Once a signifier of luxury or novelty, custom products and services are now within reach of the everyday consumer, thanks to the rise of artificial intelligence, algorithm-led platforms, and the COVID-era digitisation boom. Today, everyone wants to be the main character of their brand experience.

AR-powered shopping was somewhat fledgling pre-COVID-19, but once many brands were forced to digitise, it was propelled into the mainstream. Unlike some new shopping behaviours, which may fall to the wayside post-pandemic, people see AR as useful and expect to keep using it going forward.

COVID-19 has led to an uplift in e-commerce, and customers are planning to keep much of their shopping online way beyond the pandemic’s end. Canvas8 spoke to brand expert Mark Pilkington, author of Retail Recovery, about the role bricks and mortar stores will play for consumers in the future.

From eco-credentials to delivery times, discerning shoppers have extensive checklists for brands to meet. But as people increasingly blend online and offline purchasing, what factors affect their buying decisions? Canvas8 spoke to Dr. Andong Cheng about picky shoppers and how to spot them.

A pandemic success story, Canada-born multinational e-commerce platform Shopify is positioning itself as the company that puts the power back into the hands of small to medium-sized independent businesses, especially those that have long faced stiff competition from Amazon.