The metaverse is ascendant. The term, generated in science fiction and frequently applied to gaming platforms is trending in the commercial marketplace. Google searches for the buzzword have increased 100 percent since March 2021. The CEOs of Microsoft and Facebook in recent months have spoken in detail about their companies' commitment to its development. If the future metaverse were a straight-line iteration of the game-based worlds we currently observe in Fortnite, Roblox, or Animal Crossing, there would be no need for this article. But the …
Technology
Why Legacy Retailers Are Moving to TikTok and Other Video Tools
Email marketing is dead. A full inbox causes stress and anxiety, and it doesn’t facilitate purchasing. This is especially true among next-gens, who prefer almost any other communication tool to inbox-centric dialogue. A 2020 study from consulting firm Creative Strategies found that there’s a generational gap in the platforms that respondents use for work. Those 30 and older use email among their top collaboration tools, while the under 30 crowd uses Google Docs most often for collaboration, closely followed by Zoom and iMessage. Legacy …
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Shoppable Livestreams Break Through
The success of Chinese livestream shopping has been well documented since it exploded early in the pandemic, and what looked like a stop-gap solution has developed into an established retail channel. Livestreaming was a straightforward evolution in the well-developed Chinese social-retail ecosystem dominated by well-compensated KOLs (key opinion leaders) who transitioned from posting on WeChat or Weibo to livestreaming on Douyin, broadcast from the empty stores and malls during the pandemic shutdowns. By contrast, the pandemic spurred a …
Luxury Brands Try On Blockchain
Blockchain has taken the financial world by storm over the past decade. The growing popularity of bitcoin and the proliferation of other cryptocurrencies has been the most visible piece of this transformation. Blockchain technology has many potential uses beyond cryptocurrency, though. Earlier this year, three of the most prominent names in luxury goods (LVMH, Prada Group, and Richemont's Cartier brand) announced a partnership to use blockchain to give customers a secure way to learn more about the items they are buying. Most …
Advertisers Bid Farewell to Cookies
The free flow of consumer data that has fed the digital advertising ecosystem has slowed, and will soon be a trickle. As the iOS 14.5 update began downloading into iPhones in late April, Apple, by switching its tracking default from opt-out to opt-in made advertisers dreaded worst-case scenario a reality. Now iPhone users, who are generally considered to be the more affluent consumer cohort, must actively grant permission for any app to track their activity across other companies' apps and websites. Absent this authorization, the operating …
High Tech Elevates Activewear
After a year that saw more than a few people sapped of their motivation, the warm weather of spring is inspiring many of us to get up and get active again. Inevitably, consumers will mark the occasion with some new workout wear. Of course, many school and work-from-home outfits featured activewear pieces, making it safe to say the athleticwear trend will remain strong for some time. Activewear Trending That's why those in the activewear market should take note of the latest trends and performance technologies that are offered in consumers' …
Why Outfits Matter
Nice outfit! Thanks, an algorithm styled it for me. Controversial? Maybe. If you ask a fashion editor (like I was for most of my career) it might all sound a bit suspect. Not to mention worrying. The same might be said for brand merchandisers and online content creators. They’d be forgiven for asking you and your outfit styling algorithms to politely step aside from their carefully crafted on-brand creations. How do you quantify creativity after all? And what about style? But that’s just it: when it comes to the power of AI and automated …
Virtual Fashion Is More Than Fun and Games
We have documented the evolution of the digital fashion movement here over the past year, and the early rumblings are becoming a roar. What may have been a fad is now an established a trend. Given the technological bent of the SXSW festival, it’s not surprising that virtual fashion is at the center of its fashion programming in 2021. If you consider SXSW the leading edge between the present and the near future, digital fashion is worth revisiting. Digital Fashion Is Now and Forever A series of SXSW talks presented by technologists, designers, …