Cotton Prices Skyrocket! Puts Pressure Onto Retailers

My Submission to RetailProphet.com

With over 25 million tonnes of cotton being consumed each year, a shortage was to be inevitable - not to mention the natural disasters that have devastated the crops of many of the world's largest cotton producing nations. To businesses, a cotton shortage means increased costs as the price of cotton doubled the last year, which will subsequently be passed onto the consumers. To combat this situation, some retailers have started to use synthetics like polyester as substitutes or to create blended cotton. However, if synthetics of chemical compound are fused with cotton, they cannot be recycled or properly disposed and some fashion retailers have been falsely positioning themselves as being sustainable. Outdoor apparel retailer, Patagonia, has taken the innovative approach to promote environmentalism. They launched the “Common Threads Program” which declares that they will take everything back they’ve produced to recycle, reuse or repair. The program has proved to be a huge success.

A New Era: Mobile NFC

My Submission to RetailProphet.com

Do you believe that the traditional methods of retail are becoming less effective as new technologies and concepts emerge? Retail is continuously maturing and with so much competition in the industry, new methods to entertain customers and promote productivity are being introduced. We’ve seen E-retail, RFID technology, self-checkout and much more! As the industry advances forward once again, we're entering into an era of mobile retailing. Retailers have already started creating apps with incredible features for smartphones. But smartphones are no longer just smartphones. With the new NFC (Near Field Communication) technology that is available on latest models (not on iPhone 4s), it is virtually a credit card – but better! There are several functions of NFC on your phone, but definitely one of coolest is“contactless transactions”. How will this technology impact the retail industry and the world as it is incorporated into stores, buses, subways, restaurants? So many possibilities!