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Toronto reportedly out of the running for Amazon’s HQ2 (BETAKIT)
Amazon has narrowed its search to three cities, including northern Virginia’s Crystal City, Dallas, and New York City.
DMS Recommends: Retail isn’t dead, it’s just changing: Shopify’s Shimona Mehta on the future of e-commerce (DIGITALMAINSTREET)
What does the future of e-commerce look like? As the head of revenue acceleration for Shopify Plus, it’s Shimona Mehta’s job to look several years ahead to strategize for the Canadian e-commerce giant.
AppDirect’s Daniel Saks says organizations need “co-opetition” to stay competitive (BETAKIT)
One half of the Canadian duo behind AppDirect told Web Summit, “you’re going to be partnering with your competitors and you’re going to be partnering with others to help you grow.”
7-Eleven starts experimenting with cashier-less checkouts (THEVERGE)
The technology will allow customers to scan the barcodes of items they want to buy and then pay through their phone, either with a card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay.
Facebook opens small business pop-ups in nine Macy’s stores (ENGADGET)
The Macy’s partnership could be a case of Facebook testing the water for broader retail efforts.
Chicago-based Bounteous acquires ecommerce agency Demac Media (BETAKIT)
Demac Media will now become Bounteous Canada.
Meesho raises $50M in Series C funding (FINSMES)
Meesho provides sellers with a platform to set up and manage an online store and share content and sells their products on social media platforms including Pinterest, WhatsApp, and Facebook.
Walmart opening AI-focused retail lab in a Long Island store (RETAILTOUCHPOINTS)
Artificial intelligence will be used to empower associates and improve the shopper experience, for example by better calculating when stock needs to be replenished, identifying when items are on the wrong shelf and quickly reporting spills.
AdRoll expands its B2B data and tech by acquiring Growlabs (TECHCRUNCH)
While AdRoll is best known for its retargeting technology for consumer advertising, it’s been building out a suite of B2B marketing technology under its RollWorks business unit, which launched earlier this year.
New Brunswick-based Smart Skin Technologies raises $3.1 million (BETAKIT)
Smart Skin’s Quantifeel line monitoring system observes and analyzes the dynamic effect of forces exerted on containers in real-time.