Weekly Insights Dec 9, 2016

Executive Summary

• This week’s note “From the Desk of Deborah Weinswig” discusses Amazon’s new grocery store of the future, Amazon Go, which is currently undergoing employee-only beta testing and is scheduled to open to the public in early 2017.
• ,retailers are able to use pop-up shops to test the waters in the most expensive shopping districts, often at discounted rates. More and more landlords understand the concept of temporary stores, and retailers with brick-and-mortar operations are signing shorter leases.
• The US Supreme Court’s ruling in favor of Samsung Electronics over Apple could create a more expensive process for designers to protect their creations, which could disrupt the fashion industry. Design patent experts say the ruling ultimately overturns decades of patent protection and removes the biggest deterrents to infringers—infringement awards based on the total disgorgement of profits from the end product.
• MasterCard has launched its biometric payment capability in Latin America. Customers in both Brazil and Mexico are now able to verify their identity by using fingerprint-scanning or facial-recognition technology, eliminating the need to remember passwords in order to confirm online payments.