A Seamless Commerce Vision from hellofuture. I developed an initial draft of this document in 2013, and revised it again last year. Presaged much of what is being shown with Amazon Go.
3. Buying Things TodayIs A Hassle
Enter store
Pick up items
Wait in checkout line
Cashier scans items
Cashier takes payment
Cashier disables security on items
Leave store
Among other things:
Did get the best deal?
Did I buy the right thing?
4. Adding A Little Technology
Enter store
Take free shopping bag
Place items in bag
Pass by checkout stand
Leave store
5. What Just Happened?
Item & shopping bag have sensors
When you place item in shopping bag, bag tallies items
When item is removed from bag, bag removes item from tally
Bag talks to app on phone, does authorization for amount of items in bag
As customer passes cash register, register makes purchase via default payment method and deactivates
security on items in bag.
6. Or Make It Completely Seamless
Enter store
Pick up items
Leave store
7. What Just Happened?
As customer picks up and travels with items, app detects & logs items. Items use RFID/Bluetooth to
communicate with app on phone. Items can be placed in customers bag or cart, which is passive
As customer leaves the store, app detects sensors in doorway, then charges customer for the items they
are travelling with that deactivates the security on those items
Start with high end use cases due to sensor cost, then expand as costs reduce
8. What Else Can Happen? The App Can
Tell customer where they can find items in store
Receive & display positional, customized offers
Auto post images to social stream
Be a wearable device
9. Seamless Concierge
big data, the internet of things & automation will combine to make experiences seamless
items you want are automatically delivered to you wherever you are, whenever you want them, based
on your preferences & prior actions