Need to Know
08 : 09 : 20

Tokyo – Virtual influencer Imma stars in Ikea’s new phygital Happiness at Home campaign.

The campaign, which merges physical and digital window displays, used LED screens to showcase a 10-hour long video installation, A Day In The Life of Imma. To demonstrate how small-space living can be elevated, Imma occupies the window display of the new Ikea Harajuku shop.

Offering a mixed-reality retail experience, those passing by were able to see the virtual influencer’s everyday home life as she practised yoga or prepared breakfast over the course of three days. A product selection curated by Imma and used in the virtual Harajuku apartment is also available to be purchased online.

Brands are increasingly blurring the lines between the physical and virtual to create innovative window displays. For more, discover how retail is becoming a phygital playground.

Brooklyn – The retailer’s new facility, open at the Industry City campus, will fulfil grocery delivery orders in Brooklyn.

Marking the first permanent online-only store to open in Sunset Park, the site is closed to walk-in visitors, but appeals to the growing demand for online grocery shopping. The facility, created by Amazon and Whole Foods Market, is designed to better serve the Brooklyn community through increased efficiency, dedicated staff teams and exclusive discounts.

‘This new delivery-only retail model will allow Whole Foods Market to serve even more customers and continue to meet the growing demand for grocery delivery,’ Amazon wrote in an announcement about the store opening. As shoppers continue to embrace the convenience of online ordering, retailers are responding to the lack of demand for walk-in services, and instead providing efficient fulfilment centres.

As the trend for Flagship Fulfilment evolves amid the rise of e-commerce and the ongoing impact of Covid-19, it is changing grocery retail.

The pandemic has prompted increased adoption of location services, according to research by WARC.

The global rate of location-sharing opt-in on mobile apps increased by 39% between February and June 2020. The data also indicates that consumers in Brazil, Greece and Portugal using retail, utilities and travel apps are most likely to opt in to location-sharing. Further analysis of the study suggests that while home location-based audiences represent an opportunity for brands, consumers remain hesitant about visiting public places and so the current value of location-tracking is limited.

Ongoing concerns about data privacy are likely to prevail among consumers, but as we identify in our Data Commerce Market, a new digital economy is emerging that has the potential to benefit both individuals and their local community.