[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avr79fPvfZ8]

On the back of recent research by the Australian Centre for Retail Studies (ACRS) that found that only 4% of people start shopping in store before eventually purchasing goods on-line and that the majority of shoppers don’t go in store with the intent of buying online, but rather are driven there by poor in-store experiences, I chatted with 6PR’s Tony MacManus about the future of Retail.

We explored magic mirrors that let you try on clothes and accessories in store without getting undressed; at home webcam technology that lets you try on before you buy; mobile phones and tablets that let you navigate around retail spaces to find exactly what you’re looking for and technology that lets you bring in-store your virtual closets or pantry so that you can match what you already have, with whatever you’re looking to buy.

All this will happen in a future retail landscape that will offer a seamless blend of in-store, mobile, and web-based experiences in which retailers and consumers will sell and buy in whichever environment suits them best depending on their immediate situation and needs.

My final message to retailers in this interview was to not overlook the longer term retail revolution that’s happening behind the scenes of the immediately more impactful economic conditions, to do so is to doom your retail store to irrelevance.

Listen now and let me know your thoughts on the Future of Retail