eCommerce Minute

The hotel chain is launching its own version of home sharing for vacation rentals to compete with the likes of digital sellers like Airbnb and VRBO.

The initial offerings will include 2,000 homes in 100 destinations.  The company says it will focus on premium and luxury homes in the U.S., Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean. 

Among its listings, you will find unique homes like a castle in Ireland with a private lake, a 6-bedroom London townhome with a climbing wall, and an oceanfront villa in Anguilla with a private beach, butler, and staff.

Walmart has unveiled its new “store of the future” which will serve as a testing ground for new technologies.

The store concept is called the Intelligent Retail Lab — or “IRL” for short —  features AI-enabled cameras and interactive displays.

The rebranded Souq will allow customers to shop Amazon in Arabic for the first time on its websites and apps.

7-Eleven is testing some new concepts for its convenience stores.  It’s opened up an experimental testing ground in Dallas that company execs have named the Lab Store.  

With its rebranded lab store, 7-Eleven is testing its ability to be seen as a convenient place to pick up healthy snacks and enjoy a better-for-you meal. 

The grocer plans to participate in a program called Produce RX to help give their customers in the Washington DC area access to healthy foods. 

The program is in partnership with DC Greens, a nonprofit that works to improve food education, increase food access and advocate for better food policy.

Clothing and fashion retailer Forever 21 announced its shutting down its online stores in China.

The company announced that it would close all its online shops, while huge clearance sales are ongoing in its physical stores.

Target is joining the growing ranks of retailers shifting product lines to organic, all-natural, and recyclable products.

Everspring is the name of a new suite of products launched by Target that are made from renewable materials, recycled products, and plants.  

The Everspring line will encompass more than 70 household products, such as paper towels, napkins, cleaning products, laundry detergent, and hand soaps.

Amazon will speed things up even further with One Day shipping for eligible Prime items.

A company from Washington called StixFresh has developed a solution formulated from all-natural ingredients that can help extend the shelf-life of avocados, citrus fruits, mangoes, and apples up to 14 days.

It’s not clear exactly how Facebook expects to use the assistant, but one sign may be in the team that’s heading up the project.  

CNBC reports that Facebook's Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality group is leading the effort.  That’s the division overseeing development on its AR Oculus headsets.  

The voice-enabled tech might be incorporated into devices like Oculus and its Portal video chat.