Technology news and archive

Amazon dominates holiday gift search

Amazon has emerged as the dominant online platform for UK holiday shoppers, with over half (52 percent) turning to it for festive gift inspiration, surpassing Google, which attracted only 31 percent of shoppers, according to recent research by Nosto. Generative AI tools like ChatGPT are quickly gaining relevance, with 8 percent of UK consumers...

Fashion Featured

Fashion's fixation with rankings: How data became luxury's new currency

In an industry historically guided by intuition and creative vision, the rise of data-driven rankings like the Lyst Index offers a revealing glimpse into fashion's evolving relationship with metrics and market intelligence. The latest quarterly report from the fashion shopping platform demonstrates why these rankings have become essential...

Fashion |Opinion Featured

Why the Prada space suit matters

The fashion industry, long criticised for its cyclical and often repetitive nature, may have found a truly innovative frontier in the realm of space exploration. This groundbreaking development comes at a time when fashion marketing and design have begun to feel increasingly homogeneous, with brands struggling to differentiate themselves in a...

BusinessFeatured

Vestiaire Collective announces AI advancements and tech appointments

Resale fashion platform Vestiaire Collective is continuing to invest in Artificial intelligence (AI) driven technologies with a new AI-powered search engine, alongside the arrival of two tech veterans to further develop and implement its tech strategy globally. Stacia Carr joins Vestiaire Collective as the company’s new chief technology and...

Retail

Could Amazon's return-to-office mandate be a boon to physical retailers?

Amazon's recent announcement mandating a return to office for its corporate employees from January 2025 has received mixed reviews from the technology sector. However, the repercussions of this decision may extend far beyond the confines of Silicon Valley, potentially reshaping the broader retail landscape. The e-commerce behemoth's push for...

Fashion

Chanel ventures into wearable tech with innovative timepiece

In a bold move that signals a shift in the luxury goods sector, Chanel has unveiled its first wearable technology design with the Première Sound watch, that hasn’t compromised on either style or luxury. This innovative timepiece, which doubles as a necklace, incorporates integrated wired headphones, a microphone, and remote control...

BusinessFeatured

Un-bear-ably cool: Material Exchange introduces first AI sourcing assistant for fashion

Digital sourcing platform Material Exchange has introduced the world’s first AI-supported sourcing assistant for fashion: His name is Frank and he's a bear. He leaves digital assistants like Alexa, Siri and Paperclip (remember?) far behind, because he has style - and an interesting background story. Frank comes from northern Sweden and always...

BusinessFeatured

Fundraising crunch could hit fashion start-ups

The fashion startup ecosystem is experiencing a significant downturn as founders grapple with an increasingly challenging fundraising environment. Recent data from Carta, a leading equity management platform, reveals a troubling trend of company closures that has been steadily rising over the past two years, with fashion-focused startups...

Fashion

EU targets fast fashion e-commerce with new customs regime

The European Union is set to overhaul its customs regulations, targeting the burgeoning low-cost e-commerce sector in a move that could significantly impact global online retail giants and consumer shopping habits. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who was re-elected for a second five-year term last week, announced the...

Fashion Featured

Mango debuts first AI-generated campaign

Forget for one moment the complex interplay between technological advancement and traditional creative processes in the fashion industry, and have a look at Mango’s first AI-generated campaign. The Spanish high street giant has shrugged off any concerns about AI potentially homogenising fashion imagery, unveiling an AI-generated campaign for its...

BusinessFeatured

Hi-Tech Apparel acquires custom-clothing software company Unmade

London-based fashion and sportswear software company Unmade, which enables brands such as New Balance, Decathlon and Ralph Lauren to offer customised clothing on-demand, has been acquired by global garment maker Hi-Tech Apparel. The deal, valuing the company at ten times its revenue, offers Hi-Tech Apparel, the Thailand-based conglomerate and...

Business

The sky's the limit: Amazon hits 2 trillion dollar valuation

When Amazon published its Q1 results in April, Andy Jassy, Amazon's President and CEO, stated: "It was a good start to the year across the business, and you can see that in both our customer experience improvements and financial results." At the time, however, Amazon had yet to cross the threshold of being valued above 2 trillion dollars....