Need to Know
13 : 05 : 19

Tokyo – Chinese streetwear brand Hipanda has opened a futuristic flagship store in Japan that fuses technology, visual effects and striking interior design.

Named the Ghost House, the brand’s first store in the country uses AR (augmented reality) and AE (augmented experience) to create an immersive experience. The main room features a dynamic play of light, while the gallery space uses AR to highlight continually changing product displays. Visitors are also invited to look for the host of the house, who is revealed through different digital and analogue interactions.

The space was designed by Curiosity, a multidisciplinary studio based in Tokyo. ‘The challenge of Curiosity was to bring street fashion into new territories, breaking the boundaries beyond culture, age and gender into an experiential space, accessible and inspirational for all, which redefines our expectation of retail experience,’ says the studio. For more on how retailers are reconsidering the purpose of bricks-and-mortar shops, read our Storefront Salvation macrotrend.

Western Europe – The brand has created four distinctive mixers designed specifically to be paired with dark spirits.

Coca-Cola Signature Mixers build on the brand’s 134-year history as a mixer. The brand enlisted a handful of leading mixologists to take the unique flavour of the soft drink and experiment with more than 200 contemporary and traditional ingredients, creating four mixers with more complex flavour profiles. The four varieties are: Smoky Notes by Max Venning, Spicy Notes by Adriana Chia and Pippa Guy, Herbal Notes by Antonio Naranjo, and Woody Notes by Alex Lawrence.

By re-inventing the soft drink as a premium mixer, Coca-Cola shows how the category is evolving from an afterthought to become an essential part of the drinking experience. In a similar vein, our Tonic & Tonic microtrend explores how new tonic water brands are offering unusual flavours as they seek new markets beyond gin.

Stockholm –The Memory Lane project aims to spark deeply personal conversations between humans and artificial intelligence (AI).

The project, created by Accenture Interactive in collaboration with Stockholm Exergi, explores how voice assistants such as Google Home can become more conversational and improve the lives of those living in unwanted loneliness. In a bid to combat the harmful effects of isolation, Memory Lane invited elderly citizens in Stockholm to share their memories and life stories with a reverse-engineered voice assistant, which is able to ask personal questions and drive meaningful conversations.

The AI asks questions such as ‘where are you from?’ and ‘where did you grow up?’ in order to piece together a detailed account of participants’ lives. These conversations can either be turned into an audio recording, or a printed book that can be shared with family and friends. Highlighting technology’s potential to address societal issues, Memory Lane also suggests the extent to which more fluid and complex forms of kinship are emerging, with technology not only helping to run households, but also becoming part of them.

New research suggests the success of loyalty programmes relies on experience rather than rewards. Rewards only account for a quarter of loyalty member satisfaction, according to Bond Brand Loyalty’s 9th Annual Loyalty Report. Younger consumers in the US are not only the most likely to be influenced by loyalty programmes, but more than half are interested in paying a fee to receive enhanced benefits.

‘Many brands are still focused on the myopic points versus the moments that matter most along the entire member journey,’ says Sean Claessen, executive vice-president of strategy at Bond Brand Loyalty. ‘Essentially, for younger consumers, it’s all about the experience.’ Read our Loyalty Market to learn more about how brands are redefining customer retention.