Tag: shopping

College social app Fizz expands into grocery delivery

image via techcrunch.com
image via techcrunch.com

Founded in 2021, Fizz is available at more than 620 campuses across the United States, with over 27 million posts shared to date. The social platform allows students to connect anonymously with others at their university. Fizz also features a marketplace where users can buy and sell items locally. The partnership will allow students to order anything from late-night snacks to weekly groceries directly within the Fizz app in as fast as 15 minutes, Fizz says.

https://techcrunch.com/2025/09/03/college-social-app-fizz-expands-into-grocery-delivery/

Samsung phones are getting a weird AI shopping platform nobody asked for

image via theverge.com
image via theverge.com

Glance AI, a brand owned by mobile advertising company InMobi, has announced a partnership with the Samsung Galaxy Store to roll out its e-commerce platform to Galaxy phones in the US. The company’s app centers around what it calls “a Generative AI shopping platform,” which is a serious contender for the most cursed phrase I’ve read today. The “experience” comprises both a standalone app and a lock screen component to try and sell you clothes. Crucially, the whole thing is “fully opt-in,” which, thank Christ. But even if you opt out — which you absolutely should! — this feels like a sign of things to come as advertisers try to leverage AI to sell us more stuff. Buckle up.

https://www.theverge.com/news/679541/samsung-galaxy-glance-ai-lock-screen-app

Turns out people are using AI like a personal shopper

image via qz.com
image via qz.com

“The conversion gap reinforces that AI is being utilized during the research and consideration stage, in advance of when shoppers are ready to hit the buy button.” But, it added, the closing gap “shows that consumers are also increasingly comfortable completing a transaction directly after an AI-powered chat experience.”

https://qz.com/gen-ai-personal-shopper-adobe-e-commerce-1851770510

Self-Checkout Is a Failed Experiment

image via theatlantic.com
image via theatlantic.com

You know how this process actually goes by now: You still have to wait in line. The checkout kiosks bleat and flash when you fail to set a purchase down in the right spot. Scanning those items is sometimes a crapshoot—wave a barcode too vigorously in front of an uncooperative machine, and suddenly you’ve scanned it two or three times.

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/10/self-checkout-kiosks-grocery-retail-stores/675676/?utm_source=apple_news

Instagram to Drop Shopping Tab From Main Feed

(Credit: Getty Images/Thomas Trutschel/Photothek)

Starting next month, the social network plans to axe the Shop tab and move its Create shortcut front and center at the bottom of the screen.

The in-app shopping feature isn’t going anywhere, though. Folks will still be able(Opens in a new window) to set up and run a virtual store, and users can continue ordering products in Feed, Stories, Reels, and ads.

https://www.pcmag.com/news/instagram-to-drop-shopping-tab-from-main-feed

TikTok said to be launching live shopping in the US

“When it comes to market expansion for TikTok Shop we are always guided by demand and are constantly exploring new and different options for how we can best serve our Community, Creators and Merchants in markets around the world. These efforts include exploring partnerships that further support a seamless e-commerce experience for merchants, which is an important part of our ecosystem,” TikTok said in a statement to TechCrunch.

https://techcrunch.com/2022/10/03/tiktok-said-to-be-launching-live-shopping-in-the-us/