Popular “buy now, pay later” shopping services like Klarna will face stricter regulation under proposals announced by the U.K. government Tuesday. From a report: The Treasury said buy now, pay later (BNPL) firms would come under the supervision of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which regulates financial services firms and markets in Britain. Such firms will be required to conduct affordability…
Tag: online shopping
Amazon, Walmart Are Telling Some Consumers to Skip Returns of Unwanted Items
Amazon, Walmart, and other companies are using artificial intelligence “to decide whether it makes economic sense to process a return,” reports the Wall Street Journal: For inexpensive items or large ones that would incur hefty shipping fees, it is often cheaper to refund the purchase price and let customers keep the products. The relatively new approach, popularized by Amazon and a…
Pushed by Pandemic, Amazon Goes on a Hiring Spree Without Equal
Amazon has embarked on an extraordinary hiring binge this year, vacuuming up an average of 1,400 new workers a day and solidifying its power as online shopping becomes more entrenched in the coronavirus pandemic. From a report: The hiring has taken place at Amazon’s headquarters in Seattle, at its hundreds of warehouses in rural communities and suburbs, and in countries such…
Big Tech Continues Its Surge Ahead of the Rest of the Economy
While the rest of the U.S. economy languished earlier this year, the tech industry’s biggest companies seemed immune to the downturn, surging as the country worked, learned and shopped from home. From a report: On Thursday, as the economy is showing signs of improvement, Amazon, Apple, Alphabet and Facebook reported profits that highlighted how a recovery may provide another catalyst to…
Amazon Opens Its First Amazon Fresh Physical Grocery Store, in LA
The shift to online shopping has accelerated in the COVID-19 pandemic, but today Amazon made a bold move that underscores its belief that physical stores will remain a key component of how consumers shop. From a report: In the Los Angeles neighborhood of Woodland Hills, the e-commerce giant today opened its first Amazon Fresh supermarket. This is the first of a…
Virtual House Hunting Gets a Pandemic Boost
Padraig Belton from the BBC writes about how house hunters are using virtual-reality headsets to tour homes in the age of coronavirus. From the report: It’s not for everyone as, at the moment, house hunters have to use their own headsets. But Giles Milner, marketing director at estate agent Chestertons, says he will sometimes send buyers headsets for new-build properties, if…
Argos To Stop Printing Catalogue After Almost 50 Years
Argos is to stop printing its catalogue after almost 50 years, as the buying bible once found in three-quarters of British homes becomes yet another victim of the inexorable move to online shopping. From a report: More than 1bn copies of the bi-annual catalogue have been printed since its launch in 1973, and at its height it was Europe’s most widely…
Who Is the Mystery Shopper Leaving Behind Thousands of Online Shopping Carts?
A Google crawler has been adding products to e-commerce site shopping carts, the Wall Street Journal reported this week. From a write-up: Sellers have been complaining about a serial cart abandoner named, John Smith. Turns out John is a Google bot. A Google spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal that it built systems to ensure the pricing seen on the product…
How We Can Save the Comic Book Industry?
destinyland writes: For the first time in many years, the first Saturday in May won’t mark Free Comic Book Day, as the worldwide comic celebration at comic-book stores has been postponed amid coronavirus concerns,” reports Oklahoma’s largest newspaper — saying it’s been postponed to an unspecified new date in the future. But they’re suggesting fans can support their local shops anyways,…
Quebec’s Government Urges Online Shoppers To Local Retailers Instead of Amazon
“The coronavirus crisis is giving Quebec’s nationalist government an excuse to attempt what may be impossible,” reports Bloomberg. “The Canadian province is embarking on an uphill battle to chip away at Amazon’s position.” Reckoning that weeks of confinement will permanently accelerate the growth of online shopping, Premier Francois Legault wants to boost Quebec retailers’ digital sales, and is urging the population…