Retail

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

Need to Know
22 : 05 : 20

By Abi Buller and Savannah Scott

Mediamatic’s socially-distant dining, On Running steps into fashion with trainers apt for a pandemic, and Chinese consumers opt for local buys.

In today's news:

Mediamatic’s isolation-friendly dinner dates

On Running’s performance fashion for holistic living

A fitness app for apocalypse survival

Stat: Chinese consumers embrace local shopping

Mediamatic’s isolation-friendly dinner dates

‘Serres Séparées’ photographed by Willem Velthoven for Mediamatic, Amsterdam

Amsterdam – Mediamatic has launched an isolation-friendly dining experience on the waterfront near Amsterdam central station.

Designed to abide by social distancing measures, the concept brings together locally-sourced food and crafted Amsterdam brew. Allowing couples to experience a romantic dining experience in a private and protective cabin, the ‘Serres Séparées’ enables both a safe social setting and an intimate opportunity for connection.

As many hospitality spaces plan for their future of service during and after Covid-19, new initiatives are emerging to enable private socialising in outdoor and public settings.

In order to future-proof guest experiences, restaurateurs and hoteliers are being challenged to redesign communal spaces for optimum health and safety. For more, read our opinion piece on the future of hotel design.

On Running’s performance fashion for holistic living

Cloudnova by On Running, Zurich

Zurich – On Running has released a fashion-forward trainer to fit our inter-Covid way of living.

The brand’s first ‘fashion’ trainer, Cloudnova, has been released at a time when the global crisis is accelerating the trends it taps into. In fact, the brand has even pushed forward the release date of the shoe to suit the current landscape and merging of fashion, performance and outdoor living.

‘Performance used to borrow from fashion. Now it’s been the other way around, and we see that in how outdoor gear has been adopted by fashion brands and how almost every brand now has sneakers, because it’s driven by a generation who is blurring the boundaries between work, home, sports, and play,’ explains co-founder David Allemann.

Many affluent consumers are increasingly viewing nature as a form of luxury. Particularly as the lifestyle sector continues to be impacted by Covid-19, consumers will be looking for garments that help them enjoy the Elevated Outdoors.

A fitness app for apocalypse survival

London – Apocalypse Survival Training is a new app that allows users to elevate their usual fitness regimes with the exhilaration of working out in an apocalypse.

Created to add more excitement to people’s home-based workouts, the audio fitness adventure app combines gamification and fitness. Allowing users to function as a main character – a super sleeper agent – the narrative goal is to end an alien invasion of a parallel reality in London. With the story taking place periodically over three types of workout: running, bodyweight circuits and yoga/stretch, the experience is intended to offer functional escapism.

‘When we make exercise escapist by engaging people mentally and emotionally as well as physically, we see much better and long term physical and mental health outcomes,’ explains Adele Anderson, founder of Apocalypse Survival Training.

With an increasing number of consumers engaging in At-home Fitness, particularly during the lockdown period, people are looking for inventive and engaging ways of staying active.

Apocalypse Survival Training, London

Stat: Chinese consumers embrace local shopping

Charismatic China by TryFu

According to research by Kantar, Chinese consumers are now more in favour of products that have been produced locally than they were before the pandemic.

The study found that localism as a mainstream movement in retail was the most championed by Chinese customers – with 87% expressing this view. Meanwhile, 81% of people in Italy share this view, followed by 76% in South Korea and 73% in Spain.

Already a key factor in sustainability practices, the choice of buying local is also in line with many consumer concerns about the safety risks associated with imported products.

As we explore in our recent opinion piece, brands in China are increasingly focusing on championing future-facing and local sustainability practices.

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 : E-commerce : Social Media

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

Tribes : Consumers

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

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Retail

Need to Know 22 : 05 : 20

In today's news:

Mediamatic’s isolation-friendly dinner dates

On Running’s performance fashion for holistic living

A fitness app for apocalypse survival

Stat: Chinese consumers embrace local shopping

Most Recent

Squadded recreates the mall effect online:

Decentralised Care:

The post-Covid consumer: hedonistic or minimalist?:

Emerging Youth: Australia:

Inside the social media pantries of tomorrow:

Digital drugs will revolutionise media:

The premium spirits defying world borders:

A home-sharing revolution for a post-Covid world:

Makers Market:

We must rethink hotel design for a brave new world:

Asian Virtual Kitchens Market:

Why Generation Z are creating activist-tainment:

Pandemic-proof Properties:

Urban Wellness Market:

Flat Age Beauty Market:

Squadded recreates the mall effect online:

Makers Market:

Flagship Fulfilment:

Digital Architects:

Feedback Frontiers:

Webinar: Covid-19 Future Planning:

Covid-19 Contingency Planning:

Discovery Grocers:

Eco-ambitious Retail:

Consumer Surveillance Market:

How circular retail could create new cashless economies:

SMS is changing the face of customer service:

Experiential luxury malls:

Piercing Pioneers:

DTC Directories:

Generation Z Stores:

Diving into Lush’s phygital experiments:

Accessible Retail Market:

Exploring future scenarios powered by 5G:

Obsess is upending the e-commerce interface:

Circular store design:

Vegan Home Market:

The frictionless future of grocery retail:

The anti-choice homeware movement:

Home Cleaning Market:

Secondary Waste Retail:

Mirrored Realms:

Re-usable Packaging Market:

Are deep fakes the future of personalised advertising?:

Peer Platforms:

Streamlining phygital retail:

Eco-logistics:

How mobility is transforming last-mile delivery:

Community Commerce:

China E-commerce Market:

African E-commerce Market:

Is retailtainment the future of e-commerce?:

Prescription Supermarkets:

Physical retail is the key to conscious consumption:

Virtual sonic worlds are the next branded experiences:

Are head office staff the new retail influencers?:

How Coal Drops Yard captures a sense of place:

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

The studios making virtual retail a reality:

Department Store Disruptors:

Why flagship stores are the arcades of the future:

Furniture as a Service:

Rob Wood on why music is essential to brand experiences:

Shoppable Social:

Inspiration per square foot:

Subconscious Commerce:

How malls can survive into the future:

Convenience Stores 2.0:

Data ID Stores:

Is there such a thing as a brandless brand?:

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

Are digital payments luring us into debt?:

Need to Know
22 : 05 : 20