Author: Anderson

The 2024 holiday shopping season faces challenges like a shorter sales window and slow growth, but AI-driven tools offer solutions for retailers and personalized shopping experiences. The 2024 holiday shopping season may not be the retail success story many hope for. Experts predict sluggish sales growth and a condensed shopping window between Thanksgiving and Christmas. However, there’s a silver lining: artificial intelligence (AI) is emerging as a critical tool for optimizing retail strategies, enhancing customer satisfaction, and driving sales during this high-pressure period. With forecasts suggesting a less-than-ideal sales performance, the retail industry is increasingly looking to AI for solutions…

As cyberattacks become more frequent and sophisticated, cybersecurity teams are feeling the pressure like never before. A new survey conducted by ISACA reveals that 68% of cybersecurity professionals report their job is significantly more stressful than it was just five years ago, and this stress is taking a toll on their well-being. The rapidly evolving cyber landscape, under-resourced teams, and increasing threats are creating an environment where professionals are stretched thin, leading to concerns about the resilience of entire ecosystems. The Causes of Rising Stress Among Cybersecurity Teams One of the key reasons for the rising stress in cybersecurity roles…

In contrast to last year’s flashy event, OpenAI’s DevDay 2024 took a more subdued approach, focusing on incremental improvements rather than major product launches. The emphasis was on empowering developers with new AI tools and showcasing real-world community stories, signaling a strategic shift as the competitive AI landscape continues to evolve. While there may not have been headline-grabbing announcements, OpenAI’s unveiling of four major innovations—Vision Fine-Tuning, Realtime API, Model Distillation, and Prompt Caching—marks a significant step forward in its mission to equip developers with more accessible, cost-effective, and powerful tools. Prompt Caching: A Cost-Saving Breakthrough for Developers One of the…

Every week, we track the latest business, technology, and investment trends in consumer packaged goods (CPG), retail, restaurants, agriculture, cooking, and health so that you don’t have to. This week’s roundup brings some of the most compelling headlines shaping the industry, from major crises in the food sector to cutting-edge innovations in functional foods and bioactive proteins. Boar’s Head Faces Multiple Crises Amid Listeria Outbreak One of the most shocking headlines this week is the significant turmoil within Boar’s Head, the billion-dollar deli meat empire. The company is grappling with multiple crises, including a fatal listeria outbreak, the shutdown of…

Introduction Wi-Fi HaLow, a low-power, long-range variant of Wi-Fi, is rapidly making strides in the world of IoT (Internet of Things) connectivity. Operating in the sub-GHz frequency range, Wi-Fi HaLow can penetrate physical obstacles like walls and buildings, offering robust and reliable connections over greater distances. This technology, based on the IEEE 802.11ah standard, is set to transform the way devices communicate in both urban and rural environments. In a groundbreaking demonstration of Wi-Fi HaLow’s potential, Morse Micro achieved an impressive connectivity range of 16 kilometers (10 miles) during field tests in Joshua Tree National Park. This milestone is a…

Introduction As the Golden Quarter approaches—a critical time for retailers during the lead-up to Christmas—brands are ramping up their marketing efforts to capture consumer attention. Despite the meteoric rise of social media and live commerce, new research from Visualsoft indicates that websites remain the primary channel for consumer engagement and discovery during this peak shopping period. While social media, newsletters, and traditional advertising still play important roles, the study underscores the continued dominance of brand websites in influencing purchasing decisions. This article explores the key findings of the report and highlights how marketers can strike the right balance between social…

Introduction A decade ago, the idea of owning an electric vehicle in Nepal would have seemed far-fetched, especially given the country’s chronic power shortages. Fast forward to 2024, and Nepal is in the midst of an electric vehicle (EV) revolution, powered by cheap and abundant hydropower. The rise of electric vehicles, largely imported from China, is transforming Nepal’s transport landscape and offering a greener, more economical alternative to fossil-fuel-powered cars. This article explores how Nepal’s dam-building spree, which has quadrupled the country’s electricity output over the past eight years, is powering its EV boom and reshaping the future of transportation…

Introduction Nearly a year after its highly anticipated release, the Tesla Cybertruck is finally starting to gain access to Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) software. After much delay, Tesla is rolling out the software update to a limited number of Cybertruck owners, marking a significant milestone for the futuristic vehicle. However, this FSD rollout is limited to early access participants, and most Cybertruck owners will still have to wait before they can experience the much-touted feature firsthand. This article delves into the details of Tesla’s FSD rollout for the Cybertruck, what it means for current owners, and when the rest of…

Introduction Every month, more than 500 million people rely on AI systems like ChatGPT and Gemini to answer questions on a vast range of topics, from cooking to algebra. While AI is increasingly trusted as an authority on these subjects, there is a critical flaw in this assumption: the content provided by large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT is not based on genuine reasoning. Despite their ability to generate human-like responses, LLMs lack the capacity to provide justifications for their outputs, which raises serious concerns about whether we can truly trust the information they deliver. At the World Economic Forum…

Introduction The retail sector, with its omnichannel presence and widespread consumer engagement, is an attractive target for cybercriminals. As retailers adopt new technologies to enhance customer experiences and optimize operations, they also face increasing cyber threats that exploit these innovations. The NCC Group’s Operational Threat Intelligence team was tasked with delivering a comprehensive Threat Landscape Report for the retail sector. This report provides insights into the evolving threats that businesses in this space must navigate and offers recommendations for improving cyber resilience. In a fiercely competitive market, retailers not only strive to be top of mind for consumers but also…