The mirror is not just another décor. From “once upon a time..” till this day, the mirror attracts human imagination like no other inanimate object. Interacting, conversing with the mirror is part and parcel of human existence. The mirror is the witness of countless human emotions. The young teen rehearsing his pickup lines, the actor practicing their dialog for their first big stage performance, the little Snow White secretly applying her mother’s lipsticks for the first time, the health-obsessed gym goer admiring his muscles, the showstopper preparing herself for the party tonight, the mirror witnesses it all.
Beyond the mystical and artistic sense mirror can offer a great value in a retail store. Using technology, mirror can be extended to compliment a store assistant. It is little unfortunate that most of the digital powered mirror have been type casted as virtual trial tool which has not been so much successful so far. What else a mirror can be used for inside a apparel store?
The answer lies in two separate insights
1. People tend to buy more when a larger amount of store inventory is showcased. The more you get to see, the more you buy. And this idea is not any secret Enigma code. Retail stores know all about it, especially the apparel stores. That’s why they invest in large floor areas and fancy mannequins. Just so that they could display more items. That’s the first hint. What if we could showcase a large portion of the store inventory within a compact space. In theory, it should help raise sales. An interactive mirror can help bringing forward the store inventory in front of the users.
2. Parents, while shopping gave their phones and tablets to the kids in order to keep them busy. This might sound weird but is true.
ImI – an Interactive Mirror, shows what clothes you can buy and at the same time keeps non-shoppers busy through interactive activities.
The first insight maps to a personalised apparel recommendation function. Powered by state-of-the-art Artificial Intelligence and Computer Vision, it can identify what kind of an apparel you are looking for and shows similar recommendations. It does require some cues, though. Show it something that you have already picked up. Say, a round-necked t-shirt or maybe a checked shirt, a Kurta, a floral top. Show it something hanging from a hanger or something you are currently wearing (if you so desire). It will pour open the store inventory in front of you. Now, you can simply crawl through or swipe to select whatever items you like. Once shortlisted those items will be carried to a designated trial room for you to try.
The second insight maps to a playful entertainment function. Powered by a NLP engine and connected a knowledge engine, ImI can answer lot of kids questions in a funny way. Kids are naturally curious. They love someone who can answer their queries. And they usually have a lot of queries. ImI becomes an encyclopedia serving answers to questions such as, “Who built the Taj Mahal?”, “What is the value of Pi?”. So, while the kids are engaged with the Mirror, the parents can shop.
The whole Mirror experience is seamless and users can interact with it via a voice interface or via a tablet.
So, we may conclude by saying, the mirror is much more than just another décor.