Microsoft

Costco is adding a bit of digital expertise to its ranks with its latest new board member.

Whole Foods is creating a new collection of business applications with a key technology partner that are said to be unlike anything on the market.

That’s a bold claim and to back it up the nation’s leading organic and natural grocery chain is partnering with cloud-based business application provider Infor to develop a new enterprise platform called Infor Cloudsuite Retail.

Whole Foods Market and a key technology partner are creating a new retail platform that the retailer promises will be unlike anything on the market.

In a partnership that Whole Foods said will “redefine retail management software,” the supermarket company is partnering with cloud-based business application provider Infor to develop a new enterprise platform called Infor Cloudsuite Retail. The retailer hopes to make a profit of the comprehensive, cloud-based retail suite by selling it to other retailers.

For the third consecutive year, Apple and Google came out on top in a ranking of the 100 most valuable brands in the world.

For the third consecutive year, Apple and Google came out on top in a ranking of the 100 most valuable brands in the world.

Valued at a whopping $170.3 billion in Interbrand’s 16th annual Best Global Brands report, Apple increased its brand value by 43% over last year. Google, valued at $120.3 billion, increased its value by 12%. (The top 10 brands are listed at the end of this article.)

When it comes to tech companies, millennials place their trust in a well-known e-commerce retailer. A nationwide survey commissioned by the Marketing Executives Networking Group reveals that more than half of millennials age 18-34 indicated they trusted Amazon more than any other major tech company.

The October deadline for retailers to accept EMV (Europay, Mastercard, Visa)-compliant, chip-based payment cards or face increased fraud liability has placed payment card security in the industry headlines. While important, securing card-based payments at the store is one small facet of the huge undertaking retailers face in protecting their entire network.

The wait is finally over—and with it, the competition between Microsoft and Apple takes a closer turn. Microsoft will take the wraps off its Manhattan flagship, on Oct. 26. The store is located on Fifth Avenue and 53rd Street, just a few short blocks from Apple’s Fifth Avenue flagship with its glass cube entry.