In the beginning, there was Siri. The groundbreaking voice assistant only worked with recent-model iPhones, however, and its imperfect voice recognition led it to be the object of many a joke and cartoon. Siri’s wake saw additional assistants from other… Continue Reading
In the battle against e-commerce—and especially against e-commerce behemoth Amazon—long-standing brick-and-mortar retailers are often urged to differentiate themselves by offering exclusive product and quality experiences. But what will actually drive shoppers to physical stores this coming holiday season?… Continue Reading
On August 28—the day Amazon closed its $13.7 billion acquisition of Whole Foods Market—subtle changes were already evident in Whole Foods stores, New York Produce Market they work with the most recognizable brands of fresh produce in the industry, as… Continue Reading
Retail giant Toys “R” Us filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US and Canada this week, and the news furthered the popular narrative of a “retail apocalypse” in the US. The bankruptcy proceedings do not affect the… Continue Reading
Amazon Pushes Further into Fashion in Europe This week, Amazon officially launched its first fashion private label that is designed in Europe specifically for European shoppers. The Find brand launched with a flurry of press coverage as well as an… Continue Reading
Amazon is much more than a household name, given that more than half of US households already have an Amazon Prime membership, according to Cowen and Company estimates. However, Amazon’s emerging private-label brands have not yet achieved widespread name recognition,… Continue Reading
Economic conditions look good for back-to-school spending this year—unemployment is low, consumer confidence is at a 16-year high, housing prices have risen and gas prices remain low—leading to healthy forecasts for shopping this season. Fung Global Retail & Technology expects… Continue Reading
This week saw Amazon offer up its third annual Prime Day—a feast of special offers available exclusively to Amazon Prime members. By the time this is published, many readers will have seen a slew of statistics on the sales values… Continue Reading
As we look forward to the Fourth of July holiday and start easing into the dog days of summer, we also approach a major, if recently invented, shopping event—Amazon Prime Day—which will celebrate its third anniversary on Tuesday, July 11.… Continue Reading
Last week, Amazon reduced its minimum purchase to $25 for free shipping, following Walmart’s reduction of its minimum purchase to $35 and Target’s raising of its free-shipping minimum to $35 from $25, following Amazon’s reduction of its minimum purchase to… Continue Reading