Retail Reality at Infocomm 2019
I recently gave a talk on the potentials of augmented reality and virtually reality at Infocomm 2019, the gigantic audio visual conference and trade show.
When I develop a talk like this, I try to walk the line between big, over-the-top ideas and realistic things that are proven in the marketplace.
Infocomm 2019 was a swirl of both and it's hard to not get excited about some of the crazy stuff I saw. While I didn't see a lot of innovation in the AR and VR world, I was impressed with the big players' evolution of their retail hardware and software products. I'll focus on one supplier because, frankly, they had the best collection of ideas and put on a hell of a show.
LG's Stunning Tech Entices a DynamicVM Future
LG is the clear winner in the retail category. They showed a wide array of refined visual technology in very realistic applications. Curved and transparent displays blur the lines between physical and digital space. This is some darn good DynamicVM (dynamic visual merchandising).
It seems they took some time to really understand how retail and consumers work.
LG showed transparent window and vitrine displays layered with traditional screen arrays as back drops, allowing space between the two to show physical merchandise. No projector or milky film, just a clear view of the merchandise, imagery and content.
The automotive demonstration connected a large array and a transparent touch display with software and content that enables a real time car configurator. The transparent touch display all but disappears as the sales person and the guest keep their focus and interest on personalizing their new Audi.
When it comes to curves, LG was like an engineer with a fresh set of Legos. There were screens wrapped around corners and poles and of course, the show-stopping installation made up of hundreds of screens as seen above.
There was no apparent nod to the importance of efficacy and usage data that should come out of these types of visual merchandising. I would expect they have integrated ways of capturing data as no self respecting CIO, CMO or CXO would consider installing such complex systems without a view to the return on the investment.
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