Estée Lauder has found a way to cash in on people who shop for perfume online by debuting an “AI Scent Advisor,” developed with Google Cloud for Jo Malone. Using chatbot conversations to attempt to capture the intangible experience of scent, the parent company of fragrance brands like Tom Ford, Frederic Malle, Le Labo, and Kilian hopes the model can convince online shoppers to spend north of $100 on fragrances they’ve never actually smelled before.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 rose again on Friday, while the Russell 2000 retreated after notching a new record close Thursday. All three indexes posted weekly gains. The S&P 500 came within striking distance of its all-time highest close Friday morning before losing steam. It’s been a great run for the benchmark index, which has risen nine out of the last 10 trading sessions.
A reading of September’s personal consumption expenditures, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, was in line with expectations, maintaining investors’ hope of a rate cut at the Fed meeting this week.
