New technologies in ecommerce are helping find a medium between virtual and traditional brick-and-mortar storefronts. Some retailers are stepping up their services to provide a more personalized convenient way for shoppers to purchase their products. With the launch of Paypal’s new facial recognition service I decided to take a look into other technologies being used to innovate shopping both offline and online. Lets take a look at these new innovations and how they are changing retail.
1.Facial Recognition
Paypal is leading the way with this technology by releasing a pilot program in the U.K. Customers will be able to pay for items using their mobile phones and taking a picture of their face. This helps combat fraud,speeds up the checkout process, and is convenient for shoppers to avoid lines. Time will tell if this technology can maintain an updated database that would accommodate to the changes in appearance of customers such as a new hair style.
2. Virtual Fitting Rooms
Although this technology is not new, it’s picking up steam as business are trying to accommodate the many different sizes and shapes of customers. A company by the name of Intellifit was the first to pioneer “virtual fitting” which helps find the closest fit in a variety of brands to help shop with ease. A kiosk is placed in a mall or airport where you can scan your body and a “fitprint” is assigned which gives you measurements you can use to purchase clothes from brands such as Nordstrom, Levis, Gap, And more.
3. Augmented Reality Changerooms
Dont have time to try on those cool new pair of jeans you just found? No problem just pose in front of this camera and will show you how it fits. This is the concept behind retailer Topshop, the technology helps customers try on their collection without the need of a dressing room. The driving force behind this technology is a microsoft xbox kinect which loads software to create virtual mirrors. Another cool feature is customers can motion their hands to try on different styles available from Topshop.
4. Interactive 3D Product Images
The Packshot Creator 3D makes products come alive on the web by offering customers a 3D animation of the product they are interested in. The embedded high tech camera makes a product visible from every angle and won’t hide anything from visitors on a site. The result is products that are ultra-realistic and can be manipulated just like in a store. This is truly an innovative online experience.
5. Virtual Shopping Stores
Supermarket giant Homeplus based in South Korea, decided they wanted to bring their stores to the people so they set up a virtual store in the subway where one can scan the items they want on their mobile phones and have them delivered right to their doorsteps. This technology proved to be a hit as they are now the number one site in this marketplace and increased the number of newly registered members by 76% in just over a month for their online store. Way to use those QR Codes!
These technologies are making shopping more personalized for consumers and are useful for retailers. How can your business thrive from using these techniques? Leave your thoughts below
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