Future Shopping

Since the beginning of civilization, we have developed our concept of money and used it to exchange value for whatever we needed most, from salt in the primitive market of ancient times to sophisticated computers in the shopping centres of today.  But the venues have changed dramatically.  Our ancient ancestors had to go to the market daily, buy fresh food, then prepare and consume it immediately. Twenty years ago, we still had to make a trip to the market for most things.  Today, we can buy even fresh fish from home through online shopping malls

The Internet has dramatically changed our lifestyles and shopping behaviour.  Just a few years ago, people could not get comfortable with the idea of buying items such as jackets online without trying them on.  Today, however, most people in developed countries (and many in developing countries as well) have purchased clothing and other fashion items online.  Many buy exclusively online, and it is possible even to buy intricately custom-fitted items over the internet, thanks to ever more sophisticated technology.  I believe that we will see even more sophisticated devices developed to facilitate online shopping in the near future, and I would like to focus on how this will affect how we shop for fashion items.

First of all, many electronic gadgets will help us to shop for clothes.  Body scanners will be used to scan our proportions and facilitate a good shopping experience.  If we look at “futuristic” animations from fifty years ago, we see some inaccurate predictions (e.g. people driving off to work in their personal flying saucers), but also many familiar items such cell phones and remote control home systems.  At the time, the latter two were just a dream, considered just as implausible as the family flying saucer.  Today, of course, these and other gadgets are taken for granted as essential parts of our daily lives.  We think nothing of using a smart phone as we walk down the street or watching a movie while sitting in a vehicle.  More specific to our industry, we can already find body scanners at Selfridges in London.  Bodymetrics uses this system to provide perfectly-fitted jeans for each customer.  In the future, this company tells us, we will be able to use the same system, not only for jeans, but for all kinds of online shopping for clothes and even lingerie.  We will each have our own body scan information on Avatars, and be able to try on a variety of different items via the online system.

Let’s check out a video clip:

This video show shows how we will shop in the future.  We will not need to go to the store to search for the goods that we want.  This is especially good news for men who do not want to spend their time going out shopping.  We will not need to try on and change clothes each time.  The Bodyscanner and Avatar system will do the work for us. 

This is also good news from the stores’ point of view.  They can reduce space allocated to fitting rooms, and cut back on staff needed to man these areas and assist in-store customers.  People will only need to try on two or three garments for final confirmation.  This also makes it much easier to gather customer information for marketing purposes.  It will be simple to determine what kinds of shapes and designs people are responding well to, and which need adjustment to suit client tastes.

Checkout stands will also be smarter than now.  The Korean company IDTeck has already suggested one model.

Thanks to this model, staff members are freed up for other tasks.  This smart checkout stand also knows my purchasing history.  It can let me know that certain items will suit me or match well with previously-purchased clothes

Many smart applications will be used for future shopping.  Milo and Shokick are two great examples of the apps already available. The following video will explain the details.

eBay already has shopping apps for today’s smart phones, but in the future they will take the definition of “smart” to a new level.  If you admire the handbag of a girl crossing the street in front of you, you will be able to photograph it, immediately identify the product, and then make an impulse purchase via mobile.  Nobody can guarantee that the impulsive purchasing behaviour itself will be “smart,” but the process facilitating it will be brilliant.

In the future, we will not just be window shopping for products on our cell phones.  The smart phone will become the hub, our point of contact that connects us to products whenever and wherever we see them.  We will also be able to use our smart phones for body scanning functions.  Bodymetrics has already started working on this application.  Although it will not have the high accuracy of a real body scanning machine, the accuracy should be adequate for getting basic measurements. This will be very useful for online shopping, needless to say. 

Secondly, finding new ways to differentiate will become very important in the future.  These days, everybody can find the same materials easily.  Brands want to build their unique “stories” to stay competitive.  We especially see this tendency already among American brands.  Eco fashion and Fairtrade are two examples of very positive trends that have gained strength because of this need for differentiation.

Fair trade brand - People Tree

Thirdly, social media will become even more powerful in the future.  Post-recession consumers are more selective about what they buy and how they buy it, and retailers have become very aware of this trend.  They have begun to send customized information and offers directly through Facebook and Twitter to influence buying behavior among picky customers.

In places like South Korea and the United States, TV shopping has been popular among impulse buyers for decades.  The programming is entertaining and focused:  consumers can tune into whatever “show” is featuring their favorite product, whether it’s Korean models showing off the latest fashions, a Japanese chef showing off his cooking skills with the featured utensils, or a “macho” type showing of his impressive knife collection late at night on American TV.  Customers can easily order over the phone or Internet.  With new technology, it is now possible to order directly from the TV screen via remote control as well. We can anticipate that the UK will also see a big increase in the popularity of this shopping venue as digital cable television becomes universal.

All of these developments will also increase the demand for speed, as consumers’ perception of a “reasonable” time frame becomes more and more immediate.  This is a major trend in South Korea:  people often expect same-day delivery after making an order.  Consumers will also demand more and more sophisticated measures to protect their privacy and financial security, since thieves will be following similar trends and gaining sophistication in their own line of work.

Getting out of the house for a day of shopping will never lose its appeal for many consumers, and we will never see brick and mortar businesses completely replaced by the trends of the future.  What we will see instead is a convergence of these venues.  People will still enjoy the social aspects of shopping and buying in stores, and the satisfaction of seeing things with their own eyes, but they will be able to enjoy a traditional shopping experience enhanced by brilliant inventions and seamlessly integrated with all that new technology has to offer.

reference : http://www.bodymetrics.com/

http://blog.daum.net/yes_id/373

http://www.flixxy.com/future-shopping.htm

http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Increase-of-Internet-Shopping&id=347365

http://techcrunch.com/2010/01/06/shopping-spree-total-online-holiday-spending-nears-30-billion/