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Consumers are finally starting to adopt smart home devices, with nearly 60% owning at least one device. This presents an opportunity for e-commerce companies to enter the smart home and encourage purchasing through the devices.

The smart speaker has become the face of the smart home in many ways, attracting the lion’s share of attention as companies look for ways to take advantage of the growing platform. But there’s a problem: Consumers aren’t using the smart speaker to actually buy products very often.

Instead, one of the clearest opportunities outside of the smart speaker is home goods and grocery replenishment through large appliances. Smart devices in the home — especially appliances — can take advantage of built-in sensors to either tell consumers when they need to buy more of a product, or make that purchase autonomously. This will create an opportunity for appliance manufacturers, e-commerce vendors, and product suppliers to ink supply agreements to meet consumers' needs.

In this report, Business Insider Intelligence examines several areas of opportunity for e-commerce companies to leverage smart home technologies to provide new and better services to their customers. First, we explore how smart appliances, including connected dishwashers and laundry machines, are building on one-click purchasing systems to enable automated replenishment. We then discuss the smart fridge and detail how apps, cameras, and voice assistants are enabling takeout and grocery delivery through these appliances. Finally, we examine the role of the voice interface beyond smart speakers as it relates to purchasing products in the home, and how omnipresent voice will be used to organize and interact with automated services.

The companies mentioned in this report are: Amazon, Blue Apron, Costo, GE, Google, Instacart, Keurig, KitchenAid, LG, Ocado, P&G, Plated, Reynolds, Samsung, Target, Walmart, Whirlpool.

 Here are some key takeaways from the report:

• Companies have a clear opportunity to leverage sensors, cameras, and connectivity in a variety of home appliances to revolutionize the way consumers buy home goods.
• Smart appliance manufacturers, e-tailers, and CPG companies will be able to collaborate and partner to develop new methods of resupplying consumers' homes.
• The smart fridge will transform into the hub of the kitchen and become the autonomous organizing device that oversees grocery purchasing and food delivery.

In full, the report:

• Provides an overview of the key players and types of products in the smart appliance space.
• Highlights the models that companies can adopt to take advantage of the developing sector.
• Identifies the key services that will boost automated e-commerce engagement in the home.

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• Britain, Germany and France have announced a way to bypass US sanctions and open trade with Iran, in a significant split with the administration of US President Donald Trump.
• The creation of a trade channel with Iran, shows just how far the three NATO members have diplomatically ignored a 2018 move by the Trump administration to scrap former President Barack Obama's historic 2015 agreement which fully lifted Iranian sanctions in exchange for nuclear assurances.
• In May, Trump derided his predecessor's work as a "horrible, one-sided deal," pulling the US out of the pact and slapping punitive sanctions back on Iran.
• According to the BBC, the so-called E3 nations have been toiling behind the scenes for months to establish a way to make payments between Europe and Iran.

In a major diplomatic and strategic split from the administration of US President Donald Trump, NATO and European allies, Britain, Germany, and France — or the E3, as they have referred to themselves — on Thursday announced a channel that circumvents intense US sanctions and effectively opens trade with Iran.

A statement from the E3 foreign ministers on Thursday announced the creation of "a new mechanism for facilitating legitimate trade with Iran" in order to preserve the Iran nuclear deal.

In establishing an alternative Euro-led trade channel that more or less flouts the kind of strict US trade sanctions that Chinese tech giant Huawei has run afoul of can only undermine US efforts to isolate both Iran and China and send signals from the White House to Moscow that once inseparable Western allies can be split.

According to the BBC, the E3 nations have been toiling behind the scenes for months to establish a mechanism that shuffles payments between Europe and Iran.

At a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Bucharest, Romania, British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, and French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian revealed what they called a "special purpose vehicle," or Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges, INSTEX for short.

It turns out that the three standing signatories of President Barack Obama's 2015 Iran nuclear agreement have, following Trump's unilateral withdrawal from the deal in May, been striving to find a solution to honor a deal formerly seen as historic.

The idea of European countries officially establishing a back door trade channel with Iran is very likely to be met with forboding looks from inside some corners of Washington. The US has a world of concerns about such a system, an outside Trump administration adviser told the Associated Press last week, ahead of the announcement.

Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas was more direct, telling the AP that Europe has a black-and-white decision: "The choice is whether to do business with Iran or the United States. I hope our European allies choose wisely," he said.

In Sen. Cotton's eyes, it would appear they did not.

"We have been looking for ways to obtain this agreement because we are firmly convinced that it serves our strategic security interests in Europe," Germany's Maas reportedly told a briefing in Brussels. "We do not want Iran to get out of this agreement and back into uranium enrichment.

This has to do with our security interests in Europe," he said. The announcement comes just over three years after the Iran nuclear deal came into effect, limiting the country's nuclear program in return for sanctions relief.

"Sectors most essential to the Iranian population"

According to a UK government press statement, the INSTEX will channel only food, medicine, and medical equipment to Iran — "sectors most essential to the Iranian population"— but with the potential to expand the deal across other goods.

Speaking at the EU Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Bucharest, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt called the move a significant step toward delivering on the 2015 Iran nuclear commitment, allowing legitimate trade between Europe and Iran.

"This is a clear, practical demonstration that we remain firmly committed to the historic 2015 nuclear deal struck with Iran, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, for as long as Iran keeps implementing it fully," Hunt said. Those words are unlikely to be met with warmth from a US president who warned allies and enemies alike in August last year: "Anyone doing business with Iran will NOT be doing business with the United States,"Trump tweeted at the time.

"Severe consequences ..."

According to Reuters, a US State Department spokesperson said on Thursday, "entities that continue to engage in sanctionable activity involving Iran risk severe consequences."

A European channel, while easing recent tension between Europe and Iran, is almost certain to invite agitation from other state actors. Meanwhile, China is infuriated by the arrest and looming extradition to the US of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, who is also the daughter of the telecom giant's founder.

Meng and Huawei stand accused of fraud in the pursuit of violating US sanctions on Iran. China will be quick to ask Brussels, London, Paris, and Berlin their position on companies that violate such unilaterally imposed sanctions.

Meanwhile, a report from CNN questioned how many European companies will be emboldened to take up the opportunity, as fear of US sanctions ensures most big businesses remain at a safe distance from Tehran.

SEE ALSO: China is furious and global markets are in an uproar as the daughter of one of the country’s richest men languishes in a Canadian jail

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Hello! Here's everything you need to know on Friday, February 1.

1. President Donald Trump has described his presidency as 'one of the great losers of all time.'The former businessman likes the job well enough, but laments, "I lost massive amounts of money doing this."

2. US border agents made their largest-ever fentanyl seizure in Arizona.They found 254 pounds (115 kg) of the deadly opioid, stashed in a truck crossing the border from Mexico, officials said.

3. The polar vortex smothering the US has killed at least 21 people.Wind chill factored temperatures have been recorded as low as minus-60 degrees Fahrenheit.

4. Clash of the Titans: Round 1.Facebook has decided that Amazon's ad business is now an official threat.

5. Trump is seeks to shift blame to the news media in a now entirely familiar strategy of 'I said, They said.'This time it's because his intelligence chiefs explained he's wrong about the many global threats facing the US.

6. Amazon's cloud was a $25.65 billion business in 2018.Colossal cloud growth is one of the key reasons Amazon smashed Wall Street estimates for its last quarter.

7. Trump has come out and applauded Kamala Harris' 2020 campaign launch.The president offered that it was the "best opening so far," in an already crowded race.

8. The White House wants to ban an under-the-radar big pharma trick.It's a little-known practice linked to the industry's often ionospheric drug prices and its removal could lower the cost of some prescription drugs.

9. Senate Republicans have delivered a stern rebuke to Trump.The bloc have presented legislation that scuttles any plan to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, Syria.

10. Meet Blaise Kidasharira, a Burundian asylum-seeker who risked everything and made it to the US.Here he explains why he left everything behind to get to Canada.

And finally ...

Catch up with 7 law-abiding citizens who freely opted to go undercover in jail and find the supposedly unwritten rules that govern life behind bars »

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Outside of the US Postal Service (USPS), FedEx and UPS have dominated the domestic logistics industry — and in particular, the last-mile of the delivery — for decades. On a quarterly earnings call in 2016, FedEx estimated that itself, UPS, and USPS executed a whopping 95% of all e-commerce orders.

But rapidly rising volumes have put the pair of legacy shippers in a bind. E-commerce sales have risen over 50% and are projected to continue their ascent into the next decade. High volumes are already straining shippers' networks — UPS struggled to bring consumers their parcels on time due to higher-than-anticipated package volume, which upset some big-name retail partners, including Macy's, Walmart, and Amazon. As online sales surge further, package volumes will outstrip legacy shippers' capacities, creating space for new entrants. 

Amazon is uniquely well-positioned to dethrone UPS and FedEx's duopoly. It's built up a strong logistics infrastructure, counting hundreds of warehouses and thousands of delivery trucks.

Further, as the leading online retailer in the US, it has a wealth of data on consumers that it can use to craft a personalized delivery experience that's superior to UPS and FedEx's offerings. Amazon must act soon, however, as UPS and FedEx are hard at work fortifying their own networks to handle the expected surge in parcel volume.

The longer the Seattle-based e-tailer delays the launch of a delivery service, the more it runs the risk that these legacy players will be able to defend their territory. 

In a new report, Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, explains how the age of e-commerce is opening up cracks in UPS and FedEx's duopoly. We then outline how Amazon's logistics ambitions began as an effort to more quickly get parcels out the door and fulfill its famous 2-day shipping process and how it'll be a key building block for the company if it builds out a last-mile service. Lastly, we offer concrete steps that the firm must take to maximize the dent it makes in UPS and FedEx's duopoly.

The companies mentioned in this report are: Alibaba, Amazon, FedEx, and UPS.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

• While UPS and FedEx have dominated the US last-mile delivery market for the last few decades, the surge in e-commerce is creating more volume than shipping companies can handle.
• Amazon is uniquely well-positioned to put a dent in UPS and FedEx's duopoly due to its strategic position as the leading online retailer in the US.
• Amazon can carry its trust amongst the public, a wealth of consumer data, and its ability to craft a more personalized delivery experience to the last-mile delivery space to ultimately dethrone UPS and FedEx.
• The top priority for Amazon in taking on UPS and FedEx needs to be offering substantially lower shipping rates — one-third of US retailers say they'll switch to an Amazon shipping service if it's at least 20% cheaper than UPS and FedEx. 

In full, the report:

• Outlines Amazon's current shipping and logistics footprint and strengths that it would bring to the last-mile delivery space in the US.
• Lays out concrete steps that Amazon must take if it wants to launch a standalone last-mile delivery service, including how it can offer a more memorable, higher-quality delivery experience than UPS and FedEx.
• Illustrates how Amazon can minimize operating costs for a delivery service to ultimately undercut UPS and FedEx's shipping rates in the last-mile space.

SEE ALSO: Amazon and Walmart are building out delivery capabilities

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• Hawaii officially became a state in 1959, and soon after became one of the hottest vacation destinations  of the decade.
• Its rise in popularity coincided with the air travel boom of the 1960s. 
• Presidents, musicians, and ordinary vacationers alike flocked to the new and exotic state, seeking crystal blue waters and tropical temperatures. 

Simply put, Hawaii in the 1960s was the place to be. The newest addition to the US, Hawaii fascinated Americans with its tropical temperatures, crystal blue waters, and rich culture. 

Naturally, vacationers flocked to the state, as did many celebrities and politicians. Elvis Presley gave the island a popularity boost after filming "Blue Hawaii" in 1961, and as surf culture began to take the nation by storm, so did the state.

Keep scrolling to see some classic photos of Hawaii during its '60s heyday.

Hawaii was granted statehood in 1959, and vacationers began to flock.

Hawaii became a tourist hub in the 1960s and people flocked to the new and exotic state for vacation. According to the Smithsonian, "travel boomed in the subsequent decades" following World War II, especially "thanks to lower prices, new routes, more efficient aircraft."

Americans romanticized Hawaii and all it had to offer.

According to Huff Post, throughout the decade "a romanticized idea of Hawaii spread like wildfire, complete with tiki torches, bright aloha shirts and beautiful, tanned hula dancers." 

And surfing was the activity du jour.

Surfing has ancient Polynesian roots, but many Americans were unaware of the sport until the '60s. The surf culture explosion of the decade had a lot to do with the Beach Boys' 1962 hit "Surfin' Safari."

• Employee confidence in Google's leadership is sinking.
• Seventy-four percent of Google employees gave a positive response when asked if they are confident that CEO Sundar Pichai and his management team can "effectively lead in the future,"Wired reported, citing an internal survey. 
• The result was 18% lower than the 92% "positive" response Pichai and his team received in 2017, and the lowest it's been in six years.
• Employee satisfaction with compensation also dropped from 64% in 2017 to 54% in 2018. 
• The declining numbers surfaced amid a year for Google that was full of employee discontent and protest. 

Confidence in Google's leadership is sinking. 

Seventy-four percent of Google employees responded with "positive" responses when asked if they are confident that CEO Sundar Pichai and his management team can "effectively lead in the future,"Wired reported, citing an internal survey. The remaining employees responded either "neutral" or "negative." 

That 74% "positive" response in the 2018 survey — which is known internally as "Googlegeist"— is down from 92% just one year prior. According to Wired, the 18% downturn put employee confidence in Google's leadership at a six-year low. 

Employee satisfaction with compensation also took a hit in 2018, according to the report. The survey showed 54% of employees were pleased with their pay, as opposed to 64% the previous year. (Google's median pay is $197,000, which is exceeded by only Facebook among the major tech companies.)

A spokesperson for Google said the results of the survey would be used to inform how the company works in 2019.

Read more: Google challenged federal protections for activist workers three weeks after mass employee walkouts, but the company says it’s unrelated

These declining numbers could help explain why a human-resources presentation from 2016 — which floated ideas for cost-cutting initiatives — went viral among Google employees over the past few weeks, the report suggested. 

The presentation, which was first reported by Bloomberg, proposed plans that included promoting fewer people, converting full-time employees to contractors, and making sure the company was paying benefits "(only) for the right people." These more drastic suggestions were not implemented, though some ideas, such as getting rid of the employee holiday gift in favor of a charitable donation, did come to pass.

At an all-hands meeting to discuss compensation, Pichai and Prasad Setty, Google’s vice president of people operations, apologized for the presentation, according to Wired.

Pichai told employees he had never seen the document and would have rejected the controversial suggestion of cutting promotions by 2% had it crossed his desk. According to reports, employees were pleased with Pichai's response, and the chief exec was praised on internal messaging systems after the meeting. 

Still, the sharp decline in confidence and satisfaction from the Googlegeist survey should come as a concern for Pichai and his team, as it comes amid a year full of employee discontent and protest. 

In June, about a dozen Google employees resigned in protest over the company's contract to provide artificial-intelligence technology to the Pentagon. And in November, 20,000 employees around the world walked out to protest the company's handling of executive sexual-misconduct cases. 

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Emerging markets are going to be essential for e-commerce growth, as retailers in developed markets may soon reach saturation in terms of consumer growth.

For example, almost half of US households now have a Prime membership, diminishing Amazon's growth potential in the country. Meanwhile, in China, the world's largest e-commerce market, nearly half of the population is actively making online purchases, leaving little room for growth. 

However, India, Southeast Asia, and Latin America are worth keeping an eye on. E-commerce penetration rates in these areas hover between 2-6%, presenting a huge opportunity for future growth as online sales gain traction. Moreover, these regions are expected to grow at compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) of 31%, 32%, and 16%, respectively, through 2021.

This report compiles several e-commerce snapshots, which together highlight the most notable emerging markets in various regions. Each provides an overview of the e-commerce industry in a particular country, discusses influential retailers, and provides insights into the opportunities and challenges for that specific domestic industry.

Here are some of the key takeaways:

• Emerging markets are going to be essential for e-commerce growth, as retailers in developed markets may soon reach saturation in terms of consumer growth.
• India is the clear overall leader in e-commerce potential, but countries in Southeast Asia and Latin America are also worth keeping an eye on. Within Southeast Asia, Indonesia shows the most promise for retailers, as the government is loosening restrictions on foreign investments, and its massive population is gaining spending power and more access to internet. Meanwhile, Mexico is a retailer's best bet for expansion in Latin America, due to its stable economy and rising middle class, but Brazil may be gearing up to steal the top spot.
• However, doing business in these regions can be difficult. In most of these emerging markets, infrastructure is underdeveloped and the population is largely unbanked, making digital payments a challenge.
• If retailers can build a brand presence in these markets while online shopping is still in its nascent stages, they may become market leaders as e-commerce takes off in the regions. Moreover, these markets could provide new sources of growth for companies that would otherwise stagnate in more mature e-commerce markets.

 In full, the report:

• Explores the e-commerce industry in India, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.
• Highlights the leading country in each region, as well as key e-commerce players there. 
• Outlines the challenges and opportunities each region faces.
• Gives insight into how these emerging markets may shape the future of e-commerce.

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In an effort to clear its shelves and warehouses of more seasonal styles, Nordstrom has marked down a ton of clothing, home goods, and shoes. 

Right now, you can save up to 50% on select items from all of your favorite brands in categories like fashion for the entire family, beauty products, home goods, tech, and more.

We hand-picked 13 of our favorite deals to give you an idea of what's being offered, but the sale is truly massive. You'll want to check out the categories listed below to make sure you don't miss out on other items you're interested in.

Whether you're shopping for everyday items you and your family need, a special gift for Valentine's Day, or any other occasion, Nordstrom's sale section is a great place to look.

Shop on-sale items at Nordstrom now. 

You can also look at otherdeals for each of the following categories.

• Men's deals
• Women's deals
• Kids deals
• Beauty deals
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For potentially greater savings, check out all available coupons for Nordstrom here.

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• Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam has admitted to, and apologized for, his appearance in a 1984 yearbook photo featuring a "racist and offensive" blackface costume.
• Two men are pictured in the photo; one is wearing blackface and a bow tie, and another one is wearing a Ku Klux Klan-style robe.
• Northam is a former US Army physician who allies have described as a staunch opponent of racism.
• Some Republicans in Virginia have called on Northam to resign.

Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam has admitted to, and apologized for, his appearance in a 1984 yearbook photo featuring a "racist and offensive" blackface costume.

Several pictures of Northam appear in his 1984 yearbook page from the Eastern Virginia Medical School, according to images obtained by numerous newspapers. Northam is featured in other photos on the yearbook page, which includes some personal details about him.

But the image that drew concern was of a man wearing blackface and a bow tie, and standing next to another person in a Ku Klux Klan-style robe. The photo was first published by conservative blog Big League Politics. A spokesperson for the Eastern Virginia Medical School initially said, "We don't know when or where the picture was taken and we don't know anything about its content,"according to MSNBC.

Northam later confirmed its authenticity in a written statement Friday afternoon.

"I am deeply sorry for the decision I made to appear as I did in this photo and for the hurt that decision caused then and now," Northam said. "This behavior is not in keeping with who I am today and the values I have fought for throughout my career in the military, in medicine, and in public service."

"I recognize that it will take time and serious effort to heal the damage this conduct has caused. I am ready to do that important work," he added.

Northam is a former US Army physician who allies have described as a staunch opponent of racism.

Some Republicans in Virginia have condemned the photo and called on Northam to resign.

"Racism has no place in Virginia. These pictures are wholly inappropriate," Republican Party of Virginia chairman Jack Wilson said in a statement.

Republican Rep. Denver Riggleman of Virginia said in a statement: "Issues of racial discrimination cannot be taken lightly & this type of behavior is dangerous & unacceptable in any form."

Some of Northam's colleagues in the Virginia Senate have come to his defense, while also condemning the photos.

"His whole life has been about exactly the opposite and that's what you need to examine, not something that occurred 30 years ago," Democratic state Sen. Richard Saslaw of Fairfax, Virginia, said of Northam, according to The Washington Post. "While it's in very poor taste, I would think there is problem no one in the General Assembly who would like their college conduct examined."

"I would hate to have to go back and examine my two years in the Army," Saslaw added. "I was 18 years old and I was a handful, OK? His life since then has been anything but. It's been a life of helping people, and many times for free."

"He's my friend and I will always stand up for him," Republican state Sen. Richard Stuart, according to The Post.

Northam was already under heavy scrutiny after he defended a failed bill that would have eased restrictions for third-trimester abortions — such as reducing the number of physicians needed to approve of the procedure from three to one, according to The Virginian-Pilot.

SEE ALSO: Trump-backed Republican who allegedly shared questionable content about 'Bigfoot' on social media won a House seat in Virginia

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Edge computing solutions are key tools that help companies grapple with rising data volumes across industries. These types of solutions are critical in allowing companies to gain more control over the data their IoT devices create and in reducing their reliance on (and the costs of) cloud computing.

These systems are becoming more sought-after — 40% of companies that provide IoT solutions reported that edge computing came up more in discussion with customers in 2017 than the year before, according to Business Insider Intelligence’s 2017 Global IoT Executive Survey. But companies need to know whether they should look into edge computing solutions, and what in particular they can hope to gain from shifting data processing and analysis from the cloud to the edge.

There are three particular types of problems that edge computing solutions are helping to combat across industries:

• Security issues. Edge computing can limit the exposure of critical data by minimizing how often it’s transmitted. Further, they pre-process data, so there’s less data to secure overall.
• Access issues. These systems help to provide live insights regardless of whether there’s a network connection available, greatly expanding where companies and organizations can use connected devices and the data they generate.
• Transmission efficiency. Edge computing solutions process data where it’s created so less needs to be sent to the cloud, leading to lower cloud storage requirements and reduced transmission cost.

In this report, Business Insider Intelligence examines how edge computing is reducing companies' reliance on cloud computing in three key industries: healthcare, telecommunications, and the automotive space. We explore how these systems mitigate issues in each sector by helping to efficiently process growing troves of data, expanding the potential realms of IoT solutions a company can offer, and bringing enhanced computing capability to remote and mobile platforms.

Here are some key takeaways from the report:

• In healthcare, companies and organizations are using edge computing to improve telemedicine and remote monitoring capabilities.
• For telecommunications companies, edge computing is helping to reduce network congestion and enabling a shift toward the IoT platform market.
• And in the automotive space, edge computing systems are enabling companies to increase the capabilities of connected cars and trucks and approach autonomy.

In full, the report:

• Explores the key advantages edge computing solutions can provide.
• Highlights the circumstances when companies should look into edge systems.
• Identifies key vendors and partners in specific industries while showcasing case studies of successful edge computing programs.

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Retailers and their logistics partners have been pushed to meet growing customer demands for increasingly speedy shipping. And the steady rise of e-commerce has caused the daily volume of parcel shipments to skyrocket — two trends that, for the foreseeable future, are only going to continue.

With fulfillment giants like Amazon constantly nipping at their heels, e-tailers have to fight to figure out a way to offer same-day shipping at low prices. To do so, they’re experimenting with nontraditional logistics strategies and startup partners to see what sticks.

Enter crowdsourced delivery — the Uber model for package fulfillment. In this article, we’ll take a look at what it is, why it’s growing, and the future of same-day shipping.

What is crowdsourced delivery?

Crowdsourced delivery, also known as crowdsourced shipping, is an emerging method of fulfillment that leverages networks of local, non-professional couriers to deliver packages to customers’ doors. While most common in meal and grocery delivery, this model seems to be springing up everywhere as traditional retailers look for ways to cut costs and maximize supply chain efficiency.

Why crowdsourced delivery?

Crowdsourced delivery is beneficial for both retailers and their customers, with the primary advantage simply being that companies can get online orders to their customers faster — sometimes in less than an hour. And with the option of on-demand or scheduled delivery, companies can meet their customers’ demands for instant gratification (which is particularly prevalent among younger, digital-first consumers), while also ensuring that packages are delivered when someone is home — eliminating the additional time and costs involved with multiple delivery attempts.

A secondary benefit of crowdsourced delivery is that it is tech-heavy and asset-light. Contracted couriers provide their own transportation to make deliveries, often from a retailer’s store location, and are typically paid per delivery or per shift. For companies, this means not worrying about warehouse operations, fleet management, or employee benefits — thereby offsetting some of the high costs and complex logistics associated with on-demand delivery.

For customers, crowdsourced delivery provides greater control over the shopping experience; it satisfies their need for speed while offering more visibility into the delivery process. Customers can select a desired time slot to ensure they won’t miss a delivery and, perhaps most importantly, they can track their packages along the way. Instead of repeatedly checking a tracking code for a status update, customers can choose to receive SMS text alerts, push notifications, or even GPS tracking on their smartphones.

Despite these benefits, the startup nature of many crowdsourced delivery services comes with inherent challenges, such as the high per-delivery costs of ad-hoc shipments, which are often absorbed by the retailer as customers become less and less willing to cover delivery fees.

As with other startups tapping into the gig economy, other major challenges of crowdsourced delivery include workforce issues — more specifically, courier shortages and retention rates. Couriers are often signed up for multiple gigs, which can make localized labor hard to come by at times. When contractors toggle among delivery, ride hailing, and other on-demand service apps looking for the next available job, they can quickly cause churn for the company from burnout, particularly when regular wages and benefits are not guaranteed.

Solving the last mile problem

In traditional shipping, the last mile problem is the inefficiency of final delivery. The “last mile” of delivery refers to the final leg of shipment, when a package arrives at the customer’s doorstep. This step of the journey is the most expensive and the most time consuming, as there are typically multiple stops along a given route — slowed down by either long distances between stops in rural areas or heavy traffic in urban settings.

Crowdsourced delivery attempts to skirt these bottlenecks by tasking someone local to both the package’s origin and customer’s door to expedite fulfillment and elevate customer satisfaction.

Future of same-day shipping

To date, crowdsourced delivery has been most commonly seen in meal delivery services in urban markets, with apps such as Postmates, Doordash, and Grubhub, but even giants like Walmart and Aldi have begun dabbling with this model for same-day grocery delivery.

Crowdsourced delivery is not limited to the food and restaurant industries either. A growing number of retailers is now experimenting with crowdsourcing as a solution to same-day shipping — an expectation of 56% of millennials, according to a survey from fraud prevention startup Trustev.

And startups like Deliv have been answering their calls. Since 2014, the crowdsourced delivery startup has been processing same-day deliveries for Macy’s, using the retail titan’s existing ship-from-store program to pick and pack orders.

These types of startups have been eliciting a response from traditional delivery providers such as DHL which launched a same-day scheduled delivery pilot for retail shipping in Germany, or FedEx, which has expanded same-day urban delivery in over 30 markets. Unlike emerging startups, these legacy providers have the advantage of leveraging their extensive logistics operations (traditionally used for non-retail deliveries), and shifting them to compete in the retail space.

And as we continue to see advancements in drone technology and artificial intelligence, it’s likely that in the future, same-day delivery will no longer depend on local couriers, but rather automation.

More to Learn

Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has writtena detailed report on crowdsourced delivery that:

• Details the factors driving investment and growth in crowdsourced delivery startups.
• Examines the benefits and drawbacks of using crowdsourcing to deliver online orders.
• Explains how crowdsourced delivery startups can improve their cost efficiencies to tackle greater delivery volumes
• Explores the role that crowdsourcing will play in the future of delivery once automated delivery options, like drones and robots, arrive.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

• Retailers are looking for ways to deliver goods faster to consumers' doorsteps to stave off Amazon's threat and meet customer expectations.
• To accomplish that, retailers and delivery providers are zeroing in on the "last mile" of fulfillment, the most expensive and time-consuming part of the delivery process, which is when a package reaches the customer's address.
• Startups like Postmates, Instacart, and others are looking to disrupt the last mile delivery space by leveraging the "Uber model," and connecting businesses to non-professional couriers who can deliver goods instantly.
• Crowdsourcing can drastically speed up deliveries in urban areas, where there is a high density of deliveries and potential couriers to be matched.
• However, as delivery volumes increase, crowdsourced delivery startups will need to further optimize their deliveries to improve cost efficiencies.
• Many of the deliveries these startups perform today will likely be automated in the future, raising the possibility that these startups may eventually look to incorporate new technologies like delivery drones or self-driving delivery vehicles.
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• The payments ecosystem is undergoing a period of digital transformation, which will spur tremendous growth in money moved around the globe in the next five years.
• Consumers and businesses will make 841 billion noncash transactions worldwide in 2023, up from 577 billion in 2018.
• The next five years will mark a pivotal transformation in how companies and consumers handle payments.

The impact of payments’ digital transformation is rippling around the world, in both advanced economies and developing countries.

Across major global regions, the total volume of e-commerce transactions is expected to rise 91% over the next five years to hit $5.7 trillion by 2023.

With such impending immense growth, it’s crucial for any business that even touches the payments industry to understand what’s ahead.

Take, for example, noncash transactions, which include debit card, credit card, direct debit, and credit transfer transactions that are conducted either online or offline. Consumers and businesses will make 841 billion noncash transactions globally in 2023, a 46% surge from 577 billion in 2018. The rise in global card and terminal penetration, coupled with increasing digital payments volume, will will be the key drivers in this growth.

To successfully navigate this changing landscape, individuals and organizations must understand the full extent to which digital transformation will affect the payments industry, the key drivers of this growth, and how it all relates to the work they do every day.

Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider’s premium research service, has forecasted the future of the payments ecosystem in The Payments Forecast Book 2018— and the next five years will be critical for the following four areas:

• Global Payments: Asia, North America, and Europe will be the three main growth regions in the next five years, and will make up 70% of all noncash transaction growth by 2023.
• US Payments: In the US, P2P and retail payments combined will still be less than a quarter of the size of the B2B payments market by 2023 ($6.3 trillion vs. $27.3 trillion).
• US E-Commerce:Total e-commerce spending in the U.S. will surpass $1 trillion by 2023, and the average consumer will spend $2,959 online.
• US Emerging Payments: By 2023, 67% of US adults will have used BOPIS (Buy Online Pickup In Store) at least once in the last 12 months.

Want to Learn More?

People, companies, and organizations all over the world are racing to adopt the latest payments solutions and prevent growing pains amidst a technological transformation. The Payments Forecast Book 2018 from Business Insider Intelligence is a detailed four-part slide deck outlining the most important trends impacting the payments ecosystem around the world — and the key drivers propelling each segment forward.

Representing thousands of hours of exhaustive research, our multipart forecast books are considered must-reads by thousands of highly successful business professionals. These informative slide decks are packed with charts and statistics outlining the most influential trends on the leading edge of your industry. Keep them for reference or drop the most valuable data into your own presentations to share with your teams.

Whether you’re newly interested in a topic or you already consider yourself a subject matter expert, The Payments Forecast Book 2018 can provide you with the actionable insights you need to make better decisions.

Join the conversation about this story »

• Warning: Spoilers ahead for the Netflix movie "Velvet Buzzsaw."
• Director and writer Dan Gilroy tells INSIDER about finding the name Vetril Dease in an 1850s census, and why a piece from his favorite painter Caravaggio wound up in the background of scene.
• Gilroy also says the final scene is linked to his own experience with a failed "Superman" movie.

Netflix original movie "Velvet Buzzsaw" is a satirical thriller about the horror-imbued paintings of a deceased artist named Vetril Dease, and how their dissemination among Los Angeles' art scene leads to the supernatural deaths of every person who gets involved. 

"Our gothic, campy, kitschy horror structure is a little bit like 'The Ring,'" the movie's writer and director Dan Gilroy told INSIDER. "Once you watch the video, you're gonna die [...] We wanted to set it up that way but like 'The Ring' or 'Final Destination.'"

We spoke with Gilroy about the inspiration behind the film's character structure, along with the meaning of names like Vetril Dease and the significance of one solitary classical Baroque painting placed in the background of a scene. 

Kim Renfro: To start let's talk about the name Vetril Dease. How did you come up with that?

Dan Gilroy: I'm an enormous fan of Dickens. Dickens was always just first-rate with the names he came up with, they seemed to actually expand on the characters' background, so I try to give characters great names so I collect names. To answer your question, about 10 years ago I was working on a film that had to do with the southern United States and I was looking through census rolls, looking for names.

I collected like 50 names, and one of them was Vetril Dease. So Vetril Dease was a real person who lived in South Carolina in the 1850s, and I've resurrected him somehow.

Renfro: That's really neat. Here I was wondering if it's an anagram for "advertise" or something.

Gilroy: Someone actually pointed out that it is an anagram for "devil satire" which I didn't even know, and is creepy in a weird way because I had 50 names on that list. One of them was Moddick Green … there are all of these great old names.

Renfro: I noticed that Morf's character starts unraveling when he compromises his critique process by panning Ricky just because Josephina asks him too, whereas the other characters are targeted more directly because of their involvement with selling Dease's art.

Gilroy: It's a Robert Altman-like ensemble, so we have a half a dozen or more characters and each one of them is affected by the Dease art in a different degree. The majority of them will be killed specifically for selling art against the deceased artist's wishes.

At the same time, I wanted to show that drifting toward a grey moral area was not limited to [selling the art]. So all of these characters are doing other nefarious things. Rhodora is planting a boyfriend to get early advance reviews, Gretchen is rigging the economics of a sale, and Morf is using his position as a critic to satisfy a romantic request from Josephina.

Renfro: Right so him trading in his integrity was the start of that downturn.

Gilroy: Yeah, and even though at the end he understands the error of his ways, our gothic, campy, kitschy horror structure is a little bit like "The Ring." Once you watch the video, you're gonna die. So it didn't matter that [Morf] had some understanding of his crimes. He was going to perish anyways. We wanted to set it up that way but like "The Ring" or "Final Destination". And it sets up the "Carrie"-like ending for Rhodora when you think 'How is she going to survive this?'

Renfro: This movie was fun for me to watch because I'm very bad at recognizing contemporary/modern art, but I am very familiar with more classical art. So I immediately noticed the shot of a Caravaggio painting in Rhodora's house. Why did you pick that painting for this scene?

Gilroy: That's a very personal choice because I'd have to say Caravaggio is my favorite artist, in painterly sense. I've read a lot about his life and his work, and one of the revolutionary things Caravaggio did was when he went to Rome and at the time it was all spiritual paintings but he was living this rather debauched life at night.

One of his first big paintings was about card sharks and it showed a young man being cheated at cards. It was a very revolutionary painting at the time because he was taking this incredible masterly skill and applying it to everyday events. 

So the idea was that Rhodora, who is worth probably a billion dollars, could have any art on her walls and she doesn't choose contemporary art — she chose a representational artist like Caravaggio. That's why we put it there.

Renfro: I also really enjoyed the scene that plays over the credits, with John Malkovitch's character Piers just doodling in the sand. There was an optimism to it, with someone creating art simply for themselves. What inspired that ending?

Gilroy: That comes from when I worked on an epic debacle called "Superman Lives," and it was so bad that they made a documentary about it.

Renfro: That was the Nicholas cage one?

Gilroy: Yeah, Nicholas Cage and Tim Burton. Six days before we started shooting, they pulled the plug. I had been working on it for a year and half and I was devastated. I over at Warner Brothers, they pulled the plug on it, I got in my car, drove down to Santa Monica, and was just sitting on the beach.

I came to realize that I could have written all those words over the last year and a half just in the sand, and the waves could have just washed them away. That's how relevant I felt. I just thought, 'Oh my god, what is this?'

I kept thinking about it and came to the conclusion that it didn't matter. As a writer I had gotten a tremendous amount out of the experience. It wasn't wasted time. And I decided then and there I was going to do things more for myself. So when I finally stood up and walked away [from the beach] I decided I was going to move into a place of doing things that had more relevance to me. That was going to be my way out of what I was feeling.

John Malkovich drawing on the beach and having the waves wash things away ties into what Rhodora says about dependency murdering creativity. That really is where that comes from, a very personal moment. I'm really happy it got into the film, and it has resonance to you, because art exists for its own sake. It's not about the dollar amount paid or the opening weekend, art is art and exists for its own reason. Piers is free, he's liberated, and he's creating for himself — which is a very important thing for me.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

"Velvet Buzzsaw" is streaming now on Netflix. Read INSIDER's review of the movie here.

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NOW WATCH: I went on Beyoncé's 22-day diet — and I lost 15 pounds

• On Friday, Vice Media and McClatchy company announced layoffs and buyouts, respectively, that brought the number of media jobs eliminated in 2019 to over 2,100.
• The cuts follow layoff announcements at BuzzFeed, Verizon, and Gannett, the largest newspaper publisher in the US.
• It is estimated that between 2014 and 2017, some 5,000 media jobs were cut from the market.

The media industry seemed to be in freefall on Friday following the announcement that Vice Media would cut 10% of its staff and that McClatchy Company offered buyouts to 450 employees, bringing the total number of media jobs cut in 2019 to over 2,100.

The massive cuts so far this year represent a recent trend of cuts at digital-media companies that sprung up as newspapers around the country were shrinking and disappearing.

Here are the media jobs lost so far in 2019 »

SEE ALSO: Vice Media was once flying high with buzzy branded content and a lucrative millennial audience. Now it's planning to cut 10% of employees

Vice Media: 250 jobs, February 1

The Hollywood Reporter first reported layoffs at Vice Media early Friday. According to the report, the Brooklyn-based media company will cut approximately 250 jobs across the company in the coming week, with the aim of trimming down and helping the organization become profitable.

"Having finalized the 2019 budget, our focus shifts to executing our goals and hitting our marks," CEO Nancy Dubuc wrote in an email to staff.

Vice Media will reportedly refocus around its TV production unit, its international news team, it's digital properties, and its original TV content.

Staff members in the US, who are unionized, are set to receive payouts of their accumulated paid time-off, 10 weeks of severance, and medical benefits.

The cuts were previewed in a Wall Street Journal report in November that said the company would cut staff due in part to audience attrition over the last three years.

The McClatchy Company: 450 jobs, February 1

On Friday, February 1, The McClatchy Company, which owns properties such as the Miami Herald and the Kansas City Star, emailed staffers to announce that 450 employees would be offered voluntary buyouts as part of a "functional realignment," essentially signaling that the jobs have been marked out of the budget.

The news was first reported by the Miami New Times.

The news followed McClathy's failed attempt to buy the Tribune Publishing company in 2018.

Verizon (Yahoo, AOL, HuffPost): 800 jobs, January 23

In late January, it was reported that Verizon would cut 7% of its staff at its media companies (an estimated 800 people), which include Yahoo, AOL, and The Huffington Post.

"These were difficult decisions, and we will ensure that our colleagues are treated with respect and fairness, and given the support they need," said Guru Gowrappan, CEO of Verizon Media, in a memo to staff.

It's estimated that 20 employees were laid off at HuffPost last Thursday, including opinion writers, political reporters, and others. Nearly 100 corporate Verizon employees were reportedly laid off in San Francisco.

The layoffs are in addition to the 10,400 employees that Verizon is looking to shed by the middle of 2019 as part of a buyout program announced in December.

• Former Vice President Joe Biden's record on racial justice is being re-examined as he considers running for president in 2020. 
• Biden's mid-1970s crusade against busing as part of efforts to integrate America's schools has resurfaced. 
• In a 1975 NPR interview, Biden contended busing was a "rejection of the whole movement of black pride."

In the mid-1970s, a young Democratic senator from Delaware and self-declared liberal who would one day serve as the vice president to the first black president in US history emerged as one of the most vocal opponents of a main force in the integration in America's schools.

Former Vice President Joe Biden was once at the forefront of a movement against busing students in order to desegregate schools — even battling against Republican Sen. Ed Brooke, the only black senator at the time, over the issue — while he paid lip service to the desegregation movement.

Biden's record on racial justice continues to come up as he considers running for president in 2020, and his controversial campaign against busing — the practice of bringing white and black students out of their neighborhoods in order to integrate schools — could haunt him along the campaign trail if he throws his hat in the ring. 

Read more:Joe Biden gave his strongest hint yet he's leaning toward running in 2020

As he ran for the Senate in 1972, Biden was vocally in favor of integrating America's schools and supported busing.

However, his position on the issue shifted drastically after he won the election when he "discovered just how bitterly his white constituents opposed the method," according to a 2015 Politico article from Jason Sokol, an associate professor of history at the University of New Hampshire who covered the topic extensively in a book on the modern history of race and politics in the Northeast. 

By 1973 and 1974, Biden attempted to tow a careful line by vocally supporting desegregation while voting in favor of anti-busing policies. As Sokol described it, Biden's political calculation was "clever but disingenuous." 

"History has not been kind to the defenders of school busing. Indeed, busing was problematic — as it transported children long distances away from nearby schools," Sokol added. "But to say most whites objected to busing because it was inconvenient would be wrong. The truth is that many of them were not comfortable with the racial change that busing brought."

Busing was an inherently racially-charged issue, and Biden seemingly wanted to appear loyal to his liberal convictions while he simultaneously worked to appease his uproarious white constituents.

As opposition to busing became more extreme among his constituents, Biden "morphed into a leading anti-busing crusader — all the while continuing to insist that he supported the goal of school desegregation, he only opposed busing as the means to achieve that end," Sokol said. Biden played a vital role in pushing other liberals to oppose busing as well, according to Sokol. 

In a 1975 — the same year Biden sided with conservatives by sponsoring an anti-busing amendment — the future vice president attempted to defend his anti-busing stance in an interview with NPR. At the time, Biden described busing as a "rejection of the whole movement of black pride."

Read more: Here's what everyone is getting wrong about Bill Clinton's 1994 crime reforms

"I think the concept of busing ... that we are going to integrate people so that they all have the same access and they learn to grow up with one another and all the rest is a rejection of the whole movement of black pride, is a rejection of the entire black awareness concept where black is beautiful, black culture should be studied, and the cultural awareness of the importance of their own identity, their own individuality. And I think that's a healthy, solid proposal," Biden, who was 32 at the time, said. 

In his 2007 autobiography, "Promises to Keep," Biden described the mid-70s debate over busing as a "liberal train wreck." Biden said that due to his position on the issue at the time some of his colleagues pulled him aside and asked "how and when 'the racists had gotten to me.'"

Biden did not immediately respond to a request for comment from INSIDER. 

Like many politicians who've spent years in Washington, Biden has a mixed record many issues, but particularly on race relations and criminal justice. 

Biden drafted the infamous 1994 crime bill, signed into law by former President Bill Clinton, that many have cited as one of the driving factors behind mass incarceration and the disproportionate imprisonment of people of color.

At a public appearance earlier this month, Biden said he's not "always been right" on criminal justice, but said he's "always tried." As Biden alluded to mistakes that were made back in his Senate days, some seemed to interpret this as an apology for the impact of policies he pushed for while in Congress.

Read more:Biden played key role in pushing US to take hardline stances on crime in 1990s, and now he's apologizing as 2020 looms

Biden for the most part, however, has typically refused to apologize for the 1994 crime bill, and in a 2016 interview contended it "restored American cities." 

During his time as a senator, Biden led the charge for Democrats in their war on crime and drugs. 

In a 2015 interview with Time, Biden said, "I am not only the guy who did the crime bill and the drug czar, but I'm also the guy who spent years when I was chairman of the Judiciary Committee and chairman of [the Senate Foreign Relations Committee] trying to change drug policy relative to cocaine, for example, crack and powder."

Biden, throughout his career, has also strongly supported affirmative action, worked to expand voting rights, addressed workplace discrimination, introduced the Violence Against Women Act to help victims of domestic violence, and fought to expand the definition of hate crimes. During his time in the Obama administration, he worked alongside former President Barack Obama in championing criminal justice reform.

Biden, 76, in December said he was "most qualified person in the country to be president." If he runs in 2020, he'll face a crowded, diverse, and young group of candidates vying to be the next Democratic presidential nominee. 

In late January, the former vice president told CNN he's in no hurry to make an announcement on 2020.

"I don't think there's any hurry to have to announce," Biden said at the time. "I don't have any particular timetable. I don't think there's any hurry, but there's a bigger hurry to decide just personally."

SEE ALSO: Here's everyone who has officially announced they are running for president in 2020

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NOW WATCH: MSNBC host Chris Hayes thinks President Trump's stance on China is 'not at all crazy'

This is a preview of a research report from Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service. To learn more about Business Insider Intelligence, click here.

The downfall of US brick-and-mortar commerce is overblown — despite sharp gains in e-commerce, which will nearly double between now and 2021, the lion’s share of purchasing continues to take place in-store. And that’s unlikely to change anytime soon, since the online environment can’t yet compensate for the reasons customers like brick-and-mortar shopping.

That means the point-of-sale (POS) terminal, which merchants use to accept payments of all types and to complete transactions, isn’t going anywhere. But that doesn’t mean it’s not changing. As merchants look to cut costs amidst shifts in consumer shopping habits, POS terminals, which were once predominantly hardware offerings used exclusively for payment acceptance, are evolving into full-service, comprehensive solutions. These new POS terminals are providing an array of business management solutions and connected offerings to complement payment services. 

This is where the smart terminal, a new product that’s part-tablet, part-register, comes in. Merchants are increasingly seeking out these offerings, which afford them the connectivity, mobility, and interoperability to run their entire business. And that’s shaking up the space, since it’s not just legacy firms, but also mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) players and newer upstarts, that offer these products. 

As merchants begin demanding a wide variety of payment solutions, terminal providers are scrambling to meet their needs in order to maintain existing customers and attract new ones. This is leading to rapid innovation and increased competition in both the POS terminal hardware and software spaces.

Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider’s premium research service, has put together a detailed report on the shifts in this landscape, how leading players can meet them, and who’s doing it most effectively.

Here are some key takeaways from the report:

• Evolving merchant needs are impacting POS terminal players’ strategies. Merchants select terminal providers based on four key areas: payment functionality, user experience (UX), over-the-top (OTT) offerings, and distribution/customer service. Terminal firms need to innovate in these areas, or risk falling behind.
• Larger players need to double down on existing success. Smaller players can often be more nimble, which gives them the opportunity to innovate more quickly and build in-demand solutions. That’s a disadvantage to market leaders; however, they can, and should, leverage their massive distribution networks when upgrading or updating their offerings. Meanwhile, smaller players can win by focusing on niches instead.
• It’s all about the platform. No single feature is likely to make or break a merchant’s decision to pursue a specific provider. Above all, they want a robust ecosystem that can evolve over time. 

In full, the report:

• Explains the current state of in-store retail and why terminal firms need to evolve to meet it.
• Groups features that matter to merchants and explains why they’re important and what terminal providers stand to gain from focusing on them.
• Determines the leading players in the space.
• Assesses how the leading players stack up, and which offerings are the most comprehensive.
• Issues recommendations about how to develop an attractive platform that best serves merchants' needs as the market continues to shift. 

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	Access to all future reports and daily newsletters
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	And more!

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This is a preview of a research report from Business Insider Intelligence,  Business Insider's premium research service. To learn more about Business Insider Intelligence, click here.

In recent years, we've seen a ballooning of activity in fintech — an expansive term applied to technology-driven disruptions in financial services. And 2018 has been no different, with fintechs' staggering influence on the market evidenced by record funding levels for the industry — by Q3 2018, overall funding was already up 82% from 2017’s total figure, according to CB Insights.

Additionally, this year marked a watershed moment for the industry, with the once clear distinction between fintechs and financial services proper now blurred significantly. Virtually every incumbent financial institution (FI) is now looking inward and engaging in an innovation drive, spurred on by competition from fintechs. As such, incumbents are now actively investing in, acquiring, and collaborating with their fintech rivals.

In this report, Business Insider Intelligence details recent developments in fintech funding and regulation that are defining the environment these startups operate in. We also examine the business model changes being employed among different categories of fintechs as they strive to embed themselves further in mainstream finance and prove sustainability. Finally, we consider which elements of the fintech industry are rapidly rubbing off on incumbent financial services providers, and what the future of fintech will look like.

The companies mentioned in this report are: Funding Circle, GreenSky, Transferwise, Ant Financial, Nubank, Cellulant, Oscar Health, Stripe, One97, UiPath, LianLian Pay, Wacai.com, Gusto, Toast, PingPong, Flywire, Deposit Solutions, Root, Robinhood, Atom, N26, Revolut, OneConnect, PolicyBazaar, WeCash, Zurich, OneDegree, Dinghy, Vouch Insurance, Laka, Cleo, Ernit, Monzo, Moneybox, Bud, Tandem, Starling, Varo Money, Square, ING, Chase, AmEx, Amazon, Monese, Betterment, Tiller Investments, West Hill Capital, Square, Ameritrade, JPMorgan, eToro, Lendy, OnDeck, Ripple, Quorom, Chain, Coinbase, Fidelity, Samsung Pay, Google Pay, Apple Pay, Bank of America, TransferGo, Klarna, Western Union, Veriff, Royal Bank of Scotland, Royal Bank of Canada, Facebook, ThreatMetrix, Relx, Entersekt, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Gemalto, Lloyd's of London, Kingdom Trust, Aviva, Symbility LINK, eTrade, Allianz, AXA, Broadridge, TD Bank, First Republic Bank, BBVA Compass, Capital One, Silicon Valley Bank, Credit Suisse, Ally, Goldman Sachs.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

• Fintech funding has already reached new highs globally in 2018, with overall funding hitting $32.6 billion at the end of Q3.
• Some new regions, including South America and Africa, are emerging on the fintech scene.
• We've seen considerable scaling in older corners of the fintech ecosystem, including among neobanks and alt lenders.
• Some fintechs, including a number of insurtechs, have dipped into new markets to escape heightened competition.
• Emergent areas like blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT), as well as digital identity, are gaining traction.
• Many incumbents are undertaking business transformations that aim to reimagine everything from products and services to front-end systems and back-end processes.

 In full, the report:

• Details the funding and regulatory landscape in the US, Europe, and Asia.
• Gives an overview into a number of fintech segments and how they've changed over the past year.
• Discusses how incumbents are reacting to fintechs in order to stay relevant in the changing financial services sector.
• Evaluates what the future of fintech will look like and what trends to look out for in the coming year.
  

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SEE ALSO: How the largest US financial institutions rank on offering the mobile banking features customers value most

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• The Internet of Things is fueling the data-based economy and bridging the divide between physical and digital worlds.
• Consumers, companies, and governments will install more than 40 billion IoT devices worldwide through 2023.
• The next five years will mark a pivotal transformation in how companies and jurisdictions operate, and how consumers live.

Being successful in the digital age doesn’t just require knowing the latest buzzwords; it means identifying the transformational trends – and where they’re heading – before they ever heat up.

Take the Internet of Things (IoT), for example, which now receives not only daily tech news coverage with each new device launch, but also hefty investments from global organizations ushering in worldwide adoption. By 2023, consumers, companies, and governments will install more than 40 billion IoT devices globally. And it’s not just the ones you hear about all the time, like smart speakers and connected cars.

To successfully navigate this changing landscape, individuals and organizations must understand the full extent and functionality of the “Things” included in this network, the key drivers of each market segment, and how it all relates to the work they do every day.

Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider’s premium research service, has forecasted the start of the IoT’s global proliferation in The IoT Forecast Book 2018— and the next five years will be transformational for consumers, enterprises, and governments.

• Consumer IoT: In the US alone, the number of smart home devices is estimated to surpass 1 billion by 2023, with consumers dishing out about $725 per household — a total of over $90 billion in spending on IoT solutions.
• Enterprise IoT: Comprising the most mature segment of the IoT, companies will continue pouring billions of dollars into connected devices and automation. By 2023, the total industrial robotic system installed base will approach 6 million worldwide, while annual spending on manufacturing IoT solutions will reach about $450 billion.
• Government IoT: Governments globally are ushering in IoT devices to spur the development of smart cities, which would be equipped with innovations like connected cameras, smart street lights, and connected meters to provide a real-time view of traffic, utilities usage, crime, and environmental factors. Annual investment in this area is expected to reach nearly $900 billion by 2023.

Want to Learn More?

People, companies, and organizations all over the world are racing to adopt the latest IoT solutions and prevent growing pains amidst a technological transformation. The IoT Forecast Book 2018 from Business Insider Intelligence is a detailed three-part slide deck outlining the most important trends impacting consumer, enterprise, and government IoT — and the key drivers propelling each segment forward.

Representing thousands of hours of exhaustive research, our multipart forecast books are considered must-reads by thousands of highly successful business professionals. These informative slide decks are packed with charts and statistics outlining the most influential trends on the leading edge of your industry. Keep them for reference or drop the most valuable data into your own presentations to share with your teams.

Whether you’re newly interested in a topic or you already consider yourself a subject matter expert, The IoT Forecast Book 2018 can provide you with the actionable insights you need to make better decisions.

Join the conversation about this story »

• Democrats called for Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam's immediate resignation after the release of an old yearbook photo in which he appears in either blackface or a Ku Klux Klan costume.
• The photo spread across social media channels and prompted an apology from Northam.
• Despite his apology, Democrats, including candidates in the 2020 US presidential election, have called for his immediate ouster.

Democrats called for Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam's immediate resignation after the release of an old yearbook photo in which he appears in either blackface or a Ku Klux Klan costume.

One of the pictures on an Eastern Virginia Medical School's 1984 yearbook page included a man in blackface and a bow tie standing next to another person in a Ku Klux Klan-style robe and hood. The photo, first published by conservative blog Big League Politics, spread across social media channels and prompted an apology from Northam.

"I am deeply sorry for the decision I made to appear as I did in this photo and for the hurt that decision caused then and now," Northam said in a written statement. "This behavior is not in keeping with who I am today and the values I have fought for throughout my career in the military, in medicine, and in public service."

"I recognize that it will take time and serious effort to heal the damage this conduct has caused. I am ready to do that important work."

But despite his apology, Democrats, including candidates in the 2020 US presidential election, have called for his immediate ouster:

SEE ALSO: Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam admits he appeared in 1984 yearbook wearing 'racist and offensive' blackface costume

Former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro

"It doesn't matter if he is a Republican or a Democrat," former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro said on Twitter. "This behavior was racist and unconscionable. Governor Northam should resign."

Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell of California

Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell of California suggested Northam ought to resign and seek redemption for the photo.

"No, you can't wear a black face or a white hood and lead a state. Not now and not ever," Swalwell said on Twitter. "But we are merciful people. Governor Northam should step down, seek forgiveness, and through good deeds earn the respect of the African-American Community."

Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris of California

Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris, who previously described Northam as someone who "won't stand for hatred and bigotry," agreed with her Democratic colleagues.

"Leaders are called to a higher standard, and the stain of racism should have no place in the halls of government," Harris tweeted. "The Governor of Virginia should step aside so the public can heal and move forward together."