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Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Krishna Motukuri, CEO & cofounder of Zippin , a leading provider of checkout-free technology for retailers. Many of the biggest technology headlines in 2022 were about artificial intelligence (AI). Commercial and enterprise applications of generative AI such as ChatGPT are already making a big splash in 2023, but what about the retail industry? Here, the impact of AI is likely to widen and deepen this year. AI in particular may have an outsized impact on physical stores. It can be easy to forget that, amidst all the talk about e-commerce, most people still do the vast majority of their shopping in bricks and mortar stores. In 2022, physical stores still accounted for 87% of total retail sales in the U.S. Online retail continues to grow, but the bump in adoption caused by the pandemic has fallen back significantly and growth has slowed. This is especially true in food retail, where it has been estimated … [Read more...] about Why AI And Checkout-Free Technology Will Grow In 2023

KEY TAKEAWAYS Buying from central banks reached the highest level since 1967. Investment demand also increased; ETF sales declined. The price rebound that began late in the year has continued in 2023. Global gold demand, fed by the largest central bank purchases in more than a half-century, surged to the highest level since 2011 last year despite reduced consumption by the metal's largest buying segment: jewelers. The London-based World Gold Council reported that gold demand in 2022 increased 18% to 4,741 metric tons. The world's central banks accounted for about a quarter of that amount, 1,136 metric tons, 152% more than 450 million metric tons in 2021. The buying binge from central banks reflected their desire to increase exposure to an asset historically viewed as a consistent store of value and a hedge against inflation and financial market turbulence. Global inflation surged last year, with U.S. inflation hitting 40-year highs, causing central banks around … [Read more...] about Central Banks’ Buying Binge Boosted 2022 Global Gold Demand to 11-Year High

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Ford published a weaker set of Q4 FY’22 earnings due to supply chain-related headwinds and production issues that impacted the company’s cost base. Ford’s operating profits fell short of both the company’s guidance and Street estimates, coming in at $2.6 billion. For perspective, Ford had guided adjusted operating income for the full year 2022 of between $11.5 billion and $12.5 billion, versus a final reported number of just about $10.4 billion. That said Ford’s revenues came in ahead of estimates, with automotive sales rising 18.4% versus last year to $41.8 billion. Volumes grew by about 4% versus last year and pricing also remained strong. However, Ford’s overall market share fell by 40 basis points versus last year to 5%. Now, Ford’s recent execution has been weak, but we think that things will eventually look up. With inflation easing, the U.S. Federal Reserve has slowed down on the pace of its interest rate hikes (25 … [Read more...] about Ford’s Q4 Results Were Tough, But Things Could Get Better