E-Commerce & AI Commerce News Digest (January 18, 2026)

Today's Top News

Microsoft Copilot Checkout Launches, Establishing Four-Way AI Commerce Competition

Microsoft Copilot Checkout Enters the AI Commerce Race

Microsoft launches Copilot Checkout, entering the agentic commerce race

On January 8, 2026, Microsoft launched Copilot Checkout, making a full-scale entry into the AI commerce (agentic commerce) market. The service uses PayPal, Shopify, and Stripe as payment infrastructure.

This development has clarified a four-way competitive structure in the AI commerce market.

Notably, Microsoft—OpenAI's largest investor—is building its own commerce infrastructure. This indicates that commerce is "too strategic to outsource" even to a partner.

OpenAI/Stripe's Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP) was announced in September 2025 as an open-source standard under the Apache 2.0 license. Unlike Google's proprietary UCP, ACP is designed to be platform-agnostic.

For e-commerce businesses, this creates a new challenge: which protocols to support. For now, "supporting all of them" may be the most realistic approach.

Corporate News & Partnerships

Walmart Promotes E-Commerce Chief David Guggina to Lead U.S. Business

Walmart promotes David Guggina to U.S. CEO amid leadership shuffle

Guggina has held several roles during nearly eight years at the retailer, including most recently chief e-commerce officer of the U.S. division

Walmart has promoted its e-commerce chief David Guggina to lead the company's entire U.S. business operations.

This move signals Walmart's intent to further accelerate the integration of online and offline operations. With an e-commerce executive leading the entire U.S. business, a digital-first strategy is expected to permeate throughout the organization.

Walmart's U.S. e-commerce business has seen rapid growth in recent years, with particular strength in buy online, pick up in store (BOPIS) and marketplace operations. This promotion positions e-commerce strategy at the core of the company's overall strategy.

Saks Fifth Avenue Faces Transformation of Luxury Department Store Model

Saks And The Slow Goodbye To Luxury's Original Theatre Of Dreams

Luxury moves from department stores to experience economies

Luxury department store Saks Fifth Avenue is being forced to transform from its traditional department store model.

Once called "luxury's original theatre of dreams," luxury department stores are having their relevance questioned due to changing consumer behavior and the expansion of brands' direct-to-consumer strategies. Meanwhile, experience-focused retail concepts like Belmont and Bal Harbour are on the rise.

As luxury brands strengthen their own e-commerce and flagship stores, the role of department stores as intermediaries continues to shrink. Saks' trajectory symbolizes the structural changes across the luxury retail sector.

Global E-Commerce Trends

Secondhand E-Commerce Market Expected to See Significant Growth

Second-hand E-commerce Market Expected to Register Notable Growth

Market research report on second-hand e-commerce sector

A new forecast report predicts significant growth in the secondhand e-commerce market over the coming years.

Key growth drivers include rising sustainability awareness, frugality driven by inflation, and improved convenience of C2C platforms. Depop, Poshmark, and Mercari (in Japan) are leading the market.

The value of "buying quality items at lower prices, even if used" is taking hold, particularly among younger consumers. Growth is expected across categories including apparel, luxury goods, electronics, and furniture.

Summary

Today's news highlighted how Microsoft's Copilot Checkout entry has clarified the four-way competitive structure in the AI commerce market (Google, OpenAI/Stripe, Microsoft, Perplexity).

Key points to watch:

• Significance of Microsoft's entry: Despite being OpenAI's largest investor, Microsoft is building its own commerce infrastructure. Commerce is "too strategic to delegate to a partner"
• Walmart's moves: The e-commerce chief's promotion to lead U.S. operations suggests accelerating online-offline integration
• Protocol fragmentation: E-commerce businesses may be forced to support multiple protocols

Going forward, watch for announcements at NRF 2026 and how e-commerce businesses respond to protocol adoption decisions.