Restaurant companies are trying blockchain applications to manage their various operations, including customer loyalty programs and supply chains. For example, Chanticleer Holdings uses blockchain, which is a digital, peer-to-peer technology designed to store encrypted data and protect it from fraud, to manage its loyalty program. With blockchain, the company is letting customers earn points and rewards across its restaurant brands. Closely linked to the cryptocurrency bitcoin, blockchain lets users share and access data through a decentralized system that is both open and anonymous. However, developers can add safeguards and safety parameters to the technology. 

Voice search technology can help marketers and advertisers regain the trust of consumers. Recent studies, such as the one by ExpressVPN, have revealed that consumers do not trust how brands and tech companies collect and use user data. To regain user trust, marketers should adopt a conversational approach, which is increasingly becoming possible as consumers become more at ease with using their voice to interact with their devices. Voice search allows consumers to actively search for what they want instead of “being fed” by a non-voice system. [Image Credit: © PhotoMIX-Company ]

Coca-Cola’s newest generation beverage dispenser – the Freestyle 9100 – is being tested regionally in several undisclosed national restaurant chain locations. The 9100 features a 24-inch high-definition screen that makes it easier to select among 200 drink choices, including 117 low- or no-calorie options. The machine is Bluetooth-enabled to allow app users to select a favorite drink or mix a custom drink before entering a restaurant. The machine has a larger ice capacity, larger drip tray, and enhanced diagnostics for monitoring inventory. The new operating system allows client restaurants to create custom drinks: Wendy’s, for example, created Dave’s Cherry Cream Soda using the 9100.

A smart self-service convenience store selling Coca-Cola beverages in Changsha, China – without clerks or cash – is part of a new experiment in the country under Coke’s “520 Program” promoting the growth of women entrepreneurship. The hi-tech cooler was built by jointly by Coca-Cola and YI Tunnel using AI technology. Smart stores like the one in Changsha not only attract younger consumers, they are more efficient to operate, according to Yi Tunnel, which expects more traditional convenience and retail stores to also adopt the technology.

Microsoft and its partner, AVA Retail, are developing a technology for grocery stores that will monitor the products that shoppers pick up, eliminating the need for checkout cashiers. Originally designed to gather data about in-store shoppers, the technology is being upgraded by the partners for physical stores. Amazon could sell to other retailers its cashier-less technology, Amazon Go, which lets shoppers swipe an app when they enter a store and keeps track of their purchases. However, retailers are likely to favor the technology from Microsoft, which they see less of a competitor than Amazon. [Image Credit: © Negative Space from Pexels.com]

International shopping-center operator Westfield introduced its Destination 2028 retail concept. According to the proposal, the company sees the future shopping mall as a “hyper-connected micro-city,” which is powered by artificial intelligence, and integrates health and wellness services and community involvement. Westfield said the concept was developed based on a growing consumer interest in health and wellness. [Image Credit: © tweetyspics from Pixabay.com]

Alibaba Cloud has developed ET Agricultural Brain, an artificial intelligence-enabled platform for helping agricultural enterprises, including hog farmers, in China. Proprietary in design, the system is aimed at helping farmers to improve their livestock raising and crop production through innovations. With a special focus on hog farming, ET Agricultural Brain uses algorithm-based models to develop an “exercise regimen” for pigs to improve their health, as well as their piglet yields. China is the world’s largest producer of pork, according to data from the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service. It also accounts for half of the world’s pork consumption, data from Singapore-based DBS showed.[Image Credit: © Alibaba]

Edible packaging is becoming a reality with the creation of Scoby, the brainchild of Polish design student, Roza Janusz. With the potential to help reduce the use of plastic in packaging, Scoby is a vegetarian wrapping material made by mixing sugars and other organic substances with kombucha, a fermented drink produced with yeast, bacteria, and tea. During the process, the biocellulose membrane forms on the surface of the mixture and layers into a sheet-like material, similar to how an onion grows. With its long shelf life, Scoby can be used to wrap farmers' produce including vegetables, fruits, herbs, and seeds. It can also be used to pack instant meals. Given Scoby's acidic PH level and mineral compounds, it can also be used by farmers as a natural fertilizer. While Scoby is not yet available in the market yet, Janusz said plans are in the pipeline to make this alternative packaging commercially available soon.  [Image Credit: © Growing Pakaging]

Hyundai Department Store launched an upgrade to its online mall in the form of a virtual make up try-on service powered by augmented reality (AR). The virtual service, offered via Meitu's Makeup Plus app, allows customers to try on more than 20 products across eight beauty brands without visiting a physical store, with plans to extend it to 20 brands. Hyundai said the AR approach is their way of differentiating themselves from other online retailers, which they said still focus on prices and delivery speed. Meitu's app has been downloaded more than 200-million times since its 2015 launch. 

China has become the focus for companies looking to automate the physical shopping experience. Alibaba, Tencent and JD.com have all opened automated stores in the last few months, at the start of what they believe will be a large-scale rollout of personnel-free shops. The Chinese consumer's openness to high tech and willingness to try something new is expected to drive unprecedented growth of the retail industry in China as the country's 724 million mobile phone users increasingly accept mobile transactions. Improving internet connectivity and smartphone penetration are expected to boost sales even further, and retailers are also having to deal with labor pressures due to an aging population and the trend of millennials leaving retail to seek higher-paid work.

Asahi has launched a transparent “clear espresso and milk” café latte drink in Japan. Though Clear Latte is made with espresso extract, whey minerals from raw milk, and pure water, it contains no caffeine or fat, and is low calorie. Clear versions of traditional drinks are making a splash in Japan, and include clear yogurt, milk tea and iced tea beverages introduced by Suntory in 2017. It is expected that Asahi’s Clear Latte will debut in the U.S. “in the near future.”

Finnish beauty tech firm Revieve is introducing a tool for brands and retailers to allow their customers to try on the full range of their products. Revieve AR Virtual Try-on is part of the company’s Digital Beauty Advisor integrated suite of white-label tools. It uses selfies to analyze faces to provide personalized product recommendations and advice. It will be available in e-commerce, in-store and social media channels. [Image Credit: © Revieve Inc.]

Macy's Beauty is aiming to provide customers with an enhanced shopping experience online and in physical stores. For example, customers in some stores can use the YouCam Makeup magic mirror kiosks to try on makeup virtually, using selfies. Other aspects of the retailer’s drive include Beauty Playground, a program to keep its beauty advisors up to date on tips and products, and Macy’s Beauty Box, a $15 per month subscription service that provides samples and freebies. This is complemented by Macy’s Beauty’s new online campaign, the “Deeper Beauty”, aimed at helping women feel empowered and more confident. [Image Credit: © Macys.com, LLC]

In a first for the company, Coca-Cola plans to add an alcoholic beverage to its portfolio. Targeted for Japan, the alcopop will tap the country's rising demand for Chu-Hi - canned sparkling flavoured drinks with some shochu, a Japanese spirit. Chu-Hi, an abbreviation for shochu highball, is proving popular with female drinkers as an alternative to beer, although at 3% to 8% alcohol by volume it is substantially stronger Large national beverage companies, Kirin, Suntory and Asahi all have Chu-Hi brands, mostly with strong citrus flavors such as grapefruit or lemon although other fruit flavors are common too. The launch represents Coca-Cola’s efforts to innovate in premium segments at the margins of its core business. Jorge Garduno, Coca-Cola's Japan President, said it’s unlikely this drink will launch outside Japan but the model may prove instructive for other markets.