Focus: Latest

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Uber: lessons from dynamic pricing

'Dynamic pricing' means prices can quickly adapt to reflect changing levels of supply and demand. When Uber, a private New York-based taxi service trialled the idea, some customers were charged over $80 per mile, causing widespread anger.

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Coca-Cola says 'Hug Me': gestural marketing gets personal

Companies are beginning to look at ways of encouraging consumers to respond with gestures as well as words, as the rise of gestural marketing sees brands seeking new ways of showing that they understand the needs of their audience.

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CashStar: digital gift cards and mobile giving

In societies that are cash-rich but time-poor, gift cards have emerged as a popular solution. The gift card market in the UK alone is currently worth £4bn; and with smartphone penetration rising, gift cards are becoming digital.

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Covetique

For a cohort of time-strapped upmarket buyers keen to get their hands on high-end second-hand fashion, eBay's non-specialist service no longer suffices. Covetique has seized the opportunity with an online store which emphasises convenience.

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Walmart: Get On The Shelf

In the hunt for its next killer product, Walmart is giving anyone in the US the chance to have their own products stocked on its shelves. Will it have any real impact on consumer attitudes towards this huge and seemingly impersonal brand?

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Honest by: transparent fashion retail

Honest by is a fashion brand which offers designer products and is completely open about the raw materials and manufacturing processes it uses. It is also honest about its pricing structures, offering a full cost breakdown of each garment.

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Treasure & Bond: charity begins at home

Treasure & Bond is a philanthropic retail venture funded by luxury department store Nordstrom which favours so-called ‘rough luxe’ and community involvement over the high-sheen service of its parent.

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Help Remedies and the rise of minimalist medicine

Pharmaceutical companies are constantly reinventing familiar health products. By challenging this with a ‘less is more’ philosophy, Help Remedies is heralding the rise of ‘minimalist medicine' aimed at informed healthcare consumers.

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A Startup Store

A new shop in New York changes its stock, name and layout every four to six weeks. As more pop-up stores begin to take root and become fixed, it offers retailers inspiration for how to redefine their high street spaces for the 21st century.

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Apple: Spot-the-Shopper

As part of the Spot-the-Shopper system, company-owned iPod touches in Apple stores are kitted out with a credit card reader and a barcode scanner, making every employee a walking information and sales point.

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Converse Made By

Converse is launching an app which will let fans design and sell their own trainers to their friends and families through Facebook. And if they are able to shift enough units, they will be rewarded with a free pair for themselves.

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Bilbary

Bilbary is a forthcoming e-book lending and retail platform that provides clear benefits to publishers, whilst enticing customers with reasonable pricing, flexible borrowing options and personal service.

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Etsy Gift Ideas for Your Friends

'Gift Ideas for Your Friends' is a new offering from online marketplace Etsy that aims to alleviate Yuletide gift buying anxiety by suggesting person-specific presents based on the information your friends provide on Facebook.

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Hermès saris

As emerging markets such as India and China rise to greater prominence, several luxury brands are tailoring their offerings to the tastes and sensibilities of a newly affluent demographic of middle-class consumers.

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Quarterly

Quarterly is a genre-busting experiment in content distribution. Part magazine, part shop and part fan club, it balances Slow values and a Global Mindset to create a nostalgic gifting experience in a highly contemporary context.

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Muji Life

Muji Life is an online game that blends brand marketing with personal lifestyle. It provides players with an opportunity to present a curated version of themselves, and grants Muji access to traditionally private areas of consumers' lives.

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IKEA town

If you are already the world’s number-one supplier of home furnishings, where do you go next? Not content with supplying everything in our homes, from bookshelves to bunk beds, IKEA has now set its sights on supplying the very homes themselves.

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Louis Vuitton apartment

Louis Vuitton has built a prestigious apartment above its Bond Street store for a handful of select customers. The apartment is testament to the increasing difficulty of retaining exclusivity and profits in an age of discounted premium goods.

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Private app stores

The success of apps in providing everyday solutions is now driving innovation across entire industries, and many organisations are providing apps directly to their employees through their own private storefronts.

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Poundbakery

Poundbakery is a fixed-price, value-led business new to the high streets of Northern England. The baker's focus on quality and value reflects the shifting expectations of consumers who are reassessing their attitudes towards the word 'cheap'.