This article originally published in Self-Service World magazine's special section, FOCUS: Retail Self-Service, July 2007.
It's been a long time since a new self-service technology had an impact on the retail sector. But companies like IconNicholson are set to shake things up with a cutting-edge idea that reminds one of something from the Jetson's.
In January, IconNicholson showed its groundbreaking Social Retailing system -- a magic mirror for fitting rooms -- at the National Retail Federation's Big Show in New York City. What was a cool idea then has taken off now as other companies see the promise for this application.
At NRF, throngs of people gravitated toward the Social Retailing demonstration. IconNicholson built the system to help high-end designer Nanette Lepore attract and retain 17-to 25-year-old customers. It consisted of a set of interactive mirrors before which a model stood wearing RFID-tagged clothing.
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| At the heart of IconNicholson's Social Retailing system is a set of interactive mirrors that show information on RFID-tagged clothing. |
A high-resolution webcam streamed her try-on session. The video feed enabled the "social" part of the Social Retailing experience. By inputting her cell phone's address book via infrared connection, the model could invite friends to a private URL to view what she tried on. Friends tuning in via the Web interface could then view what she tried on and send "hot or not" votes for each outfit, along with text messages, visible on the mirror. Those viewing the session also saw related outfits and had the option of ordering them online.
According to Tom Nicholson, IconNicholson's chief executive, in January Social Retailing was set to roll out with Lepore products, but the specific time was not yet finalized. He said Social Retailing will work hand-in-hand with other networking tools that those in the 17-to-27 demographic use, such as YouTube and MySpace.
"When this gets on YouTube, this will go viral," Nicholson said. "And a store like Bloomingdale's can experience a big lift."
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| At NRF, kiosks simulated the social part of the system, which allows friends to view a private video feed to vote on and order outfits online. |
Behind the exhibit's gypsy chic fashions, mood lighting and magic mirrors was a hefty collection of computers. Christopher Enright, chief technology officer for IconNicholson, said a Dell XPS computer with Nvidia 8800 graphics card ran the interface on the interactive mirrors. The system also incorporated two streaming video servers, two Web servers and a database server. To show the Web interface, the system linked to a set of squat, curved kiosks in a separate area of the NRF's Store of the Future exhibit. The kiosks, made by Eurotouch, sported 17-inch monitors and Pentium dual-core processors with Intel accelerated video.
Enright said the graphics were constructed using Microsoft's DirectX 9 to maximize use of the Nvidia graphics processing instead of the CPU.
"If we did it in Flash, it would cook the processor," Enright said.
Enright and other company executives gave several demonstrations to the crowds that continually formed around the Social Retail demonstration. And they received high praise from those who saw it. Gerhard Schiller, director of development for Wincor Nixdorf's retail division, lifted his hands and told Enright it was a "great idea."
A really good thing
Good ideas are easy to recognize: They multiply. IconNicholson's magic mirror has been joined in the market by others. SelfServiceWorld.com reported May 10 that retail tracking solutions provider Paxar has developed an interactive RFID fitting-room mirror. The product, called "magicmirror," was unveiled at May's Material World show in Miami.
Like IconNicholson's Social Retailing system, magicmirror displays information about RFID-tagged garments on a mirror's surface, allowing customers to access mix-and-match accessory guides or, when installed in a changing room, to summon assistance.
Paxar developed the system with partners thebigspace, Motorola and Infosys.
