News 19.11.2020

Need To Know

A sleep app that prompts relaxation through colouring, Walmart partners with Cruise on self-driving delivery and the global surge of online video streaming.

Loóna’s sleepscapes are phygital wind-downs

Loóna App, US
Loóna app, US

US – The Loóna app uses interactive storytelling in the form of sleepscapes to help people wind down and fall asleep.

Combining interactive colouring with ambient music and guided storytelling, the sleepscapes provide a holistic and healthy method of winding down at the end of each day. While many sleep apps focus primarily on aural relaxation, Loóna integrates visual stimulation as a way of reaching a meditative state.

‘The idea with Loóna was to use technology for good – to boost people’s wellbeing by helping them prepare for sleep,’ explains Eugene Nevgen, the apps's co-founder. ‘This isn’t just about functional techniques like breathing and counting exercises, but an inspiring and magical experience using art, stories and music to transition the mind from day to night.’

Although technology is notorious for contributing to unhealthy sleep habits, we’ve previously identified ways that digital tools can help people to relearn positive sleeping patterns.

Tracking food freshness with sensorial labels

Mimica Touch, UK Mimica Touch, UK
Mimica Touch, UK Mimica Touch, UK

London – Start-up Mimica's tactile label acts as a spoilage marker for food and drink in order to reduce food waste.

Mimica Touch is a gel-filled tag that responds to external warmth, and uses that as an indicator of the decay levels of food. When a person touches the label to check an item's freshness, it will feel either smooth or bumpy – smoothness signifies viable food while the latter denotes food that's inedible. The label will respond at a faster rate when food reaches a temperature that is sub-optimal, such as when meat or fish is left out of a fridge.

With plans to release specific labels for juices, dairy and meat, the company’s mission is ‘radically reduce scarcity and unnecessary waste by becoming the new standard for freshness information for industry, consumers and communities all around the world’.

In Food Waste Innovation we explore other solutions tackling food waste, from the use of dyes as biomarkers for freshness to shared fridges that feed communities.

Walmart explores self-driving EV deliveries

Walmart, US Walmart, US

US – The supermarket chain is teaming up with Cruise, a self-driving car company, to pilot customer delivery services using all-electric vehicles.

As part of the pilot, which will be launched in early 2021, customers will be able to place orders from their local store and have them delivered, contact-free, by Cruise's self-driving car. With consumers increasingly adopting online shopping habits during the pandemic, Walmart is exploring new directions in the delivery sector.

The pilot also builds on the growth of convenience retail, as consumers seek ways to save time on essential grocery shops, alongside today's heightened health and safety concerns. In this way, such contact-free delivery services are particularly appealing. The collaboration with Cruise also helps to address environmental concerns – with its vehicles using 100% renewable energy and supporting Walmart’s aim to support zero emissions by 2040.

With home-delivery services gaining momentum as we move into a new era for retail, the potential for AI-driven services is gaining traction.

Stat: Online video streaming surpasses broadcast content

Nolii, London Nolii, London

A surge in global online video viewing presents new marketing opportunities for brands, according to a new report.

Research by Limelight Networks reveals that the amount of time a person spends watching videos online has increased by one hour and seven minutes, reaching a total of 7 hours and 55 minutes per week globally, compared to 6 hours and 48 minutes in 2019.

In addition, in seven out of 10 markets analysed by Limelight Networks, online video is a more popular medium than other broadcast content – led by viewers in India, Indonesia and the US – although broadcast viewing is still preferred by those over the age of 60.

While the study highlights opportunities for brands to access consumers through the medium of video – describing platforms like YouTube as a ‘place of discovery’ for many consumers – the research also cites Covid-19 as the main contributor to the increase in online viewing, and suggests that these figures may fall once the pandemic eases.

Online, young people in particular are creating their own video content and series as a pushback against highly curated, big-budget media. For more, read our Everyteen TV microtrend.

Previous News Articles
Belvedere Museum brings art masterpieces into the digital world on Roblox

News

Belvedere Museum brings art masterpieces into the digital world on Roblox

The Belvedere Museum in Vienna is pioneering new approaches to digital art education with Art Leap, an interactive game on Roblox that immerse...
Gaming : Culture : Gen Alpha
Selfridges Unlocked now rewards shoppers for spending time in-store

News

Selfridges Unlocked now rewards shoppers for spending time in-store

Selfridges has launched an updated version of Selfridges Unlocked, a membership programme that now rewards customers for both spending and time spe...
Fashion : Retail : Luxury
Stat: UK life expectancy rises with more people set to reach 100

News

Stat: UK life expectancy rises with more people set to reach 100

According to new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), boys born in the UK in 2023 can expect to live an average of 86.7 years, wh...
Health : Society : UK Life Expectancy
Lululemon taps 78-year-old fitness influencer Joan MacDonald for new campaign

News

Lululemon taps 78-year-old fitness influencer Joan MacDonald for new campaign

Lululemon is challenging ageist fitness stereotypes with its latest campaign, featuring 78-year-old fitness influencer Joan MacDonald.
Sports & Leisure : Advertising & Branding : Youth
Black Tomato introduces AI-powered Feelings Engine for emotion-driven travel

News

Black Tomato introduces AI-powered Feelings Engine for emotion-driven travel

Luxury travel company Black Tomato is marking its 20th anniversary with a groundbreaking AI-powered booking tool, which curates trips based on trav...
Travel & Hospitality : Society : Health & Wellness
Stat: Gen Z are being priced out of the nightlife economy

News

Stat: Gen Z are being priced out of the nightlife economy

Rising costs and safety concerns are keeping young people out of the UK’s nightlife scene, according to a new report from the Night Time Industries...
Nightlife : Youth : Finance
The Lighthouse launches Venice campus to provide content creators with a creative workspace

News

The Lighthouse launches Venice campus to provide content creators with a creative workspace

Creator and social agency the Whalar group has launched The Lighthouse, a campus in Venice, California that will serve as a hub for 150 curated cre...
Pop-culture & Media : Youth : Advertising & Branding
Foresight Friday: Olivia Houghton, deputy creative foresight editor

News

Foresight Friday: Olivia Houghton, deputy creative foresight editor

Every Friday, we wrap up the topics, issues, ideas and viral moments everyone’s been discussing. This week, deputy creative foresight editor Olivia...
Foresight Friday : Health And Wellness : Climate Crisis
Stat: Millennials to overtake Gen X in beauty spending by 2034

News

Stat: Millennials to overtake Gen X in beauty spending by 2034

Gen X is currently the dominant force in global beauty spending, with the generation set to contribute an additional $150bn (£119bn, €141bn) to the...
Beauty : Society : Retail
LS:N Global Just Got Smarter

News

LS:N Global Just Got Smarter

Meet our new AI tool, Ember.
The Future Laboratory
You have 2 free News articles remaining. Sign up to LS:N Global to get unlimited access to all articles.
BECOME A MEMBER
SIGN IN