Technology

An investigation by ProPublica has found that Amazon.com's algorithms encourage customers to pay more than they need to for products. The report found that Amazon places its own products in the prominent “Buy Box” almost three-quarters of the time, even if it isn't the cheapest. If a customer bought everything recommended by Amazon’s "Buy Box,"…

Learn 6 actionable steps, using insights from industry experts, to help you better plan, execute and measure retail marketing projects.

Etsy announced it has acquired a startup called Blackbird Technologies, which developed algorithms for natural language processing, image recognition and analytics — similar to those used by Amazon.com and Google for product and other searches — and then “democratized” them to be used by any company of any size. At Etsy, the tech will be used to improve its…

Despite various short-lived efforts over the years, most retail shopping carts are impressively low tech. However, a new patent issued to Wal-Mart paints a futuristic vision, with carts driving themselves from the parking lot right to the customer who called for it. If the patent is granted and Wal-Mart chooses to manufacture and deploy the carts, shoppers…

Fraudsters of all stripes are at their most active in the fourth quarter of the year. There are several proactive measures that retailers can put in place to lower the volume of fraud, and my advice is to get this plan together by the end of Q3 so as not to rely on last year’s…

With smartphones enabling today’s consumers to be connected at all times — including when shopping in brick-and-mortar stores — retailers have been forced to cater to shoppers wandering store aisles staring at their phones. From beacons to dressing rooms equipped with iPads to virtual reality installations, today’s retail stores bear little resemblance to the mom-and-pop…

Back in April, Facebook announced that retailers would now be able to use its Messenger app to sell directly to consumers in a chat window. Some of the first brands that jumped on this opportunity included 1-800-Flowers.com and Spring. Now, more brands are using artificial intelligence (AI) as a selling and communication platform. AI (e.g.,…

Signet Jewelers said last week that it would test new technology in some of its Kay Jewelers locations that will confirm the authenticity of the gems it sells. The move comes after allegations arose in May and June that the company was swapping diamonds. During its second-quarter earnings call, Signet CEO Mark Light said that…

The most massive and unexpected retail success story of the summer so far wasn't really even about retail. It was about catching, training and battling virtual monsters. The Pokémon Go augmented reality (AR) app was released in North America on July 6. It was downloaded approximately 7.5 million times in the first week and was…

Thirty years ago I worked as a loss prevention officer at a major national retailer. For hours at a time, I walked the aisles, keeping an eye out for suspicious characters. When I spied a shoplifter, I followed them out of the store, confronted them, and either recovered the pilfered goods or contacted the police.…