Touch the Future: Revolution in Retail Display Helps Stores Design More Immersive Customer Experien

March 8, 2012 - PRLog -- Visual merchandisers and retail designers now have access to a powerful new tool to engage shoppers and drive in-store sales. The Perch Interactive retail technology system – created by MIT graduates working at New York design and technology agency, Potion - is a complete turnkey system that, when activated by a shopper’s touch, creates a groundbreaking in-store digital media and product sample experience.

Consumer research studies have discovered the power of touch in influencing buyer purchasing decisions. The Harvard Business Review, Journal of Consumer Research, and PSFK Media’s Future of Retail Report all highlighted studies that show customers are more willing to buy products if they have touched and tried them in-store.

“Research into consumer buying patterns shows 67% of consumers are ready to buy after touching and sampling products physically before purchase. Our Perch retail display units open the door to a new era in customer engagement that brings digital media and physical retail space together in the one personal experience,” Potion co-founder and product inventor, Mr Jared Schiffman said.

Perch is a compact wall-mounted projection unit that lights a tabletop display surface. The innovative technology unit monitors the product display area for hand movements so that as customers pick up or touch product samples, additional digital media content is revealed providing product details, multimedia and graphics. In addition to product information, every interaction creates a visual cascade that spreads out across the whole table. This visual display creates a playful, engaging spectacle that encourages other shoppers to pick up and discover the effect each product creates. It’s an experience shoppers can record, share and recreate with friends and family. Content is customized by each individual retail business and makes use of software templates included in the system. Potion provides detailed content development support for all retail businesses leasing the units.

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This latest advance in retail technology positions visual merchandisers and retail businesses at a new frontier where digital media and physical space are converging in to create new consumer experiences. The technology enables retail businesses to offer a powerful new interactive experience in which shoppers can discover more personally relevant information; share their experiences with friends, family and colleagues; and foster their sense of brand loyalty and product ownership. The units record data on each individual shopper’s pattern of engagement, creating a rich source of data that can be further analyzed by retail businesses to adapt other in-store promotional displays and better respond to current buying trends and purchasing behavior.

“We are looking forward to working with retail business customers to design unique content and to assist with integrating the unit into a store’s overall promotion and sales strategy,” Mr Schiffman said.

Perch Interactive Display Units are now available for lease as part of a turnkey display technology solution. Limited units are available during pilot trials with selected retail partners.

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Perch Interactive (perchinteractive.com) is created by Potion, a design and technology agency based in New York, founded by former MIT graduates Jared Schiffman and Phillip Tiongson.