eBay shoppable windows blurs online and offline shopping
Ebay has released a new version of their virtual store that they hope will help retailers generate more sales, as customers will be able to order items through a nine-by-two foot touchscreen placed on the front windows of stores, dubbed “shoppable windows.”
Steve Yankovich, vice president of innovation and new ventures at eBay says, “This is the first element to kind of having this ecommerce-like experience but in a physical space. The goal is to blur the line between shopping in your pajamas and in-store.”
Displaying the windows is a way businesses can showcase items that they may not have room to keep in stock. Customers also can browse inside the store, and then come shop the online inventory if they haven’t found what they wanted in person. Juicy Couture, for example, will offer about 200 different shoes for purchase.
Scheduling for rapid delivery
The shoppable windows will be “open” 24-hours a day, and people can schedule a one-hour delivery to any location in that particular city. The delivery service is, “less about getting it in an hour and more about getting it when (consumers) want it,” says CEO John Donahoe.
Ebay also plans to offer their online and mobile payment platform, PayPal, to make the checkout process even more streamlined. In late 2011, the company placed window displays to browse products, but weren’t able to actually purchase them on the spot, as they are with this newest technology.
Siliconbeat reports, “Donahoe has a mission where brick and mortar, online and mobile merge to create a retail world where consumers can shop, pay and receive their purchases through any combination of online, mobile and in-store interactions.”
The windows are being tested in New York, San Francisco, and San Jose for about a month, while Chicago and Dallas will see the shoppable windows later this summer. Ebay is also looking to work with large retailers who want to reach more online and mobile shoppers, such as Target and Macy’s.
