IBM was the first big tech outfit to announce it is closing down its facial recognition system amid the Black Lives Matter racial discrimination protests in the US and around the world. Since then, Amazon and Microsoft have followed suit, with all three wanting to no longer provide the technology for policing in the US.

Amazon has launched its own delivery service to speed up deliveries, called Amazon Flex.

Retail stores of the future must be flexible to adapt to rapidly changing consumer demand, boast of embedded sustainability, and become experience and information destinations over transactional capability, Luxottica’s VP of marketing, Milena Cavicchioli, believes.

Amazon has confirmed it is acquiring the ad server and creative optimisation divisions of Sizmek’s ailing business, strengthening its own offering against the might of Google.

All the latest martech and adtech news this week from CM Group, Adobe, Amazon, Talend, Pegasystems, Informatica, Curiious, Qualtrics, Acquia, BigCommerce, InMoment and IntelligenceBank.

Opinion is divided over the news of Amazon launching its advertising services in Australia, with some saying it will make little impact, and others saying that Amazon will not only take a large place in the sales funnel, they will be the entire funnel.

SXSW 2019 has confirmed the extent to which technology will impact every aspect of our lives in deep and profound ways. I’m 15 sessions in, spanning a range of topics from flying vehicles, smart cities, neuro-science, nano-technology, to how the CIA uses creativity to solve complex counter-terrorism challenges.

​With organisations more focused on the consumer, and consumers demanding products that improve lifestyle while being socially responsible, CES 2019 has seen the launch of a number of smart products and devices that put the consumer firmly front and centre.

The digitisation and transformation of marketing, power of the personal, building and retaining customer trust, and striving for online retail relevancy are just some of the big themes to dominate the news this year.

All the latest martech and adtech news this week from Amobee, Oracle Data Cloud, Marchex, OtherLevels, Hypetap, Shutterstock, Amazon, Finteza, Tapjoy, and more.

All the latest martech and adtech news this week from Roy Morgan, Taboola, VoiceFoundry, Amazon, Soul Machines, Genesys, Salesforce, LiveChat, Smaato, and more.

​The role of brand is more important and valuable than ever and is key to accelerating growth, particularly when an overall sense of trust is in steep decline.

Amazon’s Prime Day sales launch in Australia failed to generate the membership and visitor increase expected to the company’s local online ecommerce offering and did not sufficiently close the expectation gap with consumers.

Andrew Howie is leaving Westpac as head of advertising to take on Amazon Australia's head of brand post.

​Amazon is hoping for record Prime Day sales and sign-ups to Prime memberships in Australia, even after its website crashed at the beginning of the event.

Amazon’s launch in Australia has significantly boosted online shopping behaviour across the wider local retail landscape, generating more sales across a wider array of local ecommerce and brand websites. But not everyone is benefitting and those in the mid-share, mid-market space stand to lose the most from the US giant’s arrival on our shore long term.

NSW commuters are to become the latest beneficiaries of voice-based interaction thanks to a new Transport for NSW integration with Amazon’s Alexa platform.

The age of customer centricity is here, and as experience increasingly becomes the biggest driver of digital transformation and marketing strategy, 2018 will be about moving the customer relationship to an even deeper and more dynamic level of personalised engagement.

With Amazon officially opening up shop in Australia, local retailers are ‘bracing for impact’ and grappling with the ensuing business and marketing implications in what’s considered an already tough retail environment.

The impending arrival of Amazon on Australian shores has left many brands and retailers scrambling to implement a response. And it’s the way in which Amazon will serve the market that arguably offers the biggest industry shake-up and reshape how consumers access products and services for brands and retailers alike.

While many Australian brands struggle with what impact Amazon’s arrival in Australia might have on their sales channel, at least one has had first-hand experience with the American online behemoth for years.