Mirror, mirror on the wall

Posted by maureen

September 20, 2007 |

The Magic Mirror is the latest innovations to reach six major retailers in the US, Europe, Latin America and Asian. It’s a regular mirror made interactive through technology, radio frequency identification (RFID), audio and video software, an ultrasonic touch screen and a wireless messaging system. That’s a mouthful! So what does all that mean? Well it can’t tell you that those pants make you look fat (thank goodness!) but it can give style tips, locate other sizes and colors and even get a sales assistant ( a cup of coffee would be good too!)

The system works when a customer approaches the mirror with a garment that is tagged with RFID tag. This activates customized ads and messages. The images shown on the screen are matched to the garments the customer is trying on and words and images can float on the screen to inquire about fit. It will even suggest coordinating items (great for those of us who need from the fashion police) It will even take request for merchandise. And yes, the salespeople receive the messages on hand held devises.

The system doesn’t come cheap, between $20,000 to $30,000 but Debenhams, a British department store chain saw sales rise 5% during a four month trail. The system can also cut down on theft since the mirror identifies how many garments are brought into the dressing room.

Personally I am not sure that I want to share my dressing room with anyone or anything that interacts with me. And I wonder how long it will be before it’s dispensing advise on how to loose a few pounds or better still telling you look “fabulous” just to get the sale!
Mirror, mirror on the wall who is the fairest of them all?