Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 14

THE PULSE
as incoming tech trickles down, how we buy
things will shift entirely."
Mark Skwarek, a lecturer on integrated
digital media at New York University and AR
artist, shares the same sentiment about augmented reality. "Once it's perfected, the retail
world won't even resemble that of today."
AR has been around for a decade already,
and a crop of shopping apps currently exists.
There's Ikea's AR Catalog, which allows customers to scroll through their paper catalog,
select an item, and see just how well that virtual Hemnes bookcase looks in their actual living room. Then there's the Converse Sampler
app, which enables sneakerheads to "try on" a
pair of kicks, simply by picking a pair and then
pointing their phone at their feet. Both are interesting examples of companies dipping their
toes in the digital water. But they're merely
exercises in marketing one-upmanship-big
retailers spending their budgets on new tech
to garner oohs and aahs.

MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE
Amazon's handy iPhone app
serves up real-time
information and shopping
links on almost any product.

HEADLINES

Augmented Reality is coming to a device near you.
And that means that the entire world of retail may look
a lot more like Pokemon Go. by Matt Berical
THE CAMPING STORE OF THE FUTURE COULD VERYWELL BE A WHITE ROOM. SPARSELY DECOrated with blank walls, it would have next to no items on display and resemble more of an unused
mini-storage than a modern retail experience.
Well, this would be how it would appear to the unaided eye of today's shopper. To the consumer
of the future, however, who will likely be wearing smart glasses or contacts, the space would appear as a high-end outdoor shop, with the newest down jackets laid out on tables, carabiners and
ice axes dangling on the far wall, tents erected just a few feet away. Every size would be available to
try; every possible color would be a thumb-flick away. And while this scenario won't likely happen
for at least a decade, it will all be made possible because of Augmented Reality.
Augmented Reality (AR) is technology that overlays virtual content upon a real-time feed of
what you're actually seeing. Whereas virtual reality creates an entirely new world, AR changes
the environment we currently see (hence the "augmented" part). Right now it's available to a
rather rudimentary degree with such apps as Pokémon Go where, through the lens of your phone,
Pikachu and pals appear to be frolicking in the real world. But as our personal devices improve,
the tech is poised to be everywhere-and it will forever change the face of retail.
"AR is a very powerful technology because it allows for the blurring of the digital and physical worlds," says Tom Emrich, a world-renowned AR expert, TED-talker, and co-producer of the
Augmented Reality Expo. "It's already here in pockets with various app-based experiences, but,

14 OUTDOOR RETAILER

/ Winter 2017

These three high-profile retailers are
already using AR to enhance the
shopping experience.
TOPSHOP
In 2014, the British
fashion brand partnered with Kinect to
create a virtual dressing room at London
Fashion Week. The
experience enabled
shoppers to "try on"
clothes without ever
physically touching a
single garment.
IKEA
The company's AR
Catalog app serves
to enhance its paper
catalog. When looking at products, customers can use their
phone or tablet to

see what a particular
object depicted on
the paper would look
like in their home.
DE BEERS
The diamond
powerhouse took
advantage of AR
with the concept of
"Forevermark Fitting."
The experience let
prospective buyers
see how they looked
wearing virtual earrings and other jewelry. Shoppers could
see how pieces
looked in different
lights as well as with
different skin tones.

Andrew Kornylak

Reality Time

IT'S HERE

Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017

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