Retailers in consumer discretionary categories were already struggling in the US before COVID-19. Better supply-chain management could be critical to their recovery.The US retail sector is facing one of the most challenging times in recent memory. For discretionary retailers, the headwinds are especially strong given considerable uncertainty driven by competitive dynamics, concerns over consume...

Researchers at Google claim to have developed a machine learning model that can separate a sound source from noisy, single-channel audio based on only a short sample of the target source.In a paper, they say their SoundFilter system can be tuned to filter arbitrary sound sources, even those it hasn’t seen during training.The researchers believe a noise-eliminating system like SoundFilter could...

Global venture funding in October 2020, the first month of the final quarter of the year, held steady at $23 billion and followed a strong third quarter, according to Crunchbase data. At the same time, 14 new unicorn companies were created last month—the second-highest monthly total so far this year—indicating that despite a raging pandemic and uncertainty around the U.S. presidential electio...

In the guise of a piece of art, the Sauberair FLAT eliminates a wide range of pollutants in the air, using minimum power.Having appliances at home comes with a lot of advantages, but they can also look bulky and out of place. Taiwan-based company Sauberair have made a conscious effort to disguise their latest invention as home décor, creating a sleek air purifier that looks like wall art. The...

I trust that I’m not far off in assuming that many of us have considered adopting a pet at least once during the quarantine. But they can be a lot of work and sometimes we bite off more than we can chew. Some pet owners have busy schedules and work their pet’s needs around them, or others might seek out help from a professional dog sitter. Whatever the case may be, Taeuk Ham was awarded the S...

This infographic from Twitter reveals impressions from tweets relating to the holidays are up 59% year-over-year, with vinyl, fryer, garden, jammies and laptop among trending products. In addition, 62% of US Twitter users intend to shop online on Black Friday.It might feel like March was only a few weeks back, but Christmas is now only 42 days away, and that means that brands need to ensure the...

Samsung has a striking smartphone in development with a transparent housing, which consists of 100% screen surface and has a sliding camera system. Samsung has now released several smartphones with a flexible display, including the Galaxy Z Flip and Galaxy Z Fold 2 foldable smartphones. However, a flexible screen is not only applicable to foldable devices. For example, a bendable screen can als...

Five fundamental themes are reshaping Asia’s payments landscape, requiring a swift response—and in some cases, self-reinvention—from players across the value chain.Asia has outpaced all other regions in terms of payments revenue growth over the past several years.1 It is also the largest contributor to global payments revenue, generating over $900 billion in 2019, nearly half the global tota...

Selfie filters have improved immensely over the past several years, but companies on the forefront of the tech see plenty of room to grow.The cosmetics world has also seen some rapid change in the past several years as makeup has proven particularly ripe for up-and-coming direct-to-consumer and influencer-endorsed brands to take hold. Plenty of legacy brands have seen their revenues decimated,...