Shoppers brawl over Aldi furniture … Chinese retail giant looks for Aussie data experts … Slow speeds to come as underwater internet cables damaged

By Dominic Powell and Emma Koehn.

Customer enthusiasm for Aldi products hit its peak in Melbourne over the weekend, after shoppers filmed two families engaging in a brawl in the South Morang store over a limited edition furniture setting.

Nine News reports shoppers had been lining up out the front of the Aldi store well before it opened to nab bargains as part of a spring special buys offer, but two families soon started shoving and swearing as they attempted to reach a lounge setting first.

A number of shoppers whipped out their smartphones to catch vision of the dispute, but it turns out competition for the furniture might not have been as fierce as it appeared as Nine reports there was extra stock out the back of the store.

Online Chinese retail giant looks for Aussie data experts

At least 100 Australian data scientists and artificial intelligence (AI) experts are being sought by China’s second largest online retailer JD.com, reports The Australian, as the company looks to expand and continue to develop its artificial intelligence offerings.

“My goal with my team is to try to recruit AI talent to JD. We have lots of AI projects happening at JD and we really need a lot of talent. We are trying to hire as much talent as possible,’’Paul Yan, head of JD.com’s digital advertising and marketing platforms, told The Australian.

Yan says JD.com is looking to expand its supply chain and increase operational efficiency through the use of AI, including dynamic pricing services.

“We want to use technology and AI to automate everything we did in the first 12 years. We want to use the next 12 years to make this happen,’’ Yan said.

Slow internet speeds to come as underwater cables damaged

Internet service providers are warning Australians to expect slower internet speeds over the next six weeks due to typhoons in Hong Kong damaging a number of underwater cables, reports ITNews.

Traffic in and out of Asia is being routed via the US advises telecom companies iiNet and Internode, resulting in slower loading speeds and increased latency.

“This may result in webpages taking longer to load, as well as impact to time-sensitive activities such as online gaming,” the two companies said, according to ITNews.

“Our network partner is currently engaged with submarine teams for initiation of repair process.”

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