trendwatching.com's (R)ETAIL (R)EVOLUTION

May 2012
trendwatching.com’s free Monthly Trend Briefing

(R)etail (R)evolution
etail is retail is etail

introduction
Exactly as predicted by e-gurus 15 years ago, e-commerce is hotter than Some obligatory stats:
ever. Whether in mature markets, where consumer spending is shifting
• US e-commerce sales will grow 62% by 2016, to USD 327 billion (Source:
online, or in growth markets where rapid urbanization and increasing Forrester, February 2012).
(mobile) internet penetration are unlocking new shopping habits, shoppers
• European e-commerce sales will grow by 78% by 2016, to USD 230 billion
are ‘e-commercing’ it up.
(Source: Forrester, February 2012).

Now, consumers’ current ‘online’ experiences are of course fundamentally • Brazilian e-commerce sales will grow 21.9% in 2012 to USD 18.7 billion
(Source: eMarketer, January 2012).
different to those during the early dotcom boom: e-commerce is no longer
just about choice, price, convenience, reviews and ratings, but also about • Chinese e-commerce sales were CNY 780 billion (USD 124 billion) in 2011,
an increase of 66% from 2010. E-commerce is expected to rise from 3% of
everything that consumers look for in any purchase: status, the right
consumption to 7% by 2015 (Source: IDC, March 2012).
product and a compelling experience.
• India’s e-commerce market is expected to grow to USD 70 billion by 2020,
from just USD 600 million in 2011 (Source: Technopak Advisors, February
2012).

• Indonesian e-commerce sales are forecast to grow from USD 120 million in
2010 to USD 650 million by 2015 (Source: Frost & Sullivan, February 2012).

w w w. t r e n d w a t c h i n g . c o m (R)etail (R)evolution 2

Contents
#1: E IS FOR For consumers who are constantly connected, buying online is simply
another option, rather than a wholly separate and distinct medium.
EVERYWHERE Featuring sub-trends like: SCREEN CULTURE, ALL THE WEB’S A
(SHOP) WINDOW and ON TO OFF / OFF TO ON.

#2: metail
Going ‘online’ now means immersing oneself in (and enthusiastically
adding to) a rich, personalized, social web.

Featuring sub-trends CASHING IN ON CURATION, SELL-YOUR-OWN
STORES, RETAIL INVESTMENT and AT YOUR SERVICE.

#3: E(asy)
All the barriers initially holding e-commerce back (e.g. correct fit, secure
payments, convenient deliveries) have been significantly reduced, if not

commerce totally removed.

Featuring sub-trends PERFECT FIT, DELIVERY DELIGHT, LIFE:
SUBSCRIBED and PERFECT PAYMENTS..

#4: oh that Consumer expectations at large are now set online. Endless choice,
instant gratification, total transparency, seamless collaboration, the list
wonderful web goes on…

Featuring sub-trends like NICHE RICHE, CROWD CLOUT, TOTAL
TRANSPARENCY, ETAIL-TAINMENT and EXCLUSIVE EXPERIENCES.


#1
E IS FOR
EVERYWHERE
For consumers who are constantly connected, buying
online is simply another option, rather than a wholly
separate and distinct medium.

For consumers, the very act of navigating to a website, locating
SCREEN CULTURE /
and then buying a specific product is giving way to a world where
(e)commerce is always just a click (or a point, tap, swipe) away. ALL THE WEB’S A (SHOP) WINDOW /

Indeed, e-commerce is rapidly being joined by ‘m-’ and ‘t-’ commerce on to off /
(via mobile, tablet and TV). Whatever the medium, consumers will use
off to on /
any and every available technology that helps them find and buy the
right product, at the right price, in a manner they enjoy.


screen We looked at the all-pervasive SCREEN
CULTURE in our 12 Crucial Consumer Trends
* Note: That’s it in this Trend Briefing for
m-commerce. Yes, the lines between mobile

culture
and online are getting more blurred by the day,
for 2012. Now, for (r)etailers, everything from
especially for mobile-first consumers in emerging
bus stops to TV programs can be an outlet, as markets, but to keep this manageable, for us and
consumers armed with smartphones or tablets you, we’ll save looking at all the m-commerce

embrace innovative new applications and developments for another Trend Briefing!

technologies to shop wherever and whenever*.

Tesco Homeplus: Glamour & L’Oreal:
QR code bus stop stores Fashion Taxis

QR code ‘shopping walls’ have popped up During New York’s Fashion Week, Glamour
everywhere since Tesco Homeplus’ pilot in Korea. magazine partnered with L’Oreal to enable
The company has now extended the initiative to passengers riding in selected cabs to buy
20 bus stops in Seoul, after becoming the number Lancôme products they saw featured on the in-
one shopping app in Korea with nearly one million cab TV screens.
downloads.


screen
culture
QR code virtual shops ‘Watch with eBay’ iPad app

Other online brands deploying the stores include eBay’s new iPad app includes ‘Watch With eBay’.
eBay in both London and New York, PayPal in Users enter the channel they are viewing to see
Singapore, luxury fashion retailer Net-a-Porter, relevant items available for purchase. For example,
and online grocery store Ocado. Traditional sports fans watching a game can buy memorabilia
retailers such as Toys”R”Us, Sears and Kmart, as relevant to the teams on screen.
well as manufacturers such as Procter & Gamble
have also deployed the ‘stores’. With their winning
combination of novelty, convenience and low
set-up costs, shopping walls could be one retail
innovation that runs and runs.


ALL THE WEB’S It’s not just offline that consumers are able
to seamlessly buy almost everything they
* As with many new technologies, some publishers won’t
be able to resist the temptation to blanket their photos and

A (SHOP)
videos with intrusive ads. You shouldn’t need us to tell you
encounter (see our February/March 2012 Trend
to only embed subtle, helpful and most importantly welcome
Briefing on POINT-KNOW-BUY). Online too, product links. And no, aggressive pop-ups will never
people can increasingly click, find, and then become ‘cool’.

WINDOW buy items they see in images or videos*.

IKEA & ThingLink:
Shoppable images Stipple: Image marketplace

IKEA have been using ThingLink technology to Stipple offers consumers the ability to discover,
embed product links into the images on their and then purchase objects in images.
Swedish blog, enabling customers to shop directly
from the photos.


ALL THE WEB’S
A (SHOP)
WINDOW Gucci: Shop the Spring/
Summer 2012 video
ClickBerry: Tag videos to
make them interactive

Until POINT-KNOW-BUY technologies can ClickBerry offers a number of solutions to make
be accurately deployed by people merely videos interactive, by enabling publishers to add
watching videos online, it’s up to brands to create clickable areas to their videos.
‘shoppable’ videos. Which is exactly what Gucci
have done to promote their Spring/Summer 2012
collection.


ON TO OFF While virtually all consumers are now online,
sometimes it makes sense for even the
Because after all, as we observed in RETAIL
RENAISSANCE, consumers will continue to
biggest online brands to branch out from crave ‘real world’ experiences for a long time to
their virtual roots and reach out to customers come.
in the real world too.

Amazon: Google: Rumored Dublin
Launching retail stores? store

In February 2012, industry blog Good E Reader Following their pop-up Chromebook store in
reported that Amazon would launch a retail store London in October 2011, a planning application
in its hometown of Seattle, to showcase its branded in January 2012 led to rumors that Google was
physical products such as the Kindle. planning to open a retail store in Dublin, Ireland.


ON TO OFF

Groupon: Available at
kiosks in Chicago Living Social: 918 F Street

Daily deal site Groupon launched interactive Groupon competitor Living Social opened 918 F
kiosks in Chicago in January 2012, enabling Street, a 28,000 square foot, six story building
people to buy deals for local businesses direct in Washington DC. The space is used to host the
from the machines. experiences that the site sells online, such as
cooking, painting and yoga classes.


ON TO OFF
Threadless & GAP:
Online retailer’s t-shirts StylistPick: Meet the
sold in stores curators at pop-up store

Threadless, the crowdsourced t-shirt site that Personalized online accessory subscription service
became one of the web’s most successful retailers, StylistPick opened a pop-up store in London’s
launched a collaboration with GAP in February Westfield shopping center in February 2012, where
2012. The partnership saw 25 t-shirt designs from fans could meet the celebrity curators behind their
the online brand available in selected GAP stores selections.
and online.


OFF TO ON Just as consumers enjoy finding previously
online-only brands offline, they also expect
the offline to be accessible online. Now,
while there’s obviously nothing new about
brands selling online, these recent OFF TO ON
innovations stand out:

Google Catalogs: App
Turnhills: offers digital versions of
Window shop online store catalogs store

Turnhills is a crowdsourced online photo directory Google’s Catalogs tablet app brings real world
of real store windows. Launched in December catalogs online. The app features digital catalogs
2011, the site currently covers New York. from brands such as Bloomingdale’s, Neiman
Marcus, Nordstrom, Sephora and Williams-
Sonoma. Users can search for products within and
across catalogs, and either buy online or locate
in-store products.


OFF TO ON

PanoPlaza: Online Plink: Facebook credits for
shopping in real stores offline purchases

Japan based PanoPlaza launched in January January 2012 also saw the launch of Plink, a
2012. The site creates virtual versions of bricks- loyalty program where participants are rewarded
and-mortar stores using 360-degree panoramic with Facebook Credits for shopping and dining
photos, complete with ‘hotspots’ where products offline. Participating establishments include Taco
are available for purchase. The technology has Bell, 7-Eleven and Dunkin’ Donuts, with over
been used in Tokyo for a department store, a 25,000 locations available across the US.
bookshop, and a sweet shop.


#2
(M)etail
Going ‘online’ now means immersing oneself in (and
enthusiastically adding to) a rich, personalized, social web.

Giving customers a uniquely personalized or tailored experience is CASHING IN ON CURATION /
something that successful e-commerce sites from Amazon onwards
have always focused on. But now, consumers sit at the center (and SELL-YOUR-OWN STORES /
indeed actively contribute to) a far richer and more deeply personal
RETAIL INVESTMENT /
and personalized online experience - meaning e-tail is increasingly
(M)ETAIL. AT YOUR SERVICE /

Expect the trend for all forms of of personalization and curation to
continue, as consumers embrace everything that enables them to
display their style and good taste (as on social ‘pinning’ site Pinterest),
or to receive selected, high quality picks from trusted curators (as with
independent, design-focused Fab.com).


CASHING IN ON The status boost that comes from discovering,
compiling, commenting, recommending and
they will also welcome brands or platforms that
reward them for their sharing.

CURATION
sharing desirable, inspiring or useful products
But be warned, this isn’t about bribing people
and services means that the trend for
to tweet about you or ‘like’ you. Smart brands
consumers to become curators will run and
will be those that encourage or incentivize
run. And while many consumers won’t need
existing consumer behavior in a genuine
any encouragement to become SOCIAL-LITES,
and natural way.

VANCL Star: Share your
RNKD: Winning wardrobes style and earn

Users of RNKD are awarded points for uploading Customers of Vancl, one of China’s largest fashion
photos of clothes and accessories in their closet. e-tailers, can set up their own personal stores
The more points a user has, the better their as part of the brand’s VANCL Star initiative.
chances of winning a prize, with rewards including Customers can upload photos of themselves
Zappos gift cards. wearing Vancl products, and as well as highlighting
potential combinations and styles, they get 10% of
sales generated from their pages.


CASHING IN ON
CURATION
Fopping.com:
Friend-based discounts Zara People!

Fopping.com is an Indian startup where Brands too can easily tap into this trend. Zara’s
consumers get discounts for sharing potential People! initiative asks fans of the brand to upload
purchases with their social networks. The more photos of themselves wearing at least two items
friends a user has, the lower the price they pay. from the Spring/Summer 2012 collection. Each
week, a selection of photos are published on the
brand’s website, with featured contributors winning
EUR 300.


SELL-YOUR- Consumers will always be attracted to both
the perfect fit and prestige of personalized or
Yet, while some early pioneer brands and
entrepreneurs have been letting consumers

OWN STORES
bespoke products, and, hurrah, e-commerce, create, design, tweak or edit their products for
with its separation of order and fulfillment, has years, social networks make it easier than ever
long promised to deliver mass customization. for these customer-producers to then sell (and
And of course, the mega-trend for consumers therefore profit from) their own creations
to become producers continues apace. too.

Converse Made By uFlavor: Make-and-sell-
Facebook app your-drinks

Opened to selected testers from December Launched in December 2011, uFlavor offers
2011, Converse Made By is a Facebook app consumers the chance to concoct their own soft
that enables users to design their own Converse drinks. Customers can choose from a list of 100
sneakers and sell them to their friends on the social flavors and upload images to create personalized
network and via their own virtual store, with users labels. Drinks are available to buy online via the
who sell enough pairs being rewarded with free uFlavor marketplace, and creators are rewarded
pairs of Converse shoes. for each sale.


SELL-YOUR-
OWN STORES
Kaiser Chiefs: Make-your-
Scottish Whisky Blender own album

Glasgow-based Scottish Whisky Blender enables In June 2011, UK band Kaiser Chiefs released
visitors to design their own custom whiskey blends, their album “The Future is Medieval”. The band
by choosing from seven hand-picked whiskies. produced twenty tracks, and fans could choose
Customers’ creations are also entered into the ten to create their own version of the album,
brand’s archive and available for sale by anyone which they were then actively encouraged to sell.
with the unique code. Creators received GBP 1 for each album they sold
for GBP 7.50.


RETAIL The opacity of production and distribution
meant that customers were often left with
and creators to pitch products directly to
consumers.

INVESTMENT
products that someone else (i.e. distant brands)
And the near-infinite flexibility of e-commerce
thought they wanted.
has allowed tiered pricing to move way
Now increased transparency and collaboration beyond boxed sets or limited editions.
on social networks mean that consumers can Consumers looking for ever-valuable STATUS
help support production of specific items or STORIES are often able to support favored
projects that attract their attention. Platforms projects not just with a purchase but a
like Kickstarter enable entrepreneurs, designers significant investment. Learn from:

TikTok:
iPod Nano watch-strap Coffee Joulies

Chicago design firm MINIMAL created TikToc, a The inventors of Coffee Joulies, metal ‘coffee
watch-strap attachment for the iPod Nano that beans‘ containing a thermodynamic material that
raised over USD 900,000 from 13,500 people on cools excessively hot drinks, and then maintains
Kickstarter. Nearly 1,500 people pledged USD 150 the heat as the drink cools, put the project on
or more for editions laser-signed by the designer. Kickstarter hoping to raise USD 9,500. Nearly
5,000 people pledged over USD 300,000.


RETAIL
INVESTMENT Not always enough
Benfeitoria: Auire Prisma time to read our
bill identifier for the blind Trend Briefings?

Check out our exclusive yet affordable
Global Trend Seminars
(Aug-Oct 2012)
13 cities, 11 countries. Don’t miss out.

Benefeitoria is a Brazilian crowdfunding platform Give us half a day of your time, and leave the
similar to Kickstarter. A recent sVuccessful project room knowing about every consumer trend,
saw Auire Prisma, a scanner for visually impaired insight and innovation that needs to be on your
people that could ‘read’ notes and say which radar!
denomination they are, get funded and go into
production.


AT YOUR One of the benefits of shopping in-store is
the ability to speak with shop assistants and
From tapping into publicly available if not
volunteered information, or connecting

SERVICE
get advice. But e-tailers too can now take consumers with other consumers to get
advantage of the widespread adoption of social better recommendations, there are endless
technologies to unlock innovative ways to online services that make it possible to find
replicate, if not enhance, these ways to serve the perfect product. Take inspiration from the
online shoppers. examples below:

ASOS Skype Style Needle: Customer-powered
Sessions customer service

February 2012 saw British fashion e-tailer ASOS Needle enables companies to use loyal brand
offer customers free ‘Style Sessions’ via Skype. aficionados to assist in live online chats with
Selected participants could ask ASOS’ Style customers, in return for points which can be
Advisors questions about ASOS apparel and seek redeemed for gifts. By discussing how they use the
out advice on purchases they were considering. product in their daily lives for example.


AT YOUR
SERVICE
CTrip: Automated Weibo Reach.ly: Travel leads via
concierge Twitter for hotels

Chinese travel site CTrip launched an automated Latvian service Reach.ly filters Twitter traffic
‘robot’ in Februrary 2012 that could automatically to show hotels tweets from people who have
and instantly respond to Weibo messages directed expressed an interest in traveling to a particular
at it, such as about flight prices, or hotel rates in city.
specific destinations.


AT YOUR
SERVICE Ticketmaster:
Karma: Gift giving made Recommended gigs based
easy on listening history

Karma is an app that enables users to easily The Ticketmaster timeline app for Facebook
give spur of the moment gifts. Connecting the suggests recommended gigs for fans based on
app with Facebook also enables users to receive their Spotify listening history. The app can also tell
notifications about which of their friends they users where their friends’ tickets are located to
might want to give a gift to, by highlighting friends enable people to sit together.
who have recently experienced something worth
celebrating.


#3
E(ASY)-
COMMERCE
All the barriers initially holding e-commerce back (e.g.
correct fit, secure payments, convenient deliveries) have
been significantly reduced, if not totally removed.

Clothes, shoes, furniture, groceries. All things that were widely PERFECT FIT /
predicted to be impossible to sell online, yet increasingly added to
millions of virtual baskets around the world. The following sub-trends DELIVERY DELIGHT /
show why, with the right infrastructure, anything that is bought, will
LIFE: SUBSCRIBED /
be bought online too.
PERFECT PAYMENTS /


PERFECT FIT Buying something that can’t be seen, touched
or tested will forever be a barrier. Many popular
technologies mean that customers can be ever
more confident that they are making a perfect
e-tailers have borne the risk of returns in an purchase first time.
attempt to overcome shoppers’ fears, but new

Upcload: Sizing via a CD Bodymetrics: Living room
and webcam to fitting room

With Berlin based Upcload, shoppers stand in UK based Bodymetrics launched its LivingRoom
front of their webcams holding a CD as pictured, fitting product at CES 2012. The PrimeSense 3D
to generate a personalized size profile that can technology can map a user’s body using Kinect-
be used when purchasing apparel products. The like 3D sensors. When attvached to a TV, shoppers
North Face is currently trialing the system in the can virtually ‘try on’ clothes and see how they will
US. fit on their body shape.


PERFECT FIT

Zazzle: Visualize art on the Brayola: find perfect bra
walls size

Launched in December 2011, US based Zazzle’s Israel’s Brayola, which launched in February 2012,
Realview enables users to upload their own aims to help women buy perfectly fitting bras
photographs to the site in order to visualize how online. Rather than using measurements, the site
the DIY e-tailer’s prints and artwork would look in asks women which bras they already own that are
their own home. comfortable, and then matches them against its
database to recommend similarly fitting bras.


DELIVERY With customers’ NOWISM and lust for instant
gratification (and combined with the frequent
And while ‘click and collect’ services
remain popular with online shoppers, also

DELIGHT
difficulties in receiving goods bought online), check out these recent innovations:
making delivery seamless or even a delight
should be right at the forefront of every
e-entrepreneur’s or e-tailer’s mind.

Shutl offers speedy The Corner & FedEx: Try-
deliveries while-they-wait-commerce

UK based Shutl offer deliveries in as little as 90 Italian fashion e-tailer Yoox offers customers in
minutes across much of the UK. In March 2012, the China enhanced delivery services when they order
brand announced that they were partnering with from the dedicated Chinese version of its luxury
Maplin, an electronics retailer, to offer delivery in multi-brand site, The Corner. In partnership with
over 40 cities. FedEx, Chinese shoppers can expect delivery staff
to wait while they look over their purchases, try
them on and decide whether they want to keep or
return them.


DELIVERY
DELIGHT
Slice: Keep the surprise Giftwhip: Virtual gift
while tracking online gifts wrapping

Slice enables users to track all their online And it’s not just physical goods that are ripe for
purchases in one place. In December 2011, the innovation. Giftwhip aims to make receiving online
company rolled out their ‘Track With Friends’ gift cards, vouchers or virtual goods more exciting.
feature, enabling recipients to track their gifts The service creates a virtual present, which
without revealing what they are or how much they recipients can’t open or view until the ‘unwrap date’
cost. set by the giver.


LIFE: We first looked at the rise of subscription-
based sites last year, but with their winning

SUBSCRIBED
combination of convenience and curation
ensure that this is one ‘trend’ that you should be
sure to sign up to ;-)

Memberly: Run-your-own Frank & Oak: Only pay for
subscription service what you keep

The emergence of a platform is always a sure sign Frank & Oak offers a twist on the fashion
that a trend is booming, and Memberly, a platform subscription model. Based in Montreal, members
that provides a back-end administration panel and of the site’s Hunt Club are sent a monthly email
payment handling for online subscription services, with that month’s fashion selections. Customers
is no exception. select between one and four items that they wish
to receive by post, and unwanted items can be
returned free of charge.


LIFE:
SUBSCRIBED
Los Paderos: La Ferme des Echancées:
Artisan breads in Brazil ‘Contrat Poule’

Los Paderos is a Brazilian site that sends In October 2011, French farm, La Ferme des
subscribers three loaves of half-baked artisan Echancées made its ‘Contrat Poule’ (‘Chicken
bread each week. Customers can then store the Contract’) service available to 50 towns.
loaves in the fridge for up to two weeks; when ‘Subscribers’ receive packages of eggs for one
they’re ready to eat them, they simply finish baking year, and at the end of the nesting season they can
them. opt to have the carcass delivered to them to cook.


PERFECT Most internet users are now (fairly) comfortable
with shopping online. Yes, concerns remain, but
process too often remains far from seamless,
creating opportunities for any innovation

PAYMENTS
online sales continue to significantly outpace that makes paying online quicker, more
all other spending, despite the occasional convenient, or more secure.
well-publicized glitch. However, the checkout

PayPal Access: Facebook Credits: An
Single sign-in alternative currency?

Citing the high abandonment rate when consumers Facebook announced in February 2012 that it
are required to register at a new site to complete had partnered with a number of the largest mobile
a purchase, eBay launched its PayPal Access operators, including AT&T, Deutsche Telekom,
product in October 2011. The initiative allows Orange, Telefónica, T-Mobile USA, Verizon and
consumers to login to, and pay at participating Vodafone, to enable users to make Facebook
e-tailers without having to register a new account. Credit purchases via mobile operator billing (i.e.
see the charge appear on their mobile phone bill).


PERFECT
PAYMENTS
Flipkart: Virtual ‘wallet’ Amex: Sync with Twitter

Indian online shoppers often face issues with American Express launched its Sync initiative
payment gateways, perhaps explaining why many in March 2012. Cardholders can link their credit
e-commerce transactions are still settled with cards to their Twitter accounts, to receive coupons
cash on delivery. Hoping to smooth the payment and discounts for tweeting certain hashtags. For
process, Flipkart, India’s answer to Amazon, example, users who tweeted #AmexWholefoods
introduced a feature where customers could received a USD 20 credit on purchases of over
deposit up to INR 10,000 (USD 190) in an online USD 75. Participating brands include H&M,
‘wallet’, enabling users to check out quickly McDonalds, Best Buy and Zappos.
without having to re-enter their credit card details.


#4
OH WHAT A
WONDERFUL WEB
Consumer expectations at large are now set online. Endless
choice, instant gratification, total transparency, seamless
collaboration, the list goes on…

Certain factors (taste, smell, and physical interaction to name just a NICHE RICHE /
few) still compel people to continue to shop in the ‘real world’. But
the online world has its advantages too, especially when it comes to CROWD CLOUT /
things such as collaboration, accessibility, reach, transparency and
TOTAL TRANSPARENCY /
shareability.
ETAIL-TAINMENT /
In fact, consumers now expect the online experience to not just
match the offline experience, but to improve on it in ways that are EXCLUSIVE E-XPERIENCES /
difficult if not impossible to replicate offline.


NICHE RICHE E-commerce is an endless aisle, in which
consumers can shop niche products from all
selling quirky, unique or storied products that
perfectly align with their particular interest or
over the world as well as in the online mega- tribe.
malls such as eBay and Amazon.
On the business side too, it’s easier than ever
And the appeal of small-scale, artisan shops to open an online store, as there are now
is just as strong online as it is offline. Indeed endless platforms and solutions that make it
online consumers can now easily discover virtually effortless, from Shopify, Payvment,
(whether via personal tips or via trusted eBay Xcommerce to Taobao and more.
curators) even the smallest, most obscure store

With Love from Brooklyn: LocalBrand.co.id:
Your local online store Indonesian fashion portal

With Love from Brooklyn is an online retailer that LocalBrand.co.id is based in Indonesia and
only sells items created by local artisans. The site’s exclusively stocks Indonesian high-fashion
products range from the iconic Brooklyn Cruiser, designers, with a goal of supporting and promoting
to locally made food, drinks and preserves, to the local brands on a global stage. An online
works of local artists. magazine also features photo shoots, interviews
and pictures of Indonesian ‘street style’.


NICHE RICHE

Never Liked It Anyway: Cuelcinha: Male lingerie in
Post-break up sales Brazil

Launched in December 2011, Never Liked It Launched in January 2012, Cuelcinha is a
Anyway is a marketplace where users can sell Brazilian site that sells fine lingerie collections for
items connected to past romantic relationships. A men. Products include high quality boxers and
wide variety of products are available on the site, panties made with fine fabrics, animal prints and
generally at a discounted ‘break-up’ price, with lace inserts. Pieces are designed to fit the male
many unwanted gifts such as jewelry, or items anatomy in comfort, with elasticated detailing.
connected with engagements or marriages like
wedding dresses.


CROWD CLOUT One of the things that comes easily online is
mass collaboration, and the crowdsourcing
Now, with more consumers than ever pretty
much constantly online and plugged into social
trend is one that we’ve been watching for a networks, it’s never been easier for shoppers
while (check out our first look at CROWD CLOUT to harness the power of the crowd in new and
way back in 2007!). innovative ways.

FlightFox: Human- Handsup.cn: Crowdsourced
powered flight deals daily deals

While e-commerce often promises low prices, Launched in China during December 2011, deal
sometimes finding the best price can be difficult site Handsup.cn invites users to submit ideas
and/or time-consuming. Australian site FlightFox for products they would like to see on its virtual
allows travelers to set up a contest where online shelves, and suggest how much they want to pay
travel experts can compete to find the best for them. Users can then vote for the deal, and if it
available prices for future trips. Users pay an AUD proves popular, Handsup staff contact the brand
29 ‘finders fee’ (refundable if a cheaper flight is or business in question to try and arrange the
found within 48 hours), and the site claims to save promotion.
people AUD 369 per trip on average.


CROWD CLOUT

Amazon: Vote for Black Galoo: Greek ‘reverse
Friday deals buying’ platform

In November 2011, Amazon asked its Facebook Launched in September 2011, Greek website
fans to vote on which discounts they should offer Galoo allows users to suggest the price they are
during the Black Friday to Cyber Monday period willing to pay for an item, and invite friends to
(two popular days for shopping in the US). The ‘strengthen’ their negotiating position. If a seller
30% discounts were available on the e-tailer’s agrees to the suggested price, the two parties
specialist sites, Soap.com, Diapers.com, Wag.com organize payment and delivery.
and YoYo.com.


TOTAL We’ve looked on a number of occasions at
TRANSPARENCY TRIUMPH, and how the
people thought about products or services;
transparency 2.0 saw this become just a

TRANSPARENCY
availability of online information is reshaping default element of decision-making; now
consumer expectations and corporate behavior transparency 3.0 will be about making almost
(check out our recent Trend Briefing on all aspects of the transaction and experience
FLAWSOME ;-). transparent: manufacturing, pricing, reviews,
popularity, and even personal relevance.
If transparency 1.0 was all about the excitement
at being able to see exactly what other (real!)

Honest By:
Transparent fashion KLM: Meet & Seat

Launched in Belgium in January 2012, Honest February 2012 saw KLM roll out its Meet & Seat
By is a sustainable, fully transparent apparel initiative. The optional service allows passengers
brand and e-tailer. For every product available to link their booking to their Facebook or LinkedIn
on the Honest By site, full information is available profile and select a seat next to the individuals they
on manufacturing (including working conditions), find most interesting.
material and supplier sources, pricing, and ethical
or organic certifications.


TOTAL
TRANSPARENCY
Hotels.com:
Notify how many people Igluu: Shop for groceries
have booked in past day across multiple stores

Hotels.com recently implemented a feature that Igluu is a free Brazilian service that lets consumers
showed visitors to its site how many times the hotel browse multiple sites and create virtual shopping
they were viewing had been booked in the past 24 lists (online or on their smartphones). For each
hours. item, the service shows users which participating
store offers the cheapest price, and once they’ve
picked the store to order from, Igluu transfers their
shopping cart to that retailer to arrange delivery.


ETAIL- Successful retailers in the ‘offline’ world are
often those that make a store visit an enjoyable
Rather than trying to replicate the offline
experience, e-tailers can deploy new

TAINMENT or exciting event (including those, as we
showed in RETAIL RENAISSANCE, who use
techniques that make e-commerce ‘fun’ in
ways that physical retail can’t match, such as
technology to enhance the experience and allowing consumers to collaborate, compete
bring the benefits of online to the offline world). and turn shopping into a (virtual) game.

Fantasy Shopper: Fantasy Little Black Bag:
Football, with clothes ;-) Take or trade

Launched in the UK in October 2011, Fantasy Mimicking Japanese department stores’ ‘fukurburo’
Shopper is a social shopping game that gives (lucky bag) sales, shoppers with Little Black Bag
users fantasy money to browse, style and receive a mystery bag with a selection of fashion
‘purchase’ clothes from over 300 real stores. and beauty products every month. They then
Players can unlock major world shopping have a week to trade with other users to make
destinations, and complete challenges to boost their perfect collection. To further increase the
their ‘fashionista reputation’, all while earning real excitement, selected bags contain prizes worth 4
discount codes and vouchers for participating to 5 times the value of the bags.
brands.


EXCLUSIVE Online, everything is available to everyone, so
the story goes. Yet for consumers, anything
has simply been an email address away.

Now a number of brands and entrepreneurs

E-XPERIENCES scarce or exclusive instantly makes it that much
more attractive.
are seeking to introduce true e-commerce
exclusivity, and thus tap into consumers’
Flash sale sites have played on this for years, desire for unique or memorable experiences
with sites like vente-privee and Gilt limiting (and the great STATUS STORIES that come
access to members only, even if membership with them).

ICB: Invite-only digital
fashion show Adam Tensta: Pass It On

Fashion PR firm KCD launched Digital Fashion Swedish rapper Adam Tensta released his latest
Shows at New York’s Fashion Week in February single ‘Pass it On’ via a Facebook app. The catch?
2012. The site hosts virtual fashion shows, Only one copy of the track exists, and users are
streamed only to invited guests. required to sign up to join the queue to listen to
it. Once they reach the front of the ‘queue’, users
have one hour to listen to the track.


EXCLUSIVE
E-XPERIENCES
Fat Duck Restaurant: Kid in Gilt Groupe offers deal on
a Sweetshop experience airplane rental

Celebrity chef Heston Blumental’s Fat Duck November 2011 saw daily deal site Gilt Groupe
restaurant is famous for its immersive experiences, offer members the chance to rent a Virgin America
and from February 2012, diners who succeeded Airbus A320 plane (seating up to 145 people). The
in getting a reservation received an email inviting deal was priced at USD 60,000, and individuals
them to view an exclusive animated stereo could choose a name for the plane and have this
experience. The link could be accessed four times painted on the side of the Airbus.
only.


IMPLICATIONS
Even in this monster Trend Briefing, with its four big themes and various Hence (R)ETAIL (R)EVOLUTION: all commerce is being affected by
sub-trends, we’ve only scratched the surface of (R)ETAIL (R)EVOLUTION: e-commerce, and in return e-commerce will be affected by the same
content commerce, celebrity curators, Facebook’s ‘want’ and ‘own’ general trends that define consumer behavior across all mediums, online
buttons, shopping from the newsfeed, paying with tweets, cash on and in traditional retail.
delivery, online pop-ups and more were left on the cutting room floor.
So keep watching, keep learning, and most importantly keep (or start!) doing!
But our biggest challenge? Trying to stick to just ‘e-commerce’. Because, as
In the meantime, we’ll be hard at work on our next Trend Briefing! Make sure
we showed in our Trend Briefing on RETAIL RENAISSANCE (and touching
you’re subscribed.
on it again here in E IS FOR EVERYWHERE), all shopping increasingly
takes place within an e-commerce ecosystem that includes not just online
and offline, but mobiles, tablets and TVs too.


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