Once upon a time, the future seemed a long way off. Remember Tom Cruise in 2002’s Minority Report? And the famous shopping centre scene?
Director Steven Spielberg recruited a panel of futurists to predict a far-off tomorrow that included responsive, personalised advertising and sales assistants, triggered by iris and facial recognition.
Well, today, we’re living in that future. Geo-location is ho-hum, facial recognition is a feature built into our phones and Alibaba in China has already tested “smile to pay” in kiosk screens in KFC stores, that replace the need for a wallet.
Way back in 1994 (was that really 25 years ago?) American phone carrier AT&T ran a TV ad that forecast a future where shoppers could check out “a whole shopping cart at a time” through a scanner, and you could receive “a phone call on your wrist”.
Fast forward to today, and frictionless grocery retail is a reality with Amazon Go stores (now rolling out across the US), and when I visited one in Seattle recently the receipt was pinged to my Apple Watch along with my trip time. Shoppers are actively gamifying grocery shopping, seeing how fast they can get in and out of the store.
AmazonGo receipts are pinged to your wrist.
The future, as science fiction writer William Gibson famously wrote, is already here. It’s just not very evenly distributed. Or, as Matt Thompson from American grocery giant Kroger put it even more succinctly: “The future is now”.
I see examples of the “future of retail” in the US every day. Creator Burger in San Francisco has a burger-making robot. Nordstrom’s “Local” retail concept centres around click-and-collect, and services, and has no stock in store. Amazon’s 4-Star stores stream ratings and reviews live to the shelf. Kroger is testing self-driving grocery delivery vehicles with Nuro in Arizona.
China takes things to a whole new level. When I attended Singles’ Day in China last year, I witnessed first-hand a shopping culture that was more “Bladerunner” than suburban mall. There, the mobile rules and stores are not destinations but “nodes”, designed to be interacted with both physically and virtually as the need fits. (My colleague in China ran out of garlic while cooking at home. No problem – he jumped on his app, and had the ingredient delivered in time to finish preparing the meal.)
As I write this, I am about to return to Australia for a visit. I can’t wait to share my experiences and observations of perhaps the most dynamic time in the history of retail. At the same time, I’m also looking forward to seeing what’s new and exciting in our part of the world. The truth is that, particularly today, the future of retail is not limited to a geographic region. From Telstra stores to innovative supermarket and convenience store design, there is a lot to learn from what’s going on in the Southern hemisphere. You just have to look. Because the future is already here.