ComQi Builds “Magical” Mirrors Into Offer
January 9, 2012 by Dave Haynes
I don’t know what is all that magical about putting a three second delay on a video signal, but ComQi is describing its integration of an interactive solution called delayMirror as a “magical experience” for shoppers.
The technology and concept is actually more than a decade old, with its roots in the Interactive Institute Stockholm, in Sweden. This version of it was developed in conjunction with the Creative Advisor Group, an Interactive Institute Stockholm spin-off. The app has been configured to run on ComQi’s EnGage digital signage platform.
delayMirror is a ‘video mirror’ that provides a continual delayed video feed which allows shoppers to see themselves as they were three seconds ago. It allows the shopper to twirl and see the clothes they are wearing from all angles in a dressing room. In addition to being a great way of trying on new clothes, it is also a fun in-store experience that shoppers cannot get online or via any other medium.
As mentioned in a separate post – which rang a bell for me – the three-second delay video mirror thing was used in a Prada store in New York in 2001. In that project: Another wall incorporates a “magic mirror,” a camera and display . As the customer begins to turn in front of the mirror the image becomes delayed, allowing the customer to view themselves in slow motion from all angles.
Sorta, kinda interesting, I suppose. I don’t see much take-up on what’s mostly a novelty thing. Watch this video and decide if this is what retailers want going on in their stores. Multiple mirrors do a pretty good low-tech job of providing views from different angles, and they don’t need a “Relax, this is not being recorded!” sign.
Putting a camera in the changing room is not going to make a lot of people feel very good. Too many 11 o’ clock news exposes on women being recorded while changing. Might be better to have this technology on the store floor where people try on jackets and things or who are evaluating clothes after they have changed into them.