Artificial Intelligence

Retailers invest in a variety of systems to track a wide range of supply chain and sourcing activities, but often overlook the need for technology to track ethical sourcing. Ethical sourcing refers to ensuring that products retailers sell do not involve exploitation or mistreatment of workers, unsafe facilities or production processes, stolen or counterfeit goods, or environmental hazards.

Online shopping is driving more sales and foot traffic in brick-and-mortar stores than ever before. In fact, Deloitte expects digital interactions will influence 64 cents of every dollar spent in retail stores by the end of 2015 – that’s $2.2 trillion worth of in-store sales that are aided by e-commerce.

Seattle – The flop of Amazon’s Fire smartphone device last year continues to have repercussions.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Amazon has laid off dozens of employees who worked on developing Fire at its Lab126 innovation center in Silicon Valley.

Much has been said lately about the proliferation of mobile and online shopping. But brick-and-mortar retail continues to thrive – a fact that tends to get glossed over.

Philadelphia - Pep Boys is shifting its inventory management efforts into high gear.

The auto parts retailer is deploying the 4R Systems Inc. retail inventory solution across its 800-plus stores in 35 states and Puerto Rico.

Pep Boys holds 16 million SKUs on replenishment, and 4R's scientific algorithm matches supply with demand for each SKU throughout the entire omnichannel supply chain. The system is designed to deliver an improved customer experience and improved financial results.

As Amazon.com deals with the fallout from a New York Times article over working conditions, another media outlet reports the retailer is scaling back its consumer device division and laying off dozens of employees in its hardware development center.

The division, called Lab126, last year released a flurry of 10 devices, including a television set-top box, the Echo and a wand for scanning bar codes at home, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Retailers that stock the world’s top drugstore brands may be in for some competition from Pharmabox, which plans to install its first automated kiosk in a mall in the Miami area.

Los Altos, Calif. -- A start-up from the former head of Google Shopping, Nitin Mangtani, aims to make the “buy button” on social media a reality for consumers.

The company, PredictSpring, has created a technology platform designed to drive mobile commerce by improving and simplifying the way consumers shop on mobile phones and to easily enable “buy” experiences on brand and social media apps. Businesses using the platform include Cole Haan, Eddie Bauer, Bluefly and Woodcraft.