E-commerce technology

Gates Foundation mobile money projects in developing world to go live this year

Mobile money projects aim to give millions of the world’s poorest people access to financial services Continue Reading

Asos trials AR tool to give customers idea of fashion fit

Online fashion brand Asos has launched an augmented reality trial to help customers see how garments will fit their body type Continue Reading

Automation could help resolve store shortfalls, says Capgemini

As consumers become more receptive to in-store technology, introducing automation to improve the retail experience could increase footfall, says Capgemini Continue Reading

Swedish venture capitalist giants anticipate increased global interest in local startup scene

Local venture capitalists in Sweden do not fear the arrival of international players Continue Reading

Can fintech succeed where schools and parents have failed?

Young people in Britain are unprepared to manage their finances when they leave home and, as a result, many run into serious problems Continue Reading

Why the banking industry needs an IT makeover

UK banks face huge challenges keeping their service availability levels at 99.99% Continue Reading

Future fashion: does that dress come in digital?

A visit to a technology-fuelled fashion pop-up paints a picture of a world where retailers and brands sell virtual clothes for usage solely in consumers’ digital lives. Continue Reading

Top 10 financial services IT stories of 2019

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 financial services and fintech stories of 2019 Continue Reading

How Halfords is using tech to rev up its customer service

Live chat, virtual contact centres and a new unifying web platform are set to enhance Halfords’ customer service proposition in the year ahead Continue Reading

How can we tell if regulating Google and Facebook is the right thing to do?

There are different economic approaches to dealing with monopolies and market dominance, but the nature of Google and Facebook defies easy answers Continue Reading

Top 10 retail technology stories of 2019

Computer Weekly looks at what 2019 had in store for the retail industry – what technologies were retailers rushing to adopt and how is customer behaviour changing? Continue Reading

Alarm bells ring, the IoT is listening

With Christmas bearing down on us, a series of vulnerability disclosures has drawn attention to the parlous state of IoT security, and serves as a timely warning to people planning to buy smart devices as gifts Continue Reading

Future fashion: does that dress come in digital?

A visit to a technology-fuelled fashion pop-up paints a picture of a world where retailers and brands sell virtual clothes for usage solely in consumers’ digital lives Continue Reading

CW Europe: Deutsche Bank creates innovation division

German banking giant Deutsche Bank is opening a division focused on innovation which will be led by former SAP executive Bernd Leukert. It will create agile teams with business and infrastructure divisions leading teams of technologists, using agile principles. Also read why China’s Huawei has offered governments an anti-industrial espionage commitment, and how software robots are helping social workers in Sweden. Continue Reading

Two Russians indicted over Dridex and Zeus malware

The US Department of Justice has indicted two Russian citizens over their alleged role in the distribution of the virulent Bugat, or Dridex, and Zeus banking trojans Continue Reading

Walking on the water

There wasn’t much fanfare around Amazon Prime’s midweek maiden voyage into Premier League football coverage. We’d have missed the delectable choice of fixtures altogether had we not opened the app ... Continue Reading

Goldman Sachs reins in cloud-based retail challenger in UK

Bank does not want rapidly expanding Marcus to breach deposits threshold at which UK banks have to ring-fence their retail operations Continue Reading

City of London switches on to connected lighting

City of London teams with Itron, Wi-SUN Alliance for smart lighting project to brighten up urban experience of historic parts of the UK capital Continue Reading

Some 29,000 UK web domains suspended for criminal activity

Domain suspensions for criminal activity over the past year has dropped for the first time since 2014 Continue Reading

Labour pledges review of NCSC in UK security overhaul

The UK's National Cyber Security Centre may get expanded powers under a Labour government Continue Reading

Holy grail of digital banking is, at first glance, a new channel, not a new concept

Details of Google’s plans in the financial services sector have emerged with nothing groundbreaking so far, but the sector is guessing what comes next Continue Reading

Macy’s Magecart breach presages Christmas fraud spike

US retailer Macy’s admits some customer data was accessed by unknown actors during a week-long Magecart attack Continue Reading

Guarding the shop: Rewind backup protects e-commerce data

E-commerce sites need backup in the event of data loss situations, especially during the holidays. Rewind gives merchants the chance to go back to a safe point in time. Continue Reading

Foreign e-commerce giants threaten Nordic high streets

Surveys show up to 40% of high-street stores in Sweden and Finland could face closure by 2030 as retailers seek to combat e-commerce threat Continue Reading

Google to launch bank accounts in 2020

Google is launching bank accounts in the US in 2020 as tech giants continue to deepen their activities in the financial services sector Continue Reading

Podcast: The Computer Weekly Downtime Upload – Episode 36

In this week’s episode of the Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast, the team pick talk about General Election tech, HMRC's “war” on IT contractors, diversity in STEM and how organisations can fight back against fake online reviews Continue Reading

What’s new in UK retail’s online-to-offline movement?

US menswear retailer Untuckit used to be an online pureplay, but by the end of 2019 it will have 80-plus stores, including its two new UK shops, as the online-to-offline trend continues Continue Reading

GoCardless and TransferWise create global network for direct debits

Fintechs’ network will make it easier for small companies to expand their customer bases internationally Continue Reading

Enema at the Gates

The Conservatives’ doctored version of Keir Starmer’s Good Morning Britain interview left out our favourite bit: an arms-folded Piers Morgan insisting he’s “absolutely fine” with 26 billionaires ... Continue Reading

Marks & Spencer profits drop as digital push ramps up

Clothing, home and luxury food retailer Marks & Spencer has been pushing to make its business more digital, but its half-year profits have seen a hit Continue Reading

Goldman Sachs lends billions of dollars through Apple partnership

Apple Card issuing bank Goldman Sachs has already given billions of dollars in credit to iPhone users since Apple's credit card was launched Continue Reading

Brits moving to digital banking channel faster than people in the US

Digital banking services rapidly gain popularity, but digital banks face major challenges to make deeper inroads into traditional banks’ customer bases Continue Reading

IR35 reforms – the difficult decisions facing IT contractors

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we examine the difficult choices facing UK IT contractors from the controversial IR35 tax reforms. Social engineering is a major source of cyber security attacks – we look at mitigation strategies. And the IT chief at Mercedes F1 explains what it takes to support a world championship team. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Verizon to give 5G, Fios customers a year’s worth of free Disney content

US comms giant will offer all new and existing 4G LTE and 5G unlimited wireless customers access to the forthcoming Disney+ direct-to-consumer service Continue Reading

How retailers are using social to reach Gen Z and beyond

The younger generation of shoppers are all using social media, so how are retailers using influencers to reach these potential customers and their spending power? Continue Reading

Zopa continues in its mission to apply a Netflix user experience to banking

Zopa has made a credit scoring tool available as it continues to expand the portfolio of products it offers beyond loans. Continue Reading

Digital and innovation apprentices to start NatWest programme

NatWest is kicking off a tech apprentice programme, with its digital innovation hub set to play a key role Continue Reading

French and German banks end talks on challenger bank sale

After months of negotiations, BPCE's proposed sale of Fidor Bank to OLB has fallen through Continue Reading

CW Middle East: Saudi banks trial biometrics in ATMs

Biometric and blockchain technologies are being used in tandem to provide ID verification at Saudi Arabian cash machines. Also read about the first government organisation in Bahrain to migrate to Amazon Web Services, and an interview with Yasmeen Al Sharaf, head of fintech and innovation unit, Central Bank of Bahrain. Continue Reading

Southeast Asia’s internet economy hits $100bn milestone

The digital economy in Southeast Asia grew 39% this year but the growth momentum can only be sustained if talent gaps are filled Continue Reading

Cyber war as big a threat as nuclear war, says ex-RSA head Coviello

Former RSA chairman Art Coviello has been speaking about the devastating potential of cyber weapons, and warned that humanity must learn from history in order to control them Continue Reading

Disabled consumers left logged out of retail’s digital revolution

Retailers are being urged to make their digital assets more accessible to disabled consumers, not just for moral and social reasons, but because of the commercial opportunity Continue Reading

Interview: James Smith, director of digital, Nationwide Building Society

James Smith says heading up the digital unit at Nationwide Building Society is the best job in the business Continue Reading

Why CIOs must digitise internal IT processes to keep pace with change

Nothing ever stands still, and IT is now expected to be more adaptable than ever before to help businesses keep in step with the pace of innovation Continue Reading

Industry opposition to no-deal Brexit hardens, says TechUK

A survey of TechUK members has found that 71% believe a no-deal Brexit at the end of October will negatively affect them in spite of their preparations Continue Reading

That don’t impress Ma much

Over to Hangzhou now, where the richest man in China has thrown himself the mother of all retirement bashes by performing in front of an audience of 60,000 employees. Alibaba founder Jack Ma donned ... Continue Reading

The emergence of the shopping centre-as-a-service model

Shopping centres have been morphing into wider entertainment, leisure and hospitality venues for some time, but their role is set to evolve yet further Continue Reading

IT leaders need to speak up about the voice channel

Voice assistants represent the next frontier, and a range of new skills will be needed to move beyond pilot projects to a true voice channel Continue Reading

Executive interview: How Figleaves uncovers a data Eden

Online lingerie business that started out at the height of the dot com boom is now focused on using advanced analytics to reveal new data insights Continue Reading

Samsung KX gives consumers and retailers a glimpse of the future

Samsung puts its Galaxy range, the internet of things and community events at the heart of its new central London consumer space – but don’t call it a store... Continue Reading

From cleaners to architects – lessons learnt by a serial entrepreneur

After the emotional sale of her first company, Alex Depledge, co-founder of and CEO of Resi, explains the lessons she has learnt and what she will and will not do again Continue Reading

UK banks outage caused by problem at US payment service provider

UK consumers were unable to access some banking services due to a hardware failure at a US payments provider Continue Reading

Podcast: The Computer Weekly Downtime Upload – Episode 29

In this week’s episode of the Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast, Brian McKenna, Caroline Donnelly and Clare McDonald take a look back at the last 28 podcasts ahead of the summer podcast pause Continue Reading

Over 40% of UK shoppers want store-specific stock information

Shoppers want to use mobile or the web to see availability of items in stores near them in a growing trend towards convenience shopping Continue Reading

7 ways to improve your retail sales

Retailers, especially traditional brick-and-mortar retailers, need to throw caution to the wind and follow these seven tips to spur sales and provide remarkable retail. Continue Reading

Podcast: The Computer Weekly Downtime Upload – Episode 26

In this special edition of the Computer Weekly Downtime Upload, Brian McKenna and Caroline Donnelly are joined by Bill Goodwin and Sebastian Klovig Skelton to dig into the pair's recent run of in-depth investigative articles on Facebook and its privacy practices Continue Reading

The next stage in football’s digital revolution is ready for the new season

Technology is playing an increasing role in football, as the Premier League adopts video assistant referees for the first time and clubs turn to data to capture more of their fans’ attention Continue Reading

Surge in UK businesses switching bank account providers

The UK system that makes it easy to change bank account has seen a surge in businesses taking up the service Continue Reading

US Department of Justice launches antitrust probe into dominance of online platform providers

The US Department of Justice has called for an antitrust investigation into how “market-leading” online platform operators in the search, social media and retail space operate Continue Reading

Convenience, digitisation and the impact on the physical store

Digital technologies and the need for convenience have changed the way consumers shop, but what will this mean for the purpose and size of physical stores? Continue Reading

European Commission launches antitrust investigation into Amazon

Amazon is being officially investigated by the European Commission to assess whether its use of data from independent retailers is anti-competitive Continue Reading

Podcast: The Computer Weekly Downtime Upload – Episode 24

In this week’s episode of the Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast, Brian McKenna, Caroline Donnelly and Clare McDonald talk about using Alexa to search for medical advice, how a good cup of tea can solve most problems and whether more should be done to provide childcare at tech events Continue Reading

Retailers engineer new ways to recruit and retain IT talent

Senior leaders at Holland & Barrett, Feelunique and BrandAlley offer tips on finding and keeping sought-after engineering and developer talent Continue Reading

Challenger bank shuts up shop in UK amid uncertainty

Digital bank Fidor is ending its time in the UK, blaming uncertainties in the market Continue Reading

Why Facebook’s Libra digital currency could run rings round the regulators

Facebook’s cryptocurrency isn’t really a cryptocurrency, nor is it really a money transfer network, but it’s been formulated in such a way that regulators might not be able to do anything to stop it Continue Reading

Rise of the machines: How AI is changing unified communications

Artificial intelligence is now moving into live UC environments at scale. We look at the impact it will have and what lies ahead Continue Reading

Almost half of shoppers still prefer brands with stores

Despite an increasing amount of people shopping online, factors such as product pricing and whether a brand has a physical store still come into play Continue Reading

How privacy could breathe new life into personalisation

As much of the advertising technology used by marketers to deliver personalised content online is deemed unlawful, there are signs regulation could actually be a win-win for both consumers and business – as long as the industry embraces change Continue Reading

Open banking could generate £18bn in value for UK SMEs and citizens

Consumers and SMEs could generate billions of pounds in value if open banking adoption reaches its potential Continue Reading

Podcast: The Computer Weekly Downtime Upload – Episode 21

In this week’s episode of the Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast, Brian McKenna, Clare McDonald and Caroline Donnelly are joined by Computer Weekly’s acting management editor, Angelica Mari, to talk about some of the past week’s biggest news stories Continue Reading

Asos trials AR catwalk technology

Online retailer Asos has partnered with HoloMe to trial an augmented reality catwalk for users of its fashion app Continue Reading

Facebook officially unveils cryptocurrency plans

Facebook has released details about its Libra cryptocurrency, but questions still remain over how, and if, it will work Continue Reading

Facebook announces global digital currency Libra

Facebook is launching digital coin to open up affordable financial services to the world Continue Reading

Whittard spills the tea about its use of technology

CFO and IT manager of British hot beverages brand Whittard explains the firm’s recent investment in technology ahead of the business’s expansion into China Continue Reading

Convenience, digitisation and the impact on the physical store

Digital technologies and the need for convenience have changed the way consumers shop, but what will this mean for the purpose and size of physical stores? Continue Reading

Co-op pushes to make customer care teams more co-operative

The Co-op operates in market segments ranging from funeral care to food, and its customer service strategy was disparate until it adopted Salesforce Continue Reading

Yoox Net-A-Porter launches female-focused fashion app competition

Online fashion retailer Yoox Net-A-Porter is asking young women to submit ideas for an app which helps drive sustainability in the fashion industry Continue Reading

How retail store technology is filling the ‘imagination gap’

Retailers are using in-store technology to reduce the time between shoppers’ consideration phase and purchase, but how is it engaging them and triggering conversions? Continue Reading

More than half of UK workforce lacks essential digital skills, says Lloyd’s

In the modern world, digital skills are becoming increasingly important, but a large amount of the UK workforce doesn’t measure up, Lloyd’s has found Continue Reading

Gant uses Cegid to streamline functions across all markets

As retailer Gant begins to mirror its core operations across all of the countries it operates in, global IT manager Ricky Dematagollage explains what part Cegid will play in the process Continue Reading

Hyperscale datacentre operators report first drop in capex growth for seven quarters

Datacentre investments of cloud and internet giants dropped in the first quarter of 2019 after seven consecutive quarters of growth, but market watcher claims it is just a blip Continue Reading

Swedes need to keep a week’s cash under the bed

The Swedish population is being advised to keep enough cash at home to last a week in case of problems such as online banking crashes Continue Reading

Paul Smith looks to tailor its back-end systems with Cegid software

British tailor Paul Smith has been working with Cegid since 2015, but it is now considering upgrading to the provider's latest software to reduce costs and increase efficiency Continue Reading

CW Nordics: Nordea links up with IBM to meet fintech challenge

IBM’s €473m managed services contract with Nordea reflects an increasing trend among Nordic banks to outsource more of their IT to help meet the challenge of fintechs. Also read how a shortage of women in the boardroom is a problem in the Nordics but the tech sector points to a more promising future, and find out why the Norwegian government has launched a regulatory sandbox for the fintech sector. Continue Reading

Amazon vs Amazon

What happens when the Amazon rainforest, globally cherished as the lungs of the planet, asks a company that named itself after it not to enjoy exclusive use of the .amazon domain extension? Where ... Continue Reading

Hundreds of European retail banks will disappear as challengers scoop up customers

One in every 10 banks in Europe will no longer exist as digital challengers take customers from them Continue Reading

How do you choose an e-commerce platform to integrate with a CMS?

Before choosing an e-commerce system, companies need to identify their business objectives and determine what capabilities they need to add to their CMS. Continue Reading

Retailers need to rethink KPIs in the face of digital shopping

Customer experience is becoming of increasing importance in an omni-channel world, but technology adoption has stores cornered, forcing them to rethink what value stores bring to an organisation and the customer journey Continue Reading

Middle East Interview: Dubai-based Fetchr

Delivery app Fetchr is spreading across the Middle East with its mobile-to-mobile delivery service. We talk to its founder Continue Reading

Podcast: The Computer Weekly Downtime Upload – Episode 16

In this week’s episode of the Computer Weekly Downtime Upload, Clare McDonald and Brian McKenna are joined by prolific Downtime author Ryan Priest to discuss retail sustainability, internet influencers and the tech battle between China and the US Continue Reading

Physical stores – the place to meet your tribe

In a digital world, stores still have a place as community hubs, representatives from Lego, Vans and M&Ms told Retail Expo Continue Reading

Early adopters expect to pay 32% premium for 5G

Potential early adopters of 5G say they expect, on average, to pay more for their devices and services, but they expect measurable improvements on 4G from the get-go Continue Reading

Swedish government tells citizens to hoard cash in case of cyber attack

Civil Contingencies Agency says cash is needed in case of emergencies such as technology failures and cyber attacks Continue Reading

From friction-filled to till-free: The path to a checkoutless Sainsbury’s store

Daniel Hills, group digital product manager for Sainsbury’s, tells Retail Expo the journey his team had to take to eventually launch a till-free store trial featuring its new shopping app Continue Reading

CIO interview: Mark Holt, CTO, Trainline

A data-led strategy underpins the growth of the public transport app, which sells over 200 tickets a minute and logs more than 80 million customer visits a month Continue Reading

Digital shopping endangers retail employment

A shift towards online shopping and digital retail technologies has led to a decrease in investment in retail employment Continue Reading

Online fashion brand Boohoo sees year-on-year revenue growth

Online fashion retailer Boohoo.com has seen a spike in revenue over the past year across all of its operating brands, and has announced the completion of several digital projects Continue Reading

How Kubernetes has simplified Bet365’s software deployments

Online betting company has begun using Kubernetes to make it easier for its IT infrastructure and product teams to share complex configurations Continue Reading

Facebook takes extraordinary legal steps to contain document leak

Facebook targets journalists and news organisations for computer searches Continue Reading

Lush gives up on social media

Since the birth of social media platforms, brands have been carefully adapting their marketing strategies to reach the cool kids on whatever their chosen channel of choice. From MySpace, to ... Continue Reading