London – Customers will be able to view items of clothing in augmented reality before making a purchase.

Collaborating with augmented reality firm Beem, ASOS has launched the Virtual Catwalk trial on 100 new-in ASOS Design products. Customers can use the technology by pointing their smartphone camera at any flat surface and clicking the AR button on a product within the ASOS app. They will then be able to view models wearing the item in their real-life environment.

The test is part of ASOS’s continuing experimentation with technology. Recently, the retailer introduced an AI-driven Fit Assistant to help customers with their Digital Fit. ASOS is also trialling AR that will enable people to view products on differently sized models. ‘By allowing consumers to bring mobile shopping into their own physical space, we can create a more intimate buying experience,’ says Janosch Amstutz, CEO at Beem.

ASOS is demonstrating how e-commerce brands can use Augmented Retail to enhance the try-before-you-buy experience.

Chicago – Nike took home the Cannes Lions Industry Craft Grand Prix for transforming a former church into a sports centre.

In 2018, the brand converted the Church of the Epiphany in Chicago into a cultural hub for basketball, inspiration and a summer training programme in order to provide a safe space for youth to play and train off the streets.

The former church was transformed with a full basketball court, a gym and locker room for use by local schools. According to Trevor Robinson, founder of Quiet Storm, the agency awarded for the project, the design purposely eschewed heavy branding. ‘It became a haven for these kids – if you grow up in a tough area, to find a place where you can escape the world and be kids for a moment – this is an amazing thing for Nike to have done,’ he explains.

As young people continue to re-evaluate the values of religion, brands such as Nike are stepping in to transform religious spaces into community-driven hubs.

While dating apps such as Tinder and Bumble tend to target outgoing, single Millennials, a recent study by Mintel has found that it’s older consumers who are taking these apps more seriously. The report found that 67% of dating platform users aged 45–64 have met a date in person, compared with just 56% of users aged 18–24.

Although young people are more likely to use online dating – with more than four in 10 (44%) of British Generation Z consumers using these platforms – these consumers aren’t necessarily swiping to find love. According to Mintel, many are simply enjoying the gamified aspects and sense of exploration, without intending to take things further.

With so many young singletons swapping ‘obligaswiping’ for Insta-dating, dating platforms have an opportunity to create social spaces for Generation X and Baby Boomer consumers who are more open to human connection.