01
March

Sophie Nélisse On Her Personal Style & The Fashion Pieces She’s Shopping For Now

By avi maxwel / in , , , , , , , /

The life of a Hollywood actor is strange and paradoxical at times. They walk the red carpet in their fanciest designer gown one week — and the next, they’re miles away from the hustle and bustle of the LA circuit, perhaps at home in a pair of sweats. Sophie Nélisse, who stars as the younger version of Melanie Lynskey’s Shauna in the hit Showtime series Yellowjackets, can relate to this dichotomy. The actor recently participated in press junkets to celebrate Season 2 of her hit show, which is streaming now, but in between her work travels to LA, she calls Montreal, Canada her home.

Nélisse says when she’s away from the glitzy shine of Hollywood, she re-centers herself. “I’ve just been spending time with my family, working around the house, and getting back into my natural everyday life at home,” she tells TZR. “I’ve debated moving to LA (permanently). I’m still debating, but there’s just something about it that scares me. All my friends and family (are in Montreal). I also feel like my self-esteem would drop a little if I were to move to LA. It’s just a different world out here.”

Being a tad bit removed from

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27
February

Black Friday weekend shopping turnout soars to a record

By avi maxwel / in , , , , , , /

Shoppers browse for dresses during the Black Friday sale at the Vivo Activewear women’s clothing store in downtown Nairobi, Kenya November 24, 2023. 

Thomas Mukoya | Reuters

Shoppers kicked off the holiday season with a bang, as a record 200.4 million people hit stores and searched websites for gifts from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation.

The turnout marks an all-time high since the major trade group and Prosper Insights & Analytics began tracking total in-store and online traffic in 2017. It topped last year’s figure of 196.7 million shoppers and the NRF’s forecast for about 182 million people during the five-day weekend.

The number of people shopping online rose to 134.2 million this year, up from 130.2 million a year ago, the NRF survey found. Consumers who shopped at stores fell slightly, from 122.7 million people in 2022 to 121.4 million people this year.

The major trade group did not estimate total spending, but said shoppers shelled out an average of $321.41 on holiday-related purchases over the weekend. That’s roughly in line with the $325.44 average last year. The number is not adjusted for inflation.

On a call with reporters, NRF

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25
February

The 14 Spring 2024 Fashion Trends to Start Shopping Now

By avi maxwel / in , , , , /

Goodbye, lumpy puffers and salt-caked boots. Hello, spring 2024 fashion trends! If your wardrobe is starting to feel a bit tired after months of gray skies and howling winds, you’re in luck—a new season is on the way, bringing plenty of fresh inspiration from the spring runways along with it. Nostalgia ruled last year’s biggest trends, from the revival of early-2010s fashion to so-called stealth wealth, which revisited ’90s-style minimalism. And experts say this year’s trends, like the disco decadence of sequins and the return of grade-school staples like bows and preppy polos, follow the same arc, but with a little more playfulness this time around.

So what will we be wearing this year? While you’ll still see plenty of bold red, a holdover from our favorite winter trends, on the streets, we’re expecting to go a bit darker in maroon this spring. (Don’t worry; bright blue is also trending if you’re dreaming of clearer skies ahead.) Bow accessories and rosettes are poised to get even more popular, jumping from your TikTok feed to real life. And if you’re looking for an excuse to dress a little bolder, we recommend investing in a fringed jacket, leopard-print ballet flats, or a

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24
January

How Bloomreach Clarity is redefining how you shop online with Conversational Shopping

By avi maxwel / in , , , , , , /

Bloomreach announced a new product at The Edge Summit called Bloomreach Clarity, calling it “the future of commerce.” It’s all about conversational shopping and will change how many people shop online.

At the Edge Summit, Bloomreach CEO and co-founder Raj De Datta talked about Bloomreach’s use of AI. The platform has always had AI at its foundation, calling it Loomi. And Loomi powers everything. But the firm is even more excited about generative AI and what it can do for commerce.

De Datta said that it’s essential we get it right, arguing that people can feel overwhelmed by everything said about AI today – good and bad – and that we need to take a “collective deep breath.” We need to build a blueprint that will take us forward, and his perspective is focused on AI, e–commerce, and marketing.

According to Statistica, e-commerce made up 19% of retail sales worldwide in 2022. One of the biggest challenges for online shopping is that people find it hard to make a decision. Either more research is required, or they decide they want to visit a physical store first.

De Datta says e-commerce is built today for searchers rather than seekers. It’s

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21
January

China’s Pinduoduo Has Reshaped Discount Shopping

By avi maxwel / in , , , , /

When Pinduoduo, the Chinese discount shopping app, debuted nearly a decade ago, the tech giants Alibaba and JD.com dominated China’s e-commerce business.

Pinduoduo felt more like a gimmick than a future rival. It was a combination of a game arcade, a shopping mall and a social network. Its main selling point was lower prices for shoppers who recruited other buyers to make group purchases. Customers could pass the time by playing video games or earn money by logging in daily to browse the app.

Now, no one is taking the company lightly.

Pinduoduo is the sister company of Temu, the bargain shopping app that has amassed tens of millions of users outside China, including in the United States, where it is spending billions of dollars on promotion. Americans who haven’t used Temu yet have probably seen its Super Bowl ads or Instagram posts.

Like TikTok, Temu is the foreign version of a highly successful Chinese company. As its popularity has grown in the United States, its business practices have also come under scrutiny. Members of Congress have questioned whether it is providing a U.S. channel for products that are made in China using forced labor. It has encountered criticism for

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