One in Five UK Brands Are Invisible to AI Shopping Assistants, DHL Starts Charging for Failed Deliveries
4 min read · November 4, 2026 · Covering November 3 · 9 stories from 5 sources
Yesterday in ecommerce: a UK study found well-known brands vanish when shoppers ask AI assistants what to buy, and DHL began charging retailers for failed delivery attempts. 9 stories, about 4 minutes.
01AI & Agents
One in five of Britain's top brands is invisible when shoppers ask AI what to buy
Human Forward tested 75 well-known UK brands across six AI assistants, including ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini, asking each for the best in its category. No assistant recommended 15 of the 75. Of 50 sites it could check for actual buying, 35 weren't set up for an AI agent to purchase from, among them Marks & Spencer and Moonpig. Founder Peter Abidi said "AI shopping is arriving faster than most brands realise."
For your store:Check whether your product data and checkout are structured so AI agents can actually find and buy from you, not just mention your name in passing.
DHL starts charging retailers for a second delivery attempt
DHL Germany will now charge senders 2.99 euros whenever a parcel needs a second delivery attempt; previously that was included in standard service. The change applies to German shipments for now. German ecommerce association bevh objected, with public affairs officer Juri Schütt noting retailers will pay without being able to verify who caused the missed delivery. DHL also added paid proof-of-pickup codes for valuable parcels.
For your store:If you ship into Germany via DHL, build the fee into delivery costs and nudge customers toward lockers or precise time windows to cut failed first attempts.
Rackhams doubles sales after adding AI-powered site search
UK marketplace Rackhams grew October sales 113% year over year after launching AI-powered search, built with Luigi's Box, across a catalogue of more than 350,000 products from over 1,000 sellers. Since the new search went live, daily revenue is up 8% and order volume up 11% versus September. Head of marketing Mike Hart said better search sits "at the heart of" improving the shopping experience ahead of the busiest trading weeks.
For your store:If your catalogue has outgrown basic keyword search, upgrading to an AI-powered search before peak season can lift conversion and order volume fast.
Shoppers who buy on an AI's recommendation return it almost half the time
A Blue Yonder survey of 2,000 US shoppers found about one in four has bought something an AI assistant recommended, and 46% of those buyers returned the item within the past year, mostly because it didn't match its description or the size was wrong. CEO Duncan Angove said the issue isn't the AI itself: "It's a data problem," since an assistant is only as good as the product information it can find.
For your store:Before leaning on AI shopping tools to drive sales, tighten your product descriptions, sizing charts and images. Bad data turns AI traffic into costly returns.
Bilt buys sports loyalty firm Lava for $300 million
Rent-rewards fintech Bilt agreed to acquire Lava, which connects point-of-sale, identity and loyalty systems for 56 pro sports teams including the Detroit Lions and Denver Nuggets, in a $300 million deal. Bilt, with about 7 million members and 50,000 merchant partners, plans to combine its AI agents with Lava's real-time fan data to offer personalized local-business perks. Co-founder Vivek Ranadivé said "loyalty shouldn't begin and end on game day."
For your store:Loyalty and payments keep merging. If you run a rewards program, watch how bigger platforms bundle perks across brands, where customer attention is headed.
Most shoppers would rather wait than pay more for delivery
A Scurri survey found 67% of UK shoppers would accept longer delivery times this peak season in exchange for free or cheaper shipping, and 61% said free delivery matters more than speed, against 29% who prioritize next-day. Separately, 64% think retailers mainly use AI to cut costs rather than improve service. CEO Rory O'Connor said shoppers "care less about the technology" and more about whether delivery is affordable and reliable.
For your store:Before investing more in faster shipping this peak season, test offering a slower, cheaper option at checkout. Many customers would rather save money than time.
Google wants its wallet to do more than pay at checkout
Google's payments head Stavan Parikh said the company envisions its digital wallet eventually storing receipts, tracking orders, handling refunds and delivering merchant offers, not just processing payments. He said the goal is letting shoppers "truly start leaving your home without your physical wallet." Google recently redesigned its Android wallet with more brand space and is building limited-scope credentials so AI agents can pay without exposing shoppers' full data.
For your store:As wallets add loyalty and order-tracking features, make sure your offers and shipping updates show up there too, not only in your own app or emails.
Even enthusiast shoppers now wait for a discount before buying
New research covered by Internet Retailing found 73% of so-called "Premium Gamers", shoppers who buy the latest game releases, view new titles as overpriced at launch and actively wait for prices to drop before buying, despite seeing themselves as early adopters. The finding points to a wider shift toward value-conscious buying across retail, reaching even customers once seen as largely price-insensitive.
For your store:Don't assume your most enthusiastic or loyal customers are immune to discount-seeking. A predictable promotion rhythm beats hoping full-price launches hold.
Truist speeds up merchant onboarding with new small business tools
Super-regional bank Truist rolled out a faster onboarding experience for merchants along with new insights for business owners, part of a broader push into small business payments. Chris Ward, the bank's head of enterprise payments, said the changes are meant to help merchants get set up and start accepting payments with less friction, as banks and processors compete harder for small merchant accounts.
For your store:If your current payment processor's onboarding and reporting feel clunky, it's worth shopping around. Banks are now actively competing for small merchant business.
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: ChannelX, Ecommerce News Europe, Internet Retailing, Payments Dive, Retail Dive.