Retail stories
Millions of customer records were exposed after attackers used keys pulled from public apps to breach backend systems at Japanese firms.
The move gives retailers and other distributed operators cloud security for small branches without adding on-site firewalls or endpoint software.
Retailers in Australia and New Zealand will get new AI tools as the software maker says the update can cut manual work and complexity.
Retailers face a fresh holiday-season test as agentic assistants surge, with Forter seeing orders from them more than triple in a month.
Suppliers are increasingly embracing traceability, with more than 85% saying transparency matters as brands face tougher scrutiny over sourcing claims.
Merchants using the combined system can now get hardware, payment and EPOS issues handled through one support channel, cutting vendor hand-offs.
The deal adds more than 140 specialists as consulting groups race to turn customer data and AI into growth, retention and service gains.
Cost-of-living pressure is pushing most shoppers to trim gifts, decorations and dining out, with Black Friday sales adding extra strain.
Millions of sites may need urgent patching after critical PHP bugs raised fears of outages, data theft and account fraud ahead of peak shopping.
With nearly 49,000 knife offences recorded in England and Wales last year, employers are being told to prepare for violent incidents on site.
Businesses are now tracking how AI answers mention them, as ChatGPT and Perplexity accounted for 24% of scraping requests in Decodo's top 10.
Cleaner customer records can cut undeliverables, reduce wasted marketing spend and help retailers deliver smoother holiday orders and campaigns.
Consumer trust could decide whether AI projects pay off, as Sherwen Studios says technical readiness alone does not guarantee adoption.
The deal adds more than 140 specialists as Accenture tries to turn customer data and AI tools into measurable gains in retention and revenue.
The gaps could leave products invisible to AI shopping agents as they compare and recommend items, with 41% of retailers missing structured data.
Six in 10 UK respondents said AI customer service was frustrating, with handovers to human staff proving a particular weak point.
Shoppers lingered longer in central Blenheim on Friday, as a one-off free parking day eased pressure to rush and drew praise from locals.
It is aimed at large employers seeking clearer returns from AI by linking strategy, training and frontline actions across people and agents.
Eligible buyers can now use net 30-day terms and approved spending controls in stores and online, after a wider rollout from the pilot.
Merchants can now use one acquiring partner for shop and online sales as the new service rolls out first in the UK and EEA.