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Associated Press
3 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
data.world launches Data Marketplace: A revolutionary e-commerce experience transforms enterprise data discovery
New marketplace experience bridges the gap between technical data catalogs and business user needs, enabling self-service data discovery at scale AUSTIN, Texas, June 3, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- the enterprise data catalog for the modern data stack, today announced the launch of Data Marketplace, a purpose-built, e-commerce-style discovery experience that transforms how business users find and access high-quality data products within their organizations. The new marketplace serves as a curated front door to comprehensive catalog, displaying only the most trusted and business-ready data assets organized by domain and use case rather than technical structure. Data Marketplace addresses a critical challenge facing enterprise organizations: while 73% of enterprise data goes unused for analytics, business users struggle to navigate the technical complexity of traditional data catalogs. The new marketplace experience removes these barriers by providing a consumer-grade interface that makes data discovery as intuitive as online shopping. 'Organizations have invested heavily in building comprehensive data catalogs, but adoption among business users remains a challenge,' said Brett Hurt, CEO and Co-founder of 'Data Marketplace changes that dynamic by meeting business users where they are—providing a familiar, shopping-like experience that makes our customers' most valuable data products accessible to everyone who needs them.' Bridging the technical-business divide Data Marketplace operates on the principle that different users need different experiences. While data engineers require the full technical depth of a comprehensive catalog, business users need an interface that speaks their language and serves their workflows. The marketplace curates only the highest quality, actively maintained data products and presents them through visual merchandising and domain-based organization. 'Think of it like IKEA,' explained Tim Gasper, Chief Product Officer at 'Your catalog is the warehouse—all the raw materials organized by type and source, perfect for technical teams building solutions. The marketplace is the showroom—curated displays organized by use case and business domain, designed for users who want solutions, not raw materials.' Three pillars of enterprise value Data Marketplace delivers value through three core pillars: Discovery: Simplified decision-making through intuitive domain-based organization, visual merchandising, and curated experiences that surface only explicitly published, high-quality data products. Adoption: Expanded platform reach with consumer-grade user experience, simplified navigation purpose-built for business users, and configurable landing pages with personalized suggestions. Insight: Future-proofed strategy aligned with data mesh and domain-oriented data management practices, efficient governance that balances control with accessibility, and seamless transitions between marketplace and catalog views. Industry-leading innovation Data Marketplace represents continued innovation in making enterprise data more accessible and valuable. Built on the company's unique knowledge graph foundation, the marketplace maintains all the governance, security, and lineage capabilities of the underlying catalog while providing an entirely new user experience optimized for business consumption. 'This isn't just a new interface—it's a fundamental shift in how we think about data accessibility,' said Gasper. 'Instead of expecting business users to become data engineers, we're making data behave like the consumer products they're already comfortable with.' Seamless integration, immediate value Data Marketplace integrates seamlessly with existing deployments, requiring no data duplication or separate maintenance. Data products are created and managed in the familiar catalog environment, then published to the marketplace with a simple status change. This approach ensures organizations can leverage existing investments in metadata and documentation while providing immediate value to business users. Key capabilities include: Supporting data mesh and modern architectures Data Marketplace aligns with emerging industry practices around data products, data mesh architectures, and domain-oriented data management. Organizations implementing decentralized data strategies can use the marketplace to establish standardized approaches to data product creation and promotion while maintaining centralized governance and discovery. Availability and adoption Data Marketplace will be available for private preview to existing customers by the end of June 2025, with public preview following in August 2025. The feature will be included at no additional cost for customers. 'We're seeing tremendous excitement from our customers who are ready to move beyond simply documenting their data to actively promoting and merchandising their most valuable data products,' said Hurt. 'Data Marketplace represents the evolution from data warehouse to data showroom.' About turns data chaos into clarity. We're the most-adopted data catalog and governance platform on the market. Built on a unique knowledge graph foundation, seamlessly integrates with your existing systems. We set the standard for swift, people-centric governance that's both simpler and smarter. We don't just manage data; we unlock its potential, paving the way for responsible AI adoption and data-driven decision-making at scale. As a Certified B Corporation, is committed to fostering global data literacy. With prepare for your data-driven future – where clarity conquers chaos, and every data point tells a story. For more information, visit Contact: Liz Elfman [email protected] View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE
News.com.au
4 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Major supermarket checkout move there's no coming back from
It seems like the days of chatting with a human at the supermarket checkout will soon be behind us, as the Aussie giants show no signs of slowing down on digitally innovative alternatives. Shoppers across the country have noticed a rapid shift towards self-service check-outs, with traditional staffed lanes quietly being reduced in stores. Since self-service tills were rolled out in Coles in 2004 and Woolworths in 2008, the innovation has shown no signs of slowing down – with Covid only exacerbating the trend. As shoppers masked up and sought less contact with others, self-service options boomed. The rollout of smart trolleys is yet another recent development, with the major supermarkets unveiling new shopping carts that scan items on the go. Woolworths rolled out its Scan&Go trolleys in Sydney last August, and Coles is now trialling AI-powered smart trolleys that allow shoppers to track their purchases in real time, skipping the queue. For many, these changes are hard to swallow, especially as the cost-of-living crisis drags on and people grapple with rising grocery prices. Now, an industry insider has shed light on the decision, claiming it's a calculated move to cut costs and boost margins, with fewer staff on the floor and more customers left to scan and bag their own groceries. Nitika Garg, consumer behaviour expert and professor of marketing from UNSW, told Yahoo Finance that in the future, we'll see far fewer people in retail in general. 'In Australia, we have some of the highest baseline wage rates in the developed world so it's expensive for retailers (to employ checkout assistants),' Ms Garg told the publication. 'At first, those people would have been retrenched to different duties and been on the floor to help customers with the switch, but the companies have a long-term perspective. Ultimately, they recoup the benefits when customers learn how to operate the check-outs themselves.' The switch to technology in supermarkets However, a Woolworths spokesperson told that the changes are about giving shoppers more choice, and can actually help people save money. 'We know some customers prefer to be served by a team member, and that's why we always have a staffed checkout open at all times in our supermarkets,' a spokesperson said. They said that the Scan&Go Trolleys have received 'overwhelmingly positive' feedback from customers. 'Young families in particular in our trial stores have told us the Scan&Go Trolley is helping them balance their budget, as they can track their spend and save time by scanning and bagging as they shop,' they said. 'Scan&Go Trolleys complement our other options, including being served by a team member at an assisted checkout, using the self-service checkout, pick up via 'direct to boot,' or online delivery.' They claimed that the new additions don't come at the cost of employees: 'Today, we employ more team members in our stores than ever before, helping us serve customers in a range of new ways, including hand-picking online orders for rapid grocery delivery and Direct to Boot'. It is understood that these innovations have come about off the back of research that shows a shift in consumer buying habits. Shoppers now have smaller basket sizes and a strong customer preference for a quicker and easier self-serve checkout experience. For a basket with 20 items or less, 83 per cent of Woolworths customers now choose self-service check-outs. Coles, for its part, is also focused on offering a mix of register options, in response to consumer demand. 'Self-service check-outs are a great option for customers because they offer convenience and efficiency when shopping in our stores to help customers check out more quickly and pack their bags the way they like,' a spokesperson told Due to this, they are the checkout of choice for more than 75 per cent of customers, with these numbers only expected to increase, according to the supermarket. 'Over the past three years, we have seen greater customer satisfaction and uptake in our self-service options – including our larger self-service check-outs with a conveyor belt,' they continued. 'As our supermarkets change to meet our customers' needs, including growing demand for our Click & Collect and online shopping offerings, our team members' roles in store are evolving too. We remain one of Australia's largest employers – and we strive to make Coles a great place to work for our 115,000 team members right across Australia.' Scaling back overseas However, with any innovations of this nature come concerns about retail crime, particularly shoplifting. A recent survey revealed that seven per cent of people have stolen from a supermarket self-checkout, and the same number, or 1.4 million people, deliberately lied about what they had scanned. But while countries like the US and UK have reported rolling back their self-service check-outs for this reason, Ms Garg believes it's unlikely to happen here. 'Look at our minimum wage compared with the US,' she pointed out. 'Their threshold for loss is much lower than ours. Coles and Woolies are ramping up their tech instead. The surveillance has gone up, and it's got to the point you can't make a mistake now. The systems are developing really fast.' The future of retail As technology advances and people become more capable at using it, the need for human workers in supermarkets will diminish, Ms Garg claimed. 'People like human contact and they want help, it's why companies like Apple and JB HiFi train their sales force to be knowledgeable, but it's not the same at grocery stores,' Ms Garg said. 'It won't make or break your experience if (an assistant) doesn't know where something is. 'People are more used to a lower-density sales force on the floor.' She said that certain age groups will embrace this in the future, and for millennials, who use technology more and have a less traditional model of social interaction, it will become quite normal. She predicts, 'In future, there will be more tech and less customer service and we'll see this pattern replicate across different industries'.
Forbes
5 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
I Refuse To Talk To AI
The majority of customers prefer human-to-human interaction over AI. If you want to anger your customers, make them do something they don't want to do. Sixty-six percent of U.S. customers say that when it comes to getting help, resolving an issue or making a complaint, they only want to speak to a live person. That's according to the 2025 State of Customer Service and CX annual study. If you don't provide the option to speak to a live person, you are at risk of losing many customers. But not all customers feel that way. We asked another sample of more than 1,000 customers about using AI and self-service tools to get customer support, and 34% said they stopped doing business with a company or brand because self-service options were not provided. These findings reveal the contrasting needs and expectations customers have when communicating with the companies they do business with. While the majority prefer human-to-human interaction, a substantial number (about one-third) not only prefer self-service options—AI-fueled solutions, robust frequently asked question pages on a website, video tutorials and more—but demand it or they will actually leave to find a competitor that can provide what they want. This creates a big challenge for CX decision-makers that directly impacts customer retention and revenue. Why Some Customers Resist AI Our research finds that age makes a difference. For example, Baby Boomers show the strongest preference for human interaction, with 82% preferring the phone over digital solutions. Only half (52%) of Gen-Z feels the same way about the phone. Here's why: Customers aren't necessarily anti-technology. They're anti-ineffective technology. When AI fails to understand requests and lacks empathy in sensitive situations, the negative experience can make certain customers want to only communicate with a human. Even half of Gen-Z (48%) says they are frustrated with AI technology (versus 17% of Baby Boomers). Why Some Customers Embrace AI The 34% of customers who prefer self-service options to the point of saying they are willing to stop doing business with a company if self-service isn't available present a dilemma for CX leaders. This can paralyze the decision process for what solutions to buy and implement. Understanding some of the reasons certain customers embrace AI is important: CX leaders must recognize the generational differences—and any other impactful differences—as they make decisions. For companies that sell to customers across generations, this becomes increasingly important, especially as Gen-Z and Millennials gain purchasing power. Turning your back on a generation's technology expectations puts you at risk of losing a large percentage of customers. What's A CX Leader To Do? Some companies have experimented with forcing customers to use only AI and self-service solutions. This is risky, and for the most part, the experiments have failed. Yet, as AI improves—and it's doing so at a very rapid pace—it's okay to push customers to use self-service. Just support it with a seamless transfer to a human if needed. An AI-first approach works as long as there's a backup. Forcing customers to use a 100% solution, be it AI or human, puts your company at risk of losing customers. Today's strategy should be a balanced choice between new and traditional customer support. It should be about giving customers the experience they want and expect—one that makes them say, 'I'll be back!'
