Sep 30, 2020
Imagine the following scene. You’re walking through New York City, and as it’s wont to do, the weather quickly changes from sunny and temperate to chilly and windy. You soon begin to feel raindrops hit your face as it begins to drizzle. “Damn it; I knew I should’ve brought an umbrella,” you think to yourself. Suddenly, a voice exclaims: “Looks like someone should’ve worn a raincoat. Would you like to try one on?” You turn to look at where the voice is coming from, but rather than seeing a street vendor, it’s an avatar talking to you from a giant store window display.
The digital age has ushered in a decade of unprecedented growth for e-commerce. But as e-commerce has risen and eclipsed in-store shopping, we’ve witnessed the decline of brick-and-mortar retail, now accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. As of the time of this recording, we’ve witnessed big-box retailers such as JCrew, JCPenney, Brooks Brothers, Century 21, and others declare bankruptcy. One advantage, online retail stores have over brick-and-mortar is the ability to do targeted advertising and gather more detailed data analytics and customer insights. To solve that problem and help brick-and-mortar retailers operate in a smarter, data-driven manner, my guest today, Omer Golan, launched Outernets, a startup that bridges the gap between offline and online through the use of intelligent signage.
Outernets’ AI Displays bring the same level of targeted advertising and data collection available to digital retailers to the brick-and-mortar store experience. During the pandemic when people are especially wary of going into a store to shop, brick-and-mortar stores will certainly benefit from utilizing Outernets’ interactive displays powered by Artificial Intelligence and facial recognition technology. Outernets’ smart displays attract attention and engagement from people passing by, and allow customers to try on clothes, ask and answer questions, submit their contact info, and make purchases, all virtually, and right outside your store window.
Learn more about Outernets here: https://outernets.co/