News
19 : 07 : 18

Los Angeles – Nike’s new concept store uses the real-time data of local shoppers to adapt its merchandise.

Nike Live by Melrose, situated on Melrose Avenue in west Los Angeles, will offer a selection of styles that are determined by locals’ digital commerce data. The store will change its stock on a bi-weekly basis to reflect the preferences of local NikePlus members, while bestsellers will be stocked all year around. The brand anticipates that the store will offer a range of running products in bright colourways, such as its Cortez trainers, due to the area’s ‘sport and style obsessed’ consumers.

Customer can receive advice on lifestyle and performance footwear at the store’s sneaker bar, while the vending machine-style Unlock Box will allow NikePlus users to scan their membership pass every two weeks for free Nike products.‘As well as being the first Nike Live destination, we will also test services that can then roll out to other Nike stores, combining digital features with a unique physical environment to create the future of Nike retail,’ says Heidi O'Neill, president of Nike Direct.

Globally, brands are reconsidering the purpose of bricks-and-mortar stores, combining physical touchpoints and digital technology to make the retail experience more intuitive, meaningful and compelling. Discover more about the future store with our Storefront Salvation macrotrend.

US – Continuing its #AerieREAL movement, the lingerie retailer is championing inclusivity with its latest campaign, Aerie Bras Make You Feel Good.

Featuring 57 women of diverse backgrounds, ages and body shapes, Aerie crowdsourced the models through its social media channels. After receiving over 2,000 responses, the final campaign images include individuals with hidden disabilities and health conditions such as type 1 diabetes and alopecia, alongside the brand’s ambassadors, model Iskra Lawrence and gymnast Aly Raisman.

With fashion brands continuing to run campaigns that highlight women’s physical characteristics, such as scarring and stretch marks, some have questioned whether the movement is inspirational or tokenistic. For more, read our opinion piece here.

London - Proletariat.ai is a conceptual project that explores how machine learning could impact the future process of recruitment.

With over 15,000 traits that can be used to identify top performers in the workplace – including choice of language, vocabulary, eye contact and level of stress in the voice – the project demonstrates how machine learning algorithms could be used to predict employee suitability.

Proletariat.ai interprets the technology through a hypothetical chatbot that analyses an individual’s responses based on tone, emotion and personality. The project aims to brings awareness to the automated hiring processes and helps users understand how they are being filtered through recruiting systems.

In our Brand Culture 2020 report, we explore not only the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to transform the workplace but also how employees will be affected by this. For more ideas and innovations that will help shape the future workplace, read our Workplace Far Futures series.

A recent report by Walker Sands Communications found that consumers are keen to have voice assistant devices in locations beyond their kitchen or living area. A sizeable number of respondents (19%) liked the idea of hands-free voice assistant access in the shower, while another 13% were interested access to voice-controlled devices while on the toilet.

As smart home technology continues to develop, brands are considering how voice assistants can improve consumer experiences throughout the house, not just within its social spaces. We examine more on the future of voice assistants in our dedicated Future of Voice Assistants market.