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IBM Research Conjures ­p Augmented Reality Mobile Shopping App


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IBM's mobile shopping app will allow retailers to interact with customers at the point when purchasing decisions are made.

Credit: Amazon.com

IBM Research has developed an augmented reality mobile shopping application that enables retailers to personalize each individual customer's shopping experience. Consumers using the app can enter a store, download the app on their mobile device, and create a profile of features that matter to them.

When a user aims a device's video camera at merchandise, the app will instantly recognize items and, through augmented reality technology, overlay digital details over the images, such as ingredients, price, reviews, and discounts that are applicable for that day. The mobile device's video camera can recognize products according to shapes, colors, and other features using image-processing technologies. If consumers opt in, information from their social networks can be merged into the information stream.

"By closing the gap between the online and in-store shopping experience, marketers can appeal to the individual needs of consumers and keep them coming back," says IBM Research's Sima Nadler. IBM says retailers also will be able to use the app to build in-store traffic by connecting with individual consumers, turning marketing into an unobtrusive welcomed service.

From eWeek
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