Month: November 2022

Walmart is expanding its support for AI-powered virtual try-on technology that allows online shoppers to better visualize clothing on models that look like themselves in both appearance and body type. Before, Walmart.com customers could select from among dozens of different models to find one who best looked like them in order to see how clothing would likely look on their own body and with their own skin tone, across a range of apparel items. Now, the retailer is launching a new technology called “Be Your Own Model,” which lets shoppers use their own photos to see how clothing looks on them, instead of choosing one of the existing fashion models.

The virtual try-on technology results from Walmart’s 2021 acquisition of the startup Zeekit. The computer vision and neural network-powered feature is capable of analyzing catalog images of garments to create a dressed image. The use of neural networks helps to

This file photo shows a southbound CTA Red Line train in Chicago. (WTTW News)

With Black Friday coming next week and the holiday shopping season approaching, Chicago police and transit officials are offering tips to help keep bus and train riders safe while they shop.

The Chicago Police Department’s public transportation section held a public roll call Tuesday morning at the Clark & ​​Lake CTA station to highlight an increased security presence along transit routes across the city.

“We’re trying to increase our visibility and presence on mass transit,” CPD Public Transportation Section Commander Joe Bird said. “We want to let the riders know that during the holiday season as the ridership increases, that we’re out here to serve and protect them.”

Safety tips offered by the CPD include: being aware of your surroundings, securing wallets and phones in zipped pockets, keeping shopping bags close to you and keeping headphone

Every time I decided to do something vaguely useful with my life, the universe conspires against me. Last week, for example, I decided I was going to get into gardening. Growing stuff seemed a healthy sort of way to cope with the disintegration of American democracy and the rapid rollback of civil rights. It’s certainly healthier than my usual coping mechanisms: drinking wine and complaining.

Now, I don’t know very much about gardening but I do know that you need soil, so I ordered a couple of large bags of the stuff online. The soil took a couple of days to arrive and just minutes to be stolen by porch pirates. Two guys dressed like delivery men scurried over to my doorstep and hauled it off in their car. Instead of spending that evening cultivating my garden, I drank wine and complained.

You may have spotted a porch pirate

For years Google has been stalking Amazon in e-commerce with little to show for it in ground gained. Now, just as Amazon stock may get a further lift from a logistics-based initiative, Google stock could be poised to benefit from a turnabout in its online shopping strategy.

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On the prowl for new revenue streams, Amazon.com (AMZN) is offering its massive distribution network to outside merchants. No longer will Amazon’s army of warehouse robots, delivery trucks and drones be only at the disposal of those who sell goods on its website and app. Merchants who do not sell goods on Amazon.com can use the e-commerce titan’s product fulfillment services for delivery and returns as part of a program called Buy With Prime.

“What Amazon is doing with Buy With Prime is a pretty dramatic move,” Evercore ISI analyst Mark Mahaney told Investor’s Business Daily. “We’ll probably see a

Facebook is shutting down its live shopping feature on October 1 to shift its focus to Reels, the company announced in a blog post. After this date, you will no longer be able to host any new or scheduled live shopping events on Facebook, the company says. The social media network notes that you will still be able to use Facebook Live to broadcast live events, but you won’t be able to create product playlists or tag products in your Facebook Live videos.

Livestream video shopping became publicly available on Facebook two years ago, following a series of smaller trials and beta tests. The feature was designed to give creators and brands an interactive way to sell items, connect with viewers and potentially gain new customers. However, Facebook says it’s now shifting away from live video shopping to focus on Reels.

“As consumers’ viewing behaviors are shifting to short-form