DoorDash Will Pick Up Your Returns, Pinterest Trends Lift Wayfair UK Sales
3 min read · October 1, 2026 · Covering September 30 · 7 stories from 6 sources
Yesterday in ecommerce: DoorDash said it will collect returns from shoppers' homes nationwide from November, and Pinterest search trends helped Wayfair UK lift sales by 4.5%. 7 stories, about 3 minutes.
01Delivery
DoorDash will collect returns from shoppers' doors for a flat fee
DoorDash unveiled Dasher Returns at its Dash Forward event: a courier picks up a return at the shopper's home and drops it at the store for a flat fee. It runs in a few cities now, goes nationwide in November, and DoorDash expects 80% of retail orders to be eligible by year end, meaning faster refunds. Macy's, Anthropologie, The North Face, Timberland and Vans also joined its marketplace.
For your store:Returns are getting easier for shoppers everywhere; make sure your own return policy and refund speed don't feel slow next to that.
Pinterest search trends gave Wayfair UK a 4.5% sales lift
Wayfair.co.uk and Pinterest used Pinterest search data to spot two rising home trends, Cosy Spaces and Dopamine Décor, then built curated, shoppable collections around them. Searches for "cosy corner" were up 465% year over year and "whimsy room decor" up 655%. The first phase delivered a 4.5% incremental sales lift, and the most saved products now feature as Wayfair's Top Pins.
For your store:Free trend tools like Pinterest Trends can tell you which styles to feature in your next collection or email before demand peaks.
Commerce launches AI tools to get product catalogs ready for AI shopping
Commerce, formerly BigCommerce, released Feedonomics Enrichment and BigCommerce Catalog Enrichment. Both automatically write and improve titles, descriptions, feature bullets, FAQs and SEO metadata, and add facts and Q&A fields that AI assistants can read to judge who a product is for. The goal is consistent data across every channel without manual CSV exports. Commerce's Sharon Gee put it simply: agents answer "as well as your data allows."
For your store:Whatever platform you use, check that each product page answers basic questions like size, material and who it's for in plain text.
US spending on subscriptions rose 7.7% year over year in July, faster than overall card spending, a trend now two years old, according to Bank of America Institute data. Entertainment and retail memberships make up about 43% of subscription spend. Reading and information services, including AI tools, are growing fastest: up 61% among Gen Z and 51% among younger millennials.
For your store:If you sell anything people reorder, a simple subscribe and save option could tap into a habit shoppers keep even when budgets are tight.
Amazon renames its ad platform Amazon Ads Agent and lets AI run the funnel
At its unBoxed conference, Amazon renamed its unified ad platform Amazon Ads Agent, covering planning, campaign setup, optimization and measurement. New Full-Funnel Campaigns put sponsored ads, display, video and streaming TV into one campaign: you pick products, creative and budget, and AI handles execution. A new DVA+ also merges Sponsored Display, Sponsored TV and programmatic buying. VP Kelly MacLean called the approach "human-led AI supported."
For your store:Before you hand budget to an automated campaign, set a clear ROAS floor so you can tell if the AI is actually earning its keep.
Cakes builds its own media company as paid TikTok reach gets pricier
Cakes Body, which reached $100 million in sales within three years thanks to TikTok virality, launched Cakes Media, an in-house entertainment arm. Its first project, a 57 minute YouTube documentary, passed 371,600 views, and it hired former Red Bull executive Caley Wildermuth as head of content. Co-founder Taylor Capuano said "Entertainment has become the new price of admission."
For your store:You don't need a studio: one recurring content format your customers actually look forward to builds an audience you don't rent.
1-800-Flowers sells PersonalizationMall.com at a steep loss
1-800-Flowers is selling PersonalizationMall.com and Things Remembered to PlanetArt for $45 million in cash, against the $245 million it paid for PersonalizationMall.com in 2020. It will keep offering some of the site's products through a commercial agreement. The sale follows a 12.9% drop in fourth quarter revenue to $293.1 million, and CEO Adolfo Villagomez framed it as a way to sharpen the company's focus.
For your store:Growth by acquisition is risky; before you add a new brand or category, be sure you can run it as well as your core store.
The Daily Checkout is a daily summary written by KonvertiQ. Every story links to its original source, where you will find full reporting and context. Covered today: Digital Commerce 360, Glossy, Internet Retailing, Modern Retail, Retail Dive, Tamebay.