Author: Julie Campbell

Mcommerce provides multiple levels of benefits to consumers

| January 6, 2013

instore mcommerceA recent survey has shown that shoppers want to use mobile commerce while in store.

The results of a study conducted by an ad agency named Moosylvania have now been released, revealing that consumers want to be able to use mcommerce to discover more about products before they make their purchases while in-store.

The survey showed that 80 percent of smartphone owners want better optimized product information.

The report, which was entitled “The Shopping Experience in a Smartphone World”, included the responses of 1,874 American adult smartphone owners. The results from this study showed that among the participants, 97 percent had access of some kind to a desktop computer (including at home, at work, or in another location). At the same time 43 percent had access to a tablet.

Moosylvania’s study determined that product information is among the most wanted mcommerce features.

Norty Cohen, the CEO and one of the founders of Moosylvania, stated that speed is “beyond the essence,” for consumers when they are seeking to make a purchase of a product or service. He went on to explain that consumers “are researching reviews, comparing prices, photo sharing and making purchases in seconds, and prefer doing so equally online and in-store,” through the use of mcommerce and other features on their smartphones.

The survey indicated that owners of smartphones have been using apps and mcommerce sites in order to assist in the purchasing process. They have been using these resources to inform themselves before they make their final decisions to buy. Other findings that were produced by the survey include the following:

• 13.4 percent said that they use mobile devices to research products on the weekends.
• 2.7 percent research product information using a mobile device on holidays.
• 10.9 percent stated that they use mcommerce to look into products while they are at work.
• 30.1 percent of the study participants said they were typically away from home when they performed most of their mcommerce product information searches.
• 19.6 percent said that they have used their mobile devices to look into products while watching TV.
• 12.4 percent use their smartphones to research products while they are in-store.
• 10.9 percent of smartphone owners do not use mcommerce resources to obtain product information.

Augmented reality predictions for technology beyond 2013

| January 4, 2013

Augmented Reality WindshieldLooking into the future of AR technology shows possibilities in the automotive sector.

Though augmented reality has been making its mark in many different areas, such as in glasses, video games, publishing, and advertising, the automotive sector has been drawing a great deal of attention in terms of this cutting edge technology as it has been suggested as a convenience and safety tool.

The way that it would be applied in this industry would be to work the technology into windshields.

People have been speculating for some time now about the benefits of augmented reality windshields in vehicles. In 2004, BMW recognized the benefit of placing driving related information right in the line of sight of the driver by introducing the first color Head-Up Display (HUD). That same automotive manufacturer started work in 2011 on HUD acquiring a functionality that is “Contact Analogue”, which would allow a virtual marking to be superimposed over various real world objects in the view of the driver. This opens up the potential for displaying safety and navigation information right on the “screen” of the windshield.

It is precisely this type of feature that could be provided through a windshield with augmented reality.

An augmented reality windshield provides warnings of potential hazards, driving directions, and other relevant information in a way that the driver would never have to take his or her eyes off the road in order to see it.

The automotive industry has been embracing high tech solutions for years and as the release of the driver-free car draws ever nearer, the technological innovations become increasingly dazzling. A feature such as an augmented reality windshield would fit right in with other offerings that are already available, such as active park assist, attention assist (a drowsiness detector for drivers), active cruise control radar, collision warning with full auto brake, active city safety, and pedestrian detection, not to mention blind spot obstacle detection and Bluetooth.

These systems, and potential augmented reality features that can offer tremendous increases in the efficiency, safety, comfort, and convenience of the driving experience and traveling by car regardless of whether it’s in the city in a familiar area, or traveling across the country on unknown adventures.