News
Snapchat, the image-sharing app which has just under 200m users, is working to transform smartphone cameras into a shopping tool on Amazon’s e-commerce site via a visual product search feature. The Android version of Snapchat’s has an unreleased “visual search” feature that would let users identify an object, song or barcode by sending data to Amazon, Shazam (the music identification service) or other tech partners.
This new feature will expand Snapchat's user experience, to allow them to interact with the world around them, instead of focusing on posting time-limited selfies and pictures. It will also increase Snapchat's potential revenue streams.
To read more, click here.
Michael Kors, the luxury fashion brand, is the first advertiser to test out Facebook's AR ads in the news feed. The fact the new AR ads lie within Facebook's news feed shows the way the social media platform is expanding its advertising capabilities to try and bring more brands and marketers on board.
Users click the ads' "tap to try it on" button to superimpose a pair of Michael Kors sunglasses on their face to see how they look. If they like what they see they can make a purchase directly in the app.
To read more, click here.
Brands are shifting their focus to social media in an attempt to build awareness, drive transactions and provide customer service according to a report by Gartner, which states that around 66% of the 424 brands analysed have adopted social commerce in the past year.
During this period social networks have been improving their offering of commerce features. About 17% have used Facebook's shoppable brand pages, while 41% of brands have used Instagram's shoppable content.
To read more, click here.
Alibaba is piloting its first "FashionAI" concept store at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. The pop-up store was open for only 3 days and only stocked clothing from US fashion brand Guess.
The store had smart mirrors that amongst other things could show product information, make personalised mix-and-match suggestions, show where the items were located in the shop and allowed customers to add items to a virtual shopping cart.
Guess wants to roll out this technology to all their stores, focusing primarily on China and Hong Kong. They are hoping to use the FashionAI technology to not only improve the in-store customer experience, but also to inform major business decisions such as product selection, inventory management and assessing product displays.
To read more, click here.
Alibaba, the Chinese tech giant, is currently in talks to provide its cloud services to BT, in an apparent bid to take on Amazon's dominance of the European market.
Alibaba Cloud is now the fourth largest provider of cloud computing services in the world, following behind Amazon, Microsoft and Google.
Alibaba holds a cloud services deal with Vodafone in Germany, where its first European data centre is located. If the partnership with BT were to look similar, business customers would be able to purchase Alibaba Cloud hosting and services from BT without the need for separate billing.
To read more, click here.
Moneybox, a savings and investment app, has raised £14 million in a Series B funding round that was led by Eight Roads, the proprietary investment arm of Fidelity International.
Existing investors, including Oxford Capital Partners and Samos Investments, also participated in the round, which brings the total amount raised to £21.3 million.
The company, which launched in 2016 and claims it has over 100,000 users, lets users save through a combination of card transaction round ups, weekly deposits, payday boosts and one-offs. Customers can choose from three simple starting options - cautious, balanced and adventurous - which invest in tracker funds run by Vanguard, Henderson and BlackRock. Their aim is to make investing clear, simple and easy to achieve.
The new funding will be used to increase the workforce and build new products.
To read more, click here.
As JD.com pushes into Western markets, with drones, robots and luxury brands, it's time for Amazon to sit up and pay attention.
JD, short for Jingdong, was founded by Richard Liu in 1998 and started as a small brick-and-mortar store in Beijing. Then in 2004, Liu moved it online and JD.com was born. The firm is now worth more than $55 billion.
The drone programme is made up of a team of 200 people and since March 2016 their drones have clocked up over 300,000 minutes of flight time delivering products across China. Whilst for Amazon, despite Jeff Bezos announcing back in 2013 that future deliveries would be done by drones, is yet to deliver on that promise. Delivery isn't the only focus for JD's drones; they are developing bigger ones that will be able to carry up to 5 tonnes and can be used to transfer inventory between warehouses.
The e-commerce giant's revenue is growing 40% a year and it is now focused on expanding its market reach. It currently serves China, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam. In January, it opened its first European office, in Paris, and it plans to open another one in Milan.
To read more, click here.
Jarvish, a Taiwanese startup, has unveiled its second generation helmet that combines Alexa and an AR display. The X-AR helmet builds on the connected features of its previous model, the X helmet, but has added a HUD display based on optical waveguide technology that shows information including traffic and weather conditions and smartwatch features such as music controls and call notifications.
Jarvish has also added a 2K HD rear-facing camera, which can be activated by the onboard mic and speakers that offer voice control support including access to Alexa.
Other features include 16GB of built-in storage, which is expandable with 256GB memory cards, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity. It has about four hours of battery life and will work with both Android and iOS smartphones.
To read more, click here.
Snapchat debuted a native commerce feature that allows influencers to earn money from products that are sold through their posts. As part of the product's launch reality TV star Kylie Jenner partnered with Snapchat and posted a video promoting her Kyshadow makeup.
Snapchat have focused on facilitating the shopping process for its users, with the e-commerce transactions being powered by Shopify. In order to purchase products users can swipe up on the post and this takes them through to an online checkout. They can also save their credit card details and shipping information on the platform.
To read more, click here.
Paysend, a FinTech company, has raised $20m in a round led by MARCorp Financial.
The company was launched early 2017 and has offices in Fife (Scotland) and London. It has created a global card-to-card payment infrastructure in an attempt to simplify global remittances.
Paysend will use the funds to launch new services and to boost its global expansion plans.
To read more, click here.