Retail
Algorithmic Collusion of Pricing and Advertising on E-commerce Platforms
When online sellers use AI learning algorithms to automatically compete on e-commerce platforms, there is concern that they will learn to coordinate on higher than competitive prices. However, this concern was primarily raised in single-dimension price competition. We investigate whether this prediction holds when sellers make pricing and advertising decisions together, i.e., two-dimensional decisions. We analyze competition in multi-agent reinforcement learning, and use a large-scale dataset from Amazon.com to provide empirical evidence. We show that when consumers have high search costs, learning algorithms can coordinate on prices lower than competitive prices, facilitating a win-win-win for consumers, sellers, and platforms. This occurs because algorithms learn to coordinate on lower advertising bids, which lower advertising costs, leading to lower prices and enlarging demand on the platform. We also show that our results generalize to any learning algorithm that uses exploration of price and advertising bids. Consistent with our predictions, an empirical analysis shows that price levels exhibit a negative interaction between estimated consumer search costs and algorithm usage index. We analyze the platform's strategic response and find that reserve price adjustments will not increase platform profits, but commission adjustments will, while maintaining the beneficial outcomes for both sellers and consumers.
The Great Tree Test: Best Artificial Christmas Trees 2025
We brought 10 of the most popular artificial Christmas trees into a studio, had volunteers assemble them, then got three interior designers to pick the best through blind judging. All products featured on WIRED are independently selected by our editors. However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links. You can spend hours scrolling through lists of the best artificial Christmas trees and still end up wondering what to buy. How real does it look? Are the branches strong enough to hold that lopsided homemade macaroni ornament you've hung on your tree since 2004? We decided to settle the debate once and for all by bringing the best-selling artificial trees from three leading brands into a studio for a blind-judged contest. We got 10 trees from Balsam Hill, King of Christmas, and National Tree Company, then found 10 assemblers to put the trees together and fluff them.
Shark's pet-friendly air purifier is cheaper than ever at Amazon for a limited time
Gear Home Shark's pet-friendly air purifier is cheaper than ever at Amazon for a limited time The most popular Shark air purifiers are on sale for their lowest prices of the year at Amazon. The deals also include vacuums, styling products, and more. We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Have you turned your home's heat on for the winter yet? I finally gave in and switched my thermostat over to heat only to find myself smelling the familiar dusty scent emanating through my vents.
Save 30 on This All-Clad Nonstick Frying Pan Set
Life is too short to use bad nonstick cookware. These All-Clad pans are the gold standard, and they're less expensive than usual. All products featured on WIRED are independently selected by our editors. However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links. It can be hard to build an Adulting Arsenal.
ARIMA_PLUS: Large-scale, Accurate, Automatic and Interpretable In-Database Time Series Forecasting and Anomaly Detection in Google BigQuery
Cheng, Xi, Shen, Weijie, Chen, Haoming, Shen, Chaoyi, Ortega, Jean, Liu, Jiashang, Thomas, Steve, Zheng, Honglin, Wu, Haoyun, Li, Yuxiang, Lichtendahl, Casey, Ortiz, Jenny, Liu, Gang, Qi, Haiyang, Fatemieh, Omid, Fry, Chris, Long, Jing Jing
Time series forecasting and anomaly detection are common tasks for practitioners in industries such as retail, manufacturing, advertising and energy. Two unique challenges stand out: (1) efficiently and accurately forecasting time series or detecting anomalies in large volumes automatically; and (2) ensuring interpretability of results to effectively incorporate business insights. We present ARIMA_PLUS, a novel framework to overcome these two challenges by a unique combination of (a) accurate and interpretable time series models and (b) scalable and fully managed system infrastructure. The model has a sequential and modular structure to handle different components of the time series, including holiday effects, seasonality, trend, and anomalies, which enables high interpretability of the results. Novel enhancements are made to each module, and a unified framework is established to address both forecasting and anomaly detection tasks simultaneously. In terms of accuracy, its comprehensive benchmark on the 42 public datasets in the Monash forecasting repository shows superior performance over not only well-established statistical alternatives (such as ETS, ARIMA, TBATS, Prophet) but also newer neural network models (such as DeepAR, N-BEATS, PatchTST, TimeMixer). In terms of infrastructure, it is directly built into the query engine of BigQuery in Google Cloud. It uses a simple SQL interface and automates tedious technicalities such as data cleaning and model selection. It automatically scales with managed cloud computational and storage resources, making it possible to forecast 100 million time series using only 1.5 hours with a throughput of more than 18000 time series per second. In terms of interpretability, we present several case studies to demonstrate time series insights it generates and customizability it offers.
Dreo space heaters are on sale at Amazon just in time for the cold weather to roll in
If your feet are chilly or your nose feels dry, you're going to want to jump on these limited-time Amazon deals on Dreo heaters and humidifiers. We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. This is a weird time of year here in Upstate New York and much of the country. I wake up and it's freezing, but then I'm sweating through my hoodie by the time the afternoon rolls around. That's where a space heater comes in handy.
The All-Clad Pizza Oven Is 800 Off Right Now
The All-Clad pizza oven was one of my biggest surprises of the summer. All products featured on WIRED are independently selected by our editors. However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links. Cookware brand All-Clad surprised me this year. This summer, it breezed into the backyard pizza world with a debut pizza oven that I like as well as any oven I've tested this year.
Sennheiser's Awesome Wireless Earbuds Are Almost Half Off
These high-end earbuds sound great, and have a much-needed discount. All products featured on WIRED are independently selected by our editors. However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links. Amazon currently has the Black Graphite Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 (7/10, WIRED Recommends) marked down to just $180, a full $170 off their list price, with lesser discounts on the regular black and white varieties. If you've ever used a pair of Sennheiser headphones before, you know they have a consistently excellent sound quality, and the True Wireless 4 are no exception.
Google Nest Cam Indoor and Outdoor 2K Review: Slick, Smart, and Secure
The latest Nest cams jump to 2K resolution, but what really elevates them is Gemini's pricey AI subscription smarts. All products featured on WIRED are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Gemini can answer questions and offer descriptions. Overhauled Google Home app is much improved.