Mixed-reality technology is reshaping the landscape of the retail industry, ushering in an era of immersive experiences for consumers that blend the digital and physical.Apple released its first mixed-reality headset, Vision Pro, with 600 new apps and games Friday (Feb. 2). Among these were forays into augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) from major retailers, taking advantage of the capacity to offer consumers more interactive eCommerce journeys.Take, for instance, major apparel retailer J.Crew. ...

Chinese tech giant Alibaba Group is reportedly considering selling several of its brick-and-mortar businesses, including grocery business Freshippo, retailer RT-Mart and shopping mall operator Intime.The decision comes as Alibaba aims to focus on its core eCommerce business model and divest non-core, non-profitable units, Reuters reported Friday (Feb. 2), citing unnamed sources.Alibaba Group did not immediately reply to PYMNTS’ request for comment.The company has been in discussions with strategic and finan ...

e.l.f. Cosmetics has launched a beauty shopping app for Apple’s new spatial computer, Vision Pro.The “your best e.l.f.” visionOS app includes features that take advantage of Vision Pro’s three-dimensional (3D) user interface, creating a multi-sensory, immersive experience, the company said in a Friday (Feb. 2) press release.“The decision to launch on Apple Vision Pro is not only natural for us; it is critical to continue to meet our community — and entertain them — wherever they are,” e.l.f. Beauty Chief Di ...

“There’s a lot going on for merchants today, and they have a lot to juggle,” Saurabh Chopra, head of product, U.S. debit, prepaid and real-time payments at Visa, told PYMNTS.The juggling act includes everything from running core operations to attracting and acquiring new customers.And once those customers have been acquired, it’s imperative to keep them engaged, incentivizing them to make incremental purchases, reward their loyalty and ensure they have an optimal experience while shopping online, Chopra sai ...

As Walmart looks to shrink Amazon’s growing lead in consumer retail spending, the mega-retailer is turning to new technologies to merge the digital and physical shopping journeys to provide a more frictionless customer experience.  This week, the chain kicked off a range of technology efforts that bring digital convenience into the brick-and-mortar experience and bring in-person-like immersion to eCommerce platforms. For instance, the retailer has begun testing digital labels that light up to help shoppers ...

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg dubbed 2023 the “year of efficiency” as the social media giant’s Reality Labs division, which has been losing billions over the last few years, crossed the $1 billion revenue mark for the first time during the fourth quarter of 2023. Zuckerberg attributed the revenue milestone to Quest 2 and particularly Quest 3, the virtual reality (VR) headsets developed by Reality Labs, enjoying a strong holiday season.“Not only did we achieve our efficiency goals [last year], but we returned to ...

Riding a huge wave of consumer holiday spending and harvesting its October Prime Big Deal Day season, Amazon delivered its highest operating income ever late Thursday (Feb. 1) as it released its quarterly and full-year earnings.“2023 was a really good year,” Amazon CEO Andy Jassy told analysts during its earnings call. “Yet, I think every one of us believes this is just the start of what’s possible. We have a long way to go in every one of our businesses before we exhaust how we can make customers lives bet ...

Apple’s ecosystem continues to grow, albeit with some puts and takes.The segment logged 11% growth year over year, slowing from the 16% growth rate that had been logged in the previous quarter.CEO Tim Cook said on the call that the latest metric represented an “all time revenue record with paid subscriptions growing double digits year over year.”The installed base of devices stands at more than 2.2 billion, he said.Mixed Results in HardwareThe company’s latest earnings report shows that during the fiscal fi ...

American Express and Delta have introduced a revamped version of their co-branded SkyMiles credit cards.The new cards, announced Thursday (Jan. 31), offer a series of benefits to both frequent and occasional flyers, and comes as a majority of consumers are embracing card-linked offers for travel-related purchases.According to an American Express news release, the upgraded cards now let customers use companion certificates to travel outside of the continental U.S. for the first time, with the program open to ...

Shopify plans to expand its range of artificial intelligence (AI)-powered tools for sellers to include a media editor and a commerce assistant.These are among more than 100 updates the company will add to its eCommerce platform, Shopify said in a Wednesday (Jan. 31) product news release.The company’s Media Editor will enable sellers to use generative AI to create original images and edit existing ones to use on their online store, according to the release. The tool will perform these tasks with only a few c ...