LSN : News : Need to Know 01 : 11 : 17

1. Russian retailer KM20 relocates to larger store

KM20, Moscow. Interior by Pavel Kryukov

Moscow – Renowned for introducing international designers such as Raf Simons and Yeezy to Russian luxury consumers, boutique store Kuznetsky Most 20 (KM20) is moving into a new building and expanding its offering.

The store is partnering with 14 brands and designers including Gosha Rubchinskiy and Off-White’s Virgil Abloh to launch a new capsule collection each week until the end of 2017. The Collaboration Festival initiative will feature installations themed around the collections and KM20 will commission the designers to create customised wooden pallets that will be displayed as artworks around the space.

KM20 will also use the space to host temporary art exhibitions, product launches and parties to promote Russia’s underground fashion scene. See our Emerging Youth Market for more insights into young consumers in Russia.

2. Ikea launches fly-on-the-wall pre-roll ad campaign

Irresistible Pointless TrueView Ads by Ikea, Sweden

Sweden – Furniture retailer Ikea has launched a series of YouTube pre-roll ads designed to counteract consumer skip culture. Part of the wider Where Life Happens campaign, the Irresistible Pointless Trueview Ads, which run for up to eight minutes, depict a variety of everyday scenarios such as a couple kissing and a teenager washing the dishes. The subjects appear to address the viewer directly, asking questions such as ‘do you really want to watch this?’. According to ad agency Åkestam Holst, which created the spots, the average viewing time among targeted viewers was three minutes, with 39% of viewers watching an ad in its entirety.

The shorts feature no marketing save for a tag over an item of furniture in each room that lists its name and price. As consumers’ attention spans become shorter, brands are using long-form content to pique viewers’ interest and create campaigns that linger in the memory. See our Focus Filter macrotrend for more.

3. Lysa uses artificial intelligence to help consumers eat better

London – Lysa is an artificially intelligent (AI) nutritionist that offers dietary advice tailored to the individual. Currently in beta mode and available through Facebook Messenger, Lysa recommends recipes and offers nutrition tips based on factors such as a user’s dietary requirements, health goals and activity levels.

According to founder and CEO Anne-Laure Le Cunff, despite being popular, health apps such as MyFitnessPal have low retention rates because they only collect data and do not offer actionable insights for improving users’ diets. ‘Lysa’s users are incredibly engaged,’ she explains. ‘Our goal is to build the most data-driven, fun and easy-to-use nutrition assistant.’

Read our Upstream Eating microtrend to learn more about the rise of technology as a source of medically assured food recommendations.

Lysa Health, UK

4. Nissan listens to safety concerns over silent electric cars

Canto by Nissan

Global – Nissan has developed a new safety feature that uses sound to alert pedestrians when an electric vehicle is nearby. Canto, which will be installed in models including the new Nissan Leaf, is ‘what the future of Nissan Intelligent Mobility will sound like’, according to the brand’s executive vice-president of global sales and marketing Daniele Schillaci.

Although more environmentally friendly than internal combustion engines, electric car batteries are quieter, presenting a significant safety issue. According to a report by the US Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, pedestrians and cyclists are 35% and 57% more likely to be involved in a crash involving an electric or hybrid car, respectively. As LS:N Global explored in our Safety in Sound microtrend, mobility brands are exploring the potential of sound as a safety feature.

5. China moves to tackle rising pollution levels

China’s Communist Party has announced the temporary closure of its most polluting factories. Officials from more than 80,000 factories have also been charged with criminal offences for breaching emissions limits over the past year. As part of this move, the government has pledged to reduce the concentration of fine particulate matter from 47 micrograms per cubic metre in 2016 to 35 micrograms by 2035. As pollution levels rise globally, brands need to do more to address the issue and alleviate consumers’ concerns. For more see our Smog Life series.

6. Thought-starter: Is technology defining beauty ideals?

As we become more aware of the impact of technology on our self-image, strategic researcher Victoria Buchanan asks whether technology should be relied on to judge a person’s appearance.

We take more than 1m selfies each day, yet up to eight out of ten women are dissatisfied with their appearance. Brands are tapping into this obsession with self-image, developing smart products powered by deep learning algorithms to help us monitor, measure and achieve our beauty goals.

RYNKL is a wrinkle analysis app powered by AI that claims to ‘care about your looks’ and ‘help you adjust your lifestyle to look younger’, while the Map My Beauty app claims to use facial zone-recognition algorithms to offer make-up tutorials based on an objective assessment of a user’s face.

But what happens when technology is allowed to judge the end result? Imagine a future in which our mirror will be able to tell us what it really thinks when we ask ‘does my bum look big in this?’

Read the full Opinion here.