Apple Trying to Improve Online Shopping Atmosphere?

[MacRumors]

MacNN detailed a new patent application from Apple that explores methods of "enhancing online shopping atmosphere". Specifically, Apple notes that while online shopping can be far more convenient than traditional retail stores, the experience can feel "sterile and isolating".

To address that point, they propose showing users where other customers are in the store, even allowing customers to interact with others while shopping.






This would allow you to see what products people are looking at, and by clicking on one of the other visitor icons, customers could even ask questions to users about why they'd left one product or gone to another product. This visual representation can be used to help with live real-time changes in interest:

For example, if an author has been invited to participate in a live chat hosted by the Acme store, an icon of the book may appear in [a region] alerting customers (in all departments) that a special event is occurring.

Users could, of course, opt-out in certain privacy settings, but these techniques could be applied to both Apple's Online Store as well as their iTunes Store.

Article Link

[bbbensen]

It sounds like a Second Life....

I dont know how they will implement this, unless its all flash or something.
It will be interesting!

Edit: Saw pics....

Do we get an avatar too?!

[OS X Dude]

Nice, but hopefully won't make iTunes Store/Apple Store take eons to open up.

It's a nice idea, but i could live without it.

Now, iPhone OS 2.0.... GIMME!!!

[bbbensen]

Originally Posted by OS X Dude

Nice, but hopefully won't make iTunes Store/Apple Store take eons to open up.

It does seem like it would take a hefty computer to run it, and I bet it wont work with PPC either.

My iBook wont run Second Life well..... So how will I buy a new MBP if they implement it? D:

[colourclassic]

I thought Steve stopped smoking weed back in the 80's....

[sukanas]

this idea of a virtual store seems completely stupid

it reminds me of those 3d avatars make ur own character things u see on myspace ads....

[bobbleheadbob]

Originally Posted by colourclassic

I thought Steve stopped smoking weed back in the 80's....

Apparently not.

[MikeTheC]

Originally Posted by colourclassic

I thought Steve stopped smoking weed back in the 80's....

That almost made me spit out my coffee...

Yes, this is another example of "Let's fix a problem that doesn't exist."

One of the main reasons I do what online shopping I do is so that I don't have to be pestered by other people, especially ignorant sales staff.

We don't all require external validation just to be able to make our minds up about a purchase, nor are we all co-dependent. So please, Steve, go spend your money on something else. Thank you.

[StumpJumper]

Originally Posted by colourclassic

I thought Steve stopped smoking weed back in the 80's....

LMAO!!

[OS X Dude]

Originally Posted by bbbensen

It does seem like it would take a hefty computer to run it, and I bet it wont work with PPC either.

My iBook wont run Second Life well..... So how will I buy a new MBP if they implement it? D:

Not really - it's a website so processor architecture is irrelevant, and they would have to make it run even on integrated graphics like the GMA 950/X3100 cards or they'd kill half their audience.


Not literally kill them you understand

[jettredmont]

Originally Posted by bbbensen

It does seem like it would take a hefty computer to run it, and I bet it wont work with PPC either.

My iBook wont run Second Life well..... So how will I buy a new MBP if they implement it? D:

Huh?

No, the hardware requirements would be pretty minimal. You aren't rendering a 3D store in realtime (although it leaves that open as a possible implementation); you are simply getting information about which other customers are in the store at the same time as you.

This allows the buyer to see which areas of the store are the most popular (if you come into Store X looking at electronics and see that 90% of their customers are in there looking at and buying books you know where the store's specialties are) as well as which specific products are gathering interest (in the electronics area if there's a mob around Router XYZ then it's probably either a good deal or a good product; you might want to look into that instead of / alongside Router ABC).

The pitfalls, however, are:

* Trustworthiness. In the "untrusted store" scenario, the buyer can not be sure the store is not astro-turfing "interest" in products it has an overstock of (just as such stores will manipulate front page placement and "similar users" recommendations based on stock).

* Mob mentality. This enhances the "mob mentality", showing sudden upsurges in product interest based on nothing more than other people having shown an interest in the product. This leads to unpredictable stock (an item hums around selling 2 units per week and suddenly today you get 20 orders in ... not good!) You already see this as a result of mentions in popular blogs, but this interface would speed up the flash mob effect by a factor of 10 or more. For instance, in a recent case a popular programming blog expounded on the benefits of a particular rechargeable battery charger; 24 hours later the price on Amazon had gone up by $10 (25%), and the wait time for the charger (still listed as in stock) was 4-6 weeks. Imagine that happening in 5 minutes instead!

* Intrusiveness. There are a good number of us who would happily answer the question "why did you go from looking at Post Raisin Bran to Kellogs Raisin Bran?" However, there are an even better number who would not want to be bothered by such questions, and were this interface ubiquitous would have to "opt out" of annoying browsing justification at Every Single Store on the Planet. The only reasonable approach for a store wanting to retain business would be an "opt in" basis, which likely would not get many takers. Throw in the likelihood of question abuses (see next), and I don't think even I would opt in anywhere.

* Spam. Imagine shopping at a store and getting bombarded with messages like "I see you are looking at Widget X. Did you know you can get the same widget at Mel's Discount Widgets for $5 instead?" No regulation on these would be practical (so they could be openly dishonest and aimed at building distrust of not just one store but two).

Overall, it sounds like a nice idea (I know it was on my "next steps for web stores" list for a few years), but it has some serious non-technical drawbacks. And, of course, the technical hurdles (needing to keep accurate and realtime track of where users are, which isn't easily done in the timing-out-sessions general design pattern for stores used today) aren't anything to laugh at either. Maybe Apple can clear them all. This one patent isn't far enough along to raise hopes, though.

[redsteven]

Originally Posted by OS X Dude

Nice, but hopefully won't make iTunes Store/Apple Store take eons to open up.

It's a nice idea, but i could live without it.

Yeah. I don't want to trade in efficiency for prettiness here. So far I think apple's managed to give us efficiency AND prettiness, so i won't any judgments on this patent.

I'll wait to see what happens

[netdog]

Originally Posted by bbbensen

Do we get an avatar too?!

You must attain 6502 status by making 500 purchases (Apple products only) before you will be awarded with an avatar.

Further, in keeping with Apple tradition, Steve has deemed that Apple will decide what avatar you want for you.

[bbbensen]

Originally Posted by netdog

You must attain 6502 status by making 500 purchases (Apple products only) before you will be awarded with an avatar.

Further, in keeping with Apple tradition, Steve has deemed that Apple will decide what avatar you want for you.

*sigh*

I guess I will be buying a lot of iPod Shuffles!

Unless....

If I buy something and then return it, will I get the purchase!

EDIT: (not realy, but something I noticed before I clicked the reply button...) Even buying 500 iPod Shuffles will come out to $25,000.........

[CartoonChess]

Strange seeing this, as I remember cooking up ideas for just this sort of thing around nine years ago with a friend. Oh, well—it's probably better implemented post-Y2K anyway.

[aLoC]

Hmmm...yes, hmmm... that idea is total sh*t.

[EagerDragon]

Originally Posted by netdog

You must attain 6502 status by making 500 purchases (Apple products only) before you will be awarded with an avatar.

Further, in keeping with Apple tradition, Steve has deemed that Apple will decide what avatar you want for you.

LOL, I trust Steve would select appropriately, so long as it is a Dragon, LOL.

[phasornc]

Originally Posted by bbbensen

It sounds like a Second Life....

I dont know how they will implement this, unless its all flash or something.
It will be interesting!

Edit: Saw pics....

Do we get an avatar too?!

I think it's pretty cool too. While they could go Second Lifey they could also go sort of iChaty as well and enable webcams. You could actually see people faces just like in those old brick and mortar store they used to have. And maybe even . . . gasp . . . talk to them! The iTunes would be a great dating service. Imagine seeing the people browsing the same or similar artists that you are browsing. It would probably get people to 'hang out' in the store. Artists might even hang out there.

[k2spitfire88]

Originally Posted by phasornc

I think it's pretty cool too. While they could go Second Lifey they could also go sort of iChaty as well and enable webcams. You could actually see people faces just like in those old brick and mortar store they used to have. And maybe even . . . gasp . . . talk to them! The iTunes would be a great dating service. Imagine seeing the people browsing the same or similar artists that you are browsing. It would probably get people to 'hang out' in the store. Artists might even hang out there.

That would be quite the interesting implementation of that. I want to see how this pans out, it could wind up being very cool.

[kcdstudios]

Originally Posted by phasornc

I think it's pretty cool too. While they could go Second Lifey they could also go sort of iChaty as well and enable webcams. You could actually see people faces just like in those old brick and mortar store they used to have. And maybe even . . . gasp . . . talk to them! The iTunes would be a great dating service. Imagine seeing the people browsing the same or similar artists that you are browsing. It would probably get people to 'hang out' in the store. Artists might even hang out there.

brilliant, that would be awesome.

[peterlobl]

I wonder if they serve beer (or wild turkey) or appletinis (bleech) at the online genius bar. is there a limit?

so long as my avatar can check & edit & delete his/her virtual iphone email inside the "store" better than I can on my US$600 device -

I'll be happy

[mooncaine]

Originally Posted by bbbensen

It sounds like a Second Life....

I dont know how they will implement this, unless its all flash or something.
It will be interesting!

Edit: Saw pics....

Do we get an avatar too?!

That's more or less what I was thinking: "Second Life has already introduced this idea to the world, a few years ago, and it's thriving today."

[hyddan]

I can see the spambots spew advertising messages while shopping online already...

/add

The Wii channels for mariokart is a good example of this stuff. Cute cuddly avatars storming graphic presentations of a globe. Nice, effective and actually useful. Change the globe for apple store and this is pretty much it.

[radicalevan]

I don't think it is a second life sort of think. I imagined the store being just as it is now, except as you are looking at that iPod Hi-Fi, there is a nice little box next to the picture that says "appleID#1 is looking at this too." From there, I imagine you could click on the name of the person and talk to them about the ipod hifi, or whatever. No 3d display crap things. Maybe just numbers on the main apple store page indicating how many people are in each area, and so forth.

[137489]

Originally Posted by radicalevan

I don't think it is a second life sort of think. I imagined the store being just as it is now, except as you are looking at that iPod Hi-Fi, there is a nice little box next to the picture that says "appleID#1 is looking at this too." From there, I imagine you could click on the name of the person and talk to them about the ipod hifi, or whatever. No 3d display crap things. Maybe just numbers on the main apple store page indicating how many people are in each area, and so forth.

MS BOB - that's funny. I actually never new it existed until I had to work on a friend's older laptop that was in a fire. He had some important files on it that would not work on a newer computer. That was my first taste of it. Rather lame, cutesy for kids who are learning a computer (like if they are 5), but I hope if this ever does come to fruitation it is not as lame.