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World Bank Sees Slowing Productivity and Social Inclusion As Key Challenges for High-Growth East Asia Countries

The success of these economies has been built on the “East Asian Development Model,” which the World Bank says includes policies and initiatives to promote export-oriented manufacturing, supported by education designed to support economic growth.

However, developing East Asia still has some gaps to fill. China’s per capita GDP is only one-fifth the average for high-income economies, followed by Vietnam at just 5% and Cambodia at 3%, according to the World Bank report. When South Korea achieved high-income status in 2000, its labor productivity was 2.5 times higher and its human capital was one-third higher than China’s was in 2018.

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Insights from the 2019 WeChat Pro Conference: Boosting Mini Apps and Personalizing Red Envelopes

Everyone gives away money in small red envelopes called hong bao at the Chinese New Year, and WeChat is launching new features to help users personalize this feature. Traditionally, hong bao are delivered in person, handed directly to the recipient, but in recent years this has gone digital: WeChat says about ¥3 billion was sent by WeChat in 2015 — but that figure climbed to ¥46 billion in just two years. 

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AI Creates Smarter Living: Takeaways from the TechLIFEStyle Conference in Hong Kong

The Coresight Research team attended TechLIFEStyle conference, part of StartmeupHK, held in Hong Kong January 22, 2019. StartmeupHK is an initiative launched by InvestHK to promote Hong Kong as a startup destination, connecting entrepreneurs and investors. The theme of the event was “living smarter, living better,” looking at how lifestyle technology can be woven into everyday life. These are some highlights of the event.

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Luxury FirstLook 2019—Digital Acceleration: Key Takeaways

Coresight Research attended Luxury Daily’s Luxury FirstLook 2019: Digital Acceleration conference in New York. The event was packed with senior executives from luxury brands, retailers, agencies, publishers and service providers. We were there to discuss digital acceleration, but most in the room agreed luxury companies are still in the early stages of adopting cutting-edge technology tools – not keeping up with their more digitally savvy clientele.

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NRF 2019 Day 3: Hearing About Mission-Driven Brands, China’s Digital Leadership and How Inclusion Can Fuel Growth

Over the course of the day, we heard multiple panelists emphasize that consumers want to know what companies and brands stand for, and not just what they are selling. Companies are increasingly taking stands on social and political issues and we expect this trend to continue into 2019. In 2018, Dick’s Sporting Goods took a stand on gun control; Patagonia has a long heritage of being a mission-driven company and has given over $100 million to support environmental issues including air, water, and soil. The company also announced it would donate all the proceeds of the recent corporate tax cut to entities that combat climate change, saying the environment needed the money more.

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NRF 2019 Day 2: Challenging Old Paradigms

Coresight Research Founder and CEO Deborah Weinswig discussed AI in retail with experts from Guess, JD and Markable in a panel discussion called The Intelligence Revolution is Here. Weinswig discussed the massive opportunity in AI in a range of areas from communicating with customers, to optimizing prices and products, to managing inventory and delivering experiential retail.

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NRF 2019 Day 1: The Big Apple’s Big Show Does Not Disappoint

Rich Roll, author and athlete, set the tone for the panel discussion The Wellness Revolution: Consumer Behavior in a New Retail Era, when he outlined what he sees as the secret of success for his podcast. “One reason (it) works is because it is honest and unpolished,” noted Roll. “We are starved for connection and something that is real.” Roll started a health and wellness podcast The Rich Roll Podcastmidlife after spending part of his career as a corporate attorney. Each of his podcasts has an average of 250,000 to 750,000 downloads, and he’s totaled over 50 million downloads. He encouraged retailers to embrace corporate culture that values honesty and integrity.

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