The phrase ”window shopping” was never meant to be taken so literally. But New Yorkers whose attention is caught by the displays at one of Ralph Lauren’s Manhattan stores can now buy clothes without entering the premises, using a touch-screen system on the window.
In a final defeat for those who might wish to limit their impulse purchases by wandering the streets after closing time, the holographic display, projected on to the window, invites passers-by to buy a selection of tennis clothing 24 hours a day.
A thin foil layer attached to the window includes a touch-sensitive keyboard, enabling shoppers to enter their home address for items to be delivered. If a customer is nervous about entering credit-card details on the street, he or she can give an e-mail address instead, and complete the transaction later by computer.
Polo Ralph Lauren’s senior vice-president for marketing, David Lauren, said the idea had been inspired by Steven Spielberg’s film Minority Report, a dystopian nightmare of a society in which computer surveillance reaches deep inside people’s brains.
”I really wanted to find a way of making that amazing technology a retail reality,” he said, claiming the scheme is ”reinventing the concept of shopping any time”.
In the film, characters can manipulate graphics and data in mid-air using a special pair of gloves.
The defence company Raytheon is reported to be working on a real-life version of the technology for military use.
Ryan Lally, a spokesperson for Polo Ralph Lauren, said the window-shopping system is more than a gimmick. ”We have experienced some sales from it,” he said. ”If you’re walking past the window, but it happens to be 11 o’clock at night, it’s an ideal solution.” — Guardian Unlimited Â