Solutions & Innovations (March-April 2024)
Feb. 2 saw the launch of Vision Pro, Apple’s mixed-reality headset that looks like a ski mask and places digital content into the wearer’s field of vision. The “visionOS” software does away with mouse-and-cursor navigation; a user merely has to look at an item and, once focused in, can select it by tapping fingers together. The device sold out, but some users reported eyestrain, and social media mocked people who wore the goggles out in public. Still, knowing that a Vision Pro early adopter had to be relatively affluent – the device costs close to $4,000 – several retailers and marketers had the visionOS software mastered by launch day and were retail-ready.
Oakland, California-based E.l.f. Cosmetics launched the “your best e.l.f.” Apple visionOS app, enabling shoppers to explore three distinct 3D environments that are rendered within a 4K display. The user interface lets shoppers “handle” items via visionOS’s intuitive hand and eye movements, with purchases concluded through Apple Pay.
Los Angeles-based Alo Yoga, a luxury activewear brand, launched “alo Sanctuary,” dubbed the first wellness-driven shopping app for Apple Vision Pro. Developed in partnership with Obsess, an immersive shopping platform for 3-D e-commerce experiences, alo Sanctuary lets users meditate in “hyper-realistic” environments — the beach, mountains, canyons and jungle — while interacting with dressed and styled mannequins. The visionOS software lets users adjust how immersive the environment is, while spatial audio cues vary as the shopper moves through the space.
Boston-based Wayfair ported a version of its “Decorify” generative-AI app over to Apple Vision Pro. It enables users to quickly redesign their spaces in various styles and then move through this immersive environment. Users can upload photos and use predetermined room filters such as “Pleasantly Peach” or “Valentine’s Day” to garner overall design inspiration. Users can then select and view Wayfair items in 3D directly inside their spaces to see how they might look and fit. All 3D items are at full scale and said to be “anchored” to the floor.
Mars Inc. invited Apple Vision Pro headset wearers to step into a virtual version of its broad-based “Rookie Mistake” campaign. Using the headset’s AR technology, fans could practice kicking field goals or, as my dog Olive is doing, get advice from a “misfortune teller,” aka. T.J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Rookie Mistake is said to be one of the first brand experiences to use visionOS technology.
Lowe’s launched Style Studio on Apple Vision Pro, touting it as “a transformational moment for kitchen design.” Style Studio enables customers to visualize a kitchen by taking them inside an immersive 3D scene built from preset styles curated by Lowe’s designers. Shoppers can then mix in custom options that, according to Lowe’s, represent nearly 80 billion possible combinations. Once a customer has found a preferred design, she can move that plan onto “style boards” and email, text or AirDrop them to third parties such as contractors or designers. Once all the plans and details are synchronized, they can be purchased on a Lowes.com account.
Villeneuve-d’Ascq, France-based Decathlon, a 1,700-store, 70-country sporting goods retailer, reimagined its app for Apple Vision Pro to enable customers to shop its outdoor and cycling products. The company says that customers can “step inside our tents” or examine bikes in 3D within the visual framework of their own home.
In January OpenAI rolled out the ChatGPT Store to users of ChatGPT Plus, the $20 per month subscription service that offers access to version 4.0 and other advanced AI features. The ChatGPT Store claims to have 3 million “GPTs” that have been developed by the AI community in categories like DALL·E, writing, research, programming, education and lifestyle. (Visit chat.openai.com/gpts to test drive it.) Examples of popular GPTs range from hiking trail recommendations, coding tutorials, presentation designers and, as you’ve probably guessed by now, shopping aids.
A search for a CVS GPT yielded “CVS Health by Ying Chen,” a spokes-bot that I assume was created by a third party and that I doubt has been authorized by anyone at headquarters in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. I deliberately fed it a potentially controversial query about babies and vaccines, and its response, whether accurate or not, sounded authoritative.
In January, Lowe’s made a GPT version of its “Product Expert” service available to all ChatGPT Plus subscribers. Once they are logged into ChatGPT they can search for the gable-logo in the custom GPT store, select “install” and ask for home improvement advice. By doing so, they’re also tapping into the entirety of Lowe’s catalog of millions of products for shoppable recommendations. Lowe’s, which has vast experience with advanced customer-service technology, emphasized “natural language responses” in this GPT. As you can see, it deftly handled my smart-alecky request for a left-handed monkey wrench.
The Wild West of creativity unleashed by OpenAI has been a lot of fun —pot roast-flavored Coca-Cola, anyone? But while it appears that these unauthorized third-party GPTs aren’t reaching mass audiences as of yet, it’s a technology that should be monitored and managed carefully by brands as it has the potential to become, in the words of the Washington Post, “misinformation super-spreaders.”
Ikea released a U.S.-only version of its generative AI shopping tool on February 5 via OpenAI’s GPT Store. The company claims the “Ikea AI Assistant” enables users to explore 10,000 products and even check real-time merchandise availability at specific stores. Ikea also says this GPT can formulate customized recommendations for complex requests such as, “Show me a cozy living room layout for a small apartment with the use of sustainable materials.”
Other than Lowe’s and Ikea, I could find no other major retailers or brands with an official presence on ChatGPT. However, it wasn’t difficult to find AI bots already “speaking” on their behalf. For example, the top result in my search for a Walgreens GPT was “Photo Coupon Helper,” a GPT that claims to be an “expert on Walgreens photo coupons and promotions.” When I asked it about current candy promotions, it told me I could buy Hershey bars for 50 cents apiece; I wonder if either company is aware of this.