Future Shoppertainment
Brief
The shopping experience keeps evolving both physical-and-digital-wise. The pandemic has rapidly promoted the technology and service that apply to many businesses. Along with this trend, customers’ needs in the 2030’s for shopping experiences became more specific instead of being generic. Our team starts to wonder how we can both digitally and physically empower customers with a seamless shopping experience.
Future Design | Team Project | 3 months
Tools: Adobe XD, Photoshop, Procreate
Team Member: Darea Kim, Yihan Luo, Ruoxiao Sun
My role: Concept research, UX design, UI design
Our System
Smart Lenses
1. Photo-taking and scanning of the ambience in a privacy-protecting way
2. AI recognition of customer’s items of interest
3. Brain-signal control and interaction
Smart Mirror
1. Enhances immersive on-line shopping experience by using AI technology to realize virtual clothes try-on’s
2. Reduces order returns and corresponding package material waste
Pick-up Station
1. Serves as a joint between on-line and in-store shopping experiences
2. Saves queuing time or delivery time cost for customers
3. Provides drive-through and in-station pick-up’s with facial recognition, voice interaction and gesture recognition
Mission
To provide seamless and personalized cross-functional retail shopping service to get a new interaction and engagement in physical and digital space. We want to help sustainability through this service and encourage people to buy more viable products that last longer. Through this shopping experience, people can collect digital things to reduce consumption to support environmental issues around us. We believe these approaches will integrate their value with their consumption in everyday lives.
Trends
Energy Trends
Renewables energy, No more fuel energy, Self-generating power
Climate Trends
Global warming, Sea-level rise globally, High-tide flooding in East coast of USA, Slower and stronger Hurricane, Drought, Wildfire, Rise of sea temperature
Fashion Trends
Genderless fashion, 3D printing accessories and more, Color-changing clothes, Self-cleaning textile, No seasonal fashion, Clothing using as interface, Automatic temperature control
Economic Trends
Increase using cryptocurrency, Increasing automation for replacing the blue collar job, Increase of digital commerce, Appear of Information poverty.
Research: Culture
As online shopping becomes mainstream in the retail market, physical stores are trying to:
- Attract the original customers by creating concept stores, which is a multifunctional space or union of culture and commerce
For instance, Starbucks in Amsterdam made a laboratory store for selling coffee-making experiences and coffee-related products. The delivery of in-store experiences captures customer engagement and loyalty.
- Building unbreakable brand culture
Deep and rich cultural connotations may make communication channels form a high degree of consumer identification with the brand in spirit to have substantial brand loyalty.
- Virtualize brand culture or concept stores
Such as Moore Park, which is a website game that players can choose mole- avatars, decorate their virtual homes, adopt pets and socialize with other players. They can wander through the virtual streets, chat with users, go shopping, work, and play games.
Research: Technology
In the next decade, AI-driven personalization, AR/VR interfaces, and sensor-geared smart environments could turn today’s “shopping center” into a booming, invisible platform for education, entertainment, digitally enhanced community, and new business models we’ve never even imagined.
- Modified Wii sensor and motion capture in smart mirror or phone (map body precisely for sizing)
- Variety of cameras and sensors (instantly deducted pay from people’s bank account)
- AI assistant(after sale, orders other things from the manufacturer and texts an employee to restock the now empty hanger.)
- Lenses
- Bio-recognition sensors
- Brain computer interface
Brain-Computer Interface
“Components of a BCI system. Electrical signals from brain activity are detected by recording electrodes located on the scalp, on the cortical surface, or within the brain. The brain signals are amplified and digitized. Pertinent signal characteristics are extracted and then translated into commands that control an output device, such as a spelling program, a motorized wheelchair, or a prosthetic limb. Feedback from the device enables the user to modify the brain signals in order to maintain effective device performance. BCI = brain-computer interface; ECoG = electrocorticography; EEG = electroencephalography. ”
Shih, Jerry J et al. “Brain-computer interfaces in medicine.” Mayo Clinic proceedings vol. 87,3 (2012): 268-79. doi:10.1016/j.mayocp.2011.12.008
CLA(Causal Layered Analysis) MAP
Based on the current data sets, we used Causal Layered Analysis to map the possible future of shopping entertainment. Causal Layered Analysis is a foresight technique that plans out the future more clearly.
Ideation
We rapidly ideated the products and services by using our research, future persona and CLA map as guides. We came up with 10 different concepts. We chose 5 concepts to think about what/ why/ when/ how to think deeper.
Picked Ideas
- Smart Mirror
- AR glasses
- AI shopping tools
- VR social shopping
- Pickup zone
Ecosystem
Persona
Requirments
User Flow
Final Display - Smart Lenses
Motion Prototype
Final Display - Smart Mirror
Motion Prototype
Final Display - Pickup Station
Motion Prototype
Design System
Take Away
During 14 weeks of the class, we explored an omnichannel approach for the customers in 2030 with a fully integrated shopping experience by using user experience from digital to physical space. We could see the retail experience’s expansion by thinking most advance but yet acceptable principles and technology to apply in users’ everyday lives. Especially, thinking about the sustainability aspect to supporting the environmental issue allows us to think about commercial viability and social impact through the services. As a next step of the project, we wanted to think about how brand physical retail stores can transform as a cultural hub to encourage social interaction among people to deliver their brand values and experiences.