While the bold claims of changing retail from smart tile maker Pavegen may feel a bit overblown, this one small side street in London is taking an interesting approach to combining what is essentially an energy recycling idea (tiles which can convert the kinetic energy of footsteps into usable electricity) with new retail incentives like live coupons delivered to passersby via an app.  Whether this is actually predicting a new kind of intrusive future for retail or something that could actually make shopping easier and more fun remains to be seen.

Read the full story on Curbed >

Love non-obvious stories? Get my weekly newsletter with stories like this one along with a short but useful analysis of why it matters … all delivered directly to your inbox every Thursday morning!

Subscribe to the Non-Obvious Insights Newsletter here >

WE RECENTLY REMOVED COMMENTING - LEARN WHY HERE >