Pinterest expands visual search tech to ads

Extending the feature gives ads more relevancy by enabling them to show up adjacent to similar products sought in visual search.

By Dan O'Shea • May 16, 2017

Reflektion, Mad Mobile team to give retailers omnichannel view

The partnership will allow retailers who are joint clients of the firms to access data about customers' online activity while they're in stores.

By Dan O'Shea • May 16, 2017

Explore the Trendline➔

What's shaping the e-commerce landscape?

From pivots in digital strategies to challenges retailers must overcome with reverse logistics, here are some of the forces shaping online retail.

By Retail Dive staff

Teleretail targets rural delivery with long-distance traveling robot

The Swiss startup has created a prototype of a robot capable of making long-range deliveries up to 50 miles away in urban, suburban and rural environments.

By Dan O'Shea • May 16, 2017

QR codes are back! But are they really better than before?

Following their flameout several years ago, QR codes are having another moment as major platforms and brands get behind them.

By Chantal Tode • May 16, 2017

Fashion Tech Lab aims to fund, innovate, connect with sustainability in mind

Digital entrepreneur Miroslava Duma is spearheading the startup accelerator, which is focused on investing in and developing sustainable technologies for the fashion industry.

By Dan O'Shea • May 15, 2017

Lowe's 'exosuit' gives employees a robotic boost

The home improvement retailer is piloting the use of robotic-enhanced suits that help employees lift and move products more efficiently to reduce fatigue.

By Dan O'Shea • May 15, 2017

Wayfair enables photo-based visual product search

Using the AI-enhanced feature, users can find products among its selection that are of a similar style to items they take pictures of with their mobile devices.

By Dan O'Shea • May 15, 2017

Starbucks app vulnerable to hacking, fraudulent charges

The app's popularity and use of gift cards make it an attractive target. 

By Rob Williams • May 15, 2017

Brooks Brothers suffers 11-month data breach

The retailer said some customer card information was collected by malicious software that had been installed on its payment processing systems.

By Dan O'Shea • May 14, 2017

Made.com tests live-chat feature with showroom employees

The U.K.-based e-commerce retailer is leveraging its brick-and-mortar retail assets to help close online sales. 

By Dan O'Shea • May 14, 2017

Report: Flipkart closes in on $1B Snapdeal acquisition

If finalized, the deal would mark the biggest acquisition in the Indian e-commerce space and strengthen Flipkart’s position against Amazon's international push.

By Dan O'Shea • May 14, 2017

Amazon challenges inventors to design new warehouse picking robot

The e-commerce giant hopes a $250K competition prize and prestige will lead to a fully automated picking solution, a needed innovation for its warehouses.

By Jennifer McKevitt • May 12, 2017

Barclaycard exec: Eliminate payments from the shopping equation

At the Retail Business Technology Expo, VP of Strategy and Innovation Anita Liu Harvey urged retailers to strive for a shopping process that doesn't require paying at checkout before leaving the store.

By Dan O'Shea • May 12, 2017

Spring rakes in $65M to fuel mobile commerce efforts

The infusion of capital brings the 3-year-old mobile shopping startup's total funding to $100 million.

By Dan O'Shea • May 11, 2017

Upstart Flexe takes aim at Amazon with next-day delivery

The new service allows e-commerce brands to control the end-to-end fulfillment process, from identifying ideal fulfillment center locations, to delivering product via integrations with major carriers.

By Dan O'Shea • May 11, 2017

DHL taps Alexa to deliver package status updates

The Amazon virtual assistant's new skill gives consumers a hands-free process to track their deliveries.  

By Dan O'Shea • May 10, 2017

Adidas sells TaylorMade, fading out of the golf market

The athletic retailer will spin off all of its golf brands to a private equity firm in a deal valued at $425 million.

By Dan O'Shea • May 10, 2017

Amazon, Nike, Nordstrom lead the way in social media, word-of-mouth chatter

Victoria’s Secret, Adidas and Under Armour also made the top 10 list of retail and apparel brands that sparked shopper conversations, according to Engagement Lab’s latest TotalSocial rankings.

By Dan O'Shea • May 10, 2017

Pinterest upgrades visual search tech with QR capabilities

The platform's Lens camera is also getting better at recognizing multiple objects at once.  

By Peter Adams • May 10, 2017

Amazon’s Echo Show allows Alexa to answer queries with visuals

The latest addition to the Echo family is the first to display video or images, which would allow consumers to see and browse before they buy on the device.

By Dan O'Shea • May 9, 2017

Staples names first chief information security officer

The office supplies retailer is continuing to bolster its technology department, which also recently added a chief technology officer position for the first time.

By Dan O'Shea • May 9, 2017

Alipay swoops into US market to shake up mobile payments

Alibaba affiliate Ant Financial's mobile payments platform, in partnership with First Data, will primarily target or appeal to Chinese tourists in the U.S.

By Dan O'Shea • May 9, 2017

Starbucks drives 27% of customers to trial app via in-store QR codes

Overall, 60% of visitors with Snapchat scanned a bar code for quick web access to the coffeehouse chain’s app. 

By Chantal Tode • May 9, 2017

Voice-activated assistant market poised to boom — and Amazon has a huge lead

EMarketer projects Amazon’s Echo speaker will attract a 70.6% share of the voice-activated assistant device market, which is projected to grow 129% over last year.

By Dan O'Shea • May 8, 2017

Aldo overhauls digital marketing with focus on engagement

The shoe retailer is transforming its website and mobile interface with a focus on engaging marketing over transactions.

By Dan O'Shea • May 8, 2017