From exchanging grains for milk to home deliveries, buying and selling has come a far way from barter system.
Perhaps in the world of tech, shopping doesn’t seem to be a topic of talk? As a matter of fact, it is what drives this world, that if technology included. The network of tech giants offering their internet services thrive on advertisements, advertisements that are targeting a specific set of consumer base, to push them into paying for a particular good or service.
Just Google and you’ll see what I am talking about here, be aware though, Google itself is one of the biggest players in this industry. So where does this lead us to “future” you ask? Let’s get on it.
Think absurd. Weird. Illogical and sci-fi like. Defy physics and go outside the box. In short, think crazy as the 1900’s did about the 2000s. Flying deliverymen, robot vendors, pick on the go, just think to order, try outfits without having to wear them? Literally anything that comes to mind. The amazing part though, unlike the flying cars imagined for this decade, most of what we thought of here is now reality! So, wait no more and dive in to this futuristic world!
Pick on the go stores
Heard of amazon go? A retail store where you walk in, pick anything you want and simply walk out! How cool is that! Amazon has gone up and implemented this idea in Downtown Seattle with its very own Amazon Go store.
The process is simple, walk in and scan your phone with a pre-downloaded app. This lets an array of cameras and sensors affixed to the top of the store track your movement and actions in the store. You pick something, it gets added to your cart, you put it back and it gets removed from cart. Sounds simple right? A complicated deep learning algorithm runs on the servers to calculate the outcomes of our “simple” actions. Then as they say, you “Just Walk Out”.
Although amazon has just one store, its not the only store in the world to offer this. In our very own God’s Own Country, Kerala, an in-house team has set up Whatasale. Working on the same lines as of that of Amazon Go, Whatsale is proving to be a successful project among Indian Consumers.
With so much competition pouring in, cashier-less shopping has a birght future ahead!
No-Checkout Line Stores
Unlike a completely zero-hassle solution to retail shopping like above, there’s a more feasible option right around the corner. Every shopper hates the long checkout lines and tedious billing process. But unlike online shopping, some things are better bought at hand. So, combining the offline and Online worlds are platforms like Perpule 1 Pay, India’s first Self-checkout app.
Co- founded by our very own NITK-ians, Abhinav Pathak, CEO, Yogesh Ghaturle, CPO , Saketh BSV, CTO from IITM and Sathya Narayana, the start-up has aimed to revolutionise how Indians see retail store and bring them back in the game.
Having partnered with various already established stores like Hypercity, FutureGroup, Spencer’s and More Megastore in Bangalore, this start-up is quickly growing. The consumers are being encouraged to use their personal billing counters, their smartphones! You have to simply download the app, register and scan the barcode of every product you buy. Once done you could walk right out.
Now expanding to popular eateries, it is a simple and effective system already in place and proving to be an amazing upgrade to the retail industry.
Robot Helpers
To give you all the assistance you need in a store, here comes OSHbot. A self-navigating, autonomous speech and graphical input driven robot assists the customers, helping them find the exact product they need.
While it may not seem that useful in a small retail outlet, it certainly is proving its need in Lowe’s humongous hardware stores across the United States. With the scope of speaking and understanding various languages and keeping and error free record of stocks, it sure is a great option for a sales assistant.
Smart Mirrors
Don’t you get tired of trying a hundred outfits when at a clothing store. Wish you could try out how the glasses would go with the accessories you bought? Well, worry no more. Now we have Smart mirrors. Using artificial intelligence mainly image recognition through neural n__etworks, virtual and augmented reality, and gesture recognition technology, a series of cameras and sensors can help you try a wide range of available outfits and accessories on your virtual self, pose and share with friends for recommendation!
The company on its heels, set out to realise this retail revolution is Alibaba. The idea is simply being called “New Retail”. With having stepped innto almost everything from Self-Checkout stores to Digitised markets, the company is now all set to take it a step further. It has brought out grooming products out from their stores and directly to restrooms. In collaboration with a few malls in China, Alibaba has installed smart mirrors in restroom for women to try several products and then buy from digitised vending machines right there! Cool, Convenient and Crazy!
The future is going to be an unrecognisable place if we don’t catch up, right from getting ourselves a pouch of milk. While it is evident that these technologies might put unskilled labour out of work, but the real picture of today is that the demand for skilled minds behind the curtain is on a steep rise. As everything we know gets a makeover, engineers are the one who get to repaint this world!
