March 2026 in eCommerce
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March 2026 highlights how eCommerce is rapidly evolving, with AI-powered discovery, conversational search, social commerce and faster fulfilment reshaping how customers shop and how retailers compete.
🛍️John Lewis invests AI shopping and TikTok Shop
John Lewis has said it is investing in AI-powered shopping so its products can appear inside platforms such as Google Gemini and ChatGPT. They also launched a 90-day TikTok Shop pilot focused on beauty and gifting, and said a wider Uber Eats rollout later in March would make up to 3,000 products available from four stores with delivery in as little as 45 minutes.
Why it matters
This is one of the clearest UK examples yet of a retailer treating AI discovery, social commerce and rapid fulfilment as one connected journey. For eCommerce teams, it underlines that product data, channel-ready assortment and last-mile speed are becoming part of the same commercial strategy.
🔨Kingfisher moves B&Q beyond keyword search
Kingfisher announced a multi-year partnership with Google Cloud to deploy Vertex AI Search for Commerce and build more proactive AI shopping agents across its eCommerce platforms, including B&Q in the UK. Kingfisher said the goal is to move beyond rigid keyword search toward conversational discovery, and that early B&Q trials had already shown meaningful results.
Why it matters
This is a strong sign that retail search is shifting from “type a product name” to “help me plan the whole project.” In home improvement especially, that could mean higher-converting journeys built around baskets, project planning and guided purchasing rather than standalone SKUs.
💳Tesco uses Clubcard to push Marketplace
Tesco launched a triple Clubcard points promotion on Tesco Marketplace orders through until 7th of April, tying loyalty more tightly to its third-party marketplace push. Tesco said the marketplace now has more than 600 sellers.
Why it matters
This is a smart example of using loyalty to change customer behaviour and encourage shoppers to treat the marketplace as part of the Tesco ecosystem, not a separate add-on. That is the kind of tactic other retailers building out marketplace models will be watching closely.
🏃➡️JD.com brings Joybuy into the UK with same-day delivery
JD.com launched Joybuy in the UK, offering categories including tech, appliances, beauty, home, grocery and everyday essentials. At launch, Joybuy said more than 17 million people across 4.5 million households, including in London, Birmingham, Leicester, Nottingham, Oxford and Cambridge, were covered by same-day delivery, free on eligible orders over £29 placed before 11am. It also launched in five other European markets the same day.
Why it matters
A major international player has entered the UK market with owned logistics and same-day delivery as the headline proposition, not just low prices. That raises the bar for delivery expectations and adds fresh competitive pressure in general merchandise and everyday essentials.
🎤Just Eat takes voice ordering into Alexa+
Just Eat Takeaway.com said UK customers will be able to order from its 100,000 partner brands through Alexa+ devices when the service rolls out in 2026, building on the company’s earlier voice-ordering work inside its own app. Just Eat said customers will be able to use natural conversation to explore cuisines, reorder favourites and shop more easily via voice.
Why it matters
Voice commerce has been discussed for years, but generative AI makes it far more usable. The bigger story for retail professionals is that the shopping journey is continuing to spread into assistants, operating systems and ambient devices, not just websites and apps.
1️⃣Argos gets benchmarked as the UK’s digital retail leader
On 3 March 2026, Argos said it had topped the inaugural Digital Capability Index from Retail Week and The Grocer. According to the announcement, the index assessed 65 UK retailers against more than 75 metrics and input from over 2,000 customers, with Argos standing out for its joined-up shopping experience, same-day delivery and strong use of its store network.
Why it matters
This is a useful reminder that optimisation is no longer just about site speed or checkout tweaks. The strongest retail models are increasingly operational: fast fulfilment, smart use of stores, and a genuinely joined up online/offline experience.
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Bite-size updates on what happened in eCommerce and marketing this month, to keep you ahead of the curve and inform your campaigns.
