New
Pedestrian Path For Mobile Phone Addicts – The city of Xian in China has installed
what is believed to be the worlds first pedestrian walkway for those who
communicate on their phones as they walk. The path is extra wide to help avoid
collisions and has already become a bit of a tourist attraction. The retail
connection, of course, is that many consumers shop on their phones as they
walk.
Pop-ups at
Macy’s And QVM – Macy’s have just bought into a pop-up technology company, B8TA,
which will allow the expansion of their in-store program for micro pop-up
businesses across the Macy’s network. QVM have of course been doing their own
style of pop-ups for some time as new businesses experiment with their offer
under the sheds. This Saturday, a tent appeared in the L Shed Aisle as the
Girthy Exhibition displayed their story. The Girthy Exhibition looks at the
bike ride across Australia of two young architects as they studied the
architecture of Australia’s interior.
Google
Launches New Shopper Service – Google is launching its See What’s In Store
service which is essentially competition for Amazon’s online offer. The idea is
that users of Google Maps can call up a product entry box which will show you
what nearby retailers stock the item you are after.
Macy’s
Off-price Concept – “Off-price” describes well known brands at big discounts
and is a booming category for stores like T.J.Maxx. Macy’s concept is called
Backstage and is already in 60 stores with plans for every Macy’s store to have
the facility.