FutureFive New Zealand - Consumer technology news & reviews from the future

Cosmetics Stories

Global Stories

Cosmetics stories

Game review: Kiln (Xbox Series X)
Gaming

Game review: Kiln (Xbox Series X)

Game Pass access has helped keep players online, but Kiln feels thin at launch with just five maps and one mode.

By Damian Seeto • 4 min read • Fri, 1st May 2026
New Zealand households cut festive discretionary spending
Gaming

New Zealand households cut festive discretionary spending

Cost-of-living pressure has left more than two in five households stretched, with bigger festive purchases falling faster than small treats.

By Joseph Gabriel Lagonsin • 4 min read • Wed, 22nd Apr 2026
Australians trade down to smaller treats, Experian says
Gaming

Australians trade down to smaller treats, Experian says

Cost-of-living pressure is pushing households towards cheaper indulgences, with personal care, digital goods and travel holding up best.

By Karen Joy Bacudo • 3 min read • Tue, 21st Apr 2026
Activision rolls out Call of Duty Season 03 update
Gaming

Activision rolls out Call of Duty Season 03 update

Players get fresh maps, modes and weapons across multiplayer, Zombies and Warzone, while Endgame opens free to play for a limited time.

By Joseph Gabriel Lagonsin • 4 min read • Tue, 31st Mar 2026
Activision unveils Season 03 for Call of Duty games
Gaming

Activision unveils Season 03 for Call of Duty games

The update will add nine multiplayer maps, new Zombies missions and a Verdansk point of interest when Season 03 lands next week.

By Joseph Gabriel Lagonsin • 4 min read • Mon, 30th Mar 2026
Mother's Day eCommerce orders rise as delivery shifts
Data Analytics

Mother's Day eCommerce orders rise as delivery shifts

UK Mother's Day eCommerce orders rose 8.47% as shoppers bought earlier, spreading demand across the week and favouring faster delivery.

By Karen Joy Bacudo • 4 min read • Fri, 20th Mar 2026
WoW Midnight launches Roofus charity pet for housing aid
Gaming

WoW Midnight launches Roofus charity pet for housing aid

Blizzard launches WoW Midnight's Season 1 with a AUD $32 Roofus charity pet pack, donating proceeds to Habitat for Humanity housing aid.

By Sofiah Nichole Salivio • 3 min read • Thu, 19th Mar 2026
Fashion & electronics lead global eCommerce price swings
Data Analytics

Fashion & electronics lead global eCommerce price swings

Fashion and electronics see the sharpest online price swings, as Decodo data shows retailers repricing items every few hours worldwide.

By Sofiah Nichole Salivio • 4 min read • Sat, 21st Feb 2026
Paxon appoints Ranjit Singh Nagra to drive UK growth
Marketing Technologies

Paxon appoints Ranjit Singh Nagra to drive UK growth

Paxon names Ranjit Singh Nagra Business Development Manager to spearhead UK expansion and target growth in auto spares and eCommerce logistics.

By Sofiah Nichole Salivio • 3 min read • Thu, 19th Feb 2026
UK online shipments climb as pet care leads growth
Customer Experience

UK online shipments climb as pet care leads growth

UK online parcels jumped 17% in late 2025 as pet care and beauty surged, even as fashion and homewares shipments slid, Scurri data shows.

By Mark Tarre • 3 min read • Tue, 3rd Feb 2026
US holiday online sales hit record on mobiles & AI
Gaming

US holiday online sales hit record on mobiles & AI

US holiday online sales hit a record USD $257.8 billion as shoppers shifted to mobiles, Buy Now Pay Later and generative AI search tools.

By Mark Tarre • 5 min read • Thu, 8th Jan 2026

Stories from Other Regions

Cosmetics stories

Purplle taps New Relic to cut incident response times
DevOps

Purplle taps New Relic to cut incident response times

Direct visibility into platform faults is set to cut Purplle's incident resolution times by up to 70%, helping protect sales during peak shopping periods.

By Sean Mitchell • 3 min read • Last week
Valentine's drives sharp rise in UK eCommerce orders
Customer Experience

Valentine's drives sharp rise in UK eCommerce orders

Valentine's Day drove a surge in UK online orders, with early-week volumes more than doubling as delivery timing trumped last-minute buys.

By Shannon Williams • 3 min read • Fri, 20th Feb 2026
E-commerce growth redistributes across Europe in 2026
Customer Experience

E-commerce growth redistributes across Europe in 2026

E-commerce growth is shifting across Europe, with Central and Eastern Europe and the Nordics surging as returns and AI reshape online retail.

By Mark Tarre • 4 min read • Fri, 30th Jan 2026
FOLO-UP launches watchdog to spot unsafe online goods
Software-as-a-Service

FOLO-UP launches watchdog to spot unsafe online goods

UK start-up FOLO-UP launches automated watchdog to scan online marketplaces and help remove tens of thousands of unsafe products.

By Sean Mitchell • 4 min read • Fri, 9th Jan 2026
New UK platform targets unsafe goods on marketplaces
Partner Programmes

New UK platform targets unsafe goods on marketplaces

New UK platform FOLO-UP uses AI to flag unsafe products on major online marketplaces, pressuring retailers to pull dangerous listings.

By Sean Mitchell • 5 min read • Wed, 7th Jan 2026
UK retailers face GBP £1.05bn hit from gift returns
Digital Transformation

UK retailers face GBP £1.05bn hit from gift returns

UK retailers brace for a GBP £1.05bn blow from 52 million post-Christmas gift returns, as hybrid shopping and fashion fit issues drive costs.

By Sean Mitchell • 4 min read • Mon, 29th Dec 2025
Adobe predicts US holiday online spend to hit USD $253.4 billion
Gaming

Adobe predicts US holiday online spend to hit USD $253.4 billion

Adobe forecasts US online holiday spending to reach a record USD $253.4 billion in 2025, up 5.3%, with mobile shopping and AI playing key roles.

By Melania Watson • 5 min read • Tue, 7th Oct 2025