As smart phone ownership grows, technology like augmented reality will become more and more mainstream. Now that very technology has been used to turn smart phones into, essentially, live video game controllers. At an exclusive party at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, guests could download an application that allowed them to see and then “capture” (or photograph) augmented reality dragons with their phones – all while their progress was monitored in real-time on a giant scoreboard.
Seems to me, if you can use a smart phone to capture augmented reality images, you can use that same technique in a retail store, to capture “deals.” In other words, allow shoppers to download an application that reveals hidden discounts on various items, then let them loose in the store. With the right advertising, one could significantly increase traffic.
Of course, simply putting a sign above your merchandise with a sale price would achieve a similar effect. And so would putting a flyer into mailboxes. But augmented reality adds an element of discovery and turns the whole exercise into a game. Sometimes, it’s not so much the deal as it is the fun in finding it.
