Sam Blumenthal

Shop LIT’s successful livestream formats include exclusive promotions, product launch announcements and seasonal sales, said Zhang. The platform is integrated with Shopify and can be accessed via the Shopify app store to list products. Each purchase on the app is fulfilled by the individual participating brand. While the app earns revenue from... See more

Synthetic media allows brands to have lifelike digital mascots. Instead of an animated Ronald McDonald, customers could interact with a virtual recreation.  Digital characters will also populate stores: imagine a virtual person taking your order at a fast food drive-thru or answering your questions at the Apple Store. Artificial intelligence will... See more

The core of the Pinduoduo experience is team purchase, where buyers form a group in order to receive discounts from suppliers. The user experience, as laid out in the graphic below, is as follows: (1) for each item, merchants decide two prices – one for individual purchase and one for team purchase. If the user opts for a team purchase, he or she... See more