Wayfair to open its first brick-and-mortar store this fall

Another major e-commerce brand its expanding its business offline. Wayfair, the Boston-based online furniture retailer whose net revenue topped $2 billion in the fourth quarter, announced this morning it plans to open its first full-service retail store this fall. The store, which will be based in Natick, Massachusetts, will connect the company’s online business to […]

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Starbucks will anchor the new $400 million food-focused Valor Siren Ventures fund

Starbucks is serving up a steaming hot $100 million cash commitment to anchor a new food-focused fund in partnership with the consumer and tech-focused focused private equity firm Valor Equity Partners. The behemoth of burnt-coffee said that its commitment to the Valor Siren Ventures fund is an attempt to focus on “new ideas and technologies […]

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Xiaom Q4 sees strong growth in overseas shipment and internet services

Xiaomi, the Chinese company known for its cheap handsets and a vision to drive revenues by selling internet services, has come in ahead of analysts’ estimates in its fourth-quarter profit although revenues missed expectations. The Hong Kong-listed company more than tripled its net profit to 1.85 billion yuan ($276 million), exceeding the 1.7 billion yuan […]

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Sam’s Club to test new Scan & Go system that uses computer vision instead of barcodes

In October, Walmart-owned Sam’s Club opened a test store in Dallas where it planned to trial new technology including mobile checkout, an Amazon Go-like camera system, in-store navigation wayfinding technology, electronic shelf labels, and more. This morning, the retailer announced it will now begin testing a revamped Scan & Go service as well, which leverages […]

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Foot Locker takes a minority stake in kids clothing subscription service Rockets of Awesome

Foot Locker is taking a stake in the subscription-based shopping service, Rockets of Awesome – a startup that’s something of a “StitchFix for kids,” in that it sends out a personalized selection of children’s apparel in seasonal boxes, shipped to customers’ homes. The companies announced today that Foot Locker has made a $12.5 million minority […]

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Target announces launch of its curated, third-party marketplace, Target+

Target this morning announced Target+, a new initiative designed to expand the assortment on Target.com with merchandise from third-party sellers. But unlike with Walmart and Amazon’s marketplaces, Target is taking a more curated approach as to how sellers will be added to its program. The retailer says it’s starting with “thoughtfully selected” additions in areas […]

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Walmart tech incubator Store No. 8 launches VR startup Spatial&

Walmart’s tech incubator Store N°8 today launched its next startup, a VR merchandising company called Spatial&. The company offers VR experiences that enable customers to connect with merchandise, and is kicking things off by collaborating with DreamWorks Animation VR tour. At select Walmart locations across the U.S., Spatial& will set up a VR experience in the parking […]

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India’s Swiggy goes beyond food to offer product delivery from local stores

Swiggy, the Indian food delivery service, has made its much anticipated moved into general deliveries today after it announced its new ‘stores’ product. The move has been speculated since as early as 2017, but recent developments have taken the company closer towards the expansion. Last September, Swiggy picked up delivery service SuprDaily in an acquisition […]

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Foot Locker invests $100 million in GOAT Group

Foot Locker, the mostly mall-bound retailer of mass market sneakers, has invested $100 million in the sneaker marketplace and retailer of primarily rare and exclusive high-end athletic and lifestyle shoes, GOAT Group. The companies said that the investment would eventually lead to Foot Locker and Goat Group combining their efforts across their digital and physical […]

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Retail technology platform Relex raises $200M from TCV

Amazon’s formidable presence in the world of retail stems partly from the fact that it’s just not a commerce giant, it’s also a tech company — building solutions and platforms in house that make its processes, from figuring out what to sell, to how much to have on hand and how best to distribute it […]

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Apple unveils new in-store sessions covering photography, Garage Band, health and more

Apple is launching 58 new Today at Apple sessions to beef up its in-store education offerings for people who want to explore Apple’s products. The sessions, which cover video, photography, accessibility, coding, music, health and more, are free to attend and available at all of Apple’s retail stores across the world. For the unveiling, Apple […]

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The company behind YouCam Makeup app launches a new set of AR tools for beauty brands like Ulta

Released in 2014, the year before Snapchat put face filters on the road to ubiquity, Perfect Corp’s YouCam Makeup app gave many smartphone users their first taste of augmented selfies. At the beginning, it let users experiment with different makeup looks and portrait-editing tools. Since then, YouCam Makeup has expanded beyond selfies into e-commerce and […]

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