Hello, this is the Co-op Digital newsletter - it looks at what's happening in the internet/digital world and how it's relevant to the Co-op, to retail businesses, and most importantly to people, communities and society. Thank you for reading - send ideas and feedback to @rod on Twitter. Please tell a friend about it!

[Images: moominlounge]

A visit to Amazon’s “clicks and mortar” pop-up shop

Amazon has announced ten pop-up shops in the UK that’ll give online-only sellers a high street presence. It’s a partnership between Enterprise Nation, Amazon, Square and Direct Line for Business. (Press release.) The newsletter sent a detective to check out the Manchester shop. From their dossier:

It's about 6 stalls. Has the feeling of a craft fair. Small brands and makers. An eclectic mix. Leather goods (iPad covers, laptop cases etc), notebooks, jewellery, electric scooters, ladies fashion designer, sustainable foods (lots of coconut, no palm oil). Perfect for experimenting around what works.

There is a bank of Amazon lockers at the back of the store. Amazon orange is used throughout for signs, arrows etc but overall branding is Clicks and Mortar and the branding of the 'stall' holders. Purchases logged into an iPad interface, and each retailer seemed to do their own payments - might have been Square-powered. 

The retailer I bought from has been going as an online business for 5 years - no physical presence. Seemed very happy to have been given the opportunity to take part by Amazon. Said he was there for 2 weeks.

And here’s what the shop itself says:

"We take an empty shop, add a selection of small e-commerce businesses and give them time to sell and promote their products in physical stores then we start all over again until we have to give the shop back".

You could imagine a range of reactions to Amazon being on the high street.

• You might be delighted if you’re an online retailer selected to participate.
• You might feel positive: Amazon is mindful of the pressures the high street faces, and that internet shopping has made those pressures worse, and it is giving something back.
• Neutral: the internet cannot be put back into the box - the high street will definitely change a lot in future, and this is the high street evolving.
• Or maybe you’d feel resigned: Amazon would like to be involved in *all* commercial activity, so the high street is just another channel to try out.
• The negative view is that 100 popped-up stalls isn’t going to save the high street when 50,000 shops closed last year.
• Cynical: it’s a PR move, high street-washing. Eventually the only shops left on the high street will be hipster re-enactment societies, in which you can rent a shop by the hour to experience being Ye Olde shop-keep, plying yer trade.
• (Tell the newsletter your own reaction.)

Last month eBay announced their own pop-up experiment (see here, eBay collects the sales data ;)). Is the underlying trend here “online-to-offline”? Or perhaps it’s the mainstreaming of pop-up shops: interesting, unique or hand-made goods sold in time-constrained settings?

Related:

• Near.st helps you find products that are in shops nearby.
• Appear Here is an Airbnb for retail space.
• Amazon Counter will offer staffed package collection points at other retailers. The lead UK partner, Next, says “In a tough retail environment our aim is that Amazon Counter will contribute to the continued relevance and vibrancy of our stores.”

On having diverse teams

These are all good reads on diversity:

Energyco Bulb’s People Matter: an update on diversity is great - and good to see its breadth: not all organisations monitor things like disability.

Agency Snook have written an inclusive recruitment guide.

Agency Ustwo on their progress addressing our gender pay gap.

Event: The Human Hiring Hack - how to improve workforce diversity and inclusion - Mon 1 Jul 6pm at Northcoders, Federation Street, M4 2AH

(Co-op Group’s diversity and inclusion report is in The Co-op Way 2018 report. Co-op’s gender pay gap and modern slavery reports.)
 

US Gov attention on big tech

US Gov may probe big tech for anti-competitive practices. DoJ gets Google and Apple to look into, FTC gets FB and Amazon. That four of the Big Tech five are being mentioned suggested that the US Gov has a general interest in whether big tech is over-reaching or anti-competitive (“should something be done?”), rather than specific infringements in mind.
 

Is trust in the blockchain or the brand?

Carrefour says blockchain tracking is boosting sales of some products:

“Blockchain’s digital tracking technology allows customers to see detailed information on products like when it was harvested or packed - reassuring them on the quality of items they buy and allowing them to avoid products with genetically modified organisms, antibiotics or pesticides if they want.”

Supply chain transparency and accountability is definitely a Good Thing. Shoppers may not have time to read the provenance of every product at the point of purchase, and are unlikely to inspect the integrity of the supermarket’s blockchain itself while they’re in aisle 10. So perhaps it is more accurate to say that here “blockchain” is a badge to highlight that the Carrefour brand already has trust, rather than a means to prove it.
 

Other news

New Zealand’s Next Liberal Milestone: A Budget Guided by ‘Well-Being’ - “Under a revised budget policy, all new spending must advance one of five government priorities that promote the welfare of citizens.”

New ways of communicating mean co-operators don't need to increase their carbon footprint by traveling whenever they want to meet up.

“[Apple] AirPods efficiently communicate your refusal to pretend to be “fully present.” AirPods, then, express a more complete embrace of our simultaneous existence in physical and digital space, taking for granted that we’re frequently splitting our mental energy between the two”.

Northern Fail app has 18,000 downloads - it uses open data to show up-to-the-minute alerts of every fully and part-cancelled service across the Northern Rail network.

Competing with everyone: public company bosses mention Amazon a lot in their earnings reports.

Facebook deletes nearly 25m fake accounts a day - source: FB’s transparency report, Jan-Mar 2019.

“Now, powering up can be as simple as a quick spray before you head out the door.” - Microsoft is teaming up with Lynx to make Xbox-branded deodorant. Ok… right(guard).

Co-op Digital news

“Jared’s talk made me think even harder about the importance of collaboration, inclusivity and co-creation across teams and external organisation” - What we learned from Jared Spool.

“We are now in direct contact with these people, and see them as an extension of our team. They are the subject matter experts” - about the research that shaped Co-operate: an online platform to bring communities together.

Most opened newsletter in the last month: like a vending machine. Most clicked story: Adobe tells users they can get sued for using old versions of Photoshop.
 

Events

Public events:

• Federation friend and social enterprise Amity CIC are offering free coaching sessions - you can book some time with Maria or Katie.
• Linked Data Manchester - Thu 13th Jun 6.30pm at Federation house Defiant.
• Monzo’s Manchester show & tell - Tue, 18 Jun 6.30pm at a mystery location tbd.
• Manchester WordPress User group - Wed 19 Jun 6.30pm at Federation House.
• Freetrade (zero-commission stock investing) crowdfunding roadshow - Wed 19 Jun 6.30pm at Workplace, 4th Floor Churchgate House, 56 Oxford Street, M1 6EU.
• Mind the Gap: will AI and Digital create a more inclusive health system? - Thu 20 Jun 6.30pm at Auto Trader UK, First St, M15 4FN.
• The Human Hiring Hack - how to improve workforce diversity and inclusion - Mon 1 Jul 6pm at Northcoders, Federation Street, M4 2AH.

Internal events:

• Membership show & tell - Fri 7 Jun 3pm at Fed House 6th floor.
• Delivery community of practice - Mon 10 Jun 1.30pm at Fed House.
• Shifts show & tell - Tue 11 Jun 10am at Fed House 6th floor auditorium.
• What has the web team been up to - Tue 11 Jun 1pm at Fed House 5th floor web team area.
• Food ecommerce show & tell - Tue 11 Jun 1.30pm at Fed House 5th floor.
• Health show & tell - Tue 11 Jun 2.30pm at Fed House 5th floor kitchen.
• Data ecosystem show & tell - Wed 12 Jun 3pm at Angel Square 13th floor breakout area.
• Membership show & tell - Fri 14 Jun 3pm at Fed House 6th floor kitchen.
• Digital all-hands - Mon 17 Jun 1.30pm at Fed House Defiant.
• Funeralcare show & tell - Tue 18 Jun 1pm at Angel Square 12th floor breakout area.
• CMO CRM show & tell - Tue 18 Jun 2pm at Angel Square 13th floor communal area.
• Co-operate show & tell - Wed 19 Jun 10am at Fed House 6th floor.
• Engineering community of practice - Wed 19 Jun 1pm at Fed House Defiant.
• Data management show & tell - Thu 20 Jun 3pm at Angel Square 13th floor breakout area.
• Membership show & tell - Fri 21 Jun 3pm at Fed House 6th floor kitchen.

More events at Federation House - and you can contact the events team at  federation.events@coopdigital.co.uk. And TechNW has a useful calendar of events happening in the North West.
 

Thank you for reading

Thank you, clever and considerate readers and contributors. Please continue to send ideas, questions, corrections, improvements, etc to the newsletterbot’s pet marsupial @rod on Twitter. If you have enjoyed reading, please tell a friend!

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