Saturday Feature news and trends

AI Takes Turn as Archaeology Assistant to Uncover Ancient Commerce, Trade Routes

May 18, 2024
Sorry, Mom: Mother’s Day Shoppers Are Waiting to the Last Minute
Retail // May 11, 2024

Many shoppers are no longer planning out their Mother’s Day gifts weeks in advance — they’re increasingly waiting for the last minute, expecting to have whatever they want still available. In an interview with PYMNTS, Jim McCann, founder and chairman at 1-800 Flowers.com, spoke to...

Dave & Buster’s Launches Arcade Betting as Wagers Gain Popularity
Retail // May 04, 2024

With the proliferation of betting apps bringing gambling into more parts of consumers’ lives, now even Skee-Ball is getting the Las Vegas treatment. Restaurant and entertainment center chain Dave & Buster’s has partnered with gaming technology firm Lucra to add “gamification software” to its app...

Influencer Brands Are Getting Ready for a TikTok-Less Future
Social Commerce // April 27, 2024

G.R.W.M. (that’s “get ready with me”) for a major change in the social commerce landscape, because the pending TikTok ban in the United States could be make-or-break for all the brands that have built their following on the platform. TikTok has become a powerful force for brands trying...

From Heineken’s Dumb Phone to T-Pain, ’00s Make a Comeback
Retail // April 20, 2024

From the rise of social networking to a more fractured media landscape to the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into daily life, the world looks very different now than it did in the ’00s, and brands are seizing on the opportunity to harken back to...

Interviews & Exclusives
3 Strikes and Cashiers Are Out at the New Ball Game

March 30, 2024
Baseball is back, and this year, more stadiums are tapping frictionless checkout to cut labor costs while meeting fans’ demand to spend as little time out of their seats as possible. Colorado Rockies’ Coors Field is expanding its use of Amazon’s Just Walk Out frictionless checkout technology, according to a March 21 news release. It’s also adding self-checkout kiosks from solution provider Tapin2. […]

Can Selfridges’ Play on Nostalgia Revive the Yellow Pages?

September 09, 2023
When was the last time you saw the Yellow Pages? Probably in 2019, since that was the last time it was published. Well, that thick, yellow book, which was created...

What the Future of Money Looks Like on Washington’s Birthday

February 18, 2023
Money is evolving beyond Jeffersons, Jacksons and Benjamins, as digital solutions transform the landscape. This, as more than 4 in 10 Americans (41%) say they don’t use cash to pay...

The Big Bucks Behind Sleep (Or Lack Thereof)

September 28, 2019
The benefits of a good night’s sleep can’t be overstated – nor the negative consequences of not getting one. The average human being needs seven to nine hours per night...