We would love to claim that this is a textbook example. However, it would not be exactly true. As often happens in real life, we had the technology solution before we had the problem. Exploring the technology inspired the idea of using the it on store windows to enable customers to browse products in shop windows and make purchases using their personal mobile handset even when the store was closed. We found the true problem; how to link the physical presence of a high-street brand into a brand's e-commerce presence on the web.

Why is "window shopping" missing the shopping part?

We set out to change a piece of retail forever. Within 10 months of rapid prototyping, we built a system that turns any storefront window into a fully functional virtual store with the most responsive user experience ever. By combining the storefront with the already existing eCommerce, the system effectively extends store opening hours to 24/7.

Since the "first screen" of our target audience is the mobile, a major part of the success was to find the simplest possible way to connect with that device. But we also knew that we had incredibly short time to establish that connection. Asking people to download a custom app was out of the question and QR offered a too unreliable experience.

In the end we built everything in HTML5. Window interface and mobile. Through a by-directional connection via a simple URL, the users paired their mobiles with a one-time PIN. From that on, the user could simply drag products into a shopping bag on the window, to see them instantly appear on their device. A true wow effect.

The mobile site was plugged straight into the adidas eCommerce system, essentially operating as a mini eCom in itself. If shoppers shared their list of products it was a responsive design, looking great on a laptop or tablet too. If friends changed sizes, colors etc, they could re-share their own unique list. This increased the impact of just one person trying the window.

The result was great! We had daily conversion, which proved the viability of the system. Because of that we are now looking on how to scale up. If someone interacted with the system, up to 90% of bypassers attention was caught and around 1 in 4 entered the store after playing with the window.

We put shopping into window shopping!