Retail

From groceries to placemaking, a wide-ranging exploration of the retail industry

Trends : Micro Trends

Grocery AI-sles

By Josh Walker and Rachael Stott 18 : 12 : 2017 Retail : Digital : Technology

With 44% of jobs in the UK retail sector expected to be at risk of automation by the early 2030s, according to PwC, grocery brands are increasingly considering the potential of robots to optimise their services.

Inter-Covid Roadmap 2021:

With the Covid-19 vaccine rollout offering a chance to rebuild our societies and economies, a host of new opportunities await brands and...

Covid-19 : Society : Health

The Urgent Company accelerates sustainability:

Industrialised food systems are broken. Paul Kollesoff, co-founder of The Urgent Company, explains how a more intelligent CPG eco-system...

Food : Sustainability : Drink

China Green Retail Market:

Propelled by the impact of the pandemic and shifting mindsets of Millennial and Gen Z consumers, China’s tone is changing when it comes...

Retail : China : Sustainability

Micro-mmunity Retail:

Retail brands are swapping flagship and big-box store formats for downscaled neighbourhood shopfronts with services curated to the needs...

Retail : Customer Experience : Local

Augmenting Automotive Retail:

In the pandemic age, luxury car retail is driving in a new direction, turning to virtual experiences and anti-sales showrooms to win...

Luxury : Retail : Automotive

The hyper-local services levelling up logistics:

From ride-sharing retail to community collection points, third-party services are elevating, expediting and securing the delivery of...

Retail : E-commerce : Logistics

Moral Commerce:

In the wake of Black Lives Matter, consumers are seeking brand allies and making shopping decisions informed by their socio-political...

Retail : Finance : Sustainability

Dematerialising fashion:

Marjorie Hernandez de Vogelsteller, co-founder of The Dematerialised, examines the future of clothing and the potential for digital...

Fashion : Retail : Digital Fashion

Pandemic Pop-ups:

Agile, adaptable and short-term shop concepts are emerging as mass store closures force landlords and retailers to rethink the role of...

Retail : Pop-ups : Bricks-and-mortar

Four ways social media is reshaping shopping:

Social networks and gaming environments are opening up as shopping platforms, prompting retailers to take their strategies into new,...

Retail : Ecommerce : Online Retail

MetaFactory creates internet-owned brands:

Drew Harding and Hammad Jutt, co-founders of MetaFactory, discuss how cryptoculture and decentralised brand economies are redefining retail.

Retail : Cryptocurrency : Fashion

Luxtainment:

As spending moves online, luxury brands are exploring new content marketing opportunities that combine entertainment with expertise and...

Luxury : Retail : Entertainment

Second-hand Brands:

Brands are taking back control of their second-hand stock and launching dedicated platforms and spaces to sell pre-owned products.

Retail : Resale : Fashion

Repurposed Retail Market:

As Covid-19 hits real estate, vacant department stores, shopping malls and their car parks are being given a new lease of life.

Retail : Architecture : Fulfilment

The digital evolution of neighbourhood stores:

With Covid-19 bolstering spending in local stores, new platforms are emerging that digitise independent retailers and boost access for...

Retail : Technology : Food

How The Yes is re-imagining algorithmic retail:

Julie Bornstein, co-founder and CEO of The Yes, explains her vision for intelligent e-commerce and the importance of curated online...

Retail : Media And Entertainment : Fashion

Deep Ownership:

New platforms are emerging in which users are not only part of their growth and development but have an active role – and control – as...

Cryptocurrency : Fashion : E-commerce

Off-price Retail Strategies:

To counteract the surplus stock resulting from Covid-19 closures and slower spending, brands are innovating with new off-price retail...

Retail : Pricing : Luxury

Deadstock Designers:

As the pandemic leaves fashion brands with a glut of unsold apparel, designers are shifting focus to dead stock and agile new waste...

Fashion : Retail : Design

DIY Dressing Market:

With sustainability increasingly front of mind, consumers are getting creative with their clothing and opting for DIY fashion over new...

Fashion

Inclusive exclusivity is the new retail experience:

With retail experiences limited by the pandemic, brands are driving desire by creating secretive spaces for those in the know.

Retail : Fashion : Marketing

Agile Artisans:

Revealing a more resilient business model, ethical fashion and homeware brands are supporting their artisan suppliers during the...

Fashion : Homeware : Retail

Epidemic Retail Futures:

How will retailers in 2025 cater for future viral outbreaks and enable consumers to move effortlessly in and out of lockdown periods?

Inter-covid : Scenario : Retail

Studio Stores:

Faced with declining footfall and fallout from coronavirus, retailers are reclaiming their stores as multimedia hubs for content creation.

Retail : Media : E-commerce

Four ways retail is becoming a phygital playground:

Innovative applications of established technologies are creating multi-layered, mixed-reality retail experiences that merge digital and...

Retail : Phygital : Fashion

Squadded recreates the mall effect online:

Elysa Kahn, co-founder of Squadded, highlights the potential for the new social e-commerce solution and the difference between shopping...

Retail : Fashion : E-commerce

Makers Market:

As craft culture and the hobby renaissance build momentum, retail opportunities abound for a wave of consumer businesses founded by makers.

DIY : Retail : Craft

Flagship Fulfilment:

As consumers continue to value speed, retail brands are doubling down on the ways supply chains, logistics and fulfilment can enhance...

Retail : Technology : Logistics

Digital Architects:

A new community of consumers are curating fresh digital eco-systems to create new opportunities to engage with brands in a meaningful way.

Tribes : Consumers : Communities

Feedback Frontiers:

As communications with consumers become more circular and conversational, brands are treating every micro-interaction as a valuable...

Retail : E-commerce : Digital

Webinar: Covid-19 Future Planning:

A 30-minute webinar examining the pandemic’s impact across key sectors, and the steps to future-proof strategies for your organisation...

Society : Covid-19 : Retail

Covid-19 Contingency Planning:

Learn the immediate impacts of Covid-19 across key sectors, and discover best-in-class case studies and future considerations for your...

Covid-19 : Society : Health

Discovery Grocers:

Online grocers are putting personalisation at the heart of their offering, from curated shopping baskets to SMS advisers.

Retail : Food : Technology

Eco-ambitious Retail:

Brands are self-imposing sustainability goals on their businesses that – while initially financially impactful – validate them as...

Retail : Sustainability : Brand 2020

Consumer Surveillance Market:

Originally created as a means for retailers to generate targeted ads, consumer surveillance has evolved into a lucrative eco-system to...

Retail : Data : Surveillance

How circular retail could create new cashless economies:

Fashion futurist and professor Karinna Nobbs proposes that digital retail experiences can be exchanged for unwanted physical products.

Retail : Sustainability : Circular Economy

SMS is changing the face of customer service:

Brands and retailers are using SMS to offer their expertise as a personal service rather than to simply encourage customers to buy more...

Retail : Customer Service : Technology

Experiential luxury malls:

Shedding their teen hangout reputation, retail centres are being given an experiential upgrade as operators set their sights on affluent...

Luxury : Retail : Architecture

Piercing Pioneers:

Brands are modernising the coming-of-age ritual of piercing for a new generation of teenagers who are keen to experiment with their...

Retail : Youth : DTC

DTC Directories:

A crop of third-party platforms are offering new ways to filter through the growing number of digital and direct-to-consumer brands.

Retail : DTC : Shopping

Generation Z Stores:

A youth boom is set to shake up bricks-and-mortar shopping, so retailers must adapt their strategies to meet the unique preferences of...

Retail : Generation Z : Shopping

Diving into Lush’s phygital experiments:

Charlotte Nisbet talks about the brand’s phygital retail experiments, from packaging-free stores and recyclable shop fit-outs to machine...

Retail : Beauty : Technology

Accessible Retail Market:

Retailers are investing in the accessibility of their physical and digital channels to support the needs of disabled and neurodiverse...

Retail : Inclusivity : Implicit Inclusivity

Exploring future scenarios powered by 5G:

As we enter a new decade, LS:N Global speculates about the impact and transformative use cases of 5G across sectors including retail,...

Technology : 5G : Far Futures

Obsess is upending the e-commerce interface:

Neha Singh, founder and CEO of experiential e-commerce platform Obsess, on the power of discovery to shape the future of retail.

Retail : Youth : Technology

Circular store design:

Consumers’ increasing interest in sustainable living is reflected in new retail destinations, where materials, design details and...

Retail : Sustainability : Design

Vegan Home Market:

Consumers are turning to animal-free homewares and services to ensure every aspect of their plant-based lifestyles are aligned with...

Retail : Sustainability : Vegan

The frictionless future of grocery retail:

In the wake of Amazon Go, grocery retailers are exploring how in-store technology can streamline the purchasing process.

Retail : Supermarkets : Technology

The anti-choice homeware movement:

Overwhelmed by choice, Millennials are turning to brands that offer a streamlined, limited approach to homeware shopping.

Retail : Sustainability : Homeware

Home Cleaning Market:

With the rise of glossy domestic influencers and design-led, eco-friendly start-ups, the mindful act of cleaning has never been more...

Cleaning : Health : Wellness

Secondary Waste Retail:

New retail systems are professionalising the waste sector, transforming it into a consumer-facing currency and future new economy.

Retail : Fashion : Sustainability

Mirrored Realms:

As reality becomes more programmable, a visual aesthetic is being defined that reflects the artificiality of the virtual world alongside...

Programmable Realities : Immaterial Fashion : Virtual

Re-usable Packaging Market:

Growing concern about the environmental impact of plastic packaging is driving innovations in re-usable and refill concepts among...

Retail : Packaging : Sustainability

Are deep fakes the future of personalised advertising?:

AI is enabling a new form of hyper-personal influencer marketing. MSc Strategic Fashion Management graduates Helen Wang and Joanna...

Advertising : Retail : AI

Peer Platforms:

A trust deficit between shoppers and brands is driving the rise of community-led platforms where purchasing tips and style advice are...

Retail : E-commerce : Peer To Peer

Streamlining phygital retail:

Brian Bolke, founder of The Conservatory, on this tech-enabled store’s strategy to assimilate the changing retail landscape.

Retail : Luxury : Digital

Eco-logistics:

In a bid to reduce the growing environmental impact of e-commerce, retailers are rethinking their logistics and developing new...

Packaging : Sustainability : Retail

How mobility is transforming last-mile delivery:

Autonomous driving technology promises to have a transformative impact on how we receive our purchases.

Retail : Delivery : Automotive

Community Commerce:

A new wave of decentralised retail concepts are transforming e-commerce as consumers look for alternative ways to access and exchange...

Retail : Media : Entertainment

China E-commerce Market:

With retail sales set to surpass those in the US in 2019, China is now the largest e-commerce market in the world and is at the...

Retail : China : E-commerce

African E-commerce Market:

Increased internet access and a booming youth population are driving the continent’s unique and burgeoning online retail market,...

E-Commerce : Africa : Retail

Is retailtainment the future of e-commerce?:

NTWRK is shaking up retail with its pop culture-powered video commerce app. Its CEO, Aaron Levant, discusses why hyper-urgency is the...

Retail : E-commerce : Media

Prescription Supermarkets:

Grocery retailers are assuming a new role as dietary advisers, educating consumers and providing personalised health and nutrition...

Retail : Healthcare : Nutrition

Physical retail is the key to conscious consumption:

Slow retail expert Rebekah Matheny on how physical stores need to nurture consumer relationships to create a socially sustainable retail...

Retail . : Sustainability : Retail

Virtual sonic worlds are the next branded experiences:

The Spatial Sound Institute is a research centre created by technology platform and artistic collective 4DSOUND. John Connell,...

Media : Digital : Retail

Are head office staff the new retail influencers?:

To help build consumer trust and product authenticity, brands are starting to focus more on insider advocates than external influencers.

Retail : Fashion : Social Media

How Coal Drops Yard captures a sense of place:

Chris Chapman, head of art at Droga5 London, on creating the visual identity for Coal Drops Yard, a new retail concept in London’s...

Retail : Placemaking : Branding

How the world’s largest online shopping mall is shaping our lives:

At Dutch Design Week 2018, designers from Design Academy Eindhoven hosted Geo-Design, an exhibition that examined the growth of Chinese...

Retail : E-commerce : Dutch Design Week

The studios making virtual retail a reality:

As mixed-reality commerce gathers pace, a growing community of creative digital studios are facilitating the transition from the...

Retail : VR : Digital Culture

Department Store Disruptors:

As stores with outdated value propositions continue to decline, new multi-brand retail formats are emerging that bridge the gap between...

Retail : E-commerce : Digital

Why flagship stores are the arcades of the future:

Gaming is creating a new breed of bold retail spaces that transcend language barriers, says Gilles Boissele, creative partner at UNIT9.

Retail : Fashion : Youth

Furniture as a Service:

With consumers less willing and less able to establish permanent homes, furniture brands are having to develop products and services...

Retail : Furniture : Hospitality

Rob Wood on why music is essential to brand experiences:

The creative director of Music Concierge explains how, by creating distinct audio identities for brands and retailers, music and...

Retail : Leisure : Hospitality

Shoppable Social:

Social commerce continues to grow as new technologies and in-platform features transform the way consumers buy and interact with products.

Retail : Socia Media : Digital

Inspiration per square foot:

The success of bricks-and-mortar retail is no longer determined by sales per square foot but the benefits of creating inspirational...

Storefront Salvation : Retail

Subconscious Commerce:

With Internet of Things technology creating newly immersive brand touchpoints and data analytics allowing businesses to anticipate every...

Retail : Automation : Technology

How malls can survive into the future:

The malls of the future will cater for specific audiences, appeal to a wide spectrum of ages and join the dots between e-commerce and...

Retail : Placemaking : Mall

Convenience Stores 2.0:

Corner stores are moving away from sugary snacks to offer fresh, organic and vegan alternatives, accessible to all 24/7.

Convenience : Retail : Vegan

Data ID Stores:

Future-facing bricks-and-mortar brands are personalising the store experience through the use of consumer data profiles.

Retail : Fashion : Food And Drink

Is there such a thing as a brandless brand?:

While there are clear imperatives for debranding, businesses still need to think of it as a design exercise.

Branding : Packaging : Retail

Why peer-to-peer lending is the future of interiors:

Harth co-founder Ed Padmore explains how the furniture sharing platform will benefit both designers and owners.

Hospitality : Retail : Furniture

Are digital payments luring us into debt?:

Retailers are increasingly offering point-of-sale loans to pay for non-essential goods.

Retail : Finance : Apparel

Office Stores:

Through new technological and physical touchpoints, FMCG brands are exploring the workplace as a profitable retail opportunity.

Retail : Convenience : Co-working

Why retailers and marketers need to take VR seriously:

Anita Fontaine and Geoffrey Lillemon, creative directors of Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam's Department of New Realities, blend speculative...

Retail : Technology : VR

Responsive Wayfinding:

Retailers are harnessing digital tools to bring the speed and convenience of navigating an online store to the physical...

Storefront Salvation : Retail : Placemaking

How can supermarkets cut down on plastic waste?:

The strategies food and drink retailers can use to reduce their reliance on the material.

Retail : Food And Drink : Packaging

Accessible Premium:

From taking the idea of the dollar store online to the rejection of big brands, retailers are exploring how they can democratise...

Retail : Digital : The American Middle

Storefront Salvation:

Fuelled by an understanding that saving the store relies on a combination of physical touchpoints and digital technology, retailers...

Retail : E-commerce : Digital

How the retail landscape will change in 2019:

With The Future Laboratory hosting its Retail Futures Forum on 3 May, we preview some of the key themes to be unveiled.

Retail : Technology : E-commerce

Bundled Buys:

From helping consumers navigate a seasonless fashion model to combating the resale market, luxury fashion brands are exploring the...

Luxury : Apparel : Retail

Micro-retail:

With convenience a key priority for consumers, brands are exploring the potential of dynamic selling spaces in non-traditional...

Retail : Digital : Technology

Voice Retail Market:

As voice-enabled devices continue to enter our homes, and consumers become increasingly comfortable with the idea of talking to...

Retail : Technology : Digital

Loyalty Market:

As consumers become less loyal, brands are looking to personalisation, cryptocurrencies and mobile-based initiatives in an effort to...

Retail : Digital : Technology

Should we start taking QR codes seriously?:

Once consigned to internet history, the iconic squares are finally ready for their revival.

Packaging : Retail : Advertising

Pricing Strategies: Part 1:

From price point activism to discounts based on demand, companies are embracing a more dynamic approach to pricing as a means of...

Retail : Wellness : Drink

Click and Connect:

With 40% of global shoppers now preferring to purchase clothing and footwear online, brands are exploring new ways to push the buying...

Retail : Apparel : Fashion

Pricing Strategies: Part 2:

Through a combination of data-collection and changing consumer demand, artificial intelligence is bringing new value to the idea of...

Retail : Fashion : Food

Live-stream Market:

From its potential as a tool to promote brand transparency to the integration of Buy Now buttons, brands are tapping into the lucrative...

Retail : Digital : Technology

How to future-proof the physical store:

Natalie Berg, retail analyst and founder of NBK Retail, on why stores should be seen as assets rather than liabilities.

Retail : E-commerce : Phygital

Digital Store Fronts:

The future of online shopping is being shaped by visual-first digital experiences.

Retail : Youth : Digital

Grocery AI-sles:

With 44% of jobs in the UK retail sector expected to be at risk of automation by the early 2030s, according to PwC, grocery brands are...

Retail : Digital : Technology

Augmented Retail:

As augmented and virtual reality continues to grow towards an expected market value of £80.3bn ($108bn, €91.3bn) by 2021, brands are...

Retail : Digital : Fashion

Liyia Wu on the Chinese live-stream retail revolution:

The ShopShops founder discusses how her platform offers a revelatory shopping experience that cannot be replicated by e-commerce.

Retail : Digital : Media

Ryan Elder on the power of distance in sensory marketing:

The associate professor of marketing at Brigham Young University reveals how the perceived distance of a sensory experience can impact...

Retail : Advertising : Marketing

Chinese Duty-free Retail Market:

Chinese tourists’ passion for duty-free shopping is making Asia-Pacific the engine of growth for the travel-retail sector.

Retail : Travel : Luxury

The future of airport retail is hyper-personalisation:

With vast amounts of passenger data tied up in boarding passes, let’s use it to transform the airport retail experience, says Lee...

Airport Retail : Duty Free : Customer Data

Related to Retail

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Stat: Digital innovation drives China’s e-commerce boom

According to research by eMarketer, by the end of 2021 over half (52%) of retail sales in China will be made online, the first country to reach this milestone.

Technology : Retail : Ecommerce

News

Ocado’s sustainable aisle spotlights B Corp brands

The pureplay grocer has launched a dedicated aisle for B Corp-certified suppliers that aims to give its customers greener and more sustainable choices.

Retail : Sustainability : Society

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A hygienic interface for the touchscreens of tomorrow

Innovation agency Special Projects has created an algorithmic concept that dramatically reduces our contact with public self-checkouts.

Retail : Technology : Health And Wellness

News

Amazon’s Build It democratises product development

The online retailer’s latest crowdfunding project, Build It, encourages consumers to vote on its next Alexa-enabled product.

Technology : Retail : Amazon Alexa

News

Stat: Delivery is evolving rapidly across India

Demand for food and drink delivery is shifting across India, according to food-ordering platform Swiggy’s 2020 StatEATstics report.

Retail : Food : Drink

Big Ideas

Five pioneers promoting cause-driven retail

In 2021, retail is about much more than acquisition and profit – for these five innovators, it’s a chance to make a positive difference for people and the planet.

Retail : Society : Sustainability

News

Stat: Australia is ready for its e-commerce boom

The impact of Covid-19 will cause the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of e-commerce sales in Australia to 10.3% between 2020 and 2024, according to new figures from GlobalData.

Retail : Ecommerce : Online Shopping

News

Facebook boosts digital discovery for small businesses

The social media platform has launched an initiative titled Good Ideas Deserved to be Found to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) during the inter-Covid period.

Technology : Retail : Online Shopping

News

Olive makes e-commerce more sustainable

Sustainable shopping start-up Olive consolidates multiple online purchases into a single weekly delivery with reusable packaging.

Retail : Delivery : Sustainability

News

Stat: Apps present purchasing barriers for shoppers

The requirement to instal retail apps for transactions often represents a pain point for consumers, with many choosing to forego purchases altogether.

Stat : App : Mobile

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Stat: Purpose-driven brands are most memorable among consumers

Companies who show a strong sense of purpose are most likely to have a memorable impact on consumers, with people increasingly making purchases that align with their values.

Branding : Marketing : Purpose

Markets

Adaptive Fashion Market

Fashion brands are addressing the sector’s ableist design history, tackling representation, wearability and material innovation for a more inclusive future.

Fashion : Retail : Inclusivity

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Aldi’s emotive film highlights child food poverty

Supermarket Aldi has released a short film, Hunger Monster, which highlights the negative effect of food poverty in order to garner support for its Child Food Poverty Taskforce.

Advertising : Food : Civic Brands

News

Vans becomes a broadcaster for local communities

The footwear brand has launched Channel 66, a digital live-stream designed to engage with its consumers through community-first broadcasting.

Media : Shoes : Fashion

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Ikea’s price-conscious gaming furniture

Ikea's first range of affordable PC gaming furniture makes it easier for consumers to have a professional set-up at home.

Retail : Gaming : Technology

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