Stories about innovation

Liverpool ONE is looking for innovative solutions to further elevate the customer experience to ensure the open-air destination is a must-visit for those who love to shop, eat, drink, be entertained and relax.

In today's ever-evolving advertising landscape, retail media networks are making waves. As Helen Thomas mentioned in the FT this morning, "the idea of 'retail media' is an old one." As the adage goes, everything old is new again, however this time round, the difference is how digital has unlocked new areas of growth.

There are countless factors currently affecting online retailers. From trying to navigate the post-Covid decline in ecommerce penetration to the wider retail landscape facing a storm of downward-demand and supply-side pressures. Innovation Analyst, Molly Walsh, has delved into the world of online customer retention. She has identified five key aspects of the customer journey and how retailers can utilise technology to prevent customer abandonment online.

We've expanded our innovation offering to include a new proposition - Amplify - designed to democratise access to innovation advisory for growing consumer businesses (£15m+ revenue yearly).

This week, London Tech Week took over the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in Victoria. This blog delves deeper into one of the key themes - digital and AI, highlighting the imperative for corporates to embrace digital transformation, prioritise mental health, and foster a culture of innovation.

This week, London Tech Week took over the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in Victoria. This blog delves deeper into one of the key themes - climate change, focusing on the transition to a net zero economy, decarbonisation, biodiversity conservation, and the circular economy.

The True Innovation team have been busy immersing itself in the world of retail technology surrounded by some of the most exciting brands and vendors in the industry; this time, it was Shoptalk Europe. Mike Tattersall and Jamie Campbell flew to Barcelona talk all things digital innovation in the retail and consumer industry at Europe’s biggest retail conference.

There are several macro trends currently affecting the workforce. Whether employee or employer, everyone is trying to negotiate post pandemic working. Innovation Analyst, Robyn Wilson has spent the last three months diving into the world of employee engagement and has identified four key workplace areas that can be enhanced through innovation to improve retention, engagement and output.

ShopTalk Las Vegas is a space where the most influential brands, and the rising stars, unite to develop connections, have conversations, learn insights and reimagine the future together. Here are our top three takeaways from this year's event.

According to the founders of the Dry January movement, the charity Alcohol Change UK, nine million people took part in the initiative this year - up from eight million in 2022. With more and more people opting out of drinking, we're seeing a proliferation of low and no-alcohol beverages in the market today. So take a seat, crack open a cold one, and get some insight into what’s happing in the world of booze-free booze.

Artificial Intelligence is no longer a future reality - it's here, and it's already changing the digital landscape for businesses and consumers. Learn more about the AI opportunity and how it can support your business and shopping experience...

As part of our Future of Health and Wellbeing pillar at True, we have been keeping a close eye on all things sleep. It’s time to wake up to sleep tech - read more on what we've dreamed up based on the latest products and services developed to help us fall asleep, stay asleep, or improve the quality of our sleep.

Technology can be a powerful force in solving the many climate challenges we face, and the climate startup ecosystem is large and complex, covering a vast range of themes. Always on the hunt for the best tech out there, our Innovation team have taken a dive into some of the most notable and interesting, so read on to find out more.

With climate high on the corporate agenda, many retail businesses are setting ambitious net-zero targets. Setting a commitment is one thing - especially when it’s public - but achieving it is another altogether. In this article, we're uncovering the fundamental role innovation will play in tackling the climate challenge for retail.

Fast fashion retailer Shein is beset by greenwashing claims and accusations of poor labour practices, but it's also valued at $100 billion and ships to 220 countries worldwide. So what does this say about the future of sustainable fashion, and how has Shein managed to outshine the naysayers?

The world is changing fast, economically, environmentally, socially and technologically. But what can businesses do to help tackle some of the most pressing global challenges we are facing? We went to WIRED Impact 2022 to find out.

Once a futuristic, digital space just written about in sci-fi books, the metaverse is really here, with nearly $2 billion spent on virtual land in the last 12 months. But how should brands be thinking about the opportunity the metaverse presents?

In this True Story, we're tucking into the ever-evolving food landscape. As the cost of food rises, we’re seeing new trends appear on supermarket shelves and on our screens, with the emergence of platforms helping shoppers navigate the cost-of-living crisis.

M&S’s Ignite team – the home of open innovation at M&S – is looking for ideas and technologies that can encourage more sustainable behaviours amongst its customers, as well as solutions that can help M&S achieve further efficiencies in its agricultural supply chains.

Grosvenor has launched an innovation challenge seeking to discover new technologies and partners that are putting customer experience at the heart of bricks and mortar retail.

As the price of materials, energy and products soar, it's tempting for retailers and brands to discount to keep their customers, whose disposable income continues to shrink.  For many brands the urge to discount, if not well thought through, can be damaging to your brand and easily spiral in a race to the bottom. In this piece we take a look at how businesses can lean into strategic partnerships, innovative tech platforms and other ways to creatively keep your customers.

NFTs (and applications utilising blockchain technology more broadly) are coming under increasing scrutiny for their impact on the planet, and for good reason. The blockchain technology which enables the creation and trade of digital assets is environmentally damaging due to the ‘mining’ processes required to certify transactions, which use a LOT of power. Having said this NFTs certainly don’t have to be entirely at odds with ESG considerations.

For the past two years most of our community interactions have been virtual – but none were quite like the event we hosted at the end of 2021. We jumped into the Metaverse with our guests to take them around a ‘Truetopia’ of virtual shops, streets and leisure spots as our avatars got together in the virtual auditorium, to discuss realistic opportunities for brands and retailers in our community.

The Metaverse has well and truly landed. All things 'metaverse' have reached fever pitch since Facebook's rebranding to Meta. The October 2021 announcement not only set out a vision for what a fully immersive digital world powered by VR would look like for the company's 2.89 billion monthly active users, but also confirmed a colossal investment in making this a reality – $10 billion this year alone. Since then, everyone's been talking about it.

We have been immersed in the virtual world and metaverse for quite some time but the landscape is still evolving and we're still learning. We've done some of the hard work so you don't have to by putting together a glossary of terms that might help unravel the mystery of the metaverse.