Imagine spending four hours just to buy a single item. You’d have to travel to a crowded marketplace, search through dozens of vendors, haggle over prices, and hope the quality matched your expectations. This wasn’t unusual—it was how shopping worked for most of human history. Fast-forward to today, and you can order almost anything with a few smartphone taps and have it delivered to your door within hours. This dramatic transformation didn’t happen overnight; it’s the result of centuries of innovation that has fundamentally changed not just how we shop, but how millions of people make a living.
Continue reading… “From Ancient Bazaars to One-Click Shopping: How Marketplaces Changed Everything”History Says It’s Coming: The Next $1 Trillion Retail Giant
Retail has always been a mirror of technological progress. From the street markets of ancient Rome and Chang’an to the marble-clad department stores of the 19th century and the sprawling online empires of today, every major innovation has reshaped how we buy, sell, and interact with goods. Now, with the rise of artificial intelligence, the stage is set for yet another revolution—a trillion-dollar opportunity for those bold enough to seize it.
For centuries, retail remained largely unchanged: open-air markets, seasonal fairs, and shopkeepers selling essentials. Then came the Industrial Revolution, and suddenly goods were mass-produced, trains connected cities, and department stores emerged as cathedrals of commerce. Soon after, cash registers, automobiles, and telephony paved the way for chain stores, malls, and mail-order giants like Sears. Fast forward a century and the internet spawned Amazon, while smartphones created the on-demand economy of DoorDash, Instacart, and Shein. Each leap in technology didn’t just refine retail—it reinvented it.
So what comes next? AI has already begun reshaping industries, but retail is where it could create its most visible and profitable disruption. Here are five ways this could play out:
Continue reading… “History Says It’s Coming: The Next $1 Trillion Retail Giant”Japanese Supermarket Chain Aeon Implements AI to Standardize Employee Smiles
Aeon, a major Japanese supermarket chain, has introduced a new AI system designed to evaluate and “standardize” employee smiles. On July 1, the company announced the rollout of the “smile-rating AI system,” named “Mr. Smile,” across 240 stores in Japan. This move makes Aeon the first company to employ such technology on this scale.
Developed by the Japanese company InstaVR, Mr. Smile claims to accurately assess employees’ demeanor and rate their overall attitude based on over 450 factors, including greeting, facial expressions, voice volume, and tone. Aeon states its goal is to “standardize staff members’ smiles and satisfy customers to the maximum.”
Continue reading… “Japanese Supermarket Chain Aeon Implements AI to Standardize Employee Smiles”Elevating E-Commerce: Innovations Transforming Retail Strategies
As omnichannel retail and social commerce trends continue to shape the business landscape, some industry leaders argue that focusing on enhancing their own websites can lead to increased conversion rates, customer loyalty, and lifetime customer value. Janvi Shah, CEO of Boston-based e-commerce company Hue, emphasizes the enduring importance of a brand’s own digital platform, asserting that while various platforms may come and go, a consistent online presence remains essential. Shah highlights the pivotal role websites play in customer research, even if the final purchase occurs on a different channel, stressing that investments in a brand’s own platform can have a positive ripple effect across different channels.
Continue reading… “Elevating E-Commerce: Innovations Transforming Retail Strategies”Enhancing Online Shopping Transparency: Visual Information Improves Understanding of Terms and Conditions, Study Finds
Consumers Call for Improved Transparency in Online Purchases
Experts are urging for increased visual accessibility to terms and conditions when making online purchases, a move that could revolutionize consumer understanding and memory, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Consumer Policy. The research highlights the potential of providing clearer information post-purchase, leading to a deeper engagement with legalities and improving overall comprehension.
Post-Purchase Information Boosts Engagement
The study reveals a significant disparity in the attention and interest shown towards pre-purchase and post-purchase disclosures. Pre-purchase reading times were found to be only half as long as post-purchase reading times, indicating a lack of focus on disclosures before making a purchase. Researchers suggest that shifting the responsibility for providing detailed information to companies after a purchase could be a game-changer, with attention levels increasing by as much as 162% and understanding improving by 14 to 21%.
Continue reading… “Enhancing Online Shopping Transparency: Visual Information Improves Understanding of Terms and Conditions, Study Finds”PayPal launches its ‘super app’ combining payments, savings, bill pay, crypto, shopping and more
Image Credits: PayPal
PayPal has been talking about its “super app” plans for some time, having recently told investors its upcoming digital wallet and payments app had been given a go for launch. Today, the first version of that app is officially being introduced, offering a combination of financial tools including direct deposit, bill pay, a digital wallet, peer-to-peer payments, shopping tools, crypto capabilities and more. The company is also announcing its partnership with Synchrony Bank for its new high-yield savings account, PayPal Savings.
These changes shift PayPal from being largely a payments utility that’s tacked on other offerings here and there, to being a more fully fleshed out finance app. Though PayPal itself doesn’t aim to be a “bank,” the new app offers a range of competitive features for those considering shifting their finances to neobanks, like Chime or Varo, as it will now also include support for paycheck Direct Deposits through PayPal’s bank partners with two-day early access, bill pay and more.
These features could make PayPal more competitive, as getting paid earlier has been one of the bigger draws among those considering digital banking apps instead of using traditional banks.
In addition to shifting their paychecks to Payal, customers’ PayPal funds can then be used for things that are a part of daily life, like paying their bills, saving or shopping, for example.
Continue reading… “PayPal launches its ‘super app’ combining payments, savings, bill pay, crypto, shopping and more”Here’s how you’ll shop in 2030
If the fashion industry cleans up its act.
If you’re worried about the planet, clothes shopping can feel like navigating a minefield. There are so many things to worry about when buying a T-shirt—from the carbon emissions to the wastewater generated during its manufacturing. But imagine a world where fashion labels cleaned up their act and the industry actually made the planet greener?
That’s the premise of a new report from Bain and Positive Luxury, a company that offers sustainability certifications to brands. The report explores the many initiatives brands are currently working on to become more eco-friendly and considers what the world would be like in 2030 if these became norms. At a time when many consumers are just beginning to reckon with the fashion industry’s devastating impact on the planet, the report offers a hopeful glimpse into the future—if the industry makes some changes.
Continue reading… “Here’s how you’ll shop in 2030”Meet The Billionaire Founder Of South Korea’s Amazon That’s About To Go Public
Bom Kim, founder and chief executive officer
Coupang is preparing for a U.S. listing that could value the South Korean e-commerce giant at more than $50 billion. It’s another milestone for Coupang’s 42-year-old billionaire founder Bom Kim, who has been leading the company since 2010.
Dubbed the Amazon of South Korea, Coupang’s IPO would be the largest U.S. listing by a foreign company since Alibaba’s blockbuster debut in 2014.
Coupang has grown by cutting prices and speeding up deliveries. It offers same-day and next-day delivery of groceries and general merchandise. It delivers prepared foods through the name Coupang Eats and offers video streaming under the label Coupang Play.
Continue reading… “Meet The Billionaire Founder Of South Korea’s Amazon That’s About To Go Public”AI Go Debuts Hybrid Autonomous Shopping in Shanghai C-Store
By Jessie Dowd
The AI-powered autonomous shopping experience just got bigger, in the form of a 4,000-square-foot hybrid convenience market called AI Go in Shanghai. The store combines a manned checkout with the use of computer vision as part of checkout-free shopping powered by AiFiSolutions.
Stocking 2,000 SKUs ranging from fresh meats to snacks, this store represents the largest deployment to date of the AiFiAutonomous Store Platform OASIS. Consumers shopping autonomously check in using an AiFi app, or they can continue to shop as usual with a cashier at checkout.
Continue reading… “AI Go Debuts Hybrid Autonomous Shopping in Shanghai C-Store”The death of the department store and the American middle class
In a New Jersey suburb seven miles west of Midtown Manhattan, the American Dream is on shaky ground.
The Dream in question isn’t the mythological notion that upward social mobility is within reach for all hardworking Americans. It’s a $5 billion, 3 million-square-foot shopping and entertainment complex in East Rutherford featuring an indoor ski slope, an ice-skating rink, and a Nickelodeon-branded amusement park. The complex finally opened last fall, but it’s now facing huge new challenges.
The development’s complicated 17-year history, marked by ownership changes, false starts, and broken promises, had already put American Dream in a precarious situation. The Covid-19pandemic hitting in March made things much worse. Whether the mall makes it in the long term will hinge in part on how it deals with the collapse of three of the marquee department stores that were to anchor the complex and draw foot traffic — Barneys New York, Lord & Taylor, and Century 21 — which all have gone bankrupt and closed, or are planning to close all their stores in the US.More than half of all mall-based department stores will close by the end of 2021
Autonomous delivery startup Nuro hits $5 billion valuation on fresh funding of $500 million
Nuro R2 delivery bot
Nuro, the autonomous delivery startup founded by two former Google engineers, has raised $500 million, suggesting that investors still have an appetite for long-term pursuits such as robotics and automated vehicle technology. Nuro now has a post-money valuation of $5 billion.
The Series C round was led by funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., with participation from new investors including Fidelity Management & Research Company and Baillie Gifford. The round also includes existing investors such as SoftBank Vision Fund 1 and Greylock.
Nuro was founded in June 2016 by former Google engineers Dave Ferguson and Jiajun Zhu. While the startup was initially bootstrapped by Ferguson and Zhu, it has never struggled to attract investors. Nuro’s Series A funding round of $92 million, which officially closed in June 2017, included Greylock, Banyan and gave NetEase founder Ding Lei (aka William Ding) a seat on Nuro’s board. But it was the monster $940 million investment made by the SoftBank Vision Fund in February 2019 that catapulted Nuro ahead of numerous other startups attempting to commercialize autonomous vehicle technology. Nuro had a $2.7 billion valuation following the SoftBank investment, meaning its value doubled in about 18 months. That money has helped it grow to more than 650 employees.
How artificial intelligence may be making you buy things
If you are getting told off for spending too much on wine, maybe you can blame it on artificial intelligence
The shopping lists we used to scribble on the back of an envelope are increasingly already known by the supermarkets we frequent.
Firstly via the loyalty cards we scan at checkouts, and more and more so from our online baskets, our shopping habits are no longer a secret.
But now more retailers are using AI (artificial intelligence) – software systems that can learn for themselves – to try to automatically predict and encourage our very specific preferences and purchases like never before.
Continue reading… “How artificial intelligence may be making you buy things”
