I think of the future of retail as a Shopping Dig(g), because I believe that our experience of buying stuff will soon become much more akin to an archeological dig, where unearthing meaning and culture are more actively part of the experience.
I think shopping curating, (another variation of the privately directed retail experience), and private sales are just the tip of the iceberg in the transformation of the retail sector; It is late on the scene, and just coming of age within the Web 2.0 space. More importantly it seems as though a shift is beginning to occur in how we relate to the things we purchase.
I began WRLDs, because I saw the connection between information and objects, and an opportunity to generate new forms of support for educational and non-profit research if these 2 forms could be merged. I learned about this in part from talking with people involved in biotechnology, (both VC's and scientist/entrepreneurs, (Carl Weissmann (Accelerator Corp), and Lee Hood (Systems Biology)). They mentioned how certain types of research, that were very experimental and badly needed could not find funding, as they addressed small populations; which did not work for the investors ROI. So, they looked for ways to create hybrid funding models, to support experimental research.
If you think about the problem from a structural perspective, bringing information out into physical retail locations, in real time, through higher level fabbing techniques, will also transform the retail sector. (No I do not mean printing avatars from SL (Second Life), though that is a fine market…; )) I am talking more about using 3D fabbing techniques to change the context of information, by shifting it from one domain into another. Where the physical object and its aesthetic value actually changes how we understand something based in more abstract forms of language.
Metaphorically, physical locations then become like empty fields in a database, where objects fill the spaces, recede, and are replaced with new objects, reflecting the markets as they constantly transform. This allows physical retail spaces to be more rapidly transforming spaces; much more in keeping with the experience of communicating through social networking environments.
So, yes, this is an exciting time for the way we purchase, but it goes beyond the form of the transaction. It is now a time where we will be able to consider how markets can actually play a role in how we think about and understand things.
Spreadshirt and Ponoko are very interesting models. They change the way we transact business in retail. But it would be most interesting to work with a model that changed how retail was used to generate meaning.
George Lakeoff's work addresses this, on a philosophical level. And Bataille described it like a mad man…and much earlier.
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