Introduction 

What’s the Story? The Coresight Research team will attend and participate in this year’s Shoptalk conference, which will be held on March 27–30, 2022, in Las Vegas, US. Shoptalk 2022 will address the sudden transformation in the retail environment since the outbreak of Covid-19, as the industry is looking to embrace technology and innovation to address new challenges. On March 27, 2022, Deborah Weinswig, CEO and Founder of Coresight Research, will emcee and feature on the judging panel of Shoptalk 2022’s “Shark Reef” startup pitch competition, which will see 15 early-stage US retail-technology innovators compete to win the Shark’s Choice and Audience Choice awards. In the lead-up to the event, we are profiling the participating innovators. This report forms part of our Innovator Profile series, which focuses on emerging technologies that are disrupting traditional retail and fueling innovation across the retail value chain. We present Glimpse, a retail-technology company that enables brands and retailers to create immersive product trial experiences through collaborations with short-term rentals. Coresight Research collaborated with Glimpse to offer insights into its service capabilities and offerings. Why It Matters Coresight Research categorizes the 15 participating innovators into four areas of disruption in retail. Glimpse falls under “forward-looking physical experiences.” Brands and retailers across multiple sectors are looking to reimagine the brick-and-mortar retail experience to remain competitive in an increasingly digital world. Forward-looking concepts cover order delivery and pickup enhancements, retail space optimization and store traffic analytics. Technology innovators focusing on forward-looking physical experiences can assist retailers in creating a more engaging and convenient store-based shopping journey for their customers.

Glimpse: In Detail

     

Headquarters

New York, New York, US

Funding Stage

Seed stage

Total funding amount: $2.2 million

Company Description Founded in 2020, Glimpse enables brands to launch product-placement campaigns through Glimpse’s network of short-term rentals, allowing brands to pick properties and vacation markets for consumers to trial products in a natural setting. Glimpse coordinates logistics surrounding the shipment and setup of the product through direct integrations with the brand’s fulfillment systems. The company also helps brands convert trial experiences to sales through unique QR codes and single-use discount codes that facilitate easy purchasing. Glimpse aims to assist brands in driving product awareness and increasing conversions by allowing their products to be discovered in the most natural setting through placement in short-term rentals. [caption id="attachment_143989" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Source: Company website[/caption]   What Problem Is the Company Solving? Many brands and retailers, especially those whose primary channel of business is online, can often struggle to market their product in physical settings due to the high cost of leasing retail space. This may lead to the lack of brand awareness, as consumers are not able to view the product in places they normally frequent. Furthermore, when displayed in a shopping center or a physical store, consumers cannot properly trial the product in the setting the product was intended to be experienced in. By collaborating with short-term rentals and vacation spots, Glimpse gives brands and retailers access to strategic product placement in settings where consumers can participate in an immersive trial experience in the product’s intended setting of use. Their solution allows brands to cut costs on expensive retail leases and drive brand awareness through placement in physical destinations where the consumer is more likely to try (and appreciate) the product. Market Opportunity  Many brands and retailers are beginning to turn to experiential marketing of their products to attract customers through immersive trials and themed settings. This is in large part due to increased retail competition and consumer demand for more personalized, effective brand communication by retailers. The experiential marketing services market is set to see an incremental increase in spend of $15.5 billion between 2021 and 2025, representing a CAGR of 5.6%, according to global procurement and sourcing intelligence advisory firm Spendedge. This growth highlights the emphasis that brands and retailers will place on conveying the product experience to consumers through marketing. Furthermore, short-term rentals for vacation spots have gained traction over the last few years, having been popularized by vacation rental company Airbnb. As consumers look to travel again as the impacts of the pandemics lift (abroad or for staycations), the opportunity to market products to a broader consumer base through rental properties will surge.

What We Think

We expect consumers to demand better avenues of trialing and experiencing products before they make purchases. Retailers will come up with innovative ways to market their products to meet these demands. We believe retailers than can provide enhanced experimental marketing to consumers will gain a competitive edge in the market.