High street shopping vs online shopping- everybody fights for one corner. High street fans love seeing real items before buying whilst online shoppers enjoy the simplicity of not having to lug bags full of shopping home after a busy day in town. But what if shoppers could have their cake AND eat it? Well now they can…
US women’s fashion brand Kate Spade have teamed up with Ebay to make window shopping a reality by combining the power of interactive touch screen technology with standard window displays. Earlier this year, the fronts of four vacant retail spaces in Manhattan were transformed into displays for Kate Spade Saturday, the brand’s cheaper more casual line. A selection of around 30 pieces were displayed in each shop window and can be viewed on models on the almost life-size interactive touch screen.
The purchasing process is simple and instructions on the pavement explain everything clearly. Customers select the items they want to buy using the interactive touch screen. Much like normal online shopping items can be added and removed. But rather than typing your bank details in on a giant screen on the high street, users simply type in their phone number, complete the rest of the order on their smartphone and pay on delivery. The power of Ebay has made it possible for the items to arrive at select locations around the city within the hour. Just as good as simple of online shopping without having to wait for your goods!
Perhaps this is what the UK high street needs to pick itself up after the recession- brightly coloured store fronts and state of the art technology to transform empty retail spaces into thriving shopping hotspots. With so much potential for creative retail design, we hope to see interactive window shopping on British shores soon!
