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."
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Apple Trying to Improve Online Shopping Atmosphere?
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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."
I hear ya... I usually shop online because:
1) Don't have to deal with crowds or queues.
2) Can research what I want to buy and then purchase at the same time.
3) Can usually find a better price online than buying local
4) Don't feel like paying sales tax.
Why do people assume this is something that is going to be implemented, and something that will be implemented in the coming year or so?
Chances are, Apple wants to make a lot of money when companies start doing this.
Also, if Apple did it, I am assuming that they assume (a lot of assuming there) that people will have faster computers by the time it comes to being implemented. either that or there will be an option to turn it on in the first place.
Either way, it's not a bad idea if you can tweak your settings... and allowing chat amongst people is a BAD idea. Look at all the MMORPGs out there... flooded with people abusing the system. If it were just being able to talk to Apple reps then that would be ok... but I like buying online more than in real life because it often feels more like you're buying something, rather than being sold it. Plus you can take your time without being hassled by an employee.
I don't think it will catch on but hey...
Chances are, Apple wants to make a lot of money when companies start doing this.
Also, if Apple did it, I am assuming that they assume (a lot of assuming there) that people will have faster computers by the time it comes to being implemented. either that or there will be an option to turn it on in the first place.
Either way, it's not a bad idea if you can tweak your settings... and allowing chat amongst people is a BAD idea. Look at all the MMORPGs out there... flooded with people abusing the system. If it were just being able to talk to Apple reps then that would be ok... but I like buying online more than in real life because it often feels more like you're buying something, rather than being sold it. Plus you can take your time without being hassled by an employee.
I don't think it will catch on but hey...
This is the wildest thing I've heard of, though it's reminiscent of the advertising methods used in the flick "Minority Report".
Wirelessly posted (iPhone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU like Mac OS X; en) AppleWebKit/420.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.0 Mobile/4A102 Safari/419.3)
I agree. Neat idea but I could take it or leave it. And I do hope that it doesn't take a long time to open up if they do implement it.
OS X Dude said:
I agree. Neat idea but I could take it or leave it. And I do hope that it doesn't take a long time to open up if they do implement it.
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.
I wonder if it will have virtual shop assistants that turn away and leave whenever you need help?
OR
Virtual computers set up that you can walk up to and surf the web on a miniature web browser without having to leave the store, so that you can lookup some information without having to open a new tab or something?
OR
Virtual computers set up that you can walk up to and surf the web on a miniature web browser without having to leave the store, so that you can lookup some information without having to open a new tab or something?
It seems like an interesting concept... though I don't use second life etc to know what they are really like.
I would hope that initially the new style was offered for people to check out but keep the old style store going for a while.
I would be interested to see if they could make any improvements to the experience of the disabled user, maybe voice interaction for the blind/movement impaired and the like. I don't have a vested interest in this but changes to interaction can potentially benefit all users.
I would hope that initially the new style was offered for people to check out but keep the old style store going for a while.
I would be interested to see if they could make any improvements to the experience of the disabled user, maybe voice interaction for the blind/movement impaired and the like. I don't have a vested interest in this but changes to interaction can potentially benefit all users.
... and the benefit of this over reading consumer product reviews is what, exactly? Hell, if people are shopping for something I'm shopping for, the chances of them knowing something I don't seem to be relatively low.
I like the "sterile" experience of shopping online. I like the fact that no one bugs me by asking for help, or worse, asking if I need any. I'm there to shop, not to be a store assistant, so I suppose I'll be opting out if this ever happens.
I like the "sterile" experience of shopping online. I like the fact that no one bugs me by asking for help, or worse, asking if I need any. I'm there to shop, not to be a store assistant, so I suppose I'll be opting out if this ever happens.
Oh, man, I hope they have an option for the power users' interface, I just want a list with pics, specs and prices, I don't want a "Second Life" experience.
Agreed. This sounds pretty annoying, and of course it is to be opt out instead of opt in. AHHH here we go further down the course of a detached artificial social generation.
I'm sure Apple have a good vision of the future - unfortunately it's so far from what we're used to that none of us can really imagine what internet shopping might be like in 10-20+ years time. When things have evolved that much, looking back on these details will make sense with hindsight.
Privacy of choice
It's bad enough you get email from Grocery Chains, do we need my every move in a bookstore or more monitored?
Then again, since there isn't an Apple store within 300 miles of where I live in Eastern WA it really is a moot point.
It's bad enough you get email from Grocery Chains, do we need my every move in a bookstore or more monitored?
Then again, since there isn't an Apple store within 300 miles of where I live in Eastern WA it really is a moot point.
That's the way I thought of it also. If it'll work like that I think it's a great idea.
Uh, no. All I want from an online store is an effective search function, a place for customer reviews and detailed pics and specs of the product. Like amazon before they added all those wiki pages or the current online Apple Store. I hope they're smart enough to add an option for the "classic" web store.
And below, the best reply so far, reposted.
And below, the best reply so far, reposted.
Haha, this could be fun!!
<Customer> (to a group of other shop-visitors): "Hey you! may I ask you why not anybody of you buys Macbook Pros these days? They are great and I want to get one!"
<Group>: "OMFG!! NOES!! Don't buy, doooon't!! There are new MBPs coming out anytime, we're waiting for them! Look at macrumors.com for gods sake. DONT BUY!11"
<Apple shop security>: "Sir... may I ask all of you to quietly leave this shop please...?!"
*** JohnDoe has been kicked by Apple shop security ***
*** macrumoaahs has been kicked by Apple shop security ***
*** waitingforMBPupdate has been kicked by Apple shop security ***
This will be GREAT!
Haha, this could be fun!!
....
*** JohnDoe has been kicked by Apple shop security ***
*** macrumoaahs has been kicked by Apple shop security ***
*** waitingforMBPupdate has been kicked by Apple shop security ***
This will be GREAT!
This is really a cool post, man!
Sounds like Mii Channel / PS Home / Second Life...
I really concern the speed....
.Mac is crazy slow, Apple store is quite slow
PS Store is slow too
Wii shopping channel is also slow
Hopefully it would not be that...
However if Apple is aiming to build a virtual community it would be quite interesting!
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.
I see this a a middle ground between a "cold" online store (much like the current one in Apple) and a retail store.
Apple is not able to put Apple retail stores to satisfy demand. The stores that sell Apple stuff (other than iPods) are not much homogeneous (some are quite good, some are not) neither too many (?).
I find an online store with online support (people that know the products and are available now) as a good solution.
Up to now my Apple purchases have been quite complicated: online store, education store, forums, support pages, then phone Apple, then deal with Apple Ireland, then wait for shipments, then worry about, then find missing stuff, then ... It takes a lot of determination and effort to just buy Apple in many places! I live in the biggest city (about 5m) of an European country with over 40m people and we are not getting an Apple store in the foreseeable future ...
Compare it to buying a Win box. You have to close your eyes not to find a shop selling that in your own street ...
I do not find the current online store to be a rich enough experience (and I´m not talking from a UI or multimedia pov). Most people seem to have understood this as a flashy virtual world, but I take it as a better supported online shop.
There is just so much you can do with "canned" text and data, only if you put humans in the loop you can get a good enough experience. Do you expect every shopper to know the right model of iPod or iMac his son/friend has? Or if this gadget will work with what he has? Wouldn´t it be easier if both of you met online on the shop and examined stuff, asked support about them... Or if he wants one of this items? I could have my list of wanted items, like in Amazon ...
Or the right search terms to get the five good forum pages to solve the problem the user has? There are many ways the online store/support pages can be improved ...