Biggest Retail Tech Breakthroughs Of 2017

To encourage more people to the high street, we’ve seen some exciting technologies in retail spaces in the last year, from bespoke LEDs to facial recognition software which could be the beginning of a whole new shopping experience. Fashion retailer trade magazine Drapers has their run-through of the biggest innovations of 2017 and what 2018 might hold in store.

Virtual reality

Virtual reality headsets have become a much more widely available technology, so the likes of Topshop and Oasis have incorporated them into their experiential marketing this year. Topshop had a virtual waterslide in their flagship store window, while Oasis took customers on a virtual safari to mark their collaboration with ZSL.

Visual search

Bridging the gap between the real world shopping experience and online, visual search may well be the future. Spot something on a shop mannequin, but don’t have in stock or your size, snap a picture of it and the search function will take you to the product page online.

QR codes

Remember QR codes? They were a thing that never quite panned out, but with a new IOS released in September which will have a built in QR reader in the camera (meaning you don’t have to download a special reader anymore), they may be back on the menu in a big way for retail spaces. 

Facial recognition

With the iPhone X bringing facial recognition to the mainstream, Drapers predicts 2018 will be the year this begins to be trialled in retail. That way stores can target products of interest, using your online profile for inspiration.