Show me the goods... and show me where you got them

I have recently had my nose in a great book called Digilogue by Anders Sorman-Nilsson. Fantastic read. Highly recommended for any business or brand  wanting to identify ways and means of engaging with consumers in the digital age. Anders believes the most successful brands in the future will be those who manage to integrate a brand experience across online and offline channels - integrating 'digital' with 'analogue'. I would have to agree.

Even when it comes to relatively quick and inexpensive purchases, consumers still show their capacity to enhance their experience by layering online and offline channels on top of one another. For example, customers at Starbucks can track where the beans were sourced that 

---

ended up in the cup they are drinking from  (see here). 

There is huge potential in other categories for brands to showcase product origins as digital stories. Take fashion as an example. Consumers in-store can scan item labels with their smartphones and find out the story of its creation. This type of supply chain transparency would enable consumers to make more informed purchase decisions. But it also adds a depth and connection to the overall customer experience at that store. Not to mention that brands have another means with which to communicate their values to consumers and build trust. 

If you want to show consumers your goods in the future, then you will also have to be prepared to show them where those goods came from.