–Mastercard and Swarovski have partnered to create a virtual reality experience for customers to “fully realize scale and engage more deeply with design details,” as luxury brands continue to enter the digital fray. Via Women’s Wear Daily.
–Burberry is partnering with Apple on an augmented reality app, as digital interactions continue to influence up to two-thirds of all luxury purchases. Via Bloomberg.
–Amazon’s unassuming new Echo Plus is “hiding a lot of new tech,” writes the Verge.
–Getty Images will ban any Photoshopped stock images that make a model look significantly thinner, writes the Verge.
–Fast Company the new offering from feminist dating app Bumble: a LinkedIn rival called BumbleBizz.
–Walmart is testing a partnership with August connected home devices that would allow in-home deliveries of online orders, including groceries. Via TechCrunch.
–Women’s Wear Daily predicts American businesses will see a full shift to an ‘influence’ model by 2026 (paywall).
–Estée Lauder’s latest shareholder report includes shoppable digital content, “proof that innovative companies are thinking way beyond brick-and-mortar or even web experiences.” Via Fast Company.
–China has largely blocked WhatsApp, the “last of Facebook products to still be available in mainland China,” reports the New York Times.
–Fast Company previews “Chatterbox,” a new interactive series from Adaptive Studios with “no one set path of storyline.”
–AMC Entertainment is bringing immersive VR experiences to theaters in 2018, with a new partnership with LA-based Dreamscape Immersive. Via the Verge.
–A British supermarket is trialing Fingopay, a new payment system that maps the unique vein pattern in a users’ fingertips. Via the BBC.
–Vangsters is a new platform that wants to be the LinkedIn for the cannabis industry. Via Fast Company.
–L. L. Bean brings its “Be an Outsider” campaign to life with a creative use of photochromic ink, which can only be read outdoors. Via Adweek.
