Public Question
What are the top innovations in stores at the shelf that improve the user experience and drive sales?
Think about things you'd like today and in the next 3 - 5 years. Tell us what retailers and consumer goods companies should do to improve the shopping experience. Tell us how you see shelving, lighting, technology, and social media changing the experience inside the store and at the shelf.
Public unpaid question.
Scott Lachut
I think there's some exciting interactions on the horizon with mobile phones and NFC, and how they can enable more personalized experiences when inside of a store.
On that same note, as image recognition technologies become more sophisticated, there is the potential for shoppers to be treated to experiences as unique individuals.
Case in point, Kraft has teamed with Intel to create kiosks that offer recipe suggestions to customers based on perceived demographics.
http://newsroom.intel.com/community/intel_newsroom/blog/2011/01/10/intel-unveils-connected-store-with-adidas-best-buy-kraft-foods-mit-media-lab-procter-gamble
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Claudia David
Depending on the shopper, the category and shop.
1. Lighting has a huge influence on well-being, appeal and attitude whilst shopping so evidently there is still lots of playground for improvement
2.Apps that make shopping easier (list, aisle finder, price, offer, networking, recommendations etc - they already exist but are still in its early developments and only used by a few, but they have the potential to take the hassle out of shopping and allow the act itself to be more an experience
3. Digital technology could empowers sales people to be more competent, service oriented and personal. Leveraging iPads to pay where you are (as in Apple stores), instant information on stock availability - no waiting - cross sales suggestions, user recommendations, ...the possibility is endless.
Nate Graham
I'm excited about social recommendation enhancing experiences with current examples being Crushd -crushdwines.com or Recco - myrecco.com. The ability to tap into the expertise of personal networks is potentially very powerful if done well and can scale broadly to many categories including: restaurants/specialty foods, technology, media, personal services, and more.
Piers Fawkes
I think we shouldn't discount qr codes longevity. They are great ways for shoppers to opt-in to stories from both retailers and the product makers. In the next 3-5 years I just hope folks will evolve the functionality so that a QR code doesn't only hyperlink to a how-to video ;)
Jeff Weiner
My vote is for apps like Aisle 411. I like that it can map product locations to the store level. It mimics how I search for all other things in life...
