Bits & Bytes | Walmart Strikes Back at Amazon, JD.com Is Changing E-Commerce in China

Walmart, Microsoft in Partnership to Use Cloud Tech (US News)
"The agreement will leverage the full range of Microsoft's cloud solutions to make shopping faster and easier for customers. Walmart is doubling down on its e-commerce presence to better compete with Amazon. Through the partnership, Walmart plans to defend itself from Amazon's retail ambitions and expertise in data, and boost its online presence."

How E-Commerce Is Transforming Rural China (The New Yorker)
"There are still hundreds of millions of Chinese whose lives have yet to migrate online. At a time when the Chinese government has instituted infrastructure programs to develop these regions, companies like JD are providing a market-driven counterpart."

Farfetch Acquires CuriosityChina to Expand Its Social Media Efforts on the Mainland (TechCrunch)
"It's acquiring CuriosityChina, a marketing firm that specialises in leveraging social media — specifically, WeChat — to target users and sell goods. This will now give them the option also to use the API to run campaigns in China."

Is 3D Body Scanning the Future of Fashion? (Verdict)
"While Selfridges and Bloomingdale's introduced 3D body scanning booths in 2011, 3D body scanning technology is still relatively new. However, purely online retailers are the driving force of technology because they provide a solution to the massive problem caused by returns."