New York Fashion Tech Lab (NYFTL) Tech Runway Demo Day 2017

Executive Summary

Fung Global Retail & Technology attended the New York Fashion Tech Lab’s (NYFTL’s) Tech Runway Demo Day 2017 in New York City on June 14. The event featured NYFTL’s fourth accelerator class of startups, which consisted of nine women-led companies. The startups’ various areas of focus include creating new ways for customers to shop, new ways for retailers to track engagement and new ways for retailers to communicate and engage with customers.

• New ways for customers to shop: Four of the presenting startups are developing new ways for customers to shop. Markable’s image-recognition technology enables users to shop while they watch TV. Obsess is a virtual reality (VR) platform that will enable fashion brands to create a different shopping experience via virtual stores. Snap Tech is a visual search tool that makes content shoppable. Zeekit has created an augmented-reality (AR) solution that allows consumers to virtually try on all of the clothes in a store’s inventory after simply uploading a photo of themselves.
• New ways for retailers to track engagement: Two of the presenting startups have created technologies designed to track and enhance brand loyalty. Awear Solutions’ frequent-flyer-type fashion solution tracks and rewards customers who wear particular apparel items. Point 93 is an app that determines the price that a customer is willing to pay for an item, and how long the customer is willing to pay it.
• New ways for retailers to communicate and engage with customers: Three of the startups that presented focus on targeting relevant content to consumers in an exciting way that generates revenue. Camera IQ is an AR platform that enables brands to connect with their audience through engaging and interactive content. E-Contenta uses artificial intelligence to track a website’s most-read content, which it repackages for specific groups. Findmine is an automated personal stylist that offers outfit suggestions for users.