South Africa is the first market to test Mastercard’s new next generation biometric card, combining chip technology with fingerprints to verify the cardholder’s identity for in-store purchases. The demonstration happened two weeks ago at Absa Bank and Pick n Pay, a leading supermarket retailer. MasterCard has also previously trialed facial biometrics for payments, launching a…
A recent study shows consumers aren’t warming up to the idea of so-called “smart homes,” where everything from their appliances to lighting to their air conditioning is voice controlled and connected. Beyond the early adopter crowd, most consumers would prefer to keep things under control manually, according to survey of nearly 10,000 consumers in the U.S., the…
Walmart is collaborating with Five Elements Robotics on a new way to shop using carts that can be helpful, and were featured at the Bloomberg Technology Conference. ZDNet reports: It’s part of an emerging chapter of the ongoing war between brick-and-mortar retailers and the king of fast-delivery online sellers: Amazon.com. The announcement that Walmart is…
No joke: Kentucky Fried Chicken has created an edible nail polish based on the brand’s two favorite recipes: Original and Hot & Spicy. Can a nail polish really be finger-licking good? And who came up with this idea? You can get it in Hong Kong, and no, it will not be mass produced. The ad…
Thanks to technology and automation, more corporations are losing the “voice of the customer” rather than invest in human ears to listen to those who make or break our businesses. How can we be smarter about hearing what our customers have to say, and then acting on those complaints, suggestions and nuggets of insights? My…
Our friends at Consumer Goods Technology (CGT) report: Jean-François van Boxmeer, chief executive of Heineken, the world’s third largest brewer, told CNBC that he expected to see continued sales growth in emerging markets, despite the occasional “hiccup” in the future. Heineken reported higher first-half results than markets expected as it increased profit in all regions except Africa and…
A new study tells us what many already know: Millennials will be the largest generation in the U.S. workforce as of 2015. Yet we often have a difficult time hiring members of this youngest professional generation. Why is that? Check out this infographic and see if you can glean some insights: The study reveals changes…
Most corporations and their stockholders who are struggling might believe that they are in business to make money. But those forward-thinking businesses that are thriving right now know that it’s about much more than that. It’s about the social value of people. I work with clients around the world to help them understand how to…
The year is yet young, and already several companies are emerging as the ones to watch in innovation. Every year FastCompany publishes its most innovative companies. Some of these are well known, others may be new to you: Post by InnovationEdge.
If you’re going to shell out the money for premium ice cream, you would be pretty unhappy if your pistachios were soggy, right? That’s what one Massachusetts woman thought, and she decided to take her dissatisfaction all the way to the top. What she didn’t expect was an invitation to visit the Ben & Jerry’s…
