Augmented Retail – Shopping, but not as we know it
Augmented Retail, born out of Augmented Reality (A digital innovation that lets you see things that aren’t really there through a lens of your webcam or mobile phone) is enhancing the shopping experience for consumers both online and in store. Glasses Direct is leading the way with their 3D – Mirror, which lets online shoppers try on their glasses virtually without going in store. The online shop simply accesses the consumer’s webcam, they’re then asked to mark key points of their facial features, then with a click of a button the consumer is faced with an image of themselves wearing a pair of glasses. They can move their head around to check themselves out or simply flick through the library of styles available.
“These new Augmented Reality technologies are a manifestation of a underlying desire in humanity to expand our consciousness”, says Augmented Reality expert and Interactive Designer, Gadi Sprukt, “By linking the physical world to ideas and information, the boundary between the material and immaterial is becoming more blurred, until it will eventually become almost indistinguishable”.
Out of the home, we recently read about a great new iPhone application on LSNGlobal. Called as the Sekai camera (world camera) it lets users Geo-tag real world locations with virtual information – this could be live tweats, reviews, playlists, photographs. Fellow users can then view this virtual information simply by pointing their camera on the smartphone’s screen that uses AR to relay this information. This could change how consumers shop, as they tag and view fellow shoppers product recommendations or access reviews of service in restaurants. For brands and retailers, this also becomes an opportunity to embed point of sale information, place adverts and their own product recommendations.
Of course what if we didn’t need the camera to see virtual world information in the real world? Well according to experts in the field of vision, we will have “over retina” screens readily available in less than 5 years. These will be essentially contact lenses that will project images directly over our field of vision. “That’s when the real fun will start”, predicts Gadi Spurkt.
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