Retail stories - Page 7

Australians are reshaping Boxing Day, prioritising essentials, thrift and online safety over impulse spending amid cost-of-living strain.

Boards enter 2026 pushing AI from experiments to governed, resilient systems as volatile economies demand proof of value and stability.

V2 AI has been named an OpenAI Services Partner in Australia, targeting enterprise demand for secure, governed generative AI adoption.

Tech Mahindra and Google Cloud will scale Gemini 2.5-based agentic AI to move enterprises from pilots to production-grade, governed workflows.

Alcatel-Lucent unveils Rainbow Hub, an integration-led cloud platform linking UCC with workflows, IoT and vertical services for partners.

AI is now mission-critical, but slow, siloed pilots and weak data foundations are stopping organisations from turning vision into value.

Visa teams with Akamai on new protocol to verify AI shopping agents, tackling a 300% surge in bot traffic and rising eCommerce fraud risks.

Value for money, not low prices or rapid delivery, is the strongest driver of eCommerce satisfaction, Judge.me's study of reviews finds.

Record Black Friday online sales risk hollowing out profits as soaring returns, refunds and BNPL queries squeeze retailers' margins.

Retailers brace for a “Christmas Returns Hangover” as eDesk reports a 45% spike in return requests from 26 December, denting profits.

Australian holiday shoppers are spending strategically, forcing retailers to sharpen promotions, personalise offers and boost in-store experience.

AI takes centre stage in logistics as Infios predicts 2026 supply chains built for constant disruption, resilience and human‑machine teamwork.

Twilio predicts Asia Pacific customer service will face strict AI transparency rules and mandatory bot disclosures by 2026.

AI-native, cloud-first networking is turning enterprise connectivity from a sunk cost into a strategic, measurable driver of financial value.

Castles Technology has opened a Melbourne hub as its Pacific headquarters, targeting fast-growing Android payments across Australia and NZ.

UiPath and Talkdesk are teaming up to fuse agentic AI, streamlining document-heavy healthcare contact centre workflows and cutting errors.

Yorkshire's Apollo3D launches Infinity Virtual Tours, turning Matterport scans into guided, data-rich journeys for retail, venues and estates teams.

Infobip logs 12.2 billion Cyber Week interactions as retailers drive a 277% Black Friday surge in rich messaging such as RCS and WhatsApp.

One in three Australians are ready to let AI shop on their behalf, but fears over fraud, control and bad purchases still loom large.

Melbourne-based Bodd raises AUD $15 million to fuel global rollout of its 3D body scanning tech across defence, aviation and healthcare.