E-commerce giant Alibaba is opening smart stores in China, letting customers use an app to check prices and get personalised recommendations through big data analytics. By creating an omnichannel experience, the brand is hoping that brick-and-mortar will fast become brick-and-mobile.

Artificial intelligence is still in its infancy, yet business decision-makers see it as pivotal to success, with 900,000 companies expected to be using some form of the technology by 2022. How exactly are firms adopting these tools? And how can AI help them meet the needs of their customers?

Why is the peer-to-peer sales model enjoying a renaissance? How do people’s purchases impact their sense of self? What’s got shoppers so cynical about brands’ claims of transparency? And how are brick-and-mortar retailers using technology to enhance the in-store experience?

Thanks to higher incomes and more open economic policies, Chinese consumer culture has seen a meteoric rise over the last decade. But with an increase in affluence comes an increase in the desire for new stuff. They say money can’t buy you happiness, but China’s shoppers are willing to try.