Interactive sales tags, smart shopping carts
and all manner of new gizmos are aiming to help retailers reinvent the shopping experience and make it more fun. For instance, if a technology from Hybridia Design, Clifton, Va., ever takes off, women will be able to use RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags on clothes to connect to a social network, whose netizens can weigh in with comments—via an in-store monitor—on how an outfit looks. RFID sensors can also recommend alternative selections or accessories for an outfit.

As the retail sector continues to struggle
Most department stores posted only modest same-store gains for November and Wal-Mart has warned that its holiday sales will disappoint—makers of such technology are promising to lend a helping hand.

Whether retailers agree remains to be seen. Though such technologies could potentially boost sales, the industry has stubbornly resisted such change for decades. Still, companies like Hybridia keep trying.

The social networking tags are just one of the technologies that will be on display at the "X07 Store of the Future," a live demonstration at a National Retail Federation conference next month in New York.

While last year's "X06" display focused on using RFID to upsell and influence the "moment of truth" at grocery stores, X07 aims to bring online innovations like social networking and customization to apparel outlets.

Other ideas in the mix for Xo7 include ET Lab
An "experimental threads" laboratory where young adults can socialize in "design pods" and view merchandise, try it on and even add special details to the final product which will be created and shipped to their home. "It's going beyond touching and feeling and trying on jeans," said Richard Russo, president and creative director of Hybridia.

Not everyone is so sure. Jeansmaker Levi Strauss, for instance, isn't impressed, yet. "From our research, personal service is the No. 1 thing people are looking for," said Levi rep Amy Jasmer. "We are more focused on human interaction in our stores, although our Web site offers an online fit experience."

While none of the X06 technologies, like smart shopping carts or plasma-screen in-store ads, have gone mainstream, some others have actually been put into use this year, albeit on a test basis.

Since May, for instance, shoppers at Stop & Shop supermarkets in Massachusetts and Connecticut have been able to try "Smart Buddy," an interactive tablet from IBM, that sits on a shopping cart. The system can track purchases—maybe add a nice red wine with that pasta sauce?—scan items, display coupons and place advance orders at the deli, cutting down on waiting in line.

In New York, women shopping for intimates at Bloomingdale's don't have to leave the fitting room as they hunt for the right size bra or lingerie. Since this fall, the retailer has employed a cell-phone size call system where fitting room specialists can alert sales associates of a customer's needs. Vocera Communications of Cupertino, Calif., makes the system.

Meanwhile, some home improvement and electronics retailers are testing interactive kiosks from Experticity, Seattle, that link harried shoppers to live, on-screen "experts" who can answer questions in different languages, offer suggestions or mention promotions. The kiosks aim to pacify customers who can't track down a sales rep. Next year, Experticity will offer customer service for followup help once a product has been taken home.

Mark Campanella, global director of retail on demand at IBM, said such technologies help stores further their brand strategies. "Not all are implementing the same things, but they are all are looking to find the right balance of service and to use technology as the foundation to do that," he said. In addition to Smart Buddy, IBM has been piloting programs that use RFID and other technologies to reduce shoplifting.

But Paco Underhill, author and CEO of Envirosell, a New York retail consultancy that tests in-store technologies for a variety of retailers, said adoption of new retail capabilities will be far off, perhaps not for another 10 years or so.

"If a retailer is going to offer it, it had better be bullet-proof," said Underhill. After all, he added: "It's not a question of whether, but when, someone is going to spill their Diet Coke on it."