The acquisition of the Israeli firm comes as major technology platforms race to embed shopping into AI experiences.
The post PayPal to Acquire Cymbio for AI-Driven Agentic Commerce appeared first on TechRepublic.
The acquisition of the Israeli firm comes as major technology platforms race to embed shopping into AI experiences.
The post PayPal to Acquire Cymbio for AI-Driven Agentic Commerce appeared first on TechRepublic.
With the nationwide launch of Edibles.com last spring, Edible Brands, the company behind Edible Arrangements, is entering bold new territory: THC. Yes, that Edible Arrangements — the name behind the flower-shaped pineapples and chocolate-covered strawberries gracing teachers’ desks and mother-in-laws’ kitchen islands since 1999.
The idea of transitioning to THC had been percolating for a while, with the brand acquiring the domain name a year ago after settling a cybersquatting lawsuit to release the name from World Media Group, an entity that had acquired the site with the hope of turning a profit by reselling it. Soon after, Edible Brands hired cannabis business professional Thomas Winstanley as executive vice president and general manager of the new venture, Edibles.com. Later that year, Somia Farid Silber stepped up as CEO after eight years with the company.
The synergy comes not only from the name, but also from the brand’s trusted reputation. In a market dominated by gas station grams and poorly labeled edibles in prohibition states, Edible Arrangement’s trusted reputation is a salve for those seeking regulation and reliability.
Edibles.com now reaches more than 65% of Americans with lab-tested, federally compliant THC products, offering same-day delivery in select markets. It’s a first-of-its-kind e-commerce network built for a category that, until recently, was defined by patchwork regulation, consumer uncertainty and underground connections.
Cannabis Now recently spoke with Winstanley to understand how this new model came to life, and what it means for the new era of cannabis commerce.
Winstanley has described his ideal model as “The Amazon of THC.” In the same way Amazon helped build trust and ease in e-commerce, Edibles.com seeks to educate and serve as a central hub for THC nationwide.
“We shied away from that moniker initially, but the parallels are there.” Winstanley says. “Amazon started with one category, books, that made sense for e-commerce. For us, that entry point is functional ingestibles: products that are safe, tested and outcome-driven.”
But Winstanley’s ambitions go beyond product aggregation. “Amazon built an ecosystem that educated consumers about online shopping. We’re trying to do the same for cannabis,” he explains. “Our goal is to demystify the access point—to help people understand what they’re buying, why it’s legal and how to shop by outcome rather than just strain or potency.”
At the end of the day, Edibles.com’s is focused on consumer health and wellness—helping people enhance their wellbeing through hemp while being able to skip the hassle of going to the store. “Wellness is our guiding principle: highly categorized products that focus on outcome,” Winstanley says. “We have a lot of folks who are purchasing products online for the first time and having them delivered to their door.”
Even within such a massive framework, starting a new business is never easy. “In some ways, we’re beginning a business within a company. This is not an extension of more ways to sell strawberries, but a whole new portfolio of substances,” he says, adding that Edibles.com is currently primarily speaking to Edible Arrangements’ existing audience.
Edibles.com’s UX/UI mirrors the company’s mission to deliver outcome-driven products. Rather than overwhelming users with a dispensary-style menu of hundreds of SKUs, Edibles.com organizes its offerings by need: sleep, stress, pain management, energy and mood uplift.
That health-forward lens, he notes, aligns more with Target’s vitamin aisle than a traditional cannabis shop. “My wife and I love Olly Sleep Gummies,” he says. “Our products belong in that same conversation. We’re not marketing ‘getting high’; we’re marketing better sleep, less stress and overall functional outcomes. That’s the bridge between cannabis and wellness.”
This framing places THC as a nootropic along the lines of ashwagandha, demystifying the ingredient as a part of the larger wellness landscape. Winstanley describes their framing as “more aligned with nutraceuticals than controlled substances.”
With each state comes a new set of laws, bylaws and risk assessments, along with a separate set of legal reviews and ongoing vetting. “We move fast, but we’re also cautious,” he says. “Every day involves balancing innovation with compliance. You want to grow quickly, but you can’t jeopardize consumer trust or partner integrity.”
That trust is earned through curation and transparency. Edibles.com only features brands with established reputations, such as Wyld, Wana, Kiva, and Cann—all of which undergo rigorous compliance audits before being listed. “This is our varsity lineup,” Winstanley says. “It sets us up to reach further outside the margins.”
While the U.S. hemp-derived THC market now exceeds $28 billion, consumers remain skeptical of its legality. “We get asked all the time: ‘How is this legal?’” he says. “We’re talking about the same molecule, just different extraction processes due to regulation.”
Since hemp plants legally contain less than 0.3% THC, industry practice requires hemp-derived THC to take the route of using CBD to convert into THC. This process requires more sophisticated techniques, such as isomerization. “Marijuana” plants, however, have a naturally higher THC content, lending themselves to a more straightforward extraction process (including solvents, ethanol or CO2).
“Hemp leveled the playing field,” he says. “It allows for a vibrant, more diverse community of entrepreneurs and businesses that are no longer locked out of the market and can pursue their goals, finding a manufacturing contract with a brewery or gummy company, rather than in a regulated market.”
However, in November, President Trump signed a spending bill to end the 43-day government shutdown, which included a ban on all hemp-derived THC products. While nothing has taken effect yet—and industry professionals are pushing back—it remains a very real threat. Winstanley is one of those professionals, pledging to use the one-year grace period to organize resistance: “Farmers, brands, and consumers, once fragmented, are now mobilizing together to defend what they’ve built and to finally push for the federal framework the hemp industry has long demanded.”
“We’re executive directors of the US Hemp Roundtable. We’re aiming to ensure that federal laws don’t eliminate the $28 billion industry, 3,000 jobs, and revenue for farmers that they currently generate from soy and corn production. I’m fortunate to have to solve these problems; I think there’s a major generational shift happening – the issues we’re arguing about now will be so far in the rearview mirror in the next ten years. The pain will be worth it in the end.”
For Winstanley, the stakes go beyond business. “We’re not just selling THC, we’re proving we can do it responsibly at scale,” he says.
He’s candid about the risks that keep him up at night, the first concern being the very real consumer health threat posed by unregulated products. “I have a four-year-old and one-year-old, and if my son saw a Nerd’s Rope-infused gummy, he’s more likely to try something he shouldn’t. That’s why we self-regulate, use age gates, and push for better policies.”
Amid the challenges, Winstanley remains optimistic. “THC can help our country,” he says. “It’s grown, processed and sold here: a true homegrown supply chain. What excites me most is that we’re finally bringing cannabis into the same conversation as wellness, health and happiness.”
The post Inside the “Amazon of THC”: Edibles.com Reinvents Cannabis E-Commerce appeared first on Cannabis Now.
Revolut Pay joins Google’s Agent Payments Protocol (AP2) to support agent-led transactions, extending one-tap checkout across the UK and EEA
The post Revolut Joins Google AP2 to Enable AI-Led Checkout Across Europe appeared first on TechRepublic.
Revolut Pay joins Google’s Agent Payments Protocol (AP2) to support agent-led transactions, extending one-tap checkout across the UK and EEA
The post Revolut Joins Google AP2 to Enable AI-Led Checkout Across Europe appeared first on TechRepublic.
Amazon is planning a massive new big-box store near Chicago to blend online convenience with physical retail, escalating its rivalry with Walmart.
The post Amazon’s New Retail Strategy Takes Aim at Walmart appeared first on TechRepublic.
Amazon is planning a massive new big-box store near Chicago to blend online convenience with physical retail, escalating its rivalry with Walmart.
The post Amazon’s New Retail Strategy Takes Aim at Walmart appeared first on TechRepublic.
This week on the GeekWire Podcast: Amazon and Microsoft are racing to define the next era of consumer AI, on multiple fronts. We discuss Amazon’s attempt to upgrade Alexa into a true generative AI home chatbot — complete with a new web portal and updated Alexa app — while Microsoft tries to win over retailers with a new Copilot Checkout feature.
Plus, we explore Google’s upcoming “AI Inbox” for Gmail, which promises to act like an executive assistant for your email. We talk about our smart bird feeder experiment that resulted in “fuzzy birds,” due to improper focal length. And we share our initial experience with AI automation on the Windows PC desktop using Vy from Seattle startup Vercept.
Finally, we offer a Netflix recommendation, Cover-Up, the documentary about legendary investigative journalist Seymour Hersh. We couldn’t help but wonder: what would uncover if he could digitize all those notes and put them through an AI model?
And on that theme, we lament the loss of a major American newspaper, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and reminisce about the time GeekWire made an appearance on its editorial page.
Subscribe to GeekWire in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.
With GeekWire co-founders Todd Bishop and John Cook. Edited by Curt Milton.
[Editor’s Note: Agents of Transformation is an independent GeekWire series and March 24, 2026 event, underwritten by Accenture, exploring the people, companies, and ideas behind AI agents.]
Microsoft is making its own bid to turn AI conversations into agentic commerce, announcing a new feature called Copilot Checkout that lets users complete purchases directly within its AI chatbot, without being redirected to an external website.
The company is betting that its existing enterprise technology footprint and established relationships with large retailers will give it an edge over OpenAI, Google, and Amazon in winning over merchants wary of giving up control to retail rivals or AI intermediaries.
“We’ve designed it in such a way that retailers own those relationships with the customers,” said Kathleen Mitford, corporate vice president of global industry marketing at Microsoft. “It is their data, it is their relationship, and that’s something that’s really important to us.”
It’s part of a broader AI rollout by Microsoft at NRF 2026, the retail industry’s annual conference in New York. Microsoft is also launching Brand Agents, pitched as a complete solution for Shopify merchants to add AI assistants to their websites, along with new AI tools to assist store employees and help retailers enhance their online product listings and metadata.
Copilot Checkout works by surfacing products from partner retailers within Copilot search results. Purchases can be completed without leaving the conversation. Microsoft says the retailer remains the merchant of record, handling fulfillment and customer service.
The bigger question for the tech industry is whether chat-based commerce is actually the next big thing. Forrester analyst Sucharita Kodali, for example, previously told GeekWire that “e-commerce isn’t a problem that needs to be fixed.” She added that it’s unclear what value chat-based commerce is bringing to retailers, “other than disintermediating Google.”
Microsoft’s Mitford offered a different take in an interview this week, saying that consumer behavior is shifting faster than it may seem. She drew a parallel to how quickly businesses moved from experimenting with AI to putting it into operation over the past year.
“I see the same thing happening with consumers … it just takes a little bit of time,” Mitford said, predicting that the speed of consumer adoption will eventually match the rapid uptake seen in the business world.
Copilot Checkout is rolling out now in the U.S. on Copilot.com, with PayPal, Shopify, and Stripe handling payment processing. Etsy sellers will be among the first available on the platform. Shopify merchants are set to be automatically enrolled following an opt-out window.
That last detail is notable given the backlash Amazon has faced over its “Buy for Me” feature, where brands complained about being included without consent and seeing inaccurate listings.
Microsoft’s approach is more tightly connected to its partners — the company said Shopify will management the opt-out process for its merchants — but automatic enrollment seems to raise the potential for some of the same concerns. (We’ve contacted Shopify for more information.)
More broadly, Microsoft is playing catch-up on the consumer side.
OpenAI launched Instant Checkout in ChatGPT last September, partnering with Shopify and Stripe to let users buy from more than a million merchants. Google followed in November with its own “Buy for Me” feature which lets its Gemini assistant purchase products on a user’s behalf.
Despite its inroads with businesses, Copilot has a fraction of ChatGPT’s market share with consumers. Recent data from Similarweb’s Global AI Tracker showed ChatGPT with about 68% of AI chatbot web traffic, with Google Gemini at 18% and Copilot in the single digits.
But Microsoft has its advantages: Unlike Amazon and Google, which compete directly with retailers through their own marketplaces, it isn’t a retailer. And retail has long been a major vertical for its enterprise cloud and software business, with large chains running on Azure and Microsoft 365.
Mitford said Microsoft is leaning on its existing trust and long-standing relationships with retailers, along with a commitment to responsible AI, to help differentiate itself from rivals.
Microsoft is making the broader case for AI to retailers based on return on investment. A Microsoft-commissioned study from IDC, released in November, found that retail and consumer packaged goods companies are seeing a 2.7x return on every dollar spent on generative AI.
Mitford, a former fashion designer who has been in the technology industry for most of her career, said she sees the retail sector among the leaders in AI uptake across the business world.
The technology, she said, is being “adopted at a pace that I’ve never seen.”
Spangle AI, a new Seattle startup that helps online retailers build customized shopping experiences in real-time, announced a $15 million Series A investment round led by NewRoad Capital Partners. The company is now valued at $100 million.
Founded last year by former technology leaders at Amazon, Spangle can instantly generate a tailored storefront for individual customers based on how traffic flows in from social platforms, AI search tools, and even autonomous shopping agents.
For example, a shopper clicking an Instagram ad might see an experience that mirrors social browsing. Or, someone looking for dresses could be served a page with other relevant events-related products.
Spangle is betting that the existing e-commerce stack, built for customers coming directly to a brand’s website, is getting replaced with something more contextual — beyond the traditional product page.
“The problem is that websites are not designed to continue a journey that originated somewhere else,” said Spangle CEO Maju Kuruvilla, a former vice president at Amazon, where he worked on Prime logistics and fulfillment.
Spangle’s system, powered by the latest generative AI tools, does not rely on user identity or historical personalization. Instead, it focuses on intent and context — whether a shopper is browsing, comparison-shopping, or ready to buy — and adapts product selection, layout, and content accordingly. It’s trained on a retailer’s catalog, brand guidelines, and performance data.
The approach has resonated with large fashion and retail brands including REVOLVE, Steve Madden, and Alexander Wang. According to the company, customers using Spangle have seen conversion lifts of up to 50% and significant improvements in return on ad spend. The company says it has landed nine enterprise customers in its first nine months. It declined to share specific revenue metrics.
Kuruvilla said e-commerce retailers don’t have a problem figuring out how to catch a customer’s interest. But he believes what happens after a shopper clicks on an advertisement is a different story.
“Conversion from all this traffic that’s discovered outside is a huge problem for all these brands,” he said.
Spangle is a new player in the emerging field of agentic commerce that could challenge existing on-site experience vendors and other e-commerce personalization competitors such as Adobe or Mastercard Dynamic Yield.
Kuruvilla previously was CEO and CTO at Bolt, the controversial “one-click checkout” e-commerce startup that reached a valuation of $11 billion. He also worked at Microsoft, Honeywell, and Milliman.
Spangle co-founder and CTO Fei Wang was CTO at Saks OFF 5TH, a subsidiary of Saks 5th Avenue. Wang also spent nearly 12 years at Amazon as an engineer. Yufeng Gou, head of engineering, was also previously at Saks OFF 5TH. Karen Moon, Spangle’s COO, is a longtime investor and former CEO at Trendalytics.
Seattle-based Madrona, which previously invested, was part of the latest round, in addition to DNX Ventures, Streamlined Ventures, and other angel investors. The company, which has less than 10 employees, raised a $6 million seed round last year. Total funding to date is $21 million.
Related: Microsoft debuts Copilot Checkout, joining AI shopping race vs. Amazon, Google and OpenAI
Amazon is facing complaints from independent retailers over a new shopping experiment that lets customers buy products from other websites directly within Amazon’s app.
The feature, called Buy for Me, started rolling out in April last year alongside another program known as Shop Direct. The tools are designed to help shoppers find products that aren’t sold on Amazon — and, in some cases, allow Amazon to complete a purchase on a customer’s behalf using AI.
Bloomberg, Modern Retail, Financial Times, and others published stories this week citing brands who say they were caught off guard when their products appeared in Amazon search results. Some said they only discovered the program when strange orders started arriving from Amazon-linked email addresses.
Among the complaints raised by brands:
In a statement to GeekWire, an Amazon spokesperson said participation in both programs is optional and that the company has received positive feedback.
“Shop Direct and Buy for Me are programs we’re testing that help customers discover brands and products not currently sold in Amazon’s store, while helping businesses reach new customers and drive incremental sales,” an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement. “Businesses can opt out at any time by emailing branddirect@amazon.com, and we remove them from these programs promptly.”
Listings created with Buy for Me are labeled as coming from other stores when they show up within Amazon search results. Amazon’s system checks the brand’s website to confirm the item is in stock and that the price is accurate. Product and pricing information is pulled from public information on a brand’s website, though Amazon says in an FAQ page that it “may modify these for display on the Amazon Shopping App.”
Amazon said in November that products available to purchase via Buy for Me had increased from 65,000 to more than 500,000.
The pushback from independent sellers — who make up more than 60% of Amazon’s online store sales — highlights a growing tension as tech companies roll out AI-powered shopping tools. The new technology is sparking debate over who controls product discovery and the customer relationship when platforms can act as an intermediary — or even a buyer — on behalf of consumers.
In November, Amazon sued Perplexity to stop the startup from using its AI browser agent to make purchases on its marketplace, citing computer fraud laws and security risks, along with a “significantly degraded shopping and customer service experience it provides.”
Related: AI is coming for your shopping cart: How agentic commerce could disrupt online retail
This move combines Stord's $147 million revenue platform with Shipwire's AI technology and access to over 1,000 global warehouses.
The post Stord Acquires Shipwire for AI-Fueled Ecommerce Push appeared first on TechRepublic.
This move combines Stord's $147 million revenue platform with Shipwire's AI technology and access to over 1,000 global warehouses.
The post Stord Acquires Shipwire for AI-Fueled Ecommerce Push appeared first on TechRepublic.
The holidays are just around the corner and amid the hustle and bustle, many of us will fire up our devices to go online, order gifts, plan travel, and spread cheer. But while we’re getting festive, the cybercriminals are getting ready to take advantage of the influx of your good cheer to spread scams and malware.
With online shopping expected to grow by 7.9% year-on-year in the U.S. alone in 2025, according to Mastercard, and more people than ever using social media and mobile devices to connect, the cybercriminals have a lot of opportunities to spoil our fun. Using multiple devices provides the bad guys with more ways to access your valuable “digital assets,” such as personal information and files, especially if the devices are under-protected.
In this guide, let’s look into the 12 most common cybercrimes and scams of Christmas, and what you can do to keep your money, information, and holiday spirit safe.
The festive atmosphere, continued increase in online shopping activity, and charitable spirit that define the holidays create perfect conditions for scammers to exploit your generosity and urgency.
Not surprisingly, digital criminals become more active and professional during this period, driven even more by the increasing power of artificial intelligence. A new McAfee holiday shopping report revealed that 86% of consumers surveyed receive a daily average of 11 shopping-related text or email messages that seem suspicious. This includes 3 scam texts, 5 emails, and 3 social media messages. Meanwhile, 22% admit they have been scammed during a holiday season in the past.
Their scams succeed because they exploit the psychological and behavioral patterns that are rife during the holidays. The excitement and time pressure of holiday shopping often prevail over our usual caution, while the emotional aspects of gift-giving and charitable donations can be exploited and move us to be more generous. Meanwhile, scammers understand that you’re more likely to make quick purchasing decisions when the fear of missing out on limited-time offers overtakes your judgment or when you’re rushing to find the perfect gift before it’s too late.
Overall, the frenzied seasonal themes create an environment where criminals can misuse the urgency of their fake offers and cloud our judgment, making fraudulent emails and websites appear more legitimate, while you’re already operating under the stress of holiday deadlines and budget concerns. After all, holiday promotions and charity appeals are expected during this time of year.
Now that you understand the psychology behind the scams, it’s time to become more aware of the common scams that cybercriminals run during the holiday season.
As you head online this holiday season, stay on guard and stay aware of scammers’ attempts to steal your money and your information. Familiarize yourself with the “12 Scams of Christmas” to ensure a safe and happy holiday season:
Many of us use social media sites to connect with family, friends, and co-workers over the holidays, and the cybercriminals know that this is a good place to catch you off guard because we’re all “friends,” right? Here are some ways that criminals will use these channels to obtain shoppers gift money, identity or other personal information:
As the popularity of smartphone apps has grown, so have the chances of you downloading a malicious application that steals your information or sends premium-rate text messages without your knowledge. Apps ask for more permissions than they need, such as access to your contacts or location.
If you unwrap a new smartphone this holiday season, make sure that you only download applications from official app stores and check other users’ reviews, as well as the app’s permission policies, before downloading. Software, such as McAfee Mobile Security, can also help protect you against dangerous apps.
Many of us travel to visit family and friends over the holidays. We begin our journey online by looking for deals on airfare, hotels, and rental cars. Before you book, keep in mind that scammers are looking to hook you with phony travel webpages with too-fantastic deals—beautiful pictures and rock-bottom prices—to deceive you into handing over your financial details and money.
Even when you’re already on the road, you need to be careful. Sometimes, scammers who have gained unauthorized access to hotel Wi-Fi will release a malicious pop-up ad on your device screen, and prompt you to install software before connecting. If you agree to the installation, it downloads malware onto your machine. To thwart such an attempt, it’s important that you perform a security software update before traveling.
You are probably already familiar with email phishing and SMiShing messages containing questionable offers and links. The scammer will mimic a legitimate organization offering cheap Rolex watches and luxury products as the “perfect gift” for that special someone, or send a message posing as your bank with a holiday promo and try to lure you into revealing information or direct you to a fake webpage. Never respond to these scams or click on an included link. Be aware that real banks won’t ask you to divulge personal information via text message. If you have any questions about your accounts, you should contact your bank directly.
QR code phishing, or “quishing,” has emerged as a significant new threat during holiday shopping seasons. In this scam method, cybercriminals place malicious QR codes in holiday advertisements posted on social media or printed flyers, parking meters and payment kiosks at shopping centers, or at restaurant tables during holiday dining. They could also email attachments claiming to offer exclusive holiday deals or fake shipping labels placed over legitimate tracking QR codes.
The kind of excitement and buzz surrounding Apple’s new iPad and iPhone is just what cybercrooks dream of when they plot their scams. They will mention must-have holiday gifts in dangerous links, phony contests, and phishing emails to grab your attention. Once they’ve caught your eye, they will again try to get you to reveal personal information or click on a dangerous link that could download malware onto your machine. Be suspicious of any deal mentioning hot holiday gift items—especially at extremely low prices—and try to verify the offer with the real retailer involved.
Cybercriminals exploit employee expectations of year-end communications by creating fake emails that appear to come from your HR department. These messages often claim to contain annual bonus information, updated benefits packages, or mandatory holiday attendance announcements. These scams are particularly effective because they prey on legitimate employee concerns about compensation, benefits, and personal time off during the holiday season. The emails often feature real-looking company logos, proper formatting, and even references to company policies to increase their credibility.
Gift cards are probably the perfect gift for some people on your holiday list. Given their popularity, cybercriminals can’t help but want to get in on the action by offering bogus gift cards online. Be wary of buying gift cards from third parties. It’s best to buy from the official retailer. Just imagine how embarrassing it would be to find out that the gift card you gave your mother-in-law was fraudulent!
No matter what gift you’re looking for, chances are you can find it quickly and easily online, but you still want to be careful in selecting which site to shop. By promoting great deals, phony e-commerce sites will try to convince you to type in your credit card number and other personal details. After obtaining your money and information, you never receive the merchandise, and your personal information is put at risk. To prevent falling victim to bogus e-commerce stores, shop only at trusted and well-known e-commerce sites. If you’re shopping on a site for the first time, check other users’ reviews and verify that the phone number listed on the site is legitimate.
This is one of the biggest scams of every holiday season. As we open our hearts and wallets, the bad guys will send spam emails and pretend to be a real charity in the hope of getting in on the giving. Their emails will sport a stolen logo and copycat text, or come from an entirely invented charity. If you want to give, it’s always safer to visit the charity’s legitimate website, and do a little research about the charity before you donate.
E-cards are a popular way to send a quick “thank you” or holiday greeting. While most e-cards are safe, some are malicious and may contain spyware or viruses that download onto your computer once you click on the link to view the greeting. Before clicking, look for clues that the e-card is legitimate. Make sure it comes from a well-known e-card site by checking the domain name of the included link. Also check to see that the sender is someone you actually know, and that there are no misspellings or other red flags that the card is a fake.
With increased package deliveries during the holiday season, fake shipping notifications have become a common attack. These messages claim to be from legitimate shipping companies such as UPS, FedEx, or DHL, informing you of package delivery attempts or shipping delays. To complete the delivery, these notices will ask you to click on malicious links or attachments that will download malware or direct you to fake websites that will steal personal information. The timing of these attacks coincides with legitimate increased shipping activity, making them harder to distinguish from authentic communications. To track your deliveries, it is best to check the shipping company’s real website or through the trusted platform from which you ordered the product.
Knowing about these common scam tactics is only the first step toward protecting yourself and those you care about. The next step is for you to learn and implement practical, effective strategies to stay safe while still enjoying digital holiday shopping and giving.
The holiday season brings joy and connection, but it’s also a time when scammers work hardest to exploit your festive but rushed and distracted spirit. Effective Christmas scam prevention starts with awareness. By slowing down and taking a moment to verify before you click or buy, and using layered cybersecurity protections, you can worry about one less thing and focus on what matters most this season.
Stay security-conscious without letting fear diminish your holiday enjoyment and pursue your digital holiday activities with the right knowledge and tools. We hope that the specific, actionable protections will help you identify red flags, verify legitimate offers, secure your devices and accounts, and respond effectively to suspicious activity. Stay informed by following trusted sources for the latest cybersecurity tips during the holidays, and make this season about celebrating safely with the people you care about most.
Send the link to this page to your family and friends to increase their awareness and take steps to protect themselves.
The post The Top 12 Scams Of Christmas To Watch Out For appeared first on McAfee Blog.
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Cannabis e-commerce option is bringing industry closer to normal is a post from: MJBizDaily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs
[Editor’s Note: Agents of Transformation is an independent GeekWire series and 2026 event, underwritten by Accenture, exploring the people, companies, and ideas behind the rise of AI agents.]
Imagine telling your AI assistant that you need a new winter jacket. It already knows your style preferences and budget from previous purchases. The AI searches across dozens of retailers, analyzes reviews, checks for sales, and comes back with a list of ranked options.
You pick one you like. The AI asks if you want to wait until the price drops. A week later, there’s a sale. The AI completes the purchase, applies loyalty points, selects the fastest free shipping option, and sends you a confirmation. Your jacket shows up within days.
This is the promise of “agentic commerce” — AI systems that research, compare, and even buy on your behalf. Tech giants, startups, and retailers are all racing to build it. McKinsey projects the market could reach $1 trillion in the U.S. alone by 2030.
For the latest installment in our Agents of Transformation series, we interviewed startup founders, consumer brand marketing leaders, industry analysts, and others to better understand how agentic commerce could change the way we shop — now, in the future, or maybe not much at all.
Some key takeaways from our reporting:
Major players are making moves.
Adobe reported that AI-driven traffic to U.S. retail sites jumped 670% year-over-year on Cyber Monday.
But it’s still early days. For ChatGPT, referrals to e-commerce apps represented only 0.82% of all sessions over Thanksgiving weekend. In a recent OpenAI study of about 1.1 million ChatGPT conversations, 2.1% of activity was classified as “Purchasable Products.”
There’s still a big gap between the pitch and what these tools can actually do today. Practical use cases remain limited.
“I am shocked at the promises versus reality,” said Emily Pfeiffer, a principal analyst and digital business expert with Forrester.
Still, the builders we spoke with see the current moment as the beginning of a fundamental shift.
“I think this is much bigger than even the invention of the online store,” said Jonathan Arena, co-founder of e-commerce AI startup New Generation.
McKinsey outlines three main ways agentic commerce could work:
Today’s reality is closer to a fancy search than full autonomy. AI chatbots can suggest products, but completing a purchase still typically requires clicking through to a retailer’s site. A handful of retailers have experimented with checkout-in-chat, but Pfeiffer said some polished demos don’t actually work in the real world.
“The experiences that are out there today, in my opinion, are extremely premature,” she said.
There’s also a broader debate about whether AI shopping assistants are solving a problem that doesn’t exist for specific purchase categories. For fashion, gifts, home decor — things where discovery is part of the value — many consumers may not want an agent to shortcut that process.
Agentic commerce could work best for low-consideration, commodity purchases — like household staples and replenishment items.
The concept becomes more complex outside of a brand’s own site or app, in AI search tools where an agent might eventually handle the entire shopping process without a user ever opening a retailer’s website. Pfeiffer believes this is where truly autonomous commerce is most likely to show up, though probably in specific situations rather than as a full replacement for browsing.
But she said any substantial shifts will take time. “If we get there, it’s not soon,” Pfeiffer said.
Agentic commerce isn’t possible without the right infrastructure. E-commerce websites were designed for humans typing keywords into a browser — not AI agents that need to read pages and place orders on their own.
New tools are starting to fill that gap.
For retailers, this patchwork can be confusing and expensive, especially as there’s no guarantee which protocol will become dominant.
“Each protocol is a burden for the merchant,” said Kumar Senthil, founder of Firmly, a Seattle-area startup building software that hides some of this complexity. His company, which recently partnered with Perplexity, lets merchants connect to multiple protocols through a single interface.
Firmly is trying to solve a basic problem: merchants can’t afford to integrate with every AI platform, but they also don’t want to miss out on any of them.
Senthil, who previously built Samsung’s e-commerce platform, said online retailers need to have “microstores” everywhere. Their traditional websites, he predicts, will go dark.
“The stores are going to be distributed across the internet,” he said.
But AI assistants need to draw on data from somewhere — which means a brand’s homepage could still serve an important purpose, even if the act of purchasing gets dispersed.
Brands like Brooks Running are refocusing their sites to make them easy for AI systems to read and understand. “We’re continuing to emphasize crawling, indexing, and ranking technical SEO opportunities through the lens of AI,” said Ryan Ngo, vice president of North America marketing and e-commerce at the Seattle-based company.
Beyond making a website “AI-ready,” Arena said brands should let shoppers ask questions about their products in plain language, using built-in AI chat on their own sites. “People are going to be frustrated that your website can’t answer them,” he said.
In Pfeiffer’s view, the bigger strategic risk lies in places brands don’t control — AI-powered search tools like ChatGPT or Gemini that could become powerful new gateways for finding and buying products. In that world, brands face the same decisions they once confronted with Amazon: what to share in each place people might shop, what to keep exclusive, and how to protect pricing and sensitive data.
Amazon helped shape modern online shopping when the Seattle-based giant started selling books on the internet more than three decades ago. The company is now a giant in online retail, and it’s staring at another potential shift with the rise of agentic commerce.
Amazon is in a tricky spot. The company captures roughly 40% of U.S. e-commerce spending and has a fast-growing advertising business that brings in around $70 billion a year — revenue that depends on humans browsing and clicking.
In November, Amazon sued Perplexity to stop the startup from using its AI browser agent to make purchases on its marketplace, citing computer fraud laws and security risks, along with a “significantly degraded shopping and customer service experience it provides.” Amazon has maintained what Bloomberg described as “a walled garden” that doesn’t allow autonomous shopping on its site.
Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas called the lawsuit “a bully tactic” and argued consumers should be free to use whatever AI assistant they prefer.
“Amazon should love this. Easier shopping means more transactions and happier customers,” Srinivas wrote. “But Amazon doesn’t care. They’re more interested in serving you ads, sponsored results, and influencing your purchasing decisions with upsells and confusing offers.”
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy acknowledged on a recent earnings call that agentic commerce “has a chance to be really good for e-commerce” and said that he expects the company to partner with third-party agents over time. But he also said agents “aren’t very good” at personalization and often display incorrect pricing and delivery estimates.
“So we’ve got to find a way to make the customer experience better and have the right exchange value,” Jassy said.
Amazon’s AI shopping assistant, Rufus, now has more than 250 million active customers. Amazon says that customers using the assistant during a shopping trip are 60% more likely to complete a purchase.
The company has also been testing a “Buy For Me” feature that lets customers purchase products from other brands’ sites, from inside Amazon’s mobile shopping app.
Senthil, the Firmly CEO, sees Amazon as potentially vulnerable. He questioned whether Amazon’s delivery speed advantage — long considered a competitive moat — will matter as much in a world where consumers place less emphasis on faster shipping times.
The rise of third-party AI agents, such as Perplexity’s Comet browser, could also weaken Amazon’s grip on customers. E-commerce journalist Jason Del Rey noted that if agents own the relationship and steer shoppers across sites, Amazon risks looking more like fulfillment infrastructure. That raises a long-term question, he said — if agents sit between shoppers and stores, who ends up capturing most of the value?
But others don’t expect AI tools to displace Amazon for now.
“It is highly unlikely that ChatGPT will be a dominant shopping cart mainly because e-commerce isn’t a problem that needs fixed,” said Sucharita Kodali, a retail industry analyst with Forrester. “It’s perfectly easy to buy on Amazon as hundreds of millions of people around the world already do every year.”
Kodali added: “It’s unclear what value ChatGPT is bringing to retailers, other than dis-intermediating Google.”
Last month Google unveiled a suite of AI shopping features powered by Gemini, including “agentic checkout,” which lets users set rules such as maximum spend or product specifications. It’s also building the infrastructure layer with AP2.
Microsoft, meanwhile, is positioning itself to help retailers and brands adapt to agentic commerce, whether building assistants into their websites or surfacing their offerings in third-party chatbots.
“We prioritize robust frameworks, open standards, and trust infrastructure so intelligent agents can operate reliably and securely throughout the commerce ecosystem,” said Kathleen Mitford, corporate vice president of global industry at Microsoft, responding to questions via email.
Finding the perfect winter coat based on your personal preferences may be just the start when it comes to AI assistants knowing what to purchase for you.
“Imagine an agent recognizing that the bathing suit you’re buying isn’t just another item, but part of preparing for an upcoming vacation and tailoring recommendations accordingly,” Mitford said.
That example would require consumers to offer up more personal data such as calendars and budget information. But it could enable a better experience, according to Arena.
“We’re talking about a brand being able to personalize experiences to all of their customers across the internet — not only on a first-party website that they own,” he said.
John Larson, who helped launch business messaging company Zipwhip (acquired by Twilio), said conversational commerce is evolving toward two-way interactions, enabling retailers to have more effective interactions with customers.
“We do believe that real conversational commerce leveraging agentic AI is absolutely the future,” said Larson, now an investor in Seattle startup Ambassador. “You’re getting your needs met, and you’re having a conversation.”
Lorrin Pascoe, CMO at Vancouver, B.C.-based footwear retailer Vessi, said he believes AI agents will become an important way to reach customers. “For us, it’s really realizing that this isn’t a gimmick,” he said. “It is something that is foundational in changing behaviors.”
Vessi began in 2018 as an online-only footwear company. This month, it’s opening its first U.S. store in Bellevue, Wash. — reversing the course that brick-and-mortar retailers took when e-commerce pushed them online. It’s a reminder that retail rarely follows a predictable path, and in the same way, there’s no telling where agentic commerce will ultimately land.
Launching an ecommerce website is an exciting venture. You get to showcase your products, build a brand identity, and connect with customers across borders. Yet, beyond the aesthetics of your storefront and the convenience of your checkout process lies something more fundamental: trust. Trust is what convinces a hesitant shopper to place their first order, and trust is what brings satisfied customers back again. One of the most effective ways to establish this trust is through a well-written Terms and Conditions agreement.
The Terms and Conditions are not just another page to fill on your website. They act as a legally binding contract between your business and the people who use your platform. This document sets out rights, responsibilities, and limitations for both sides. For customers, it explains what they can expect when they purchase from you. For your business, it provides protection against misunderstandings, abuse, or even legal claims. Without clear Terms and Conditions, small issues like a delayed shipment or a refund dispute can quickly turn into expensive conflicts.
It is also worth noting that Terms and Conditions are often required by third parties. Payment gateways, shipping partners, and sometimes even regulators will want to see them before doing business with you. Investors or collaborators also view them as a sign of professionalism. In other words, a clear Terms and Conditions page is not optional—it is a critical part of running a serious ecommerce business.
In this guide, we will break down how to write effective Terms and Conditions for your ecommerce website. Each section will be explained in detail, with examples and practical tips. By the end, you will understand not just what to include, but why it matters and how it strengthens your relationship with customers while protecting your business interests.
When creating Terms and Conditions for an Ecommerce website, one of the most important parts is knowing what goes into them. Here, in key elements of ecommerce website terms and conditions, you will understand the essential building blocks that make your policy clear, fair, and effective. Here are the core aspects you’ll learn, ensuring your online store has the right foundation to protect both your business and your customers.
The introductory clauses are the foundation of your Terms and Conditions agreement. They may not look like the most important part, but they set the tone for everything that follows. Think of them as the handshake at the start of a business relationship—they establish who you are, who the customer is, and the basic rules that apply from the very beginning.
By carefully drafting the introductory clauses, you establish clarity from the start. Customers know exactly who they are dealing with, what the agreement covers, and when it takes effect. For your business, it ensures that in any legal review or dispute, the foundation of the contract is solid and enforceable. In many ways, this first section is the most important because it eliminates guesswork and builds confidence in the professionalism of your ecommerce platform.
Many ecommerce websites allow users to create accounts. This provides a personalized shopping experience, enables order tracking, and facilitates faster checkout. However, with this convenience comes responsibility. Your Terms and Conditions should clearly outline what is expected from users regarding account creation, maintenance, and security.
Setting clear rules for account management protects both your business and your customers. It helps prevent fraud, misuse, and unauthorized activity. By clearly explaining user obligations, your Terms and Conditions create a safe and trustworthy environment for shopping, which is especially important when handling personal and payment information.
This section forms the core of your ecommerce Terms and Conditions. It explains how customers can make purchases, how payments are processed, and what rules govern these transactions. A clear and comprehensive explanation here helps reduce misunderstandings, ensures smooth operations, and protects your business from disputes.
Clearly documenting your purchase and payment policies ensures that customers understand how transactions work, which minimizes disputes and enhances trust. It also provides a legal safeguard if conflicts arise, as the agreement explicitly defines responsibilities and expectations for both parties.
Once an order is placed, customers naturally want to know how and when they will receive their products. This section of your Terms and Conditions provides clarity on shipping procedures, delivery timelines, and the point at which risk transfers from your business to the customer. By clearly explaining these points, you reduce confusion and potential disputes.
By providing detailed information about shipping and delivery, you help manage customer expectations and avoid disputes related to delays, damage, or lost items. Clearly defining risk transfer protects your business from liability once products leave your control, while maintaining transparency strengthens customer trust in your ecommerce platform.
No ecommerce website is complete without clear rules about returns, refunds, and cancellations. Customers need to know their options if a product is not as expected, arrives damaged, or is unwanted. Including this section protects your business while demonstrating fairness to your customers.
Providing a clear returns, refunds, and cancellations policy reduces disputes and increases customer confidence. It also protects your business from potential abuse, ensures compliance with consumer laws, and provides a structured approach for handling post-purchase issues.
Intellectual property (IP) is a vital aspect of any ecommerce business. Your website, products, logos, images, videos, software, and written content are all forms of intellectual property that deserve protection. Your Terms and Conditions should clearly explain how these materials can and cannot be used by your users.
Clearly defining intellectual property rights in your Terms and Conditions safeguards your assets and prevents unauthorized use. It also informs users of their responsibilities and the legal boundaries of content use. By establishing these rules upfront, you reinforce the value of your creative work, minimize the risk of disputes, and build credibility with your audience and partners.
To ensure a safe, legal, and enjoyable experience for all users, your Terms and Conditions should clearly outline user obligations and prohibited activities. This section informs customers of expected behavior and protects your business from misuse, fraud, or illegal activities.
By explicitly outlining user obligations and prohibited activities, you create a framework that promotes responsible behavior and reduces legal risks. This section not only protects your business but also ensures a secure and trustworthy environment for all users, enhancing overall customer confidence and satisfaction.
Limitation of liability and disclaimers are crucial in protecting your ecommerce business from legal exposure. This section clearly communicates the boundaries of your responsibility to customers, especially in cases of unforeseen events, technical issues, or third-party problems. Properly drafted disclaimers reduce legal risk and help set realistic customer expectations.
By including a detailed limitation of liability and disclaimers section, you provide legal protection for your ecommerce business and set transparent expectations for customers. This reduces the risk of disputes and demonstrates that your business operates responsibly and professionally.
Protecting customer data is not only a legal requirement but also essential for building trust in your ecommerce business. Your Terms and Conditions should clearly outline how personal information is collected, stored, used, and protected, ensuring compliance with applicable privacy laws such as GDPR, CCPA, or other regional regulations.
By addressing privacy and data protection thoroughly in your Terms and Conditions, you comply with legal requirements and demonstrate a commitment to customer security. This not only reduces liability but also fosters trust, encouraging users to engage confidently with your ecommerce platform.
Clearly defining the governing law and dispute resolution procedures in your Terms and Conditions is essential to managing potential legal conflicts. This section informs users which legal system applies and how disputes will be handled, providing clarity and reducing uncertainty.
By specifying governing law and dispute resolution methods, your Terms and Conditions set clear expectations for both parties and provide a structured approach to managing legal issues. This minimizes uncertainty, reduces litigation risk, and fosters trust by demonstrating that your business is organized and legally compliant.
Ecommerce businesses evolve over time, and your Terms and Conditions must be flexible enough to adapt to changes in products, services, regulations, and business practices. Including a modifications clause ensures that users are aware of your right to update the terms and know how changes will be communicated.
Including a clear modifications clause in your Terms and Conditions protects your business from legal exposure while keeping users informed and accountable. It provides flexibility for growth and change, which is essential in the dynamic world of ecommerce.
Termination clauses define the circumstances under which your business may suspend or terminate a user’s access to the website or services. Clearly stating these conditions protects your business and ensures users understand their rights and obligations.
Including a termination clause ensures that users understand the consequences of violating your Terms and Conditions. It also provides your business with a clear legal framework to manage problematic accounts, prevent abuse, and maintain a safe and compliant ecommerce environment.
Miscellaneous provisions address various additional legal and operational matters that do not fall neatly into other sections. These final clauses help ensure completeness, reduce ambiguity, and provide additional protection for your ecommerce business.
Including miscellaneous provisions ensures that your Terms and Conditions are comprehensive and robust. These final clauses address potential gaps, provide additional legal safeguards, and contribute to a professional, clear, and enforceable agreement that protects both your ecommerce business and your customers.
Creating comprehensive and well-structured Terms and Conditions for your ecommerce website is essential for building trust, ensuring legal protection, and providing clarity to your users. Each section, from user obligations and intellectual property to privacy policies and dispute resolution, serves a specific purpose in protecting your business and guiding customer interactions.
Regularly reviewing and updating your Terms and Conditions ensures they remain aligned with current laws, business practices, and technological developments. Transparent communication with users about modifications and expectations fosters confidence and reduces potential conflicts.
In essence, your Terms and Conditions are more than just a legal requirement—they are a reflection of your professionalism, reliability, and commitment to customer satisfaction. Investing time and effort into drafting and maintaining a robust agreement not only protects your ecommerce business but also enhances the overall user experience, helping you establish long-term relationships with your customers.
If you’re looking to partner with a skilled ecommerce development company to create or enhance your online store, consider exploring the Ecommerce development companies directory. This resource can help you find reputable agencies with expertise in various ecommerce platforms such as Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce.
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