Augmented Reality

Dear Retailers: Adapt, Adopt or Die
August 22, 2017 at 8:25 am

A few months ago, Amazon.com surprised the tech and retail worlds by announcing plans to acquire Whole Foods. For those of us who have been watching Amazon’s increasing dominance, this development is nothing new. In fact, I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner. Traditional brick-and-mortar retail outlets have long been struggling to figure out how to…

How Augmented Commerce Will Save the Brick-and-Mortar Store
August 10, 2017 at 9:30 am

So far, 2017 is setting records for retail bankruptcies. J.C. Penney, Kmart, Sears and Macy's all announced that they're closing stores this year. Based on these dire trends, it might seem like the brick-and-mortar store is an endangered species. However, that’s not actually the case. Brick-and-mortar retail still accounts for more than 90 percent of…

VR/AR Tech: A Brick-and-Mortar Lifeline
August 9, 2017 at 11:19 am

Much has been made of the increasingly prominent role of e-commerce within retail — and rightfully so. A number of big-name retailers have dedicated both time and money attempting to challenge Amazon.com's market dominance. When it comes to keeping their brick-and-mortar locations around despite a flurry of e-commerce growth, retailers need to get creative. Virtual…

How Augmented Reality Will Change Online Shopping
February 14, 2017 at 2:20 pm

Much has been made of the increasingly prominent role of e-commerce within retail — and rightfully so. A number of big-name retailers have dedicated both time and money attempting to challenge Amazon.com’s market dominance. When it comes to keeping their brick-and-mortar locations around despite a flurry of e-commerce growth, retailers need to get creative. Virtual […]

Virtual and Augmented Reality Become Retail Reality at NRF Big Show
January 24, 2017 at 10:52 am

Primarily driven by the ubiquitous presence of mobile devices, today's retail experiences are becoming less "place-specific" and more driven by an individual shopper's context — i.e., wherever and whenever they choose to focus and shop. Technology advancements continue to drive alignment across all retail touchpoints, and this year’s National Retail Federation (NRF) Big Show introduced…

What Snapchat's Newest Purchase Means for Retailers
December 28, 2016 at 9:37 am

The owner of Snapchat, Snap Inc., has acquired Israeli augmented reality (AR) start-up Cimagine Media for a reported $30 to $40 million, according to CNBC. Retailers should be intrigued by this acquisition because Cimagine Media makes software that allows businesses or consumers to visualize what an item might look like in their environment. Snapchat already…

Wayfair App Allows Shoppers to ‘Try On’ Furniture
December 7, 2016 at 9:40 am

The new “View in Room” feature on the Wayfair mobile app allows shoppers to see how furniture and home décor will look in any room before they purchase it. Similar to trying on clothes in a dressing room, Wayfair now allows app users to “try on” products via a smartphone camera. By clicking the View…

Top Takeaways From the Shop.org Summit
September 29, 2016 at 11:52 am

This week, retail professionals gathered in Dallas for Shop.org, Retail’s Digital Summit. Attendees heard from retailers leading the way in this quickly evolving digital world. Presentations from J.C. Penney, True&Co, Rocksbox, Google, Facebook and many more brands covered topics ranging from omnichannel integration to mobile to reaching millennials. Here are a few key takeaways from the…

Riding Pikachu's Coattails: Retailing Lessons From Pokémon Go
August 26, 2016 at 10:40 am

The most massive and unexpected retail success story of the summer so far wasn't really even about retail. It was about catching, training and battling virtual monsters. The Pokémon Go augmented reality (AR) app was released in North America on July 6. It was downloaded approximately 7.5 million times in the first week and was…