'Consumption upgrade,' 'new retail,' these are the new concepts that more and more Chinese companies are shifting toward. These were also demonstrated quite clearly at the recently held 2017 Tmall Beauty Awards. One company in particular, Alibaba Group, has taken these ideas further and just last October, announced the restructuring of their e-commerce business utilizing a "Five New" strategy. According to Alibaba Group, the strategy revolves around five key concepts: New Retail, New Finance, New Manufacturing, New Technology and New Energy, and is based on the belief that the consumer experience will drive the future of retail.

 With its opening in May 2017 and with products aimed at meeting the wants and needs of its Chinese customers, Tmall R&D Center, located in Silicon Valley, works together with 10 other well-known global giants including Microsoft, Misfit, 3M and Intel. The advantage of being located in such a tech-centered area is that once their plan is in full operation, the company's Chinese customers will have first access to the most advanced IT products originating from Silicon Valley in the U.S. Naturally, these benefits flow both ways in a type of virtuous cycle with feedback from these customers going to the global brands and other startups to help them further improve the customer experience.

 In the meantime, in the early stages of this process, Tmall Silicon Valley R&D Center has recently presented its 'Marvelous Capsule,' which is the company's new take on the classic time capsule. The time capsule itself isn't really that old either considering that it first came into use in 1939 when during the World Fair in New York a microscope, telephone and other common goods at the time were buried in an effort to preserve them for the future. With this as inspiration, Tmall created their own 'Marvelous Capsule.' The interesting difference with this though is that while a time capsule gives the opener a glimpse into the past, the 'Marvelous Capsule' essentially lets people see into the future by showing a collection of items that have been voted on by customers.

 More and more these days it is becoming quite obvious that the age of AI is truly upon us. As testament to this, the items within the collection are likewise representative of five modern smart technologies, namely: smart home furnishing, smart phone apps, wearable tech, robotic housekeepers and customizability. One particular item of interest for many among the items in the 'Marvelous Capsule,' comes the Hover Camera, a type of drone-like device that can fly low and nearby users to take pictures anytime, anywhere as it also makes use of light detection and ultrasonic sensors.

 As with many things though, all of these technological marvels do bring a number of concerns. For many, the realization that robot technologies may take their jobs is becoming more likely. Perhaps not right now, but in the next 20 years, it is expected that AI will bring a whole new level of marketing to the world. In China for now, the digital media field is still quite substantially fragmented. Copious amounts of data from companies and even unknown sources, despite this fragmentation, do still boast a significant amount of power. With the advent of better AI, this data can be put to much greater use. AI will be capable of enhancing the implementation of multi-platform strategies and hence, work far more efficiently than its human counterparts. A recent example of this in action can be seen in the influencer marketing campaign, in which a number of influencers and online platforms were compared to find the best possible match for a company. Alibaba Group again comes to mind here with their AI design system, Luban, which essentially manages banner advertising and product display on the Alibaba website. Perhaps designers of the future need to consider partnerships with robots!

 Regardless of whether AI is seen as having positive implications for the future, or whether it is felt that people's jobs will be taken from them, it is undeniable that AI is already a part of our everyday life. As such, I am looking forward to seeing how Amorepacific step up to the plate as they compete against other global leaders in the field of AI.