Editor's Note: 4 Cool Retail Technologies for the Hot Summer Months
Not sure where you are right now, but unless it's Alaska or Antartica, you're probably somewhere where the air is hot and humid. (I know I am, as I write this column from my home office in Brooklyn, N.Y. in early July.) That's why I thought I'd take a look at some cool (get it, cool) retail technology trends I've heard about recently. Here are four I found particularly interesting:
1. Try-before-you-buy online content. One of the biggest drawbacks to online shopping is not being able to "try before you buy." Let's face it, despite the fact that e-commerce is exploding, many consumers today still don't buy merchandise (especially high-ticket items) online because they can't try out the items before they buy them. Well, the lighting section on Anthropolgie's website has solved this problem with a cool use of rich media. When a shopper places their cursor over pictures of lamps on the site, they can see what the lamps look like when they're lit up. It's simple, easy to use and very effective.
2. Interactive video. Yes, video marketing is nothing new for cross-channel retailers. But British apparel and accessories retailer Burberry took video marketing a step further earlier this year when it launched an interactive video experience to display the features of its new Burberry Brights eyewear collection. The full-screen YouTube video starts with rain falling on a pair of folded-up Burberry Brights sunglasses. The rain then stops and the screen expands while the glasses unfold. Viewers can click on the different colors underneath the video to change the color of the glasses. The glasses also move around the screen in an interesting way. Some fall into a puddle of water, for example, while others dance. It's a fun, memorable experience for the user (in this case, me).
3. Gesture-controlled window displays. Hidden Creative, a Manchester, England-based company that specializes in augmented reality applications, launched its gesture-controlled window display technology earlier this year. The Gesture Catalogue application allows retailers to promote their products by inviting consumers to browse a website, catalog or brochure projected onto a storefront window using their hand and body movements. Along with increasing foot traffic into stores, the application also enables consumers to purchase merchandise from a store before it opens or after it's closed. Consumers can also check stock availability and locate items in the store via the application. While this hasn't launched on our shores yet, when it does I bet it will be a big hit with both retailers and consumers alike.
4. Next-generation virtual assistants. Digital signage that uses holographic imaging and audio-visual technology to create the illusion of a real person made its U.S. debut at Duane Reade's flagship store in New York City in early July. The technology, called the Tensator Virtual Assistant, is provided by Lawrence, a Tensator Group Co., and takes the form of a female greeter who welcomes shoppers and provides them with information about anything they'd like to know about the store and its products. Completely customized for Duane Reade, the greeter currently has seven different scripts, each of which speaks to a different store element. Duane Reade is the first retailer to deploy Lawrence's Virtual Assistant technology. Other commercial applications have been in use in the U.K. at London Luton Airport and Birmingham Airport. An updated version of the Virtual Assistant is reportedly in the works, with more interactive and dynamic capabilities planned. Talk about service!
Have you come across any retail technologies recently that you thought were super cool? If so, drop me a line at mcampanelli@napco.com and let's discuss.
