Most ecommerce brands think community means followers, engagement, or a discount popup. It doesn’t. Real community is when customers choose to stay connected to your brand between purchases. It’s what turns retention into revenue, referrals into organic growth, and customers into advocates. And as acquisition costs continue to rise, that shift is becoming commercially critical.

We spent two days at Pulse eCommerce Summit 2026 hearing from some of the biggest names in retail and ecommerce and one theme came up again and again: The brands winning right now aren’t chasing complexity. From Hoodrich’s huge checkout consent growth, to Dr. Martens’ take on omnichannel, to the growing move away from discount-led ecommerce, here are our biggest takeaways.

Modern ecommerce brands are drowning in dashboards. We’ve never had more ecommerce data available to us and yet many founders have never felt less certain. Dashboards promise clarity, but too often they create noise. In this Open Tabs series article, we explore why the best ecommerce brands don’t just follow the numbers blindly, they know when to step back, trust their instinct and focus on the signals that actually matter.

Shopify’s native B2B functionality is no longer locked behind Shopify Plus. From custom pricing and payment terms to company accounts and wholesale catalogues, B2B is now available across all Shopify plans - giving growing brands a far more powerful way to manage trade customers without relying on complicated workarounds or third-party apps.

AI is everywhere, but for Shopify brands it’s often unclear how to use it properly.

Used well, it can improve decision-making, speed up testing, and help you get more from your existing traffic. Used badly, it just adds noise.

Retail worked - until margins didn’t. Little Lies pivoted from boutique reseller to manufacturer, gaining control of pricing, product, and growth. Here’s what actually changed and what it takes to make it work.

Still guessing what will convert on your Shopify store? You’re leaving money on the table.

A/B testing turns gut instinct into real data, helping you understand what actually drives sales. And with AI now speeding up the process, it’s never been easier to test smarter and optimise faster.

Most Shopify POS rollouts don’t fail because of the technology - they fail because the team isn’t prepared. Here’s how to train your staff, manage change, and ensure a smooth rollout in retail.

A simple, structured self-audit can surface obvious problems and give you a clear fix list. Here are 5 checks you can do this week to keep your store sharp.

15 years on shelves. A brand that never quite matched the science behind it. Here's how Natural Vetcare changed that - with a full rebrand, a new Shopify store, and a debut at Crufts 2026.