This quarter, we’re expanding retail media and fulfillment options for brands, opening new channels around the world, and putting promotional planning and product discovery directly in retailers’ hands. Here’s our Q2 product updates for retailers and brands. 

For retailers: own your promotions, find what sells 

Retailer initiated promotions (Commerce Solutions), available now 
Retailers can now build and run their own promotional campaigns instead of waiting for suppliers to get one started. Create a promotion like “Labor Day Sale” or “Back to School,” set the scope and timing, and invite suppliers to opt in with eligible SKUs. 

This doesn’t replace supplier-initiated promotions. Suppliers can still run their own campaigns independently. But retailers now have the ability to coordinate multi-supplier efforts that align with seasonal and strategic goals. 

• Drive higher GMV during key sales periods through coordinated, multi-supplier promotions 
• Boost supplier engagement by enabling opt-in participation in retailer-led campaigns 
• Stay in control of promotional timing, categories, and participation rules 

SupplyExplorer: Merchant Match (Commerce Solutions), available now 
Adding new products to your catalog just got a lot faster. With SupplyExplorer retailers can discover and connect with the right suppliers faster, using data-driven recommendations grounded in real commerce data. SupplyExplorer helps retailers identify, evaluate, and connect with high-quality suppliers across Rithum’s network. 

• Define your growth criteria such as categories, brands, delivery regions, and performance requirements to guide supplier recommendations, while suppliers build and maintain Network Profiles that showcase their capabilities and assortment 
• Get curated matches with Rithum’s Network Intelligence and proprietary matching technology  
• Review detailed Network Profiles, assess supplier fit, and request introductions directly through the platform 

Conversations (Commerce Solutions), available now 
Conversations is a built-in messaging and task system that lets retailers communicate directly with suppliers inside the Rithum platform. Instead of emailing back and forth about inventory issues, contract details, or order updates, everything happens in one place, either in-app or via API.  

You can send messages for quick questions (“Why is this item out of stock?”) or create tasks when something needs action (“Update this product description by Friday”). When a customer reaches out with a question about an order or product, you can pass it directly to the seller with Buyer ID, product ID, and order ID attached automatically. No copy-pasting, no lost context. 

• Communicate with suppliers directly in-platform or via API, with folders to organize by supplier 
• Route customer questions to sellers with full context attached automatically so nothing gets lost in translation 

For brands: full-funnel retail media, lower shipping costs, and new global channels 

Amazon DSP campaign management, available now 
Amazon DSP now lives directly inside Rithum. Manage full-funnel campaigns in one place: view activity at the campaign and ad level, make bulk changes, manage bids and ad schedules, and apply performance automation rules from the Rithum UI. 

Amazon DSP reporting also sits alongside your other Amazon programs and retail media channels, so you can see how upper-funnel spend connects to downstream performance without switching platforms. 

• Manage Amazon DSP campaigns end to end, from bid adjustments to performance automation, directly in Rithum 
• Unify performance reporting across Amazon Retail Media to guide your overall strategy 

Roundel Media API, coming in Q2 
Rithum is the first Roundel integration partner, bringing Target’s retail media network into the platform. Manage Roundel campaigns alongside every other retail media channel, with access to Rithum’s automations and forecasting tools. 

• Maximize Roundel results with Rithum Retail Media automations and forecasting tools 
• Manage all of your retail media campaigns across channels in one place 

Ship with Walmart, available now 
Ship with Walmart gives sellers a straightforward way to lower fulfillment costs and speed up shipping. Buy discounted USPS, FedEx, and UPS labels directly through Rithum instead of bouncing between carrier tools. Walmart’s rates can be more than 60% lower than standard market pricing. 

The integration also supports API-driven label creation and bulk purchasing, which is especially useful during peak-season volume or holiday spikes. 

• Save on shipping with Walmart’s deeply discounted USPS, FedEx, and UPS rates 
• Manage all carrier labels in one place directly within Rithum 
• Speed up fulfillment with API-driven label creation and bulk purchasing 

New channels and locales, coming Q2 FY2026 

Rithum continues to expand the channels and locales available to sellers. 

Walmart Marketplace Chile is now available as a new locale. With 84 million visits per year and 40% year-over-year growth, it opens a strong path for sellers looking to grow in Latin America. 

Temu has expanded across multiple EU locations, including the UK, Germany, Spain, France, and Italy, along with global markets like Australia, Canada, Japan, South Korea, and Mexico. Sellers can now reach Temu’s 292 million monthly active users worldwide. 

TikTok Shop is also expanding to the UK, adding access to 170 million monthly active users. 

Join us on May 28 at 12pm ET / 5pm BST / 9am PT for the Rithum Pulse: Q2 Product Showcase. Ellie Williams, SVP of Product, Data & Design, along with the product marketing team, will walk through the features covered here, demo what’s new, and answer your questions live. 

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Every commerce team has a peak season playbook covering Black Friday, Prime Days, back-to-school and other big tentpole events. But we’d bet our bracket that few commerce teams strategize for the day UConn beats Duke.

We analyzed six weeks of Rithum network data over the course of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, looking at order patterns across states, channels, and game days. What we found was something rarely see quantified this cleanly about how Americans shop, and what drives their purchases.

The quick takeaways:

• Thirty-one of 32 tournament states had shopping rates above their baseline on game days.
• On Sweet 16 Thursday, national ecommerce orders ran 40% above the pre-tournament average.
• The day UConn beat Duke, Connecticut’s shopping numbers did the wave right along with the fans.
• In all four Elite 8 matchups, the state that shopped more was the state whose team won, even adjusting for population.

This is a small data snapshot, but it tells a story of a much bigger moment. Even as AI optimizes your feeds, tariffs reshape your margins, and new channels multiply your reach, there are non-high-tech, non-global-impacting signals that still matter. Like when a state collectively loses its mind over a basketball win.

The brands that can read those moments—and move fast enough to meet them—have an edge that can’t be planned six months out.

Connecticut broke its own record the day UConn beat Duke

On the day UConn knocked off Duke in the Elite 8, ecommerce orders in Connecticut hit the state’s highest single shopping day across our analyzed six-week window. That Sunday came in 12% above the next-highest volume shopping day and 32% above a typical Sunday. In fact, 10 of the top 11 highest-shopping days of the last 6 weeks in Connecticut were during the tournament.

And just to be clear, this isn’t a basketball merchandise story. Connecticut didn’t suddenly buy 32% more jerseys. The entire state’s ecommerce activity surged—across categories and channels—because Connecticut was having a great week.

The commerce data predicted every Elite 8 winner

In all four Elite 8 matchups, the state that shopped more per capita in the 6 weeks analyzed was the state whose team won.

Connecticut out-shopped North Carolina. Michigan out-shopped Tennessee. Illinois out-shopped Iowa. Arizona out-shopped Indiana.

Now, we’re not suggesting you build your bracket prediction model on this data. But we are saying that this basketball story is disguising a commerce story about what always-on retail has made possible. A fan in New Haven checking the injury report at halftime is two taps from buying something. Maybe they didn’t plan to shop, but hey, their phone is already in their hand, and if the right ad has been built for the moment, or the right TikTok influencer pops up . . .

Commerce used to require intent. Now, especially with social shopping, it has essentially become ambient. We can’t say the tournament created demand, but it made opportunities for shopping. And understanding this is key to knowing where to show up next to meet those cultural moments.

California spiked 38%. And their team lost

When Saint Mary’s tipped off in the Round of 64 on March 19, California’s ecommerce orders surged to a 38% spike over its average Thursday order rate and had the biggest same-day jump of any state with 10M+ residents. St. Mary’s competitor’s home state of Texas was the only other large state that came close, with a 34% spike.

Saint Mary’s, a 7-seed, lost that same day.

California didn’t shop because its team won. California shopped because its team was playing on Californians’ screens.

Anticipation and access drives commerce. Participation and brand presence drives commerce. Being emotionally invested—regardless of outcome—drives commerce. The brands positioned to capture these moments aren’t the ones running the best sale. They’re the ones who showed up in the right place, with the right product presence, consistently, when the emotion and moment was already there.

What this means beyond March Madness

One caveat: orders were trending upward across the whole 6-week period for every state, tournament or not, so some of this reflects seasonal momentum. But the day-specific spikes—40% above normal on Sweet 16 day, for example—suggest something else happening on top of the trend. The correlation between game days and order volume is too consistent, across too many states.

The NCAA Tournament is a six-week, state-by-state experiment in what happens when consumer attention concentrates around a shared cultural moment. And the answer, across 31 of 32 states, is the same: commerce goes up.*

So, what do you do with this information, other than have a cool factoid for your next cocktail party?

The FIFA World Cup kicks off June 11, spanning 16 cities across the US, Canada, and Mexico for 39 days. Six billion people are expected to watch. America’s 250th anniversary arrives July 4th with a year of cultural programming around it. The Tour de France runs through July, and in recent years has been drawing its largest American audience yet.

Every one of these is a moment where consumer attention spikes. And as the NCAA data shows, when attention spikes, so do orders.

The brands that follow a retail calendar alone—through peak season, off-peak season, promote, pause—will miss the revenue that cultural moments create. The brands with the channel infrastructure, inventory visibility, and pricing flexibility to move when consumers are paying attention are the ones who capture it.

Three things worth doing before the next moment arrives:

1. Map your commerce calendar to cultural moments, not just retail tentpoles. The World Cup, America 250, Tour de France, and Fashion Week are all coming in the next six months. Each one is a potential Connecticut-level spike.
2. Make sure your channel presence is ready. Game-day-style lifts happen fast. Brands that are already visible on the right marketplaces with accurate inventory and optimized listings are there in the right moment.
3. Make sure you can see, and follow, the data in the moment. Rithum’s network data showed the tournament signal clearly because we were looking at order patterns in-depth. Your own commerce data will show you which moments move your buyers only if you’re set up to see it. The data is always there. The question is whether you’re able to read it accurately, with the right partner.

The retail calendar tells you when to run a promotion. The cultural calendar tells you when your buyers are paying attention. Rithum can help you connect all of these calendars and moments to be ready when and where the opportunity lives.

*Maryland, home of UMBC, was the exception. UMBC bowed out in the First Four; their orders dipped a fraction of a percent.

Methodology note: Data sourced from the Rithum commerce platform across 8.2M unique products and 20K+ suppliers. Order rates are normalized to per 100,000 residents to enable state-by-state comparison. Some client data excluded to preserve anonymization. Results reflect the composition of brands and retailers active on the platform during the period analyzed.

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Ulta Beauty is now live on TikTok Shop, bringing one of retail’s most recognized beauty retailers into a channel where discovery and purchase increasingly happen side by side. 

For a retailer built on experience, assortment, and community, the move feels like a natural next step. TikTok Shop gives Ulta Beauty a new way to reach shoppers in the moment, when they are discovering a product for the first time, following a trend in real time, or ready to buy without leaving the platform. 

A new channel for beauty discovery, shopping, and growth 

The launch reflects a broader shift in how people shop. More consumers are finding products through content and expecting a faster path from inspiration to purchase. For Ulta Beauty, TikTok Shop offers a more direct path from discovery to checkout in a channel that is already shaping how beauty shoppers browse and buy. 

Rithum served as Ulta Beauty’s integration partner for the launch and ongoing management, supporting the work behind the scenes to bring the new channel to market. The launch builds on the long-standing relationship between the two companies. 

Ulta Beauty’s launch on TikTok Shop reflects how retailers are bringing discovery and purchase closer together. We’re proud to support Ulta Beauty as they expand into this channel and to build on the strong partnership we’ve established over time.

– Blaine Nielsen, President, Retailers at Rithum

The move gives Ulta Beauty a new way to connect with shoppers as they discover and buy on TikTok Shop. It also gives the retailer another way to reach new shoppers while deepening engagement with existing ones. 

A curated experience built for TikTok Shop 

Ulta Beauty’s TikTok Shop launch reflects that strategy through a curated experience designed for the platform, including exclusive bundles, early-access moments, and creator-led discovery. The result is a shop experience that feels native to TikTok while staying grounded in what customers already expect from Ulta Beauty. 

TikTok Shop is an exciting extension of Ulta Beauty’s discovery-led ecosystem, giving us another way to meet guests where the beauty conversation is happening and bring our trusted curation to life in a TikTok-native format. We see this as a complementary, incremental channel, and we appreciate Rithum’s partnership in bringing it to market.

– Josh Friedman, SVP, Digital and Ecommerce, Ulta Beauty

As social commerce continues to grow, TikTok Shop is becoming an increasingly important channel for retailers and brands that want to connect discovery and purchase more closely. Ulta Beauty’s launch extends its discovery-led approach into a new environment. 

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At Rithum LIVE—our flagship event that brought brands, retailers, and partners together in New York and London—the pattern was clear: shoppers are changing how they find products, clean data is more important than ever, AI is everywhere (though not being optimized), and retail media is being redefined. As CEO Lou Keyes put it, “The battleground is shifting from persuasion to precision . . . You can no longer convince consumers to buy with just more ads or louder ads.”  

Here are five of our favorite big moments from the sessions, focused on how leaders are fixing data quality, proving AI ROI, preparing for agentic shopping, adjusting retail media, and turning dashboards into decisions. If you’re curious about what’s coming for commerce in 2026, start here—then dive into the full talks on Rithum LIVE On-Demand.  

Data readiness: close the confidence–accuracy gap 

Suzin Wold Chief Marketing Officer at Rithum, ran a reality check in her Rithum LIVE keynote: “80% of you know the data you are using is bad, while 100% feel confident in your performance reports. You have really super high confidence, but you have really, really low accuracy,” Suzin said. Her rule is straightforward: “It is not about acting faster. It is about reacting smarter.” This takeaway, and the rest of the data analysis from her keynote, was built on The 2026 commerce readiness index, which reports on 200 retail and brand executives’ responses to industry-landscape questions. It points to heavy manual effort and inconsistent data as the root of slow, error-prone reactions. Bad data doesn’t just slow work; it produces the wrong results like mispriced items, wasted ad spend, and higher returns. 

Watch Suzin’s full session for more industry trends from the readiness index, which is built on a survey of brands and retailers.  

AI and ROI: clean inputs, measurable outcomes 

95% of AI projects fail to deliver ROI and only 5% move beyond pilots, Ali Irturk, Chief Technology Officer at Rithum, said. “If you have bad data you’re going to make bad decisions a lot faster.” 

Here’s what it looks like for retailers and brands when the inputs are right. “We found that 200 SKUs were driving 15.5% of the returns,” said Seb Spiegler, Head of AI at Rithum, in discussing one Rithum client use case. Updating titles, materials, and size charts fixed the problem. “Returns went down, margins went up,” Seb said. 

Rithum’s Magic Mapper, powered by RithumIQ, cut categorization and attribute mapping from days to minutes in 100+ channels and in more than 30 languages, Seb said. Because publishing, inventory, and advertising run on the same source of truth in Rithum, those changes travel quickly to the places that matter. “Models matter, but outcomes matter even more,” Seb said.

Watch Ali and Seb’s session where they show how they spotted the 200 SKUs, which edits they prioritized first, and where the gains surfaced (returns, margin, rank).  

Agentic shopping: make claims machine-readable 

Discovery is changing as consumer behavior changes. “In the past, [discovery] was user initiated. Now it’s going to be AI agent initiated,” Arun Kumar Global Head of AI at Accenture Song, said. Agentic AI doesn’t react to slogans or ad spend. “Your brand actually is the moat and agents see it as data and rules.” They verify off the website, too: “If you are best in something, I want proof that you are best in something. I’m going to go to Reddit. I’m going to read your reviews.” 

Arun suggests that the biggest thing to do now is to encode the facts—materials, price, availability by location, shipping cutoffs, and returns policy—in your website so assistants can confirm them. For the rest of his best practices and examples on getting ready for agentic shopping, watch his session here.  

Retail media: let spend listen to inventory and returns 

Media works harder when it runs on commerce truth. “We decided to move back and double down on our own platform,” Louis Camassa, Director of Product for the Brands Platform at Rithum, said. “We’re using that data to show where clients could spend and get the best ROI.” 

Shelf control completes the loop. “See where you rank, your brand’s share of shelf or share of voice, then make strategic decisions from an advertising and organic perspective,” Meghan Barden, Director of Global Retail Media at Rithum, said. When retail media and commerce data live in one platform, bids and budgets can adjust to stock, margin, and delivery promise in real time, steering spend toward products that can ship and convert. Keeping media and commerce signals together inside Rithum helps avoid wasting spend on items that are out of stock or likely to bounce back.

Watch Louis and Meghan’s session for examples of routing budgets to in-stock, high-margin SKUs. 

Decision intelligence: define the choice, then act 

“Companies don’t have insight problems. They have decision problems,” Daniel Hulme, Chief AI Officer at WPP, said. Pick the wrong formulation and the option set stretches “longer than the age of the universe.” Pick well and a machine solves it in milliseconds. 

The talk reframed AI, saying most companies don’t suffer from a lack of insight—they struggle to turn insight into consistent, high-quality decisions. According to David, our “fast brain” loves intuition. But the real world runs on hard trade-offs where the wrong algorithm can turn a millisecond task into an “age-of-the-universe” problem. He drew a sharp line between automation and AI, where automation just repeats yesterday’s choice. AI, properly defined, is goal-directed and adaptive—it makes a call, learns from the outcome, and updates the next call. 

“Large language models are really good at knowing things about the world,” says David. “They are not good at making predictions. They’re definitely not good at making complex predictions.” The business gains show up when you pair them with explainable machine learning and optimization for things like allocations, pricing, routing, and channel mix.  

The takeaway was refreshingly human: start by naming the decision you need to get right, be explicit about the objective and constraints, and then choose the method. If AI learns over time and can explain why it works, you’re building intelligence—not just another dashboard. For the full talk, watch Daniel Hulme’s keynote here. 

Watch these sessions and more on Rithum LIVE On-Demand here. 

Quotes have been lightly edited for clarity. 

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U.S. ecommerce sales will jump 8% this holiday season, while overall retail is predicted to grow 4% during the peak seasonal shopping months. For retailers and brands, that surge raises the stakes: product data must be accurate, sites must perform under pressure, delivery promises must actually deliver, and returns must be seamless (or prevented, if possible). 

The Rithum 2026 commerce readiness index provides a timely view into these challenges. Based on an independent survey of retail and brand executives, it reflects what your peers are prioritizing right now as they prepare for 2026. The index was created to help retailers and brands identify the actions that matter most—and make measurable progress across channels and fulfillment so they’re stable and steady coming into 2026. 

What the survey responses reveal about 2026 for retailers and brands 

Pulling from the responses of commerce executives, the index focuses on what shapes results before and after purchase, the role of data quality in decision-making, how to get the most out of automation, and where the industry is bracing for impact. You’ll see benchmarks and practical plays from peers that will help you guide near-term priorities, including how they’re: 

• Fixing pre-checkout gaps by connecting ads to in-stock SKUs and keeping product pages current 

• Reducing avoidable contacts and returns after purchase 

• Cutting manual work with data standards and automation that speed decisions 

• Protecting margin with a clearer view of cost to serve 

• Implementing AI that delivers results, not just noise 

What breaks the path to purchase 

According to survey respondents, the path to purchase is breaking from a thousand small fractures that add up fast. Shoppers bounce at broken links, out-of-stock products, slow sites, confusing listings, and irrelevant ads. Post-purchase, they churn after poor service, clunky returns, and delayed communication.  

For retailers, the biggest cracks appear before checkout, with the majority pointing to ad-to-product page breakdowns, followed by payment issues. For brands, the pain shows up after the sale, with customer care and returns topping the list.  

Commerce leaders say what’s breaking isn’t just the customer experience, but the systems behind it. Siloed data, manual workflows, and slow response times leave teams reacting after the moment has passed. 

Coming into 2026, retailers and brands are focused on fixing the breaks that lose customers. The index shows where peers are investing in stronger product connections, clearer delivery promises, and smoother service to protect both satisfaction and margin. 

Why better data ends spreadsheet speed 

Many retailers and brands say they’re still stuck at “spreadsheet speed.” Manual work dominates, from vendor analysts pivoting late-order reports in Excel to reconciling conflicting data across systems. These steps slow reaction times and introduce errors that ripple through decisions. 

Nearly three in four executives admit they sometimes act on outdated or inaccurate data. More than one-third say it happens often. That kind of gap leaves strategy shaped by incomplete information rather than facts teams can trust. 

The index points to how retailers and brands are starting to move faster by cutting manual steps so decisions can happen in hours, not days, and so they can rely on standardized data at every level.

Why retailers and brands need this index 

Rithum’s 2026 commerce readiness index reflects what leading retailers and brands say is working before and after purchase, with benchmarks you can use to guide your next steps.  

Download the report to see the full findings. 

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We’re excited to share Rithum’s newly redesigned website (which you’re currently on!). With more intuitive navigation and fresh content, it now better reflects what Rithum stands for: powering the future of commerce. The new site design helps you understand our solutions, navigate by role or business need, and find the right information quickly, whether you’re already working with Rithum or just starting to explore what we offer. 

Why now, and why it matters 

Retail and brand teams are building for long-term growth while managing more complexity every year. They need more than a toolset. They need a partner who understands the full picture and helps them move with clarity. Rithum plays that role. We bring together the systems that power commerce and help teams make smarter decisions across every part of their operation. The new website reflects this vision and makes it easier to see how we support measurable progress. 

The homepage shows how Rithum supports your business from the start. The structure also helps existing customers find product support and discover new ways to use the platform. 

This redesign puts clarity first. Solutions are easier to explore by business goal, role, or product area. You can start wherever it makes the most sense for the way you work. 

The experience also adapts to different needs. Brands and retailers often approach Rithum with distinct priorities, and the site now gives each a more direct path to what matters most. 

What’s changed 

This isn’t just a new look. We rethought how the site works so you can move through it with less effort and more clarity. Content is structured around real use cases, thought leadership, and business needs, so it’s easier to find what applies to you. Whether you’re here to solve a specific problem or explore new channels, the site will get you there faster. 

• Clearer solution overviews – You can now explore how Rithum helps with assortment, fulfillment, product data, marketplace selling, and more. These new pages are organized by business goals and pain points, so it’s easier to find what matches your priorities. 

• Simplified navigation – Whether you’re a brand, a retailer, or both, you can get straight to the information that matters most. Navigation now guides you based on who you are and what you’re trying to solve. 

What’s staying the same 

Your login page, credentials, and in-product experience are unchanged. Customers can continue accessing their accounts as usual. No settings or functionality have moved. The Knowledge Base is still the go-to place for documentation. It’s your hub for step-by-step guidance and helpful content. 

What you should do next 

If you’re looking for webinars, tutorials, reports, or product updates, head to the Resources Library.  

If you’re new to Rithum, now’s a great time to explore. The updated solutions pages walk through exactly how Rithum supports key parts of your commerce strategy, from fulfillment to product data and supplier management. Whether you’re solving a specific problem or just curious about what’s possible, the new site is built to help you find answers faster and make more confident decisions. 

Built with our clients in mind 

Rithum has always been where retailers and brands come to keep modern commerce clear and manageable. This new site shows exactly how we can support your business. It shows what we offer, how it all fits together, and where to go next. Whether you’re looking for solutions or support, our goal is to make everything easier to find and faster to use. 

Simon Byrne is Senior Director of Digital Marketing & Operations at Rithum. 

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Retail fulfillment just got a big upgrade. Essendant, a leader in distribution and fulfillment services, has partnered with Rithum to create an end-to-end solution that combines fulfillment expertise with Rithum’s advanced technology. It’s easier than ever for businesses to grow and deliver seamless customer experiences.

Expand, optimize, deliver

Essendant has helped businesses in distribution and fulfillment for more than a century. With Rithum, the 3PL provider can connect technology and logistics, empowering brands and retailers to scale operations quickly and accurately.

“This partnership represents another step forward in our commitment to providing comprehensive solutions for our brands and retail partners. By combining Rithum’s innovative platform with our extensive fulfillment capabilities, we’re enabling merchants to scale their operations more efficiently than ever before,” said David Boone, Interim CEO of Essendant.

“Partnering with Essendant as a 3PL provider unlocks incredible opportunities for our customers, giving them access to a century of proven expertise in fulfillment services. This partnership blends Essendant’s trusted legacy of customer commitment with the cutting-edge solutions they need to thrive in today’s fast-paced market,” said Lou Keyes, CEO of Rithum.

What brands and retailers can expect

This partnership will allow brands and retailers to be more efficient and scalable. With Essendant and Rithum working together, businesses can achieve:

• Seamless integration: Rithum’s commerce platform connects effortlessly with Essendant’s fulfillment network, saving time and reducing complexity.
• Enhanced efficiency: From omnichannel order fulfillment processing to delivery, the solution optimizes operations across every step.
• Nationwide reach: Access to Essendant’s vast distribution infrastructure throughout the U.S.
• Better inventory visibility: Businesses can track inventory with greater accuracy and fewer delays.
• Final-mile expertise: Fast, accurate delivery that meets rising consumer expectations.

Why this partnership is essential now

The combined capabilities of Essendant and Rithum allow brands and retailers to streamline operations while reaching more customers – without disappointing them. Are you ready to scale smarter? Whether you’re looking to grow your brand or streamline your retail operations, this partnership provides the tools to make change possible.

Discover how Rithum’s platform can transform your business. Schedule a demo today.

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Three key benefits for brands selling on marketplaces

Guest speaker Emily Pfeiffer, principal analyst at Forrester, noted the importance of data integration, and transparency and compliance, for sellers when selling through marketplaces. Pfeiffer also highlighted three key benefits for brands.

1. Expanded sales channels: Selling through marketplaces provides sellers with increased brand exposure and more sales channels to reach new customers.
2. Inventory liquidation: Marketplaces create opportunities for brands to liquidate excess or slow-moving inventory in a more profitable way compared to bulk liquidation.
3. Assortment testing: The endless digital shelf space of marketplaces allows brands to more easily test different product assortments and combinations to see what resonates with customers.

During her presentation, Pfeiffer also emphasized the importance of data-driven decision-making. This is achieved by using data from marketplaces to make informed decisions about inventory and customer preferences.

Rithum Managed Marketplaces helps ensure sellers comply with legal requirements for marketplace transactions. Rithum’s platform also provides robust data analytics tools, allowing brands to make data-driven decisions and optimize their product offerings.

The webinar also went in-depth about Rithum’s commissioned “The Total Economic Impact™ of Rithum Managed Marketplaces” study by Forrester Consulting, published in February 2024. According to guest speaker Veronica Iles, senior consultant at Forrester, the study found that by using Rithum Managed Marketplaces, four brands were able to expand to new marketplaces faster. Brands were able to reduce the time and effort required to onboard each new marketplace.

Sellers also increased GMV in a profitable way. Rithum helped sellers be where their customers are, optimized their listings and pricing, leveraged data insights, and controlled their margins. The study also found that sellers using Rithum Managed Marketplaces improved operational efficiency. By automating manual tasks such as data integrations and resolving marketplace issues, sellers were able to free up employees to focus on more strategic initiatives.

How to be successful on Walmart Marketplace?

Walmart Marketplace global e-commerce sales reached more than $100 billion in 2024. It continues to experience significant growth, with a 45% jump in Walmart U.S. Marketplace revenue in 2024, and a 17% increase in Q4 U.S. e-commerce sales. Walmart Marketplace offers end-to-end solutions and deep retail expertise to help sellers succeed on their marketplace, said Drew Lichvar, manager – channel partnerships, at Walmart Marketplace. Sellers selling through Walmart Marketplace can use Walmart’s fulfillment logistics network and easy in-store returns. The mass merchant has more than 4,600 U.S. stores combined with digital channels.

How Rithum partners with Walmart Marketplace

Rithum helps sellers navigate Walmart Marketplace’s unique requirements and provides them with the necessary tools and resources to optimize their performance and profitability, Lichvar said. Sellers can accelerate their expansion on the Walmart Marketplace and better manage their operations.

“I’m really excited because Rithum just launched a full suite of new tools such as assortment growth, repricer – all while staying profitable,” Lichvar said. “Rithum has those capabilities with us.”

Lichvar added that Walmart Marketplace is also launching new technology as an omnichannel retailer. This includes virtual try-on tools so customers can try before they buy and view items in their home virtually.

Rithum’s global commerce network includes more than 40,000 brands, suppliers and retailers representing $50 billion in annual sales. Through a single e-commerce platform, Rithum connects hundreds of channels and more than 400 marketplaces and retail sites.

Walmart Marketplace and Rithum meet weekly to understand sellers’ needs, Lichvar said. And while technology can make selling on Walmart Marketplace more efficient, customers can still reach a person when they need to, Lichvar added. “We are a tech company that is people-led. We’re using technology to take us to the next level as a marketplace,” he said.

Learn how Rithum can help here.

The post How to Manage Multiple Marketplaces Profitably, featuring Walmart and Forrester appeared first on Rithum.

“Gartner Hype Cycles provide a graphic representation of the maturity and adoption of technologies and applications, and how they are potentially relevant to solving real business problems and exploiting new opportunities.”*

What is multichannel selling in ecommerce?

Multichannel selling is when sellers sell products on more than one sales channel. Gartner defines, “enterprise marketplaces as digital platforms that allow multiple sellers to sell directly to end customers.”

According to Gartner, “Enterprise Marketplaces (MOAs) enables marketplace operators to manage seller onboarding, drop-shipping programs, product catalogs, order routing and management, and seller compliance with marketplace policies.”

Gartner stated that this is important because “enterprise marketplaces can provide consumers with more options to choose from, leading to an improved customer experience (CX), streamlined procurement processes, and a resilient supply chain.” Rithum was previously recognized in the 2024 Gartner market Guide for Marketplace Operation Applications report.

In the Gartner Hype Cycle for Digital Commerce, 2024 report, Gartner states that one obstacle to sellers is that “creating an enterprise marketplace is a fundamental business model change that requires support from the highest levels of the organization. Marketplace operators will need to serve end customers as well as third-party sellers.”

What is 3P commerce?

Third-party (3P) commerce is when the inventory owner and the channel owner are different. A 3P commerce model allows brands to sell directly to consumers through a retailer storefront via a dropship or marketplace model. This allows sellers immense scalability, offering retailers reduced inventory risk and more choices for customers. Sellers increase market reach and connection with customers.

Developing a strategy around marketplaces requires a comprehensive approach. As stated by Gartner’s User Recommendations, “leverage vendors’ seller networks that can help with marketplace scaling efforts,”

Sellers can leverage Rithum’s network of over 40,000 brands, suppliers, and retailers that represent $50 billion in annual GMV.

Learn more about how Rithum can help you launch your dropship, marketplace or hybrid solution here.

Gartner, Hype Cycle for Digital Commerce, 2024, Sandy Shen, 8 July 2024 *Gartner Methodologies, Gartner Hype Cycle GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally, and HYPE CYCLE is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates and are used herein with permission. All rights reserved. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications. And does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research. This includes any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

The post Rithum Named as a Sample Vendor in the Gartner Hype Cycle Digital Commerce, 2024 appeared first on Rithum.

Amazon Shipping allows you to spend less time managing orders, and more time growing your business. Benefits include: 

• Online delivery and 24/7 tracking: Amazon Shipping provides online delivery and 24/7 tracking. Amazon’s warehouse-to-door tracking system provides you with real-time visibility. 
• Pickup and delivery 7 days a week: Ground shipping delivery service is available 7 days a week backed by Amazon’s reliable and fast transportation network. The Amazon service for sellers offers delivery in two to five business days in the contiguous U.S. for orders placed on non-Amazon channels.  
• Simple rates and hassle-free claims: Amazon Shipping simplifies the shipping process with straightforward rates. The service also offers hassle-free claims with most resolved in 24 hours. 
• No residential fees or weekend delivery charges: There are no additional charges for residential deliveries or weekend deliveries, making it a cost-effective and transparent solution for sellers. 

How does Amazon Shipping work for sellers? 

To get started, you must have or create an account on Amazon.com and be registered to use Amazon Shipping. Once registered, Rithum customers can configure their Amazon Shipping account in the Rithum platform here. 

Purchase labels from Amazon Shipping through the Rithum platform. Amazon picks up the shipment from your warehouse or location and delivers the package to the buyer. 

Start your Amazon Shipping journey today. 

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