Future Retail Newsletter

Brands are connecting with consumers through retro games, 3D eye-tracking gives insights on shopping patterns, and virtual influencers could be the future of luxury retail.

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RETAIL // What To Know About The Holiday Shopping Season This year shoppers won’t be choosing between the physical and digital – they want the best of both worlds. mytotalretail.com nbsp; RETAIL // Big-Box Retailers Compete To Win A Greater Share Of Holiday Toy Sales Retailers like Target and Walmart are creating more branded sections in-store that highlight exclusive toys and are creating more interactive shopping experiences. modernretail.co RETAIL // H-E-B Is Top Retailer For Customer Experience Excellence San Antonio-based grocer H-E-B finished second to the Navy Federal Credit Union in a ranking of the top 10 U.S. brands and was the top retailer. storebrands.com nbsp; CONSUMER INSIGHTS // Why Retro Games are Winning Over Chinese Consumers From Chanel’s retro arcade pop-up to Louis Vuitton’s 16-bit video game, luxury brands have been reviving old school games to reconnect with today’s generation of consumers. Why does this strategy work so well in China? luxurysociety.com CONSUMER INSIGHTS // Smartphones Are Most Popular Devices For Online Shopping Less than a third of shoppers plan to use a desktop or laptop for shopping, while just 16% will browse on a tablet. mobilemarketer.com nbsp; TECH // Are Virtual Influencers the Future of Luxury Retail? It’s too early to acknowledge the success of virtual influencers, but at the very least they will pressure real influencers to offer better quality content. jingdaily.com TECH // When 3D Eye Tracking Meets The Retail Industry 3D eye tracking software can track things like how long it took you to focus on a specific product, the number of times you looked at it, how long you spent gazing at an item for the first time or how long you spent gazing at an item on average. rethink.industries nbsp; DESIGN // The Magic of Retail At Warner Bros. Studio Tour London These additions are more than just gift shops and cafés, they are extensions of the visitor experience that incorporate eye-catching design and interactive technology. mugglenet.com DESIGN // Designing In The Age Of Instagram Today, many architects design with a building’s final images in mind. They create their work according to how the building will look on a screen. Most clients are even asking specifically for Instagrammable architecture. forbes.com nbsp; BRAND HIGHLIGHT // First Look: Ulta Beauty’s New Virtual Store Tour Ulta is tapping into tech to provide an omnichannel experience that brings shopping in its brick and mortar stores to the online space. Get a first look at how Ulta is bringing the physical store to life digitally. risnews.com BRAND HIGHLIGHT // The Vitamin Shoppe Opens First Of 5 Planned Experiential Stores The move comes after the nutritional product retailer had introduced a subscription model and was at risk of filing for bankruptcy due to declining sales and traffic. retaildive.com nbsp; BRAND HIGHLIGHT // Kohl’s Teams With Facebook & Instagram To Update Its Beauty Department Kohl’s is refreshing its beauty department and has solicited Facebook and Instagram to help identify emerging and digitally native brands to bring in. glossy.co OUTFORM // Get More Innovation News Check out previous editions of the Future Retail Newsletter for even more on tech, innovation, design, and retail. outform.com nbsp; OUTFORM // How Are We Doing? Take Our Survey We’d love to know what you think of Outform’s Future Retail Newsletter. It only takes 5 minutes and will help us improve our content to fit your interests better. outform.typeform.com