup.

Jon’s Newsletter • 59 implied HN points • 18 Dec 22
🕹 Technology E-commerce
  1. A lot has changed since Argentina last won the World Cup in 1986, especially with technology. For example, back then, the internet and smartphones didn't exist.
  2. Major companies and services like Google, Amazon, and Netflix started many years after the 1986 World Cup. It shows how different our daily lives are now.
  3. Even social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter were created long after that victory. This highlights how we now connect and communicate in very different ways.

Need for Speed 3: Coming soon, from a Meituan warehouse near you!

Tech Buzz China Insider • 19 implied HN points • 12 Nov 23
🕹 Technology E-commerce
  1. Meituan Maicai is a major player in the front-end warehouse market, focusing on first-tier cities and expanding strategically to increase efficiency and reduce costs.
  2. Unlike its competitors, Meituan Maicai has a cautious expansion strategy, utilizing big data and real-time analysis to drive decision-making and enhance customer experience.
  3. The front-end warehouse model's success relies on adapting to consumer habits and demands, as seen through Meituan's efforts to improve efficiency and stay competitive in the evolving market.