Omnichannel

British retailer Tesco is launching an ambitious augmented reality program today that will let consumers see 3-D images of more than 40 products online. Consumers have to use a “marker” like a Tesco catalog or club card to activate the augmented reality.

Specialty retailer Old Navy is upping its mobile efforts with an iPhone application designed to increase holiday sales and let consumers know about new products. The Snap Appy app lets consumers scan products in-store to unlock season-themed surprises and rewards while shopping.

Sears Canada announced the debut of a wish book application for the iPad, allowing thousands of items to be viewed, added to wish lists and purchased with the tap of a finger on the iPad.

Google Catalogs has doubled its collection of catalogs to include more than 100 brands and 300 individual catalogs from brands such as Williams-Sonoma, Sephora and Nordstrom.

Macy’s is using augmented reality as part of its Believe campaign, an annual national holiday effort to support the Make-A-Wish Foundation. In past years Macy’s has asked customers to mail their letters to Santa to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation. 

Since New York-based Lord & Taylor deployed radio frequency identification (RFID) technology in six of its U.S. stores to track inventory on its shoe displays, the company has seen a significant increase in sales.

Walgreens may be on the verge of revolutionizing the role of the pharmacist. The pharmacy operator is placing iPads in the hands of "health guides" across 20 pilot stores in Chicago. 

Toys"R"Us is making its annual holiday print catalog digitally available via email, Facebook and the retailer's website. The print book also features QR codes that can be scanned for additional product information.

VeriFone Media is revamping the taxi TV systems it operates in 6,800 New York City cabs to offer a second channel, interactive tickers, in-cab purchases and printable coupons.

Earlier this year, Retail Online Integration gathered together three leading video 
e-commerce experts for a conference call to discuss best practices and trends within the emerging channel that retailers need to be aware of in 2012. Joining us on the call were Justin Foster, John Lazarchic and Jon Schroeder.