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📝June’s Agenda:
1/ A multi-sensory experience at the Prado Museum
2/3D printing luxury goods at Selfridges
3/ Doordash opens a kitchen-less food court
4/ Klarna expands into virtual shopping
5/ A sustainable Coldplay concert powered by audience energy
🎨The Prado Museum (Madrid) has unveiled a new exhibition featuring Rubens and Brueghel’s painting The Sense of Smell.
The painting depicts a woman joined by Cupid, who is waiting amidst numerous plants and objects intended for the creation of fragrances. Perfumer Gregorio Sola has created ten fragrances representing ten elements of the work, which are diffused in the room where the painting is exhibited, offering visitors a powerful, multi-sensory experience.
📲 Selfridges (London) has launched a pop-up store powered by 3D printing robots.
This participative event and concept store demonstrates a commitment to a more sustainable future in retail. Customers can order personalised goods that are produced on site. The printers can create a wide range of items, from plant-based steaks to handbags and plastic furniture – all on demand.
Visitors to the store will also encounter a two-metre tall robot promoting Parley for the Oceans, an organisation that recycles marine waste to create consumer goods through 3D printing.
💡 In Brooklyn, Doordash, a food delivery company has opened a new food court.
The kitchen-less restaurant will seat up to 20 people and makes varied dining experiences, with the social benefits of gathering for meals, more accessible to customers.
Delivery is planned in partnership with various New York restaurants, with orders managed through the Doordash app. Sushi, fried chicken, Korean bowls, coffee and desserts are all available but, unlike a restaurant, there is no table service or staff except for the delivery person!
Customers can choose to reserve a table, visit spontaneously or simply make use of the delivery relay point if they would still like to collect and go.
💳 Swedish Buy Now Pay Later specialist, Klarna is bringing physical and digital worlds together.
Klarna acquired the Hero platform, which gives brands tools to humanise online shopping, a year ago and now offers its own virtual shopping and advice service. Through this solution, Klarna gives customers direct online contact with in-store experts.
Various means of contact are available, such as videos or instant messaging, so that everyone can find something to suit them. Once contact has been made, the expert can reply to the customer with photos or recommendations.
Brands such as Hugo Boss and Longchamps have alalready invested in this social shopping tool, which is available internationally. Customers can access the service and a full list of participating brands via the Klarna website.
🎤 The band Coldplay is currently on an international tour, which they want to make as energy-efficient as possible.
Audiences are invited to take up this challenge! Kinetic dance floors and stationary bicycles are installed in the pit on all tour dates. As the audience dances or pedals, they generate energy from recycled batteries to power the electrical needs of the concert. Before the concert starts, competitions are held between fans to determine the most energetic among them.
Other initiatives to make the tour more sustainable include sustainably and ethically sourced merchandising, biodegradable confetti, compostable wristbands, as well as donating 10% of tour revenues to environmental organisations (the Ocean Cleanup & One Tree Planted).
Coldplay also wants to make its concerts more inclusive. Sign language interpreters are present, and Subpacs, wearable waistcoats that deliver bass and “provide a physical dimension to the sound”, are available so that hearing impaired people are able to feel the music.
