TECHNOLOGY

Amazon opens a self-driving styled convenience store — with no checkouts
Report: Retailers making physical stores more mobile
Physical stores aren’t going away — at least not those who are integrating mobile solutions into the store experience to keep up with today’s tech-savvy shoppers. Stores that have digitized their operations through mobility are exceeding customer expectations, according to the “The Future Store Manifesto — 2016 Scorecard,” from Boston Retail Partners, which finds that 78% of retailers plan to use mobile point-of-sale (POS) by 2018.

This retail channel is in a high-growth mode

Beauty stores are hot — and shoppers around the globe can’t seem to get enough of them. With hundreds of new door openings during 2015-2016, boutique beauty stores remain on a high growth trajectory, according to an upcoming study from market intelligence and research firm Kline.
Faked Brand Social Media Profiles Send Massively Antisocial Holiday Message

One of many things that reaches a frenetic pace during the holiday season is social media activity, with brands ramping up promotions, suggestions and other communication to their followers. Aside from the fact that 23% of the world’s population — yes, 1.7 billion people — visit their Facebook profiles every month, the brands with the best social media presence are reaching upward of 40 million consumers.
Pinterest makes a play for retail customization

For any retailer that ever wanted to create a “mobile showcase” on Pinterest, now is your chance.
U.K. activewear retailer has big plans for the U.S. market

Move over Lululemon and Athletica, Sweaty Betty is moving onto your turf. The London-based retailer of stylish activewear for women opened its ninth U.S. store — and third location in the Los Angeles area — on Melrose Ave. in West Hollywood, reported The Los Angeles Times, with a location in San Francisco up next.
Change in weather bodes well for retail sales

Winter is coming — and not just to “Game of Thrones.” A blast of cold air will move from the West Coast and across North America next week (Dec. 5-11), fueling demand for outerwear, gloves, hats, sweaters, heaters, and blankets, according to weather analytics company Planalytics.
Amazon rolls out a truck for shipping data

It’s not a joke. Amazon Web Services has announced a new service, called AWS Snowmobile, designed to physically get all of the data stored in a company's massive data center into Amazon's cloud, Business Insider reported.
The retailer with the best customer satisfaction survey is …

When it comes to customer satisfaction surveys, a convenience store is at the top of the class. That’s according to a study by Interaction Metrics which finds that retailers are wasting customers’ time — and their own — by conducting critically flawed satisfaction surveys.
Cyber Monday brings in record haul

Cyber Monday has made history — again. With shoppers spending $3.45 billion online on Cyber Monday, Nov. 28, a 12.1% jump year-over-year, sales not only surpassed predictions, but made this the largest Cyber Monday shopping event to date, according to Adobe Digital Insights, which aggregated data from 23 billion visits to retail websites.