Bill Akins, Rockfish Digital; Diane Edgeworth, Lululemon; Almaz Nanjappa, Momentus Software; Ed Valdez, Momentus Software
This panel actually talked about the impact of technology on retail, and user experience in a retail setting (which was not what I initially understood the session to be).
The five factors are: Simplicity, Ubiquity, Mobility, Technology and Connectivity.
Retail is still strong, over 90% of sales still happen in retail (source?). Technology is augmenting retail – over 10,000 pepper robots are already in use in Japan.
Sample project in 7/11 added weather data and past purchases to optimize the app experience; if the weather is cold, offer coupons or advertisements for hot drinks rather than cold drinks. Also, smart displays can enhance the retail experience.
Another example: Lens crafters noticed a common problem with people trying out frames, that when they take their glasses off to try the frame, they can’t see their face well because they have no lenses in the frame. So they enhanced the mirror to take your picture from several angles, and then displays what you look like wearing the frames from several directions.
Retailers are looking to create mixed reality scenarios to pull people into the stores. Also experimenting with things like ultra-haptics, which is an array of speakers that project sound that gives tactile feel so you can touch and feel it, creating virtual controls.
Smart carts, as in the Amazon test store, let you ring up items when you put them in the cart, and then checkout can happen automatically.
Another tested technology is overlaying visual images on physical objects (movie)
It’s not clear how VR can help in retail; it seems to be more of a gimmick. It takes you out of the retail experience. Augmented reality keeps you in the experience but enhances it.
Challenges of user experience enhancement in retail:
This panel actually talked about the impact of technology on retail, and user experience in a retail setting (which was not what I initially understood the session to be).
The five factors are: Simplicity, Ubiquity, Mobility, Technology and Connectivity.
Retail is still strong, over 90% of sales still happen in retail (source?). Technology is augmenting retail – over 10,000 pepper robots are already in use in Japan.
Sample project in 7/11 added weather data and past purchases to optimize the app experience; if the weather is cold, offer coupons or advertisements for hot drinks rather than cold drinks. Also, smart displays can enhance the retail experience.
Another example: Lens crafters noticed a common problem with people trying out frames, that when they take their glasses off to try the frame, they can’t see their face well because they have no lenses in the frame. So they enhanced the mirror to take your picture from several angles, and then displays what you look like wearing the frames from several directions.
Retailers are looking to create mixed reality scenarios to pull people into the stores. Also experimenting with things like ultra-haptics, which is an array of speakers that project sound that gives tactile feel so you can touch and feel it, creating virtual controls.
Smart carts, as in the Amazon test store, let you ring up items when you put them in the cart, and then checkout can happen automatically.
Another tested technology is overlaying visual images on physical objects (movie)
It’s not clear how VR can help in retail; it seems to be more of a gimmick. It takes you out of the retail experience. Augmented reality keeps you in the experience but enhances it.
Challenges of user experience enhancement in retail:
- Updating and scaling: a lot of work to update and maintain tech. For example, touch screens can get really sticky and dirty, and need to be constantly cleaned.
- Adoption is better in a concept store first, to test a new technology out, and only if it works there, is it worthwhile to roll it out across more stores.
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