Bitsight, the cyber risk management solutions provider, has introduced new asset mapping capabilities to help companies better manage vulnerabilities across their extended attack surface.

As AI regulations in the US have evolved to be more supportive of commercial use, retailers and malls are increasingly adopting technologies that were once the domain of law enforcement and federal agencies. This shift is driven by the need for enhanced security and operational efficiency, with many turning to advanced video analytics and facial intelligence.

Endor Labs, the open source software security solutions provider, has released The 2024 Dependency Management Report, which consolidates extensive original and third-party research into the current state of security in the software dependency lifecycle that represents the foundation for all application development.

By Arun Rasika Karunakaran, Retail Product Manager & Consultant,Tata Consultancy Services.

Over the last decade, the number of online sales has skyrocketed. The most recent statistics show that 19.4% of normal retail sales around the world were made online. That has led to some retailers thinking that it might be time to shift most of their focus to e-retail and their online storefronts.

TrueCommerce, provider of supply chain and trading partner connectivity, integration and omnichannel solutions, has been selected by Costa Coffee, The European coffee chain, to spearhead their global EDI expansion.

Forter, the Trust Platform for digital commerce, has released findings from its 2024 Consumer Trust Premium Report, which explores the evolving relationship between consumer shopping habits and brand trust, based on 2,000 survey respondents in the US and UK.

Descartes Systems Group has released findings from its 2024 Home Delivery Sustainability Report: The Environmentally Conscious Consumer Under Pressure survey, which examined online consumer sentiment of retailers’ sustainability practices around their delivery operations.

By Luke Alexander, freelance writer.

In today's digital landscape, social media has become a pivotal tool for eCommerce businesses looking to thrive in a competitive market. With 5.17 billion active users, social media is essential for businesses aiming to grow and sustain their presence.

DHL eCommerce UK has made two new appointments to its management team, drawing on experience from the retail industry to further align DHL’s services to the evolving eCommerce market.

While discounts and sales events have long been associated with holiday shopping, new data from e-commerce provider Visualsoft reveals that consumers are motivated by more than just deep discounts when it comes to their seasonal and gifting purchases.

The runaway owner of TogliattiAzot, Sergei Makhlai, is once again in the spotlight of Russian media. This time their interest was aroused, apparently, by the media publications sponsored by Makhlai. Recently several Russian media have suggested that the chemical giant TogliattiAzot needs a change of ownership, since the current main owners of the plant, headed by Sergei Makhlai, have ruined the enterprise and criminalized it drastically. This seriously scared Makhlai, who attempted to justify himself and lay the blame on the others.

Russia's refusal to pay $50 billion to former Yukos shareholders will lead to new investigations.On March 31, the Moscow City Court will consider an appeal, which was filed against the ruling to pay $35 million to former Yukos shareholder Alexey Golubovich by his ex-wife Olga Mirimskaya. Allegedly, she received the money for the sale of Yukos shares 15 years ago, and her ex-husband asked for his share as part of the divorce proceedings that have been ongoing for the last ten years. These are unusual demands as Mirimskaya has never owned shares in the oil company. In addition, Golubovich was not only its shareholder, but also served as the director for strategic planning and corporate finance at OAO NK Yukos and was aware of all information related to the financial dealings of the oil giant. A journalistic investigation conducted by Pravda.Ru showed that Alexey Golubovich likely still works in close collaboration with other ex-owners of Yukos. Alexey Golubovich, a former shareholder of Yukos oil company, and Olga Mirimskaya, the chairwoman of the Board of Directors of BKF Bank, divorced in 2012, but the litigation over the division of their marital property continues to this day. Olga Mirimskaya is the founder of the Russian Product Company. She is also President of BKF Bank. Mirimskaya is charged with giving a bribe — two vehicles worth a total of 3.25 million rubles — to Yury Nosov, an investigator at the Moscow Region Department of the Investigative Committee in 2017. He handled the case, in which she appeared as a victim in connection with the kidnapping of her daughter. Nosov and Mirimskaya were arrested in the bribery case. They plead not guilty, claiming that the case has been initiated under false pretences with malicious intent. "According to the defendant, the case was initiated by Alexey Golubovich, as well as by her former common-law partner Nikolai Smirnov, a co-owner of the Golden Crown payment system, as an act of revenge for the return of her daughter, in order to seize her property," Mirimskaya's lawyer Alexander Chernov said.

Check Point Research (CPR) has released a report revealing that ransomware remains the top cyber threat. RansomHub has quickly emerged as the fastest-growing group, operating through Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS).

By Aviram Ganor, General Manager EMEA, Riskified.

Retailers have plenty to keep them awake at night, whether it’s enticing consumers to shop,  utdoing their competition or – most worrying of all – how to ensure their long-term survival in a rocky economy. Yet the latest insight from the British Retail Consortium offers some hope.

By Jo Bradley, Business Development Manager at Sparck Technologies.

Companies can be schizophrenic about packaging and its costs. On the one hand, product packaging is closely scrutinised – a battleground between buyers seeking to drive costs down and marketers looking for ever greater impact and ‘shelf appeal’.

By Craig McPherson, freelance writer.

Think of this. You've got a serious deadline to cover and are working on it. After one hour of work, you turn back to social media for a "state of relaxation". But guess what? You keep on scrolling your favourite social media platform for hours and end up missing the deadline. Sounds familiar, right?

H&M clothing, footwear and accessories store on Tverskaya Street in Moscow closed on November 30.  An employee was filmed removing store banners and signs. A note to customers on a window says that the store is permanently closed, but all returns will be processed accordingly.  The staff of H&M Russia recorded a video in which they say goodbye to customers. 

Sberbank — Russia's largest state-owned bank — has the only foreign branch in India. In early November it was reported that Sberbank was going to open a branch in China. According to Alexander Vedyakhin, deputy chairman of the board, all the necessary documents have been sent to China, RBC reports. "We have been communicating with the People's Bank of China a lot lately. We have sent a massive package of documents there, as the Chinese regulator is very meticulous about documents. I hope that by the end of 2023 we will be able to open a branch in China. It usually takes 1.5-2 years, but we hope that by the end of 2023 we will already have a branch in this country,” Alexander Vedyakhin said. Sberbank opened a representative office in China in 2010; A representative office of Sberbank appeared in Germany in 2009; Sberbank has only one branch abroad — in New Delhi, India. After the start of the Russian special operation in Ukraine, Sberbank came under sanctions from Western states: the United States and Great Britain froze the bank's assets and banned citizens from doing business with it, whereas the EU disconnected Sberbank from the SWIFT interbank data exchange system.

Gold prices rose to a record high on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) on April 1, RBC reports with reference to data from the trading platform. June contracts for the supply of gold rose in price by 2.14 percent, to $2,286 per ounce. The price neared the level of $2,300 and reached a new all-time high. Gold is rising in price amid expectations for the US Federal Reserve to cut the rate in June, Warren Patterson, head of commodity strategy at ING Groep NV said.

The use of RFID offers a whole range of advantages, two of which clearly stand out: precision and speed. DENSO explains what this means for the retail sector.

RAIN Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag integrated circuits’ (IC) worldwide sales volume for the second year in a row smashed industry forecasts increasing 36% over the last year helping to nudge lifetime sales past the 100 billion tag IC sold barrier. This is the seventh year in a row of sales growth for RAIN RFID tag IC sales according to the RAIN Alliance, an industry technology group.

Supply chain hardware, software and services company Renovotec is launching a ‘fast improvement manufacturing programme’ designed to deploy those technologies that have the greatest impact on supply chain manufacturing.

By David Burns, freelance writer.

Radio frequency identification (RFID) is an identification system that works through radio frequencies that can track and identify authorised entry tools such as fobs and key cards. Not only is RFID a significant security measure, but it also provides your team with a reliable and efficient method of access.

SATO has launched its RAIN RFID1-based asset management solution ASETRA in Europe. The easy to deploy system comprising RFID tags, RFID printers and desktop reader/writers accurately and easily tracks and manages assets through the supply chain.

By Alastair Bright, freelance writer.

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and Near Field Communication (NFC) are two wireless communication technologies that enable data exchange through radio waves. While NFC is primarily used in contactless payments, RFID is widely utilized for asset and location tracking. Both technologies, however, also have versatile applications beyond their primary uses.

PervasID, provider of passive Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) reader systems for automating inventory and asset tracking, has launched a new advanced version of TrackMaster, claimed to provide greatly enhanced return on investment performance.

RAIN Alliance, the non-profit industry organisation supporting the development and adoption of Ultra High Frequency (UHF) Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), has announced that 44.8bn RAIN RFID tag chips were shipped globally in 2023.This figure represents year-on-year growth of 32%, and reflects increasing demand across a variety of industries....

RAIN Alliance, the non-profit industry organisation supporting the development and adoption of Ultra High Frequency (UHF) Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), has published its bi-annual research report ‘Global Markets & Applications for RAIN RFID Solutions’, produced by VDC Research.

Checkout finance provider, Divido, has launched two new product capabilities ‘Divido Analytics’ and ‘Split Capability’, allowing merchants to have greater understanding and flexibility over their checkout finance experience.

The number of POS software installations at major retail and hospitality operators worldwide surpassed 9 million as of June 2023, according to a new study from strategic research and consulting firm RBR Data Services, a division of Datos Insights.

By Jeremy Landau, freelance writer.

Retail's dynamic environment is seeing a real shift, driven by the integration of advanced software solutions. This goes beyond a mere technological upgrade – it's about completely transforming the customer experience.

By James Morgan, freelance writer.

Are you tired of carrying cash and credit cards everywhere you go? It's time to embrace the next big leap in cashless transactions: IoT payments. With IoT (Internet of Things) technology, payment systems are becoming more convenient, efficient and secure than ever before.

The retail industry is witnessing an unprecedented level of competition, and traditional marketing strategies are becoming obsolete.

Recognizing the need for enabling innovative digital customer experiences, Ergonomic Solutions will showcase a comprehensive lineup of engaging customer facing solutions to drive personal interaction in retail and hospitality environments at EuroCIS 2024 (Hall 9 A40) in Dusseldorf from 27th – 29th February.

Nexi, the European PayTech, now enables merchants in Italy to accept in-person contactless payments seamlessly and securely with Tap to Pay on iPhone, and will continue to expand the availability of Tap to Pay on iPhone to its customers in Europe where the service is available.

Cleveron, a click-and-collect automation solutions innovator, is proud to launch a modular outdoor parcel locker, Cleveron 355. The newest solution is specially engineered for DIY and home furnishing retailers, enabling the automated handover of extra-large items.

Aptos has announced that EE is introducing a new cloud-based POS solution from Aptos in its retail stores. The technology will enhance EE’s customer engagement capabilities and reduce the IT infrastructure footprint in each store. 

By Brad Hyett, CEO at phos.

With the news from UK Finance that 93% of all UK cards are now contactless, we cannot underestimate the importance of a reliable digital payment infrastructure. But what happens when traditional chip-and-pin machines fail? We all remember the recent tech outages across McDonald's, Tesco, and Sainsbury's, which forced the outlets to close down.

By Jack Pollard, freelance writer.

Retail is one of the most competitive landscapes out there today. Consumption is at an all-time high, but the cost of living crisis means that brands need to fight harder than ever to convince consumers that their products are what they need.

SUZOHAPP is pleased to announce the appointment of Simon James as its new Executive Vice President of Retail & Transportation.Simon joined SUZOHAPP as Managing Director (MD) of the United Kingdom & Ireland, on September 1, 2018 and has made a very positive impact on our business there in a year's time.

SUZOHAPP – a global market leader of software and hardware payment management solutions – will be exhibiting at EuroShop, the world’s largest retail trade fair from February 16-20 in Dusseldorf, Germany.On display at booth #6A75 will be the market leading CashComplete™ line of payment management solutions.

The Posiflex Group has responded to rising demand from customers in Europe by recruiting a seasoned executive to boost the European sales and marketing operations in its KIOSK subsidiary, a manufacturer of kiosks and interactive displays.

In addition to its knowhow as a manufacturer of complete ranges of POS systems (EPOS, Mobile POS / tablets), Aures Technologies is continuing its development in the kiosk and SCO sector (self-check-out or self-service check-out) and the omnichannel digital customer journey.

By Ed Smith, freelance journalist

Self-checkouts have proven to be an increasingly popular option for shoppers to take control of their own scanning of items. It can feel a little quicker and allows you to scan then pack your goods at your own pace rather than trying to keep up with a cashier.

Nearly two-thirds of shoppers step into a store without a specific purchase in mind, looking to be inspired by retailers who can craft the ideal ambience through digital screens and interactive kiosks. 

According to a report from Adroit Market Research, 3D printing powder market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 26.6% between 2021 and 2031.

The low migration inks market size is projected to be worth US$ 1.4 billion in 2023. The market is likely to surpass US$ 2.8 billion by 2033. It is expected to showcase growth at an impressive CAGR of 6.9% during the forecast period.

BIXOLON Europe GmbH, a subsidiary of BIXOLON, a global leader in advanced receipt, label and mobile printers, has partnered with G Rigging & Lighting Ltd, an independent event specialist based in the UK.

Brother UK has been named as a 'leader' in sustainability programs and services in the most recent IDC Sustainability MarketScape assessment.

Epson, the printing technology solutions provider, has introduced its latest breakthrough in the signage printing market, the SC-S9100.

Russia will build a line of struggle against the "terrorist enclave” in Ukraine similarly to the line that Israel is building in its struggle against Hamas. The world will again look at the double standards of the United States at their finest. The Russian Foreign Ministry accused Ukraine of: bomb terrorism; financing of terrorism. The ministry said that investigative actions revealed Ukraine being behind the latest terrorist attacks in Russia. The department also demanded Kyiv should "arrest and extradite all persons involved” within the framework of the International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings (ICBT) and the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism. The Foreign Ministry clarified that a note to Kyiv regarding the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall would be sent separately after the completion of the investigation.