IBM smart mirror aims to help retailers convert footfalls to sales

As offline retailers start to embrace and experiment with digital technologies to catch up with online counterparts, tech giant IBM is busy working on a smart-mirror technology for the former, The Economic Times reported.

According to the report, the smart mirror will be placed inside the stores of fashion retailers such as Vero Moda, enabling shoppers to understand which clothes fit them best.

“The plan is to convert more footfall into actual sales at these stores,” Kamal Singhani, managing partner, global business services, IBM India and South Asia, told The Economic Times.

Going by the report, IBM is also infusing artificial intelligence (AI) into offline retail stores for inventory management.

Singhani said that the company was analysing fashion trends from blogs, images, catalogues and social media to build a repository that will be able to help the merchants in improving their inventory. "The AI currently categorises colours, print and style,” Singhani told The Economic Times.

Further, he said that IBM's research shows merchants are only able to sell 50-60% of designs and the rest sit as inventory. The AI will be used to understand why a particular product didn't sell and act as a guide to designers, he added.

At a time when analysts and industry experts believe that online sales in India will continue to grow, companies such as Future Retail and Aditya Birla Fashion are looking to adopt frontier technologies.

In fact, real estate developer DLF, which also makes shopping malls, has been partnering technology companies to power solutions for outlets that will help drive more footfall.