News
Smart cities are the way of the future and will benefit not only businesses and governments but also its residents. The technology that will help could range from increased security, thanks to the likes of HD Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled CCTV and parking optimisation, through to smart lighting and a fully WiFi-enabled town centre to improve connectivity. There could also be green initiatives, such as electric car charging and monitoring air quality via phones, to reduce pollution exposure by citizens.
With better living conditions for its residents, their numbers will swell and this will lead to an increase in businesses as demand for them grows, which in term will boost employment opportunities, all of which will benefit local councils through greater income from tax, which can then be reinvested.
So the question is how can this be achieved...
Connectivity is a major focus. City centres need to be able to offer high quality Wi-Fi connectivity, which in turn could allow businesses to provide more personalised services through apps and as well as mobile checkout facilities and click-and-collect, thereby being able to compete with ecommerce. It could also facilitate the connection between people living in cities and therefore build stronger communities, creating a better place for people to live and work.
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Dr Liam Fox, the UK’s Secretary of State for International Trade, has launched a new FinTech investment drive to attract more funding into the sector. Investment into the sector grew by 153% last year to £1.8bn.
As well as investment the drive will also create a steering board and work on building collaborations between academics, industry experts and businesses.
The steering board will be chaired by the City of London’s Lord Mayor, Charles Bowman, and firms including Zopa, Neyber, EY, Innovate Finance and Santander will sit alongside government, regulators and academics from MIT and Oxford University.
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Amazon is partnering up with Marriott International to launch Alexa Hospitality across select locations this summer.
The service will be available to guests upon request and can provide information on things such as spa opening times, as well as the ability to order room service and housekeeping.Thereby reducing the demand for a constantly manned hotel reception desk.
As well as this Alexa can be configured to allow guests to control in-room technology such as lights, thermostats, blinds and TV or radio preferences.
There is also the potential to create a temporary connection to the guest's account to provide a more personalised visit.
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Spearheaded by Capital Enterprise, a consortium including Tech Nation, Diversity VC and Your Startup, Your Story, are aiming to double the diversity of founders in London tech startups over the next two years.
The initiative is being supported by JP Morgan Chase and is focused on increasing investment for tech startups founded by women and people from minority ethnicity backgrounds.
The campaign aims to raise a total of £15.1m of investment for startups, and create 300 new tech jobs by working with over 50 venture capital firms, angel investors and tech accelerators across the capital.
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Uber is set to launch its electric bike sharing service across Europe this summer on the back of its purchase of Jump in April.
The news was announced by Uber's CEO Dara Khosrowshahi at a conference in Berlin, where the scheme will initially launch before spreading to other European cities.
This forms part of Uber's move to improve relations with governments and local bodies, following issues raised about safety and regulations.
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Prime Minister Theresa May has said Britain will reap the benefits of a huge £2.3bn investment that could create 1,600 news tech jobs, whilst speaking at a meeting with tech leaders during London Tech Week.
The majority of the investment comes from US tech giants and venture capitalists including Salesforce, a cloud company, which has pledged to invest £1.9bn in the UK over the next five years as well as open its second UK data centre in 2019, which could create 900 jobs.
UAE investor, Mubadala, is also launching a £300m European investment fund based in the UK. NTT Data, deliverer of technology-enabled services and solutions, are investing £41m to open a new office and Innovation Centre in London, which should create up to 200 jobs over the next three years.
In Spring 2019 a new “Start-up Visa” will be launched. This will allow tech founders to use a visa route which is usually only exclusively available to university graduates.
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Deliveroo, the food delivery company, has just launched a £5m innovation fund, in a rather unexpected move.
The three broad aims of the fund are: firstly investing in existing restaurants, secondly developing new brands to operate from delivery-only "Deliveroo Editions", and thirdly working with up-and-coming chefs to support their business through delivery-only options.
It is not yet known whether the CEO Will Shu, who previously worked as an investment banker at Morgan Stanley, will play a key role in the fund.
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Bright Little Labs, a UK EdTech startup, has secured investment from Turner International’s Digital Ventures & Innovation fund to help teach kids how to code through spy-based adventure stories. Turner International is the powerhouse behind Cartoon Network and a host of other global brands such as CNN, TNT and Boomerang.
The company was started in 2015 and launched a kickstarter campaign in 2016 for its first product, Detective Dot, which focused of making computer science more accessible to children, parents and teachers.
The funding will be used to develop the platform, grow the London team - including new technical and operational roles - and power its international expansion.
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Mastercard has created the UK’s first Smart Mirror with payment function, which it will begin rolling out later this year; a move it says will shake up shopping as we know it.
The mirror recognises products as they enter the fitting room, creating a virtual shopping basket and a multi-sensory shopping experience. It allows shoppers to change the lighting and language, view/request size and colour variations, seek out further recommended items, request garments to be brought directly to the fitting room and finally, pay seamlessly and instantly by tapping the mirror with a card, payment device or through the app.
A number of US retailers including Levi’s currently use the Smart Mirror, which was demonstrated at the recent Money 20/20 Europe summit, and and it will be rolling out to UK changing rooms soon.
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According to a study by Oliver Wyman’s Retail & Consumer Goods practice - which had 1,500 participants - the following five retail myths were debunked.
1. Myth: Shopping has become truly omnichannel.
Fact: Most journeys are still overwhelmingly single-channel, though this is changing.
2. Myth: The sales channel doesn’t matter.
Fact: When consumers purchase online, they tend to buy more.
3. Myth: Online shopping is about instant gratification.
Fact: Online journeys tend to be longer than in-store.
4. Myth: The retailer doesn’t matter.
Fact: Spend is dramatically higher at brand stores and websites than in multibrand stores.
5. Myth: Consumers always want something new.
Fact: Very often, they are happy to rebuy the same or a similar item.
Following on from these results brands and retailers should focus on integrating their e-commerce units into the rest of their commercial organisations, replacing channels that compete for sales from the same customer with a structure that puts the customer first. In the future, customers will decide where and how they shop, and the retail business must make this as smooth - and profitable - as possible.
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