Japanese carrier ANA opens world's first shop equipped with avatar robots
Japanese airline ANA Holdings Inc. opened Thursday what it says is the world's first store where customers can shop remotely through an avatar. The robots, standing 1.5 meters tall, will be employed at the avatar-in store through Dec. 24 in a shopping mall in Tokyo's ...
"Cyber Monday" is still holding up as the biggest online shopping day of the year, even though the same deals have been available online for weeks and the name harkens back to the days of dial-up modems. Shoppers are expected to spend a record $9.4 ...
Between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, pope condemns 'virus' of consumerism
Pope Francis on Sunday urged people to resist the excesses of consumerism in the period leading up to Christmas, calling it a virus that attacks faith and offends the needy. "When you live for things, things are never enough, greed grows, other people become obstacles ...
Hokkaido may fold its hand in the nationwide bid to host a casino resort
Some residents voiced concerns about the environmental impact of building a so-called integrated resort housing a large hotel and conference rooms.
Reborn Shibuya Parco hopes to regain iconic status amid tough times for brick-and-mortar stores
After a three-year renewal project, Shibuya Parco, an iconic shopping complex in the bustling central Tokyo district, is back in the game. Having been at the vanguard of fashion and youth culture, especially in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, the facility, which reopened Friday, largely ...
Macron scraps plans for €3 billion Franco-Chinese shopping mall near Paris amid environmental gripes
French President Emmanuel Macron has decided to scrap a €3 billion ($3.32 billion) shopping and leisure complex project that French retail group Auchan and Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda planned to build just outside Paris, the Elysee Palace said on Thursday. The EuropaCity project, which was ...
Taylor Swift helps Alibaba plug world's biggest shopping spree
Taylor Swift will headline Alibaba's Singles' Day next month in Shanghai, turning her considerable star wattage on the world's largest annual online shopping spree. By most measures the biggest recording star on the planet, Swift is the highest-profile act to feature at Alibaba Group Holding ...
Sales at Japan's major department stores jumped before tax hike
The nation's four major department store chains saw double-digit growth in their sales in September from a year earlier as consumers hurried to buy luxury items before the consumption tax hike to 10 percent from 8 percent, their monthly reports showed Tuesday. The levels of ...
Nightlife spots off Japan's beaten tourist track seek to lure in foreign visitors
At around 10 p.m. on a Thursday in early August, foot traffic at a dining and drinking district only one stop from Tokyo's Ikebukuro Station was unexpectedly sparse despite warm summer weather — ideal conditions for a cold beverage, or two. Across streetcar tracks and ...
Time for 'air con,' yukata and beer: Summer sales battle heats up in Japan as rainy season ends
The summer sales battle is intensifying as the year's rainy period officially ended Wednesday after bringing a record-breaking lack of sunshine. The Meteorological Agency on Wednesday announced the end of the rainy season in the Tohoku region, declaring the end of the rainy period throughout ...
First on-campus Muji store to open at university in Tokyo
The first on-campus Muji store will open on Thursday at the Musashino Art University in Tokyo, featuring a selection of the brand's regular daily merchandise, a cafe and a workshop. Masaaki Kanai, chairman of Ryohin Keikaku Co., gives a speech at a new Muji store ...
