A few years ago, just about every booth I visited during InfoComm was proudly showing off interactive displays and advocating for them as the future, saying people had gotten so used to texting and scrolling on their mobile phones and portable devices that of course they’d want to do that with big screens too.
Now, though, we’re almost a year into the coronavirus pandemic and the idea of touching a device that anyone else had touched without a thorough cleaning brings with it a strong level of cringe-worthiness. Enter the era of gesture-based digital signage and artificial intelligence to make everyone feel better.
We’ve seen this concept rolled out in big box retail stores, where shoppers can virtually try on clothes without heading into a changing room and decide essentially on the spot if that new outfit is the right fit for them, not just size-wise but stylistically too.
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Advancements in augmented reality and virtual reality have been a godsend for the retail market, allowing sellers to blast sales and promotions to shoppers as they walk by and inviting them to interact with products in new and touch-free ways.
Jaime Bettencourt, senior VP of the global account management team for Mood Media, told me in an earlier interview there are more “mission shoppers” and not as much “dwell time” in stores these days, but those quick trips in and out don’t mean safety is less important, she says.
“When someone goes in, they want to feel safe and get away from the stress,” said Bettencourt. Most retailers use friendly reminders about social distancing and wearing masks, but “you don’t want that to be the only thing they’re seeing. You want to filter it in in a balanced way.
“Digital signage is a huge part of the experience in stores. It’s about using it the right way,” she says. Using signage in the window can help to inform and inspire customers and those who are walking by.
Bettencourt emphasized to me that retailers are generally quicker to embrace new technology and new ways of thinking than other vertical markets, so it’ll be fun to watch what comes next in that space and see how it translates into other spaces.
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