As every year since 2016, Viva Technology took place last 16 June. This event gives voice and visibility to the technological innovations that today’s brands are carrying out internally. Technology is celebrated in a space located in Paris and attended by more than 20,000 people this year.

In this edition we could appreciate several innovations that retailers rolled out and that could be interesting for retail, commerce and business. We observe that the trend towards the inclusion of the metaverse as a business model was clearly reflected during the event. Although this movement is seen in almost all retail sectors worldwide, it is much more noticeable in the luxury fashion and beauty sector. Delivery services were also well discussed during the event.

LVMH the house that does not conceive the innovation without creativity 

The brand has been one of the founding partners of Viva Tech since its creation.

The LVMH Gallery, a totally eco-designed lab brought together the latest innovations from its brands and the solutions of startups selected for their vision of the customer experience of tomorrow. In addition, the firm has created an avatar, Livi, who mediated during the group’s talks on the future of commerce technology and established itself as the face of innovation.  

Watches are the new trendy device

Bulgari presented the world’s thinnest watch, the Octo Finissimo Ultra, a device equipped with a QR code engraved on the barrel. Once scanned, the code gives access to an NFT combining a certificate of authenticity on the blockchain and exclusive multimedia content.

Tag Heuer also made NFT watches, which let you display your NFT on the watch. The company also allowed the customer to buy the watch with cryptocurrency.

La poste found the formula for autonomous delivery

La Poste the company that manages France’s postal system, presented important innovations which can be decisive in reducing the environmental impact that the company can generate through its package delivery journeys. In addition, La Poste aims to position itself as a competitive player in the package delivery system. Today’s consumers ask for instant service, and more and more companies are coming up with innovative solutions to meet this need.

The company has developed, for instance, an autonomous vehicle which can move by itself through traffic. The device can also act as a temporary collection point or parcel delivery service.

With this action, we observe that La Poste is trying to get competitive in front of today’s big retailers such as Amazon or Walmart. Both companies have tested and succeeded in carrying out home deliveries using drones or autonomous cars. Delivery companies cannot become obsolete, they must stay at the forefront and closely follow the actions of the leaders in the sector.

Another technology on the La Poste booth was of particular interest: the Cray X exoskeleton for heavy loads. With its motorized arms, legs and spine, it is intended to assist in loading and unloading lorries and preparing orders, absorbing up to 70% of the load. 

Although we are adaptable to almost all kinds of situations, are we as consumers prepared to receive a package delivered by a robot? 

L’OREAL also bets on the metaverse

L’Oréal is building a diverse ecosystem of Web3 partners with artists, communities and technology platforms such as Arianee and People of Crypto, a creative lab that promotes diversity and representation in Web3. 

On the other hand, L’Oréal has signed a unique partnership with Open Sea, the world’s first NFT marketplace, to create a world of its own brand codes on the platform, with unique virtual experiences and collectibles exploring the future of beauty.

As it is not a surprise that this event has seen several actions and innovations from the brands aimed at introducing more in-depth metaverse and the Web3, it is striking to note that L’Oréal’s efforts have been entirely directed towards this sector.

Another innovation that should be mentioned is that the group launched Yves Saint Laurent Beauté’s “Scent-Sation”, which allows the public to find the fragrance that best reveals their emotions. This is a unique immersive experience that uses a connected headset to assess consumers’ emotional responses to different scent categories to help them find the perfect fragrance.