Trends for 2010

Following on from our article with Design Week on upcoming trends for 2010 we have expanded and added a few more and will continue to update these over the next few weeks.

This is the first:

Growth in digital elements
Digital development is massive! No new news there. Close your eyes for 2 seconds and the next big technology will pass you-by leaving you feeling like an 82 year-old talking about the good old days.

But this is the main problem when it comes to introducing digital into the real world of retail and F&B. It changes so quickly, by the time you've gone through the process of incorporating it within your business it is out of date.

Few have been brave enough to take the plunge though and they have created incredible experiences that go so much further than just a flat screen:

Inamo - for anyone who hasn't been, GO! Serving oriental fusion food in a fully interactive dining space, they have truly made the eating experience here unique.

Food Secret - a lunch time offering that has used technology to capture your attention as you walk by then wowing you with nutritional information as they make your bespoke lunch right in front of you!

At this point I'm struggling to think of any great retail experiences that go further than touch screens, games consoles and projections. Which, considering that the design industry has been talking about technology and retail theatre for the past 10 years it is amazing to think that there aren't more examples that pop to mind.

For those who have been visited the Decode exhibition at the V&A will agree it is surely only a matter of time before the high street as we know it will change forever.

The new technology on the edge of every retailers mind should be Augmented Reality. This technology in simple terms transforms a code, that when exposed to a camera will show expose what is hidden in the code as a visual delight on a screen! Watch the video below to see a great example.



But this technology has so much more to offer.

Imagine being able to offer your customers the opportunity to stand in front of an interactive mirror and try on any of your clothing range without having to remove any of their own clothing. This could be done through a shopfront which shows the customer in your clothing even without intending to shop and shop!

What is the biggest driver to a major propotion of retail purchases? Aspiration perhaps? Why not then make this connection at the point of purchase when your customer buy those new Nike trainers endorsed by Cristiano Ronaldo. When the customer checks themselves out in the mirror make him appear behind them as if standing right there in the store!

Of course these are purely for fun and a talking point to create excitement. But AR could also be used to help make informed decisions about products and compare them to other alternatives. The opportunities are endless.

So, who will be the first to take the leap and use AR in an effective way or will it again just pass us all by? We'll be watching and hopefully suggesting a few ideas to our clients.


PS To see the Design Week article, click this link and scroll down to the news article '12/09 TYC predicts the shop of the future' and download the PDF. Happy reading!