Walmart makes it easier for visually impaired shoppers to navigate stores: The retailer partnered with Aira to offer customers wayfinding services, its latest move to improve accessibility.
Retailers try to rein in return fraud: Ecommerce’s growth this holiday season increases the pressure on retailers to combat fraud without pushing consumers away.
Cohere’s latest model untangles complex multilingual queries, helping regulated industries and global marketers find precise answers in over 100 languages.
Who is OpenAI’s new CMO? Kate Rouch will lead the company through its first advertising efforts as it seeks to diversify revenues.
Nike troubles complicate Foot Locker’s turnaround plan: The retailer lowered its full-year guidance as it struggles to win over cautious shoppers outside of peak shopping periods.
Investor excitement contrasts with customer hesitation, suggesting businesses must balance automation with user trust to maximize AI’s potential
In November, retailers made strategic moves across grocery, apparel, and beauty. Amazon turned Black Friday into a weeklong event and launched its Shein competitor, Haul. Meanwhile, e.l.f. Beauty strengthened its value proposition through a new Dollar General partnership, while Kroger announced plans for specialized Asian experience stores in North Texas. Here are our eight unofficial picks for the most interesting retailers in November.
Coca-Cola narrows its sustainability ambitions: The change dovetails with several other companies backing away from DEI initiatives amid shifting political winds.
Spotify has nearly twice as many US listeners as the next most popular digital audio platform, Amazon Music, at 103.6 million compared to 53.1 million, per our September 2024 forecast.
AI’s role in Spotify Wrapped is slightly subdued: The platform’s yearly marketing event included AI, but stopped short of prominently featuring it.
Capable new models and supercomputer plans show progress, but releasing a breakthrough “any-to-any” model next year will test its execution under tight timelines
President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed 10% to 20% tariffs could cause double-digit price hikes across six retail categories, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF) analysis from November 2024.
Steep discounts drove shoppers to spend on Cyber Monday: The Monday after Thanksgiving is poised to be the biggest online shopping day in US history.
On today's podcast episode, we discuss whether Bluesky can sustain this user growth momentum, how much of a threat it is to X (Twitter), and if in fact it is Threads that is actually about to snatch the microblogging crown. Tune in to the discussion with Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Senior Director of Briefings Jeremy Goldman, and Analyst Daniel Konstantinovic.
Consumers are exploring AI-driven shopping tools, but interest varies by application. Image-based item searches and holiday deal assistance are gaining traction, but trust issues and preferences for human customer service agents still pose challenges. Brands must ensure their AI tools address consumer needs, provide transparency, and enhance personalization to build trust and drive adoption.
Bluesky drives three times more publisher traffic than Threads, some report: its open link-sharing policies offer an engaging alternative to restrictive platforms.
Carriers keep hiking up shipping costs: Rates are up nearly 26% since 2021, and that’s before factoring in holiday surcharges that will further eat into retailers’ margins.
Amazon, Target, and malls were among this year’s Cyber Five winners: Roughly 197 million people shopped this year’s sales, leading to a surge in online and in-store spending.
Shein and Temu delivery providers face barrage of lawsuits regarding labor practices: Several have been accused of underpaying workers, misclassifying them as independent contractors, and failing to provide overtime.