Coffee chain Starbucks opened Signing Stores in Guangzhou, China, and Washington, DC, which are entirely with deaf and hearing imparied baristas in order to be more inclusive of the Deaf communities. The café ordering system works through two-way digital displays and notepads and integrates a non-sign language option of an electronic board for coffee enthusiasts to hand write their orders. Using vibrating pagers, customers can sense when their purchase is ready to pick up. The stores also offer sign language workshops.

Coffee chain Starbucks partnered with Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba to create a virtual store in China, allowing customers to place online orders across Alibaba Group’s mobile apps, as well as the Starbucks app. Customers can also buy digital Starbucks gift cards via the ‘Say It with Starbucks’ option and earn rewards in the Starbucks Rewards program.

Chinese live streaming platform Douyu earns revenue by allowing fans to buy digital gifts for their favorite live streamers, who can then convent the gifts into Chinese yuan (with the platform taking a 50% cut). 

The just-finished facility features art that spans centuries, showing off the best of China's art and updating the airport experience

The brand created its own app complete with WeChat integration to fit the needs of consumers in China who are increasingly interested in streetwear

The following seven restaurants and cafes are leveraging cutting-edge technology and robotic hardware to provide consumers with self-service dining

The e-retailer is using historical artifacts and and art to inspire millennial-friendly products that help cultural institutions to drive engagement

Carrying over the popularity of livestream retail experiences from China, ShopShops allows U.S. consumers to view live shopping events from brands and click to buy

The Chinese government is employing artificial intelligence to evaluate food during the production process to evaluate authenticity and consistency with standards

The Scandinavian brand is building a next-gen store experience that merges the best of online and offline retail in a shopping journey designed around social-media sharing and personalization

Raise's CEO speaks to PSFK about how the payment platform evolved from a gift card marketplace into a centralized mobile transaction experience, redefining loyalty programs as a next-gen digital wallet

From PSFK's Shopper Data Debrief, here's how three retailers are leveraging in-store purchase data to help inform inventory choices and predict consumer needs

From PSFK's Shopper Data Debrief report, here's how today's brands and retailers are retaining valuable consumer data from in-store tracking technologies

The mega etailer recently announced its development of apps that will connect drivers to its ecommerce hub, letting them drive and shop on command