Ltap Research: The future of shopping

Friday, March 28, 2014

The future of shopping

There’s a new startup based out of Toronto called Slyce, and it has created software that essentially turns people into walking, talking, breathing shoppable ads for the brands they wear. It allows someone to snap a smartphone photograph of, say, a parka jacket on their friend’s or a stranger’s back and be redirected to a retailer’s site so they may purchase it on the spot.

We’re moving toward a world of shoppable anything, where inspiration can happen anywhere and the check-out counter no longer claims the majority of impulse purchases. However, before making that giant leap, marketers are testing surfaces of all shapes and sizes, from walls to magazines to screens, by incorporating e-commerce and changing the face of retail. Strategy examined some things to come. Check back tomorrow for the future of shopping through videos and movies.

Virtual walls returning to retail

Being able to scan and purchase on the go is nary a novel concept, with Tesco jump-starting the trend in 2011 with its pop-up virtual wall in South Korea. This was followed with more shoppable surfaces by equally zealous brands such as Glamour magazine and eBay in New York, P&G in the Czech Republic and closer to home,Well.ca, Jean Coutu and Walmart and Mattel in Canada.

But the next iteration of the shoppable virtual wall or window, as predicted by Dustin Rideout, VP at Sid Lee (who, in a previous life, worked in e-commerce at Amazon’s AidBooks and Research in Motion), will likely not be one that sits outside of a retailer’s store, for example in transit shelters and subways, as it has for the past few years. Not everyone wants to be interrupted with a browsing experience while commuting (especially if they value their privacy and shop on their phones), he says, adding shoppable walls will likely move closer to the retail environment, and become an accompaniment for products inside a store.

In Canada, this is becoming a reality with companies like iQmetrix (pictured left) in Vancouver launching virtual shelving and storefronts that couple screens with products on a physical shelf. Using the touch screens, shoppers can browse various items not stocked in store, compare prices and features, as well as make a purchase. “It’s a bridge between bricks and clicks, merging that line [between digital and physical] once people are inside the bricks-and-mortar,” adds Rideout.

Reimagining the at-home shopping experience

Of course, not all purchases are happening inside of a store or mall. Home shopping is increasing, with 24% of Canadians having spent more online in 2012 than 2010, according to Stats Canada, which has meant some brands are getting creative with items that sit inside consumers’ homes.

Merging the virtual world with the physical has been happening in print ever since brands began playing with augmented reality, overlaying ads in magazines and newspapers with virtual content, just as Nissan did last year with the Toronto Star. And now, there is a growing interest to push the boundaries even further and connect print with e-commerce to create shoppable magazines.

Just last month, Net-A-Porter, an online luxury fashion shop, began publishing its first glossy magazine to act as a digital-print hybrid (pictured right). The global bimonthly publication, called Porter, is interactive, allowing people to scan pretty much every item showcased in the Vogue-style magazine and purchase in its app.

From the coffee table to the mailbox, brands are also beginning to connect commerce to traditional flyers. Argos in the U.K., for example, has used AR to provide a portal for readers to virtually view and purchase products in its print catalogue.

The future of shopping: part two

3 hours ago by Jennifer Horn

Last time, in this two-part series on what’s to come in buying, strategy looked at how ordinary surfaces like walls (inside and outside of retail) and magazines are evolving and shaping the way consumers shop. Today, we look at where the concept of shoppable videos is today and where it’ll likely be tomorrow.

Shoppable videos merge brand building and product play

What’s really piquing the interest of marketers these days is t-commerce, or the shoppable screen. H&M recently debuted the first shoppable ad on TV during the Super Bowl, with technology from Delivery Agent in the U.S. allowing viewers with a Samsung television to purchase David Beckham’s underwear during the commercial.

“This new way of shopping – through the television – addresses changes in consumer behaviour brought, in part, by connectivity in the living room,” says Kim Marder, chief media officer at Delivery Agent. “T-commerce [enables] consumers to act on impulse and purchase directly from an ad… suddenly television advertising has become actionable and accountable.”

How-to videos on YouTube are becoming a popular way to use click-to-shop technology, with Tresemme‘s channel providing links to products used in spots that show viewers how to wear an up-do, for example, and more recently, Leaf.tv launching its own shoppable videos destination with clickable how-to gardening segments.

Shoppable videos have made it easier for marketers to combine a branding message with a product, says Frederick Lecoq, VP of marketing for Sport Chek. Recently, the retailer partnered with Google to create an interactive YouTube video with digital tags embedded, allowing viewers to purchase featured items worn by athletes in a spot during the Sochi Olympics.

“[Marketers] have been trying to figure out how to turn the flyer into a brand play. You can make it brand-friendly, but it’ll never be a brand builder,” he says. “Shoppable videos are giving us the tools and opportunity to…deliver on a brand promise, but at the same time, link it to the business.”

Movies: the next shopping channel

Though Lecoq says today’s shoppable video tends to be disruptive (the items float on the right side of the video and redirect the viewer to purchase on the Sport Chek site when clicked), he’s happy with the engagement results so far. The video has generated a seven-times-higher-click-through rate than traditional display ads typically receive, he says, without disclosing sales of the items as a result of the execution.

“There are some technical limitations, but there are companies working on solutions right now,” he says of what’s to come. “In the near future, you could be watching a movie, and when you pause to look at the items the actors are wearing, [you can] then purchase [them]. Right now you need to go to a separate website to purchase it, but soon there will be shoppable movies. Product placement will make even more sense than what we’re doing now.