They always say, don’t judge a book by it’s cover. But you do anyways.

As humans, it’s difficult to separate what we see from what we think – it’s in our nature to use every incoming stimulus to interpret our environment, and then use that information in assessing and responding to a situation. Case in point: shopping has long been an exercise in ‘try before you buy’. You pick something up, turn it over on its side, hold it up for observation, and perhaps shake it like a Christmas present. The item’s weight, appearance, texture, and other variables affect the way in which we shape our judgement of that object. How then do you reproduce the real world shopping experience… online?

When the Internet first hit center stage, there was some doubt about its application for shopping – after all, how can you replace the experience of exploring down side streets, window shopping, and of course, flipping through, touching, and trying on clothing. Those concerns have thus far proven largely unfounded; the Internet has become a major battleground for sales, the virtual facing storefront that appeals to traditionalists as well as an entirely different demographic. According to Nielsen, approximately 85% of global Internet users have used the Internet to make a purchase, up 40% from two years ago. The most common Internet purchases are books, apparel, videos/DVDs/Games, airline tickets and electronics. With the exception of apparel (which one might expect to be a brick and mortar purchase only) I would argue that sales in each category are actually supplemented by access to information online, where you can conduct product related research, and where Web 2.0 communities provide strong feedback mechanisms through ratings, reviews, visual demos, and cost comparison shopping.

Enter Amazon Windowshop. In September, Amazon launched the BETA version of this virtual store, which is an initial bridge between physical-world product browsing and online shopping. The store is a fluid, interactive, and user friendly interface that lets you better interact with the items you’re interested in, creating a more sophisticated online shopping experience. Amazon uses Windowshop as a showcase for books, music, movies, TV shows, video games, and by categorizing products by new, bestselling, and editor’s picks items, the company has a good opportunity to put select, enticing, items in front of your face, similar to the supermarket corner aisle. What I like most about this interface is that it is entertaining – customers can approach this tool much in the same way they would a YouTube or a StumbleUpon – it’s a multimedia platform which enables serendipitous exploration and consumption of media … which you can buy. By providing an alternative outlet for people who want to browse and be entertained by the Internet, rather than simply shop, Amazon may be able to attract people to Windowshop simply to browse, which may in turn convert to a purchase – pulling people in rather than pushing content at them.

Where will Amazon and online shopping go from here?
The next step for Amazon Windowshop is to tie-in those aforementioned Web 2.0 community mechanisms that are already integrated into the main site. Internet users prefer to use other users’ experiences as a feedback mechanism that shapes their experience (Do I watch this? No, because 9/10 of previous viewers say it’s not worth it, just like an actual friend might tell me not to). Amazon must find a way to make Windowshop a place that people enjoy going to, to preview the latest hot media (music, movies, etc.), and which is built into their regular web-wanderings.  If the company is unable to integrate Windowshop into Internet users’ regular web-activities then they will not have any exposure, and therefore limited sales. A parallel is iTunes which uses an application platform, rather than Amazon’s web-based one, and which leverages users’ primary interest in music, to get people using the software, and once doing so, provide opportunities to entertain and purchase media from the e-store.

A website called Enjoy3D, despite being tacky, provides an initial look at 3D based shopping experiences. Going a step beyond Windowshop, Enjoy3D allows you to use your keyboard to navigate a three dimensional virtual space with ‘shelves’ full of from books, toys, T-shirts and more. By ‘walking around’ you are exposed to visual stimuli that may lead to further interest – upon clicking on an object, you are shown Amazon’s online store, including the Web 2.0 feedback tools mentioned above, and Amazon’s shopping cart.  Although the experience can never truly replace the physical-one, it doesn’t have to; the goal is not to replace physical-world shopping, it is to best enhance the Internet-based shopping experience, which has a different value proposition. Looking forward, I expect that we will see the integration of the interface shown by both websites, bringing a slick aesthetic, community orientation, and deep visual stimuli.

I have previously talked about SearchMe, the visual search engine that changes the search experience. Increasingly companies are understanding that the real world philosophy of “it’s not just what you sell but how you sell it” also applies to how companies engage with customers online. As Internet based programming, and computer hardware, becomes more sophisticated, a continuous stream of tools will become available to supplement this experience – imagine putting on your 3D web-connected goggles, walking around using brainwave signal-detection, and flipping through racks of clothes with the flip of a finger on a computer touchscreen. A whole virtual world of possibility.

My question for you then is, what would your ultimate virtual shopping experience look like?
What was the last thing you bought online and why?

Mine was a 28 inch monitor, bought last week (it’s awesome!). I did some research, found the best price at newegg.ca, checked to make sure other users and electronics reviewers have had good experiences, and had it shipped to my door 4 days later. Easy on the mind, easy on the legs, and easy on the wallet.