Artificial Intelligence

Shopzilla wanted to highlight its recent transformation from comparison shopping to technology driven marketing solutions. To that end, it has changed its name to Connexity.

According to the company, its new solutions enable retailers and brands to understand their consumers better, acquire new customers at a lower cost and increase sales based on retail signals that it provides.

L'Oréal USA Women in Digital, a program that recruits, supports and promotes female entrepreneurs in technology, has announced the three new companies that have been selected as winners of its 2014 NEXT Generation Awards.

The winners — GLAMSQUAD, Jibo and Shareablee — were honored Thursday evening at an event in New York City hosted by athlete, fashion pioneer, actress and L'Oreal Paris spokeswoman Aimee Mullins, to celebrate both established and up-and-coming female leaders in technology.

Stockholm -- The U.S. payments market is getting a new player: Klarna, a Swedish e-commerce company focused on simplifying buying, plans to expand to the U.S. market in early 2015. The nine-year old company has an impressive track record in Europe that includes more than 25 million users and 45,000 retailers including Asos, Spotify and Zara.

Indianapolis -- Real estate giant Simon on Thursday announced 'Simon Launch,' a retail startup competition aimed at discovering, investing in, and accelerating the top startups in the retail industry. Simon will co-invest in the competition's winners through its recently formed venture capital arm — Simon Venture Group — in collaboration with Plug and Play,  a global investor and technology accelerator that specializes in growing tech startups. Simon will also become an Anchor Member of Plug and Play's Retail Accelerator program.

West Sacramento, Calif. -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s GreenChill Partnership announced that Raley’s Family of Fine Stores received a GreenChill 2013 Achievement Award for extraordinary leadership and initiative in achieving the Partnership’s mission to better protect the Earth’s ozone layer and reduce the impact on climate change through innovative refrigeration systems.

Plug and Play, a business accelerator that specializes in tech startups, is holding its quarterly pitch competition event on its campus in Sunnyvale, California, on Thursday, September 18, from 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. PDT. The Plug and Play Fall Expo 2014 will feature 40-plus startup pitches, panel discussions and corporate networking. Chain Store Age will be in attendance — watch for a recap in the next edition of Customer Disruption!

Austin, Texas -- Revionics announced that Niemann Foods, a chain of grocery, pet food, hardware, pharmacies and gas stations in the Midwest, has selected Revionics as its price optimization provider.

Revionics will be providing Niemann Foods with their SaaS-based price optimization solution, which includes robust price management, science-based optimization, forecasting, simulation and effectiveness measurement.

Plug and Play’s quarterly pitch competition event, Plug and Play Fall Expo 2014, is coming to Plug and Play’s campus in Sunnyvale, California. Fall Expo 2014 will feature 40-plus startup pitches, panel discussions and corporate networking. It will be held Thursday, Sept. 18, from 9:30 a.m. – 7 p.m. PDT.

Chain Store Age will be in attendance and we hope to see you there!