SIAL Paris 2018: What are the trends in the food market?
SIAL Paris, the leading trade fair for innovation in the food sector, takes place every 2 years in the Exhibition Centre, Villepinte, in the north of Paris. It is generally said that 3000 new products are presented during the 5 days of the show. These 3000 new products are estimated to represent 10% of the annual global innovation (estimated at 30,000 products). You can therefore easily see that SIAL is a playground and is ideal for...
Practical guide for visiting SIAL Paris food fair: 12 Do’s and Don’ts
SIAL is a the world’s largest food and drink professional fair. It attracts more than 7000 exhibitors from over 100 countries every 2 years in Paris. It takes place at the “Parc des Expositions”, outside of Paris and next to the Roissy Charles de Gaule airport. Making the best of your visit to a fair like this requires careful preparation. Follow our advice (we’ve been attending SIAL for 10 years) to optimize your visit. 1. Do...
SIAL, the world’s largest food innovation fair, opens its door in Paris
Like every 2 years, time has come to spend a few days in Paris to research the latest trends in the food and drink industry. There is no better place to do it than to visit the SIAL, the worldwide largest food and drinks fair that takes place every 2 years. Facts and figures about SIAL More than 7000 exhibitors from 109 countries will be present which ensures for a comprehensive view of the market. Read...
GDPR : don’t be afraid. Nothing will change.
I was hoping something would change with the introduction of GDPR on May 25th. I was certainly not expecting that consumers would send a lot of requests to companies but I was hoping, at least, that bad practices would decrease under the pressure of the Data Protection Authority. I’m afraid I was wrong. Read also 30 days to read privacy policies: consent fatigue will make GDPR ineffective Here’s a true story that shows that the Data...
Artificial intelligence enhances borders safety
This is one of the most useful artificial intelligence (AI) application I’ve seen in a while: a virtual border agent that screens passengers at the border and uses facial recognition and other technologies to detect and predict whether passengers are telling the truth or not. The virtual agent research programm, called “Automated Virtual Agent for Truth Assessments in Real-Time” (or AVATAR in short), was funded by the Homeland Security Department. It’s currently being pilot tested at...
We live in a technocracy : technology is driving behaviours and law
The inaugural 2018 FAT conference was opened in New-York by one of the most influential academic researchers on privacy and computer science : Latanya Sweeney. In her keynote Sweeney showed how technology is driving behaviors and new laws. Here’s what I think is a very compelling series of examples that clearly show that innovators are always ahead of lawmakers. In today’s world, driven by technology and data, this poses even bigger questions. As Sweeney puts it...
Market analysis: what’s the future of supermarkets ?
How will supermarkets look like in 10 year from now ? Will employees be replaced by robots or won’t there just be any employees left ? While points of sales are more and more resembling an extension of online businesses with experience becoming more phygital (see an exemple here) and while showrooming is taking up, supermarkets have never changed as fast as today. Only for our subscribers: exclusive analyses and marketing advice Email address * Subscribe...
The next hand-written you’ll get may have been produced by those robots
Is there anything better for customer satisfaction than getting a personal hand-written note? The pleasure of getting one will soon fade away once the secret to thousands of mass produced hand-written notes gets revealed. Why do personal hand-written notes so much drive customer satisfaction ? Every customer wants to be different. Who would like to be treated like everyone else? Getting a hand-written from a company leverages the feeling that you are different. Who else would...
Social networks destroy society: what should be done?
Social networks are being accused by their own creators to destroy society and to tear human beings apart (read the interview of Chamath Palihapitya who is a former Facebook VP). At the same time movements like Time Well Spent emerged to denounce the addictive nature of social networks, artificial intelligence and personalization alike (see my other article on this topic). Atomized behaviours, lack of cohesiveness are some of the symptoms of our digital society. Several question pop...
The 3 benefits of the new “Tap To Go” Ahold no-checkout supermarket
Since Amazon has launched its no-checkout Amazon Go store (see our article here), other retailers are keen on experimenting the same type of innovation. Ahold Delhaize is currently testing its “tap to go” system in a “Albert Heijn To Go” store of Zaandem where the headquarters of the group are located. Clients need to enroll first in the program and will receive an “instant payment” card equipped with NFC technology. That card is directly linked to...
Retail innovation: smart shelves enable dynamic pricing
The biggest retail show on earth just opened its doors in New York. The NRF 2018 is the ideal place to observe market trends in the retail sector (professional shows in general are very good places to start market research: see also the example of SIAL in the food sector). This year one interesting innovation caught our eyes : smart shelves enabling personalized pricing Smart shelves for dynamic pricing We already discussed adaptive pricing (or “dynamic...
Market research : how to study reactions to autonomous vehicles
This is one of the most difficult type of projet market research professionals may face: investigate consumers’ behaviors in a situation that doesn’t exist yet. In such situations ethnography (a qualitative market research technique) may be the right methodology to go for. In today’s article we will illustrate how this technique was used in the context of autonomous vehicles. Self-driving car attracts attention in Virginia Virgnia Tech University is certainly one of the most advanced as far as...
Is IoT a modern form of imprisonment ?
In his book “Surveiller et Punir” (“Discipline and punish” in English) Michel Foucault shows the evolution of the justice system, from one that punishes the body (including painful death sentences or mutilation) to one that punishes the individual by restraining his/her freedom. What Foucault could not take into account however (his book was published in 1975) was electronic surveillance and in particular how electronic bracelets have become a way to replace jail sentences for the least...
Opaque 3rd-party algorithms : a business opportunity
For some businesses algorithms have become instrumental to their strategy as a whole and their marketing strategy in particular. These algorithms are a well-kept secret and businesses have emerged that sell their knowledge on the inner working of those algorithms. PageRank and SEO agencies Look at Google for instance. Their search engine (which is in fact a very sophisticated recommendation system) is constantly evolving, affecting millions of websites around the world. SEO agencies have specialized into...
Walmart wants to deliver you IN your home
It should be always easier for people to order online, and in particular the delivery should be a smooth experience. Market researches show that delivery is actually a real pain point and the source of many complaints (delivery times longer than expected, nobody at home to take delivery of the parcel, …) In a attempt to do a thorough market research back in 2014-2015, we reported the huge progresses made by the logistics sector and the...
An interesting example of nudge applied to public safety in Ísafjörður, Iceland
I’ve developed an interest for the study of nudges after reading the book by Dan Ariely. Nudges can be considered a sub-discipline of behavioral economics (founded by George Lowenstein) and already wrote about it on this blog (see one example here). To define a “nudge” using my own words, I’d say it’s a design that leads a person towards a particular action. That action should be beneficial for the society if we want nudges to be...
Market research : hot technological trends for future TV experience
The IBC fair in Amsterdam drives a lot of smart minds together. A lot of market research firms are present to discuss market trends and evolution. This year a debate (“Hot or not: What are the hottest new TV technologies and devices and how will they transform the TV market?“) was specifically dedicated to technological trends that are likely to change the customer experience. Voice recognition was voted the most underrated technology and VT the most overrated...
Dynamic pricing : natural marketing evolution or threat ?
In a recent article the Guardian recalled the story of John Wanamaker who revolutionized retail by inventing “fixed prices”. As incredible as it may seem, until 1861 prices were set according to the rule of thumb and the perception left by the customer on the salesman. If the latter felt you had money, you’d be charged more than someone else he felt would be poorer. The “one price for all” rule seems however to vanish with...
How Big Data will influence the future of advertising
“What is the impact of Big Data on online advertising” is the question I was asked to answer on the occasion of an EGTA ((European Group of Television Advertising) workshop that took place on 29 and 30 June 2017 in Brussels (my thanks to Yuri Loburets for his kind invitation to speak). Rather than repeating the same clichés about Big Data again and again I chose to put advertising and Big Data back in a historical perspective....
The right to failure doesn’t exist with artificial intelligence. This is terrible.
Artificial intelligence, algorithms based on machine learning, have turned our lives into one of efficiency where failure doesn’t exist anymore. For algorithms an error doesn’t exist ; it’s just a prediction that hasn’t worked because of missing data points. This statistical “accident” will be taken into account to improve predictions a step further. In the field of algorithmic governance failure is not an option anymore. This is very dangerous. Actually I think it’s one of the...
Big Data and Ethics : first sucessful meetup at DigitYser in Brussels
On 15 June 2017 my friend Philippe Van Impe gave me the opportunity to organize the first meetup in his newly opened Big Data temple in Brussels : DigitYser. And what a success ! The topic of this first Meetup at DigitYser was “Big Data and ethics“, an important topic in data science yet insufficiently covered. The idea for this meetup popped up during my talk at the Data Innovation Summit where people started tweeting about...
GDPR : what does data portability really mean ?
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) enforces the concept of data portability. What it means remains however opaque for most of us as the concept behind data portability can’t be easily applied and doesn’t really correspond to any expressed or latent consumer’s needs. Portability : a game changer for many industries, pushed by the European Commission The concept of portability is at the heart of the action of the European Commission for the defense of consumers’...
New Twitter conditions give you a glimpse into how and which personal data collected
On 20 May 2017 Twitter sent an email to its users announcing that new terms and conditions apply. These changes largely apply to data usage, personalization and targeted advertising. One can’t really say it’s a revolution, but at least it’s a first step towards more transparency (something much needed in the field of Big Data). And the new privacy parameters give you an idea of how the personalization algorithms of twitter work and which kind of...
Personalized car insurance has unexpected effects on customers behaviors
A recent article in a French magazine sheds light on progresses made by insurance company Allianz in the field of personalized car insurance. Like many other firms in the field, Allianz believes in the usefulness of telematic units (black boxes) to monitor drivers’ behaviors and better evaluate risks. 20000 customers of Allianz have already opted in France; a rather small number that reflects the risks perceived by customers (as for instance on the Norwegian market) Is...
Youtube recommendations : user experience and algorithmes better than ever
If you are addicated to YouTube, chances are high their recommendation systems play an important role in your addiction. Our deep interest in recommendation engines and algorithms makes us naturally gravitate towards the YouTube app to assess their latest developments. And the least we can say is that the latest version of their recommendation algorithm is extremely good and likely to trigger addiction among users. How YouTube recommendations work YouTube has considerably improved its app and...
Interview of Edward Vizard on implementing Pay-What-You-Want at Garçonne & Chérubin
A few weeks ago we discussed an interesting, yet rather unusual, pricing scheme in the retail sector applied by e-merchant Garçonne & Cherubin : the Pay-What-You-Want system. We discuss today the experience of Edward Vizard, founder of Garçonne & Chérubin, on this pricing scheme. IntoTheMinds: How did you come up with the idea of making a Pay-What-You-Want system? Edward Vizard : Being of British origin and particularly interested in UK consumers’ consumption patterns, I got interested in new...
Ford builds trust and satisfaction with the Ford video check
Ford is currently rolling out a new digital tool that will help build trust and enhance customer satisfaction : the Ford video check. We tested it and it’s just amazing. Read further to see how Ford is transforming the car maintenance experience into a trust building experience that will eventually improve customer loyalty. Car maintenance and repair : a matter of trust If you have already brought your car for repair, you know how stressful it...
Education : machine learning for better learning
Among the really exciting application of machine learning, there is one that fascinates me : machine learning in the classroom. Recently some very exciting applications have been described to use algorithms to enhance the quality of education and make children smarter. This field of research was cited among the top 10 technologies to follow in 2017. There is hope : data can be used for Greater Good I had been very pessimistic in 2015-16 about the...
Virtual Reality : Interview of ArtMyn founder, Loic Baboulaz
After a visit at EPFL in Lausanne we discovered the work of ArtMyn, a startup specialising in Virtual Reality applied to Art. We interwied its founder, Loïc Baboulaz, to understand the genesis of ArtMyn and the evolution of the virtual reality market. IntoTheMinds : where does the original idea for ArtMyn come from ? Loic Baboulaz : ARTMYN is born from the academic project called eFacsimile that ran from 2012 to 2015 at the Laboratory of...
Recommendation algorithms : the myth of filter bubbles at stake
We’ve already discussed filter bubbles on this blog, a rather technical term that describes the negative effet of algorithms on our digital life. For more information read this thorough article. Whether or not filter bubbles really exist is still debated and I wanted to compile all scientific results on the subject. There are actually very few of them/ Although Pariser (2011) has claimed the obvious existence of filter bubbles, contradictory results have been obtained. Interestingly Anderson...
Artificial intelligence: are algorithms biased by nature ?
I attended a workshop at the Maastricht European Centre on Privacy and Cybersecurity where I met Prof. Alessandro Mantelero of Polytecnico di Torino. Prof. Mantelero is well known as a specialist in the protection of personal data, which has become a very important topic with GDPR. In his talk he was discussing among other things the biases of algorithms and highlighted the need to avoid them. Using examples from the insurance sector (smart boxes) and from...
I finally found a useful Virtual Reality (VR) application
I have often been disappointed by Virtual Reality (VR) applications. Like IoT (Internet of Things) most VR applications add no or little value for the user. There is an entertainment effect but it’s far from sufficient to make you a loyal and recurrent user. On my latest visit to Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) I had the opportunity to quickly visit the Pierre Soulages exhibition that has held in the Art Lab. This exhibition was...
When will the IoT market eventually crash ?
I attended the first day of Unconvention in Brussels in January and what I saw and heard made me reflect on the value of innovation. During the first set of presentation, a speaker explained the current state of an IoT project in Porto where sensors had been implemented everywhere to make the city management more efficient and life more livable. For instance sensors measured pollutants (ozone and CO2) and connected to busses’ wifi Hub spots to...
Measuring emotions for a better customer experience management
Can we measure customer experience ? This is a topic we already discussed here and the answer was no. Let me come with a new proposal that was addressed by Sensum during the CPDP 2017 conference : can our body reactions be a reliable measure of customer experience (or at least part of it). Please read further to discover more about this very exciting insights into how measuring reliably emotions can help us better understand customer...
Will Snap Spectacles glasses revive the augmented reality trend?
My brain suddenly made connections between two completely unrelated events : a market research report issued by App Annie, and an announcement by GetNarrative. App Annie predicted that connected glasses will be on the rise in 2017 and GetNarrative announced it was ending business. Read further to understand the link (at least in my brain) between the two events. Connected glasses will rise in 2017 Market researchers at App Annie wrote : Consumer and development interest...
Customer satisfaction, customer experience and big data
Improving customer experience is priority #1 of top executives for the next 12 months (Lemon and Verhoef 2016). At the same time Big Data is on every serious company’s agenda. How can Big Data contribute to creating a customer experience that will ensure customer retention ? This is the topic of today’s article where we will question the usefulness of Big Data in today’s digital sphere (yes ! we’ll dare doing that !). What is customer...
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