Omnichannel

Searching online wish lists, guessing or just directly asking people what they want as gifts is so 20th century, therefore Wal-Mart is launching a new approach for the holidays — its Shopycat app that scours Facebook profiles, updates, comments and likes to come up with gifts for your friends.

Google is taking its Street View map service indoors, enabling users to see 360-degree images of the interior of various businesses including retail stores and restaurants. The internet giant rolled out pilot projects of the service in London and Paris last week, as well as in other cities across Japan, Australia, New Zealand and the United States.

Steve Yankovich is engrossed in a televised hockey game between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Vancouver Canucks. Though he’s a hockey zealot, he cares less about the score than the attire of Ryan Kesler, a Canuck center. “See his jersey?” the eBay executive said, pointing to a TV that almost covers a wall of his office. As he talks, the uniform pops up on a tablet computer in front of him, along with vintage sportswear and tickets to upcoming games — all available for purchase.

eBay announced plans to open its first physical store in London next month. The shop will feature display models of the shopping site’s 200 most popular items, all embedded with QR codes to allow shoppers to instantly find the item online.

According to a Burst Media survey of online U.S. adults aged 18 or older, 71.6 percent of them said they watch online video content in a typical week, and 39.0 percent of all viewers spend between one hour and five hours per week viewing online video.

The new empowered consumer has high expectations for retailers. A consistent, relevant and engaging shopping experience no matter when, where or on what device or channel they're shopping is demanded. In order to remain competitive, retailers need to think about how to not only meet these expectations, but to exceed them.

Gap has deployed the Google Wallet pay-by-smartphone capability in more than 65 of its California stores, joining leading retailers including Macy's, OfficeMax, Toys"R"Us and American Eagle in using the technology. Gap is promoting usage of the app with a 15 percent discount off customers' entire purchase through February 2012.

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.