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Smopping - Findings Month 5

Project: SMOPPING – Proof of Market

Report: End of Term Report (Month 5)

Author: Jordy van Kuijk

Introduction

The aim of this document is to produce a final report on the overall market for SMOPPING, utilising the data gleaned from the previous months of research. It will therefore build upon the four concise reports that Red Ninja LTD has produced as part of the SMOPPING – Proof of Market project.

As described in the initial Project Proposal, SMOPPING aims to research the feasibility of an all-in-one online space where travellers can link up with the retail and service industries of the region, town or city they are visiting and receive real-time information that will signpost them towards the most accessible and price-competitive fulfilment of their needs. This would involve geo-location specific offers from businesses and would feature a built-in itinerary that the user can operate to plan their time spent in the SMOPPING (Smart Shopping) zone.

For this particular project, the city of Liverpool was used as a ‘test’ zone to conduct the suggested research.

Month 5 was used to reflect upon the data collected over the past couple of months with the aim of producing a clear and grounded idea of the market potential of SMOPPING, in terms of the following parameters:

The capabilities of businesses of differing sizes and differing online presences to be able to utilise the benefits of this application and to keep as real-time or as near to real-time as possible, updating of their goods, services, locations and prices.

To come away from the project with a comprehensive understanding of what sort of design would best suit this application from the perspective of the consumer. An application of this nature could run the risk of being over-complicated, and it is vital to gain feedback about the capabilities and expectations of the end-user.

To establish a clearer picture of the market potential of the application, in terms of the amount of scenarios it could be utilised in and the willingness of users to make it a regular part of their online experience.

Market potential of SMOPPING

Interestingly, the SMOPPING idea was well received from the very first focus groups in month 1 with the Liverpool based trade organisations up to the final focus groups with the end-consumers in month 4. Clearly, SMOPPING’s market potential is very promising as it does not only address a present need to drive footfall but can also serve as a platform to which more and more mobile commerce services can be added over time. It should also be recognised that even though SMOPPING was initially focused on providing merely travellers with real-time information, it has the opportunity to be used by various other audiences as well including regular visitors and of course citizens. This changed the perception of the SMOPPING app from a tool that is merely focused at city visitors who are not familiar with the area to a tool that could become part of people’s daily online experience. As a result, it has the potential to assist various target audiences on a daily basis. Of course, when it comes to Liverpool in particular, the city currently has no ‘city planner’ or ‘tourist app’, making SMOPPING a very attractive offer.

Even though the local Liverpool high-street seems to resist the present economic challenges quite well, the growing trend and impact of mobile technology was recognised by all of the stakeholders involved, ranging from the national retail chains such as Nando’s and Pandora to the smaller independent jewellery and clothes shops. Overall, it proved to be the right decision to invite businesses of different sizes and capabilities to the focus groups as this ensured the input of wide-ranging advice. To clarify, the national chains instantly recognised the potential to expand the SMOPPING concept to include such services as travel management and loyalty cards while the independent clothes shops raised the point of guiding visitors to alternative temporary markets. Two completely different insights and both useful.

Continuing the discussion on SMOPPING’s market potential, one of the key insights produced by this study is the potential to build upon the concept of SMOPPING to develop a ‘holistic mobile commerce proposition’ that would create a compelling consumer journey by providing a ‘door-to-door experience’. As recognised in the mid-point report, consumers are increasingly using their mobile devices to bridge the online and offline worlds. Shoppers are using smartphones and tablets to look up product information, run price comparisons and make online purchases while using the bricks and mortar retailers as showrooms. Researchers found that consumers are clearly willing to engage with retailers through their mobile phones and that 60% of UK and American smartphone owners are spurred to shop at least once a week because they have received a mobile alert (Latitude, 2012). This proves that well designed mobile commerce services respond to a growing business opportunity, and can create a rich and consistent consumer experience both online and in-store, while forging a deeper relationship between merchants and their consumers.

However, as discussed during several of the focus groups, mobile commerce services to date have focused just on an individual retailer or the actual transactional experience. Such an approach is too narrow. It should support the entire consumer experience. Consumers are looking for wide ranging mobile commerce services that help them with product/service research, travel management, parking, payment, vouchers, loyalty, dining, entertainment and more of an outing to a town centre or a destination retailer. It was therefore decided that there is a need for a ‘holistic mobile commerce proposition’ that will deliver a compelling consumer journey for city visitors/travellers including planning (the process of gathering information), outward travel (the process of getting to the destination), in-store (the experience of in-store or on the high street), transacting (the exchange of value), post transaction (the opportunity to up sell and cross sell) and return travel (the return trip) through their mobile device. Coming back to the ‘amount of scenarios it could be utilised in’, there clearly are multiple.

In addition to this holistic approach, it should be stated that the national chains recognised that consumers should not need to download multiple apps on a weekend break making one app or platform that would combine all mobile commerce services (e.g. entertainment, dinner, voucher programmes, loyalty cards, travel management, mobile payment, and parking) into one app extremely useful. The national chains indentified that it is often hard to determine what apps that are currently out there add real value to their consumers. Interestingly, this point was also raised in month 4 when consulting the end-consumers. Also they identified the difficulty to select the right app for the right purpose and that one app which would combine all services within a city would be both user-friendly and time efficient. Coming back to the willingness of users to make SMOPPING a regular part of their online experience, there clearly is willingness and especially if these multiple mobile commerce services are combined into one app.

As a result, there was a clear consensus on the market potential and the need for SMOPPING which could be made even more powerful if it would evolve into a holistic mobile commerce proposition. Looking at the business opportunity that this project therefore addresses, the opportunity of mobile commerce services, SMOPPING has immense economic potential. In terms of economic benefits, mobile commerce (which includes applications such as SMOPPING) is worth £1.35 billion to the UK economy at present and between 2013 and 2016 online shoppers are predicted to spend £5.8 billion via their smartphones. Consequently, SMOPPING will contribute to a massive upward trend and through that benefit the retail and services sector.

Finally, it was mentioned that SMOPPING has the potential to not only cover a city centre (e.g. Liverpool City Centre) but to cover the whole city region (e.g. Liverpool City Region). SMOPPING should allow for a (Liverpool) City Region scale to ensure the region optimises its collective economical potential and fully utilises its tourism and commercial offerings to visitors, travellers and citizens wherever in the region they may be. Food for thought!

Design

In order to get a comprehensive understanding of what sort of design would best suit this application from the perspective of the consumer, we developed a first series of wireframes for the SMOPPING app at the start of this project and presented these in every focus group (see below). The purpose of this was of course to collect feedback on the design over a four-month period allowing us to refine and amend it towards the end of this Proof of Market study.

The first wireframe shows a homepage with a search engine (to search for real-time products/ services in the user’s vicinity) and a ‘view categories’ and ‘view my itinerary’ option. If the user would for example search for ‘Italian Restaurants’, the app would take him/her to a second screen with the available Italian restaurants in the user’s vicinity. The user can then determine the budget he/she would like to spend and the distance he/she would like to travel. This then leads to a screen with a real-time ETA and the opportunity to share their choice on social media platforms or to add it to the user’s itinerary. Alternatively, the user could select the option ‘categories’ on the home screen and access a more traditional list of several categories the user can chose off. To clarify, the See & Do category would involve theatres, museums, parks and gardens, cinemas and so on. Of course these wireframes were created to kick-start the discussion on the most suitable design.

Over the past four months, we received useful feedback on the initial design of these wireframes. Participants of the focus groups very much liked the design as it was considered to be neat and colourful and it ‘looked’ easy to navigate/use. We did however discuss several points we could improve upon. First of all, the focus groups with the trade organisations in Month 1 recognised that even though the app provided several categories under the ‘categories section’, it was advised to also include the categories of ‘Accommodation’, ‘Offers’, ‘Transport’, ‘Parking’ and a ‘Surprise Me’ section. The driving force for this was of course the holistic mobile commerce proposition that was discussed earlier which suggested that the app should provide more services. The Surprise Me section would have to literally surprise the user with suggestions to kill some spare time. Interestingly, the suggestion to include a feature that would enable SMOPPING to quickly come up with shopping/visiting/activity planning solutions to those visitors/tourists who are on their last day in the city and maybe have ‘a couple of hours to kill’ before they go to the airport/railway station was made several times during the study. This would optimise the time visitors spend within a city and would entertain visitors as well as stimulate spending in the high street. As the images below show, we have added the suggested categories to the wireframes and have added a ‘shake for surprise’ feature when users open the app. When users shake their smartphone, the app would provide random suggestions/ideas that would allow the user to ‘kill some time’.

Furthermore, the power of combining multiple mobile commerce services to develop a holistic mobile commerce proposition was of course repeatedly suggested over the past few months. Using this to create a compelling consumer journey that would consider the various stages of a door-to-door consumer experience was therefore important to consider in the design of the app. It was suggested the user should be able to plan his/her door-to-experience (including planning (the process of gathering information), outward travel (the process of getting to the destination), in-store (the experience of in-store or on the high street), transacting (the exchange of value), post transaction (the opportunity to up sell and cross sell) and return travel (the return trip) from the very start of using the app. It was therefore decided to add a button to the homepage with ‘plan my trip’ which would take the user to a second screen showing all of the mobile commerce services as discussed before (e.g. Product/Services search, Entertainment, Travel & Parking, Payment, Vouchers, Loyalty, Dining and Attractions). This would allow the user to search for the product/service he or she needs in real-time, and to select the additional services that he/she may need. For example, if the ‘yoga class’ that the user selected proves to be far away, the user could select the Travel & Parking option taking him/her to a second screen with the available options. At the end, all of the selections would be collated into one itinerary signposting the user ‘through his/her journey’ and to his/her desired situation(s).

One especially interesting part of the discussion and something we had not factored into our initial conception of SMOPPING was the mention of ‘alternative’ temporary markets (selling quirky/antique/subculture goods) in towns/cities and the difficulty experienced by vendors (and shoppers) of discovering easily accessible, well-advertised and online basic information about when these markets are occurring and what exactly one can expect to find in them. As a result, a category called ‘Alternative’ has been added to the app which would include events like these. In addition, we added a button with ‘Independent stores’ to ensure visitors are attracted to the smaller independent stores just off the beaten track. The underlying reason for doing this is simple: being visible to tourists and visitors is a concern. Please find the updated wireframes below.

Furthermore, the need was mentioned to include a ‘zoom in/out’ feature to ensure users with reading difficulties can enlarge the text within the app and to provide the app in multiple languages for foreign visitors. Especially Chinese and Spanish translations were considered to be key. In addition, it was suggested to include audio so users can be directed to the desired location not only visually but also through audio in multiple languages. As the images below show, we have included these features into the updated wireframes.

The integration of social media networks and the ability to take price into the equation when searching for the most accessible fulfilment of a user’s needs was well received and therefore not changed from the first series of wireframes.

Finally, the focus groups of month 4 with the consumers produced the following list of key factors to produce a design that would best suit the SMOPPING app:

Simplicity and clarity

Not too many different colours

In-app navigation should be simple

A clear back/home button

Avoid screaming colours

Use icons over text

Use visuals/images

Option to ‘zoom in and out’ of text

Quality of quantity

Make it fun to use!

Include the feature to invite friends to a location

As the images on the next page show, we have included all of these factors into the updated wireframes. Especially including icons in addition to text was considered to be a key factor that would enhance the user-friendliness of the app.

Finalised wireframes

Because of the significant time we spent holding those focus groups, we now have a comprehensive understanding of what sort of design would best suit this application from the perspective of the consumer. As stated in the initial project plan, these wireframes will be made available to all participants enabling them to share their final thoughts on the modifications that we have made based on their input. The wireframes are published under the following link: http://redninja.prevue.it/p/7uqum

Interestingly, the various participants ranging from trade organisations to small independent art galleries all recognised the added value of SMOPPING. At present, there is no app out there that would provide an identical (or part of the) service that SMOPPING provides and especially the independent stores off the beaten track who lack visibility and footfall would strongly benefit from this. It does need to be mentioned however that the majority of the businesses that participated in this study do not have the internal capability to develop an application like this. Of course this is not a major issue. Retailers are in the businesses of retail and not application development but it does emphasise the need of a project like this to research and implement such a solution for the benefit of multiple stakeholders.

Of course, even the smaller independent stores make extensive use of social media platforms to communicate with its clientele and try to attract them. They are therefore used to update information on their goods, services, location and prices in real-time as this is a vital factor for customer engagement. Of course, the bigger national chains and the representatives of Liverpool One shopping centre and the Liverpool City Centre BID explained to have systems in place to track inventory and price changes allowing them to quickly adapt to consumer trends and competitor moves. The capability to benefit from the SMOPPING app is therefore strong.

Conclusion

There proved to be a significant market for SMOPPING as it is a scalable platform to which more and more mobile commerce services can be added over time. As explained before, mobile commerce services address a huge business opportunity. In addition, the stakeholders that participated in this Proof of Market Study showed a strong interest into SMOPPING.

Overall, this study produced a useful insight into the potential of SMOPPING which involves both the bigger national chains as well as the independent smaller shops. As a result, it targets a massive audience. In addition, it became clear that there is a strong need for a holistic mobile commerce proposition.

The study proved to be fun and informative. The information generated has no doubt created a solid foundation for future development and implementation work.

Smopping - Findings Month 4

Project: SMOPPING – Proof of Market

Report: Findings Month 4

Author: Jordy van Kuijk

Introduction

This report is the last of a total of four concise reports that Red Ninja LTD will produce as part of the SMOPPING – Proof of Market project. As described in the initial Project Proposal, SMOPPING aims to research the feasibility of an all-in-one online space where travellers can link up with the retail and service industries of the region, town or city they are visiting and receive real-time information that will signpost them towards the most accessible and price-competitive fulfilment of their needs. This would involve geo-location specific offers from businesses and would feature a built-in itinerary that the user can operate to plan their time spent in the SMOPPING (Smart Shopping) zone.

For this particular project, the city of Liverpool was used as a ‘test’ zone to conduct the suggested research.

Findings Month 4

During the fourth month of SMOPPING, we organised three focus groups of six people each to further explore the customer side of the application. The main aim for doing this was to come away from the project with a comprehensive understanding of what sort of design would best suit the application from the perspective of the consumer and to establish a clearer picture of the market potential of the application, in terms of the amount of scenarios it could be utilised in and the willingness of users to make it a regular part of their online experience.

When presented with the SMOPPING concept, the participants clearly recognised the value of an app like this. Remarkably, the first focus group proved that even though smartphone users spend most of their time on their smartphone within apps, it is often difficult to select the right app to use. This led to an interesting discussion on the apps that are currently out there which aim to provide a similar service. Citymapper was of course mentioned even though this is not as comprehensive as SMOPPING. It does however provide an easy to use real-time transport guide and works efficiently in such cities as London and New York. It was suggested that the key for success for Citymapper was its simplicity to use. In addition, the app clearly states the prices of the alternative transport modes and as SMOPPING is based on the ‘most price-competitive’ as well as most accessible fulfilment of consumers’ needs, this was referred to as a potential benchmark by one of the participants.

When we touched upon the point of being willing to make SMOPPING a regular part of the customers/users online experience, one of the participants referred to the Walgreens app. This app, developed by the Pharmacy chain Walgreen Co., helps customers find retail locations and hours, refill prescriptions, set personal medication reminders, look up medication information, order photographic services and make appointments at in-store Take Care Health System clinics. The app allows users to create shopping lists, including reminders, and provides mobile coupons. It has to be stated that Walgreen Co. recognised years ago that mobile technology is an integral part of its strategy but from SMOPPING’s perspective, the app clearly includes real-time sign posting as well as an itinerary, and allows real-time engagement between the pharmacy retail locations and the consumers.

Citymapper

Walgreens

As a result, it was suggested during the focus group that an app like this which has been successfully in use for about a year on a regular basis could be used as a benchmark. Participants also clearly favoured the design of this app as it is neat and simple to use.

Other apps that were mentioned were the Groupon app, the Cardiff Official Visitor app, SitOrSquat and AroundMe. The design of Groupon was favoured as it is an easy-to-use app and people liked the ‘surprise’ element of it as it not only offers various deals but also gives people ideas on how to spend their time. Coming back to the need of ‘killing a few hours’ which was mentioned before, Groupon is of course very strong in this. SitOrSquat is interesting one as it helps you to find a public toilet in an unfamiliar city. It will give you the public toilet options, lead you to it, and provide you with ‘quality ratings’ in your geographic area. Of course this example was purely mentioned because of its real-time element even though the participants were clearly impressed by this novel idea.

AroundMe

SitOrSquat

AroundMe allows you to search for the nearest restaurants, banks, gas stations, booking a hotel or find a movie schedule nearby. Interestingly, participants mentioned both AroundMe and SitOrSquat as these apps provided them with something they were not used to. It was stated that travellers/visitors are generally quite bored. So how can we develop something that entertains visitors? As a result, there is not only a need for real-time fulfilment of a visitor’s needs, but also a need for real-time entertainment.

Coming back to a point made earlier on regarding the difficult to select the right app for the right purpose, it was mentioned that users would prefer one app that combines all possible services within a city’s environment into one. Users do not want to download 10 different apps for one weekend break. But when visitors need a place to park and want to visit a certain shop, you will have to download at least one parking app and the app of the actual shop. What is preferred is one app that would include such services as entertainment, restaurants, shops, vouchers, loyalty cards, parking and travel management into app which would also feature digital-signposting, an itinerary and social media integration.

When presented with the wireframes of the SMOPPING app, one of the participants asked whether the app would allow others to advertise within the app. In-app advertisement was considered to both annoying and distracting and to be reducing the user experience. When the participants were asked to summarise what sort of design would best suit the application the following factors were given:

Simplicity and clarity

Not too many different colours

In-app navigation should be simple

A clear back/home button

Avoid screaming colours

Use symbols over text

Use visuals/images

Option to ‘zoom in and out’ of text

Quality of quantity

Make it fun to use!

Include the feature to invite friends to a location

Conclusion

Month 4 produced some good insights. Customers clearly add a lot of value to a neat and easy to use design and value the option to indicate their budget before they are sign posted to their desired offering. In addition, it became clear that in-app advertisement is to be avoided and that customers or visitors are often quite bored. They want to be surprised and entertained!

Furthermore, it was recognised that consumers prefer not to download multiple apps onto their device but rather have one app that provides them with multiple mobile commerce services. Interestingly, this was mentioned several times before in previous focus groups by other stakeholders.

Smopping - Findings Month 3

Project: SMOPPING – Proof of Market

Report: Findings Month 3

Author: Jordy van Kuijk

Introduction

This report is the third of a total of four concise reports that Red Ninja LTD will produce as part of the SMOPPING – Proof of Market project. As described in the initial Project Proposal, SMOPPING aims to research the feasibility of an all-in-one online space where travellers can link up with the retail and service industries of the region, town or city they are visiting and receive real-time information that will signpost them towards the most accessible and price-competitive fulfilment of their needs. This would involve geo-location specific offers from businesses and would feature a built-in itinerary that the user can operate to plan their time spent in the SMOPPING (Smart Shopping) zone.

For this particular project, the city of Liverpool was used as a ‘test’ zone to conduct the suggested research.

Findings Month 3

During the third month of SMOPPING, we organised three focus groups each with three representatives of national retail chains that operate out of Liverpool One shopping complex. The purpose of these focus groups was to further refine the wireframes introduced in month 1 according to the information gleaned from these larger businesses. It was expected that this month’s feedback would provide a highly informative contrast to the smaller businesses canvassed in Month 2. And it did! Soon after this report is finished we will start populating the midpoint report.

The three focus groups during Month 3 of SMOPPING were attended by Nando’s, Pandora, Schuh, Apple, Wetherspoon and BBC. We very much realise that the BBC is not a retail chain but as the BBC is a client of Red Ninja LTD and of course very much national it was considered to be an interesting addition to the focus groups.

In contrast with the focus groups held with the smaller independent businesses, these national players adopted a much more national and even global focus. As soon as the SMOPPING concept and the wireframes were introduced a very positive and constructive discussion started. As all of these chains make significant use of mobile technology and social media platforms, SMOPPING was very much endorsed from the start. The reason for this was simple: the companies recognised the growing trend of mobile technology and how adopting it could benefit them.

It was however mentioned that in order to make the app truly useful for a large variety of stakeholders, simplicity and efficiency is key. It was therefore recommended to maintain a very neat design without overloading pages/ sections within the app and allowing users to ‘zoom in and out’ to ensure users with reading difficulties could enlarge the text within the app. To clarify, it was not suggested that the current design of the app was unclear or unsuitable. In addition, it was suggested to develop the app in multiple languages so tourists with English language difficulties can use the app too. Especially Chinese and Spanish translations were considered to be key. It was also suggested to include audio so users could be directed to the desired location not only visually but also through audio in multiple languages.

The companies that participated suggested that the SMOPPING app would have to be something that could be easily imitated elsewhere in the UK but would also allow the opportunity to include the wider Liverpool City Region. The Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership was therefore identified as a key partner during a following development and implementation phase. Of course, it was recognised that visitors who visit Liverpool for a few days might not want to explore e.g. Knowsley in addition to Liverpool City Centre due to time constraints. However, the SMOPPING concept should allow for a Liverpool City Region scale to ensure the region optimises its collective economical potential and fully utilises its tourism and commercial offerings to visitors, travellers and citizens wherever in the region they may be.

In terms of the market potential for this application, each of these national chains agreed with the huge business opportunity for mobile commerce services. Interestingly, some of them had a poor experience with iBeacon technology to ensure an enhanced ‘in-store’ shopper experience. In addition, it was mentioned that the hundreds of apps currently out there that aim to assist the shopper or traveller in some way (e.g. tourism guides, parking apps, travel apps, voucher apps, etc.) are not necessarily always useful in a way that it is not clear what apps truly add value to the customer experience. It was also mentioned that to date, mobile commerce services have focused just on an individual retailer (i.e. retailers that develop their own apps such as the Starbucks app) or the actual transactional experience (i.e. shops like Greggs who accept mobile payment though near-field communication technology). Instead, one app or platform would be preferred that would combine all kinds of mobile commerce services (e.g. entertainment, dinner, voucher programmes, loyalty cards, travel management, mobile payment and parking) into one customer focused tool. Interestingly, this point was also raised in Month 1 and described as the need for a ‘holistic mobile commerce proposition’.

Coming back to the actual SMOPPING app, it was clear that SMOPPING is indeed one of those very needed mobile commerce services that would increase footfall. However, taking Nando’s as an example, it admitted to have a significant local budget without the capability the use mobile commerce services to attract customers. As a result, it was very keen to adopt SMOPPING and use more applications like this to increase their footfall. This point was endorsed by other retailers who admitted that they do not have the internal capability and resources to develop mobile commerce services that have the potential to engage with customers and attract them. As a result, retailers would have to approach app development agencies but as this market is relatively new and an ‘unknown’ retailers are finding this challenging.

Taking Pandora as a second example, it recognised the need for SMOPPING but emphasised that it would only be truly useful if it would enable it to target different target groups and does not adopt a ‘one size fits all approach’. Different target/age groups should receive tailored information about their offerings.

Looking at the suggested attributes of the SMOPPING app, the ability to digitally sign-post travellers in real-time towards the most accessible and price-competitive fulfilment of their needs, a built-in itinerary and the integration of social media networks received a very positive response. It was however also mentioned that it should offer a feature to ‘kill a few hours’ as was mentioned during previous focus groups. Of course, this was an interesting point as optimising the time travellers spend (and reducing the time they have to wait for e.g. their train) in the high street would benefit both the traveller and the local retailers.

The ability to engage with customers in real-time was mentioned to be essential as goods, services and prices of these retail chains tend to change regularly as part of their internal customer engagement and sales strategy. The capabilities of these businesses to utilise the benefits of this real-time application was therefore agreed to be strong.

Conclusion

The discussions with the national chains proved to be very useful. It was interesting to see that the idea of a holistic mobile commerce proposition was also raised during Month 1 when we spoke to the representatives from Liverpool One and Liverpool City Centre BID. The business opportunity for mobile commerce services is clearly something that needs to be mentioned in the midpoint report.

Smopping - Findings Month 2

Project: SMOPPING – Proof of Market

Report: Findings Month 2

Author: Jordy van Kuijk

Introduction

This report is the second of a total of four concise reports that Red Ninja LTD will produce as part of the SMOPPING – Proof of Market project. As described in the initial Project Proposal, SMOPPING aims to explore the feasibility of an all-in-one online space where travellers can link up with the retail and service industries of the region, town or city they are visiting and receive real-time information that will signpost them towards the most accessible and price-competitive fulfilment of their needs. This would involve geo-location specific offers from businesses and would feature a built-in itinerary that the user can operate to plan their time spent in the SMOPPING (Smart Shopping) zone.

For this particular project, the city of Liverpool was used as a ‘test’ zone to conduct the suggested research.

Findings Month 2

During the second month of SMOPPING, we organised three focus groups with three representatives of smaller, Liverpool-based retail and service businesses. The aim of these focus groups was to further define the wireframes which were introduced during the first month of the SMOPPING project and to discuss the needs and current online capabilities of these businesses. In addition, the focus groups were used to establish a better understanding on how SMOPPING could be best designed to meet their parameters.

The businesses that attended featured jewellery vendors, art galleries and clothes shops. All businesses involved employed 1-10 members of staff. We presented the group with a wireframe presentation of the SMOPPING app and gave a brief presentation of the concept. The responses to SMOPPING were in general positive and we gained some interesting ideas about new features to include in the programming development stage.

However, it was notable that, although all the small business owners were familiar with smartphone technology and apps, used PCs in their business on a daily basis and thought that the Internet was an important part of their business model and utilised online sales, they were to a certain extent ambivalent about web-based business solutions. The main reason for this was the assumption that it adversely affected their sales from high-street locations. Of course, this is an understandable thought process. While these independent smaller businesses are heavily reliant on their ‘physical footfall’ they are now being introduced to digital technology, which some of them perceive as a potential threat for their business, that could actually drive footfall.

It has to be stated however that all our participants made regular use of Twitter and Facebook in their online business activities so the power and impact of social media platforms is clearly recognised even in the smaller independent businesses in Liverpool.

SMOPPING’s ability to create a 'shopping route' for visitors was a positive attribute. Especially for those businesses which are based ‘off the beaten track’. With the expense of city-centre locations proving to be problematic for small retailers, being visible to tourists and visitors is a concern.

We also learnt that one of the pleasing aspects of the proposed SMOPPING app was its ability to quickly come up with shopping/visiting/activity planning solutions to those visitors/tourists who are on their last day in the city and maybe have 'a couple of hours to kill' before they go to the airport/railway station. As one of our participants pointed out, an app that could plan consumer-based activities and give travel times to said destinations would help to shift money away from shopping malls in airports/train stations and towards smaller businesses based in other areas.

The ‘dead time’ spent by travellers in this fashion, whilst waiting for their connections was seen as a viable opportunity for the smaller businesses. The same would also apply to town centre businesses. In the questionnaires handed out at the end of the focus groups, nine out of nine of the participants answered 'Yes' to the question: ''Do you think SMOPPING would be of use to you as an App that would connect you with potential customers?' All respondents thought that SMOPPING could be of use in connecting them with regular customers.

All focus group participants reported that their staff were either ‘comfortable’ or ‘expert’ with computers and using smartphones as well as tablets. Facebook and Twitter were the most commonly listed social media platforms given in response to the question of what social media, if any, they used in their everyday business activities.

One especially interesting part of the discussion and something we had not really factored into our initial conception of Smopping was the mention of ‘alternative’ temporary markets (selling quirky/antique/subculture goods) in towns and the difficulty experienced by vendors (and shoppers) of discovering easily accessible, well-advertised and online basic information about when these markets are occurring and what exactly one can expect to find in them. Tristan Brady-Jacobs of Hobo Bazaar noted that in France (Lyon) and America (Brooklyn), market culture, with short-term markets setting up in towns like Lyon, is rife and offers many small traders excellent opportunities to sell their wares. Furthermore, he pointed out that often the only well-known online source to find out about these markets in the UK are local council websites, which are often unattractive to look at and lack detail of individual vendors. Brady-Jacobs also pointed out that this lack of information online means that the potential customer really has little idea of what to expect and therefore might be put off.

Therefore, it was felt by the participants that Smopping would potentially be of use in this context. Interesting enough, this relates back to the first month of SMOPPING research when it was mentioned during one of the focus groups that a real-time ‘Offers’ section within the SMOPPING app would be a nice addition for impulsive and alternative events and happenings. This was an interesting correlation.

The participants, when the discussion of price point for SMOPPING came up, came out with a mixed response. Whilst the notion of Smopping being free for entrepreneurs had its attraction, it was also pointed out that free-software’ might not be attractive as the notion of a zero price point might lead to the question from small business people: ‘What’s wrong with it if it’s free?’. However, Simon Mora of Attera Apparel suggested a compromise in that SMOPPING could have a ‘free’ and a ‘premium’ version with the former presumably reliant on advertising to support itself.

Another potentially valuable point made was that, as well as SMOPPING providing the quickest route between shopping venues, it could also be coded to provide a facility that would slightly ‘reroute’ the customer in between their visit to these outlets, to take them past famous landmarks, etc. This opens up the possibility to ‘up-sell’ across multiple venues.

Conclusion

Overall, what was made clear is that visibility for small/micro-businesses is an issue, especially when attracting the tourist/visitor. In that sense, our initial intuition about the utility of SMOPPING in terms of its appeal to the small business market was correct. In addition, some interesting tips were given in terms of additions to the app to cover such events as alternative markets and to allow users to ‘kill a couple of hours’ by engaging them with activities that fit their schedule. The need for a transport section/feature in the app was also suggested, which is something that was recognised in the first month as well. Optimising the time visitors/travellers spend in the high street is important to stimulate spending. A transport feature that considers people’s current location, desired location and time available ‘to kill’ would therefore be useful.

Finally, the integration of social media platforms and the integration of an itinerary were clearly endorsed. The potential impact of these relatively straightforward features prove to be highly valued.

Smopping - Findings Month 1

Project: SMOPPING – Proof of Market

Report: Findings Month 1

Author: Jordy van Kuijk

Introduction

This report is the first of a total of four concise reports that Red Ninja LTD will produce as part of the SMOPPING – Proof of Market project. As described in the initial Project Proposal, SMOPPING aims to explore the feasibility of an all-in-one online space where travellers can link up with the retail and service industries of the region, town or city they are visiting and receive real-time information that will signpost them towards the most accessible and price-competitive fulfilment of their needs. This would involve geo-location specific offers from businesses and would feature a built-in itinerary that the user can operate to plan their time spent in the SMOPPING (Smart Shopping) zone.

For this particular project, the city of Liverpool was used as a ‘test’ zone to conduct the suggested research.

Findings Month 1

During the first month of SMOPPING, two focus groups were organised with two senior representatives from the Liverpool One Shopping Centre (owned by the Grosvenor Group) and two senior representatives from the Liverpool City Centre BID. The main purpose of these initial focus groups was to establish a wider market perspective from these trade organisations to ensure SMOPPING would solve a present need within the city of Liverpool. Of course, Red Ninja LTD was aware of this up to a certain extent as the company approached both trade organisations to participate in this study. However, these two focus groups enabled it to further explore the direct market needs and how a technology-enabled solution like SMOPPING could address these needs.

Not surprisingly, it became apparent during these focus groups that the retailers represented by Liverpool One and especially the ones represented by the Liverpool City Centre BID are incredibly worried about the future of the UK high street. Of course, Mary Portas recognised as early as 2011 that the number of UK town centre stores fell by almost 15,000 between 2000 and 2009 and that, excluding Central London, the high street footfall had fallen by around 10% every year for the three years leading up to December 2011 (Portas, 2011). In addition, both trade organisations identified the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development’s published report (2012) stating that the UK has the most active online shoppers in the developed world, with online shopping activity in the UK at twice the average levels of the OECD’s 34 member states. This is great for the economy, but not necessarily for the retailers. Furthermore, Telecoms regulator Ofcom estimated that the average Briton spends over £1000 per year on Internet shopping leading to a total spent of £70 billion on online purchases in 2012. In other words, not the most brilliant trends for the retailers on the high street.

Both trade organisations recognised however that retail sales have improved over the past year. This was confirmed by a very recent publication by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showing that the quantity bought in September 2013 (i.e. sales volume) in the UK retail industry has increased by 2.2% compared with September 2012 (and by 0.6% compared with August 2013) and the amount spent (value) in the UK retail industry by 3.2% over that same period as shown below (ONS, 2013).

Source: (ONS, 2013)

As Liverpool was identified as the initial ‘virtual’ testing area for SMOPPING, also the local market was discussed extensively to establish a clear (local) market perspective. It should be stated that both parties are doing remarkably well despite of the current economic climate. As published by Liverpool City Centre BID last June, the number of vacant shops in Liverpool city centre fell in 2012 – bucking the national trend. Although 32 units became vacant as businesses closed, another 41 were filled with newcomers. In addition, Liverpool One Shopping Centre reported 26 million visits in 2012 and that 99% of their 160 shops are currently occupied. This success was reiterated by Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson who stated that “The city centre is the driver for Liverpool’s economy and it is pleasing that it continues to thrive despite the tough economic conditions” (2013). In other words, it became clear that Liverpool is doing quite well despite the present challenges.

Despite of this, both parties recognised the significant rise in online and mobile spending and the need for novel technology-enabled solutions that could bridge the virtual and physical worlds and attract people back to the retailers on the high street. As a result, the SMOPPING idea was a welcome concept. Both parties responded very positively to SMOPPING as it has the potential to not only serve travellers or tourists but also frequent visitors and citizens who visit Liverpool City Centre on a daily basis. At present, there is nothing similar out there that provides a similar offering to the Liverpool City centre visitors. Liverpool does not currently have a ‘city planner’ or ‘tourist’ app which could guide Liverpool’s visitors to their desired location within the city. Even though this is often one of the basic requirements for a true visitor economy, this is not in place.

One of the most interesting points that was raised however is the need for what could be described as a ‘compelling consumer journey’ or in other words, a ‘door-to-door shopping experience’ for the visitors of Liverpool City Centre.It was recognised that consumers are increasingly using their mobile devices to bridge the online and offline worlds. Shoppers are using smartphones and tablets to look up product information, run price comparisons and make online purchases while using the bricks and mortar retailers as showrooms. Researchers found that consumers are clearly willing to engage with retailers through their mobile phones and that 60% of UK and American smartphone owners are spurred to shop at least once a week because they have received a mobile alert (Latitude, 2012). This proves that well designed mobile commerce services respond to a growing business opportunity, and can create a rich and consistent consumer experience both online and in-store, while forging a deeper relationship between merchants and their consumers. However, as discussed during these two focus groups, mobile commerce services to date have focused just on an individual retailer or the actual transactional experience. Such an approach is too narrow. It should support the entire consumer experience. Consumers are looking for wide ranging mobile commerce services that help them with product/service research, travel management, parking, payment, vouchers, loyalty, dining, entertainment and more of an outing to a town centre or a destination retailer. It was therefore decided that there is a need for a ‘holistic mobile commerce proposition’ that will deliver a compelling consumer journey for city visitors/travellers including planning (the process of gathering information), outward travel (the process of getting to the destination), in-store (the experience of in-store or on the high street), transacting (the exchange of value), post transaction (the opportunity to up sell and cross sell) and return travel (the return trip) through their mobile device.

At the moment, there are tons of companies that have developed solutions that address components of this door-to-door shopping experience (e.g. parking apps, real-time city planner apps, voucher apps, payment apps, etc.). Known examples are Streetline with its Parker and ParkSight services, or Citymapper. Additionally, technologies such as Apple’s iBeacon technology based on Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and similar providers like Swirl, Estimote and GPShopper have received a lot of media attention lately as they are trying to revolutionise the in-store shopping experience. Consumers have to be in close proximity of the shop however for iBeacon to work. We consider these kind of individual apps as well as the in-store shopping experience as just one component of the compelling consumer journey.

It was therefore suggested that the concept of a holistic mobile commerce proposition that would offer all of the mobile commerce services mentioned above through one online space (e.g. though one app) would be an ideal solution for the visitors and travellers of Liverpool City Centre.

In terms of the design for the SMOPPING app, we decided to present an initial wireframe during Month 1 to kick-start discussions around what sort of design would best suit this application (see below). Both trade organisations liked the idea of an ‘agglomeration of social media sites’ for the user as they understand the potential consumer base that can be reached through such social media platforms as Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and LinkedIn. The idea of having an itinerary was well received as well as this can encourage visitors to extend their stay on the local high street. In addition, the itinerary was seen as a form of ‘customer service’ as you enable the visitor to plan his/her day ahead based on his/her real-time needs.

The initial wireframes above provide 2 options for the user. He or she can either enter a search query in the search engine and take it from there, or clicks on ‘Categories’ taking him/her to a list of options as the last two images show. To optimise the user-interface, the SMOPPING app is most likely to offer both routes. These initial wireframes will be introduced during the several focus groups planned for the first 4 months leading up to a more refined and suitable wireframe(s) by the end of the project.

Even though the actual design of these wireframes was well received, it was suggested to add such sections within the app as (real-time) ‘Accommodation’, ‘Offers’, ‘Transport and ‘Parking’ as well as a ‘Surprise Me’ section that would literally surprise the user with suggestions to kill some spare time. The suggestions to include a section within the app what assist the user with travel management and parking was of course a direct consequence of the earlier discussion on a holistic mobile commerce proposition that would assist the user in his/her ‘outward’ and ‘return’ travel.

Conclusion

To conclude, the first month allowed Red Ninja LTD to establish a better understanding of what the SMOPPING app would need in terms of specifications to become truly useful for visitors and travellers (and other users). It proved the need for the SMOPPING concept and provided Red Ninja LTD with some useful advice on the design that would best suit this application. A good start!

Top 5 New Free Apps - yay or nay?

Okay so today is April 2nd 2014 and I’ve decided to check the Google Play app store for some weird new apps to ease my recurring boredom. But whilst browsing through the app section, I decided to check out some of the subsections which the apps had been placed into: Top Paid, Top Free, Top Grossing, Top New Paid, Top New Free, and Trending. I was intrigued with the ‘Top New’ sections because I wanted to see what crazy new things are being created that you guys are getting so hyped up about, and of course I wanted to jump on the bandwagon and try them out myself.

As I’m a broke student who can’t be bothered to spend my money on short-term amusement, I decided to delve into the ‘Top New Free’ section. So if you haven’t figured out already, today’s post is going to be about the newest most popular free apps (you know, because that’s what ‘Top New Free’ means); I’m going to try out the top 5 for you and tell you my opinions (you know, because I’m a teenager blogger and that’s what I do).

First up is ‘Smash Hit’ with over 10 million downloads as of yet and a rating of 4.5 / 5 stars. The description states: “Take a surreal journey through an otherworldly dimension, move in harmony with sound and music and smash everything in your path…” Basically, you move through a virtual world and smash things with silver balls; if you meet with an obstruction, you die. A fairly simple task in my opinion but in the words of whoever wrote the description section for the app, “This experience requires focus, concentration, and timing” – “Experience”: and here was me just thinking you smash things with a ball, I mean even the title of the game doesn’t exactly beg to differ. Anyway, I tried out the game. What?... What was my opinion then? Well the virtual environments were nice I guess… from the whole 2 seconds of it that I was able to see whilst my omnipresence travelled through each section. I have to admit though, the background music was effective in creating a nice ominous mood which did its best to fool me into thinking the game was actually somewhat interesting. However, I can see how it could be addictive… You and your friends battling to be the best, comparing the distances you were able to achieve, all the pieces of virtual glass you were able to smash – I mean it just screams fun and temporary boredom relief! I guess sometimes we all just want to smash things. “Okay okay, should I play it or not?”… well, only if you’ve got the balls.

Okay so next up is ‘Quiz Up’ – “The world’s largest trivia game is available on Android!”… ooo sounds promising *eye roll*.

So I open the app and immediately I am put off by the fact that I have to log in to play a damn quiz game. WTH. No, I do not want to sign in with Google + (which by the way needs to stop trying to take over the world, NO ONE LIKES YOU.); no, I do not want to log in with Facebook (why would I want people to know that I basically have no social life or friends and thus I have resorted in downloading a free trivia game); and no, I do not want to sign up with my email (I think I already have enough daily emails from numerous companies that I can’t even remember subscribing to). *sigh* Right, well it looks like I’ll just have to take the second option and set the app posts to ‘Only Me’ so no one knows my shame. Shock horror! It’s a multiplayer game so I am basically playing with other anti-socials from around the world and now they’ve seen my Facebook profile image, my shame is exposed. Anyway, I chose the ‘General Nonsense’ section and click play now… loading… loading… huh? The screen is split into 2 sections: the top section stating who I am, where I am from and my level being ‘Beginner’; the bottom section informing me that my opponent has left… before the game even began, “DAGNABBIT! Opponent left. Sorry.”

Before I am even able to think about the use of the word “Dagnabbit”, I am forced into an anxious frenzy of the fact that even strangers don’t want to interact with me… was it my profile picture? *retreats back to my internal cave* There is not even an option to search for a new opponent and thus I decide to accept my lonesome fate and choose the only option of ‘Go Back’. Well that’s that…

Third to take the stage is ‘Boeing Flight Simulator 2014’.

My first thought: stupid name. “Boeing”, what even is that? Onomatopoeia? Well, I click install just for you guys and after a whole minute of downloading (I mean come on, it’s 2014, why is waiting even still a thing?) I finally get to open the thing. And by “thing” I obviously mean “… the most advanced simulation already developed for Android.” I am brought to the home screen which is a mess of confusing menus and submenus so being the simpleton that I am, my finger heads towards the “Fly Now” button. But before I can even bring myself to decipher what is going on and how to proceed, I am met with a screen takeover by an ad. Eurgh. *deep breath, clicks X button* I begin the game… or simulation thing, whatever… and I cannot even describe to you my level of shock at the graphic level of “the most advanced simulation developed for Android” If this is the most advanced, I’d hate to see the least. I think I’ve seen better graphic quality in one of those children’s magnetic sketch pad things. Well I’ve already come this far so I begin with the controls which are all over the place and not exactly fulfilling their “control” function but I manage to get the thing to fly. Steering is clearly not a feasible option considering the fact that the controls are defective, and the plane graphic is so large on the screen in addition to the ad positioned at the top of the screen window that there is not even space to view where I’m going so I am effectively rendered crashing to the ground within 30 seconds. Although, I must say that I did enjoy the flame effect upon crashing the plane, it made me happy to see the piece of rubbish burn and to be honest, the flames had better graphic quality than the plane itself. I am redirected to the home screen and before I can even contemplate whether to bother to participate in this stupidity again… *ad*… the decision was made for me.

Right, it’s time for ‘2048 Number puzzle game’. Let’s take a look at the description “Most addictive Mobile version of 2048 games! Almost perfect 2048 game for Android!” … “Almost perfect” – what an achievement? Okay so I open it up and no stupid log in or sign up or ads, I am liking this so far. I am prompted with a screen of brief instructions… somewhat helpful although I still don’t quite understand what to do, ah well it can’t be that hard… time to play!

Now I’m thinking I probably should have read the instructions in more depth: What is going on? How do I? Huh? I think maybe they should have had like a brief demo video of how to play in addition to the instructions or even in place of them because I am so lost. I view the instructions again in the ‘Help’ section and I think I get it now so I’ll have another go. After 15 minutes I realised I was in the middle of writing this article and finally put down the game. Of all the ones I have tried so far, I actually understand why this one is Top 5. Once you get your head around it, it’s really quite stimulating. The app itself is so simple in terms of content, layout, graphics, structure, etc but the game is so addictive. It appears the idea of “simple but effective” has become fact. To my surprise I actually don’t think I’ll be uninstalling this one and I would say this is definitely one to download if you’re tired of simply slicing fruit or smashing things with balls. Still could have been given a better name though… maybe just ‘2048’ – you see, simple but effective.

Our final test subject of the day is ‘Bricks Breaker – Friends’. The description states that it’s “The game that had people around the world excited” so as a person of the world, I shall try it out and see if it has me excited. Right, so I am asked to enter a nickname… what’ll it be guys? *insert fictional audience response and Dora the Explorer moment* Must be at least 3 characters and no more than 8, so obviously I opt for the simplest option of 3 and insert “pie” because… I like pie. “It is already exist. Please try another nickname.” – okay so now I am using effort before it’s even began *sigh* and “It is already exist”… grammar is truly becoming a myth.

Anyway… I proceed to enter “taco” and receive the same message. Ah come on! Are you trolling me right now? Maybe there actually is no game and the real game is to find the word which unlocks the game? Even “yut” doesn’t work… WTH, how could that already be taken!? 2 more tries: “red” and “qwe” – both taken. I’m done. *Uninstall*

Okay guys so that’s it. Top 5 new free games available on Google Play Store. I’d advise you to bring your patience with you before visiting the store to try out some of these games...

VR & AR: Sh** just got real

Right so today's topic is VR and AR. "V what?"... okay, let me explain.

Virtual reality: what you see is virtual (it's not real) so something like the Oculus rift which is used to see a virtual game; it's simply enhancing the gaming experience for you by making it more immersive as it manipulates your mind and sight into thinking you're actually in it. Augmented reality: what you see is real but it just adds a layer of VR (fake stuff) on top of that. Okay so a product like Microsoft's Kinect is very capable with this kind of stuff. It can make virtual objects react with objects within physical space (so reality). I'm going to explain this one in more detail since I might forget it myself. Example: a 3D image of a toy car can be manoeuvred around the projection of the room you are in (which is displayed on your screen) - the 3D car will react to objects in the room e.g. bumping into tables, etc... yeah it's pretty cool.

Recently there’s been a lot of experimenting in the department of tech realism so I thought I'd fill you in a bit with some of the cool stuff.

Okay so here's the breakdown...

Oculus Rift: if you're into gaming or tech news you'll probably know about it. Designed for 3D gaming and basically immerses you into the world of the game using a set of lenses and sensors to create a stereoscopic image which reacts to the motion of your head so that it tricks your eyes into thinking "Is this the real life? Or is this fantasy? Caught in a..." okay that part doesn't really fit in here so never mind. Due to its potential capabilities and hype, good ol' Zuckerberg got in there right away and decided to buy the whole Oculus VR firm for $2 bil... probably just pocket change to him. Anyway, for such a potentially "outstanding" technological advancement, you would think they'd spend a little extra time on the design: it looks like a fancy brick with headphones. Not gonna lie though, the name is pretty cool... 'Oculus', it just has that ring to it you know. Sony's Morpheus: again a pretty cool name. But this time coupled with an actually really slick design and it's got blue lights which is pretty cool too because you know... blue lights! It really does add that futuristic element to it which is what we're all so hyped about anyway really. I mean come on, there's no point inventing a teleportation device which has the aesthetics of a cardboard box, it just ruins the mood.

So thank you Sony; looks like our tech design leader has finally returned. However, it's only expected that the Morpheus would become a major contender in the race since they've been designing it for practically half a decade. It works just like the Oculus to bring gaming to a new "reality" of life but tops the Oculus’ 1280x800 resolution with full HD (1920x1080); although the Oculus' resolution is expected to be upgraded for the final consumer version. But for now, Oculus seems to be its only competition: they even released a second-generation version of OR to compete aesthetically but it’s still no match in my opinion. What can I say; Sony's just got design down. Okay so what's next... Google Glass.

Okay so this one isn't news to most of us, probably even including those who aren't even that into tech because Google is all about the hype. But once again we are let down in terms of design. And this is not just the opinion of one teenager blogger, everyone from the internet to the newspapers to my grandma has acknowledged how creepy and weird the Glass is. Like I've said, if we are going to go all futuristic in our new tech concepts we have to make sure that the packaging advertises the cake. In more laden terms, you can go hard or you can go home, and as of now Google Glasses should probably just go home. Okay okay, opinions aside it is a new advancement in the tech world whether I'd like to admit it or not. The intention is to add an interactive virtual layer to reality. The optical head-mounted device displays information in a hands-free format and can communicate with the internet and receive operation using voice commands, and I guess it does have a few somewhat cool AR features. Its abilities include taking photos and recording 720p live video footage which can then be shared immediately on Facebook - all beginning from the utterance of "okay glass, take a picture." It also has features like sending SMS, translator, Google Voice (a siri-like element), and it also makes calls; so what I'm getting is that it’s basically just a smartphone but in glasses... if that was ever needed by society. Not even going to get started on its estimated sale price of $1,500. I don't know, maybe the different platform just makes it cooler but all I see is a creepy pair of non-futuristic glasses which are bound to get you arrested for some kind of public privacy violation. But hey, it comes in different colours... what a treat! Microsoft's Kinect... little bit of VR and a little bit of AR all wrapped up in fairly nicely designed container. So it may not be as cool and out of this world as the Oculus or Morpheus based on the fact that the VR must be viewed on a monitor or wall so I guess it's just not as immersive, nor does it have a name as cool; however, we've got to give Microsoft some props as it was the first motion controlled gaming system that didn't require a controller.

The device uses a system of sensors, lasers and cameras to reflect the player's gestures and actions on the screen. It allows the player's to use their whole body as a controller to manipulate the motion of the game. In addition, recently Microsoft has been experimenting with the device further in terms of how virtual simulations can be made to react with the real world environment. So for example, a virtual car would bump into objects within the real world room being received by the camera and subsequently projected on the screen. It also has a sophisticate voiced control feature which I've heard is a major unique selling point; however, the device must be calibrated to recognise the general audio levels of the room so if you decide to experiment with a bit of feng shui then you're going to have to keep recalibrating my friend. One thing which gives Microsoft some of my support in the tech race is the fact that they believe in sharing: they made the API available to public, opening up possibilities to developers who want to consider exploring motion controls. It seems that in the midst of all these tech wars, the companies forget the force driving the technology which is the community and I really admire Microsoft for continuing to look out for the small people... unlike others, not naming any names *cough cough* Apple *cough cough*. Right, now moving on to Canon's MREAL. Again, it's a head-mounted display... you know, the usual. But this time we're aiming towards the business people. It allows companies to use AR to envision and develop new products in a faster, more efficient, and just cooler way - 'cause let's face it, boring business people want to have a bit of fun too. The device enables the user to see digital prototypes in the real world environment which can also be interacted with in real-time. For example, they could see how a certain aesthetic feature might look on a car in a life-like sense of scale. This technology enables the company to make quicker decisions with regards to design and also assists in outlining potential problems. The device was released on March 1st 2013 for a price around $125,000 but although its capabilities are amazing, I really think that if companies are going to be willing to dig so deep into their pockets then they are going to have to spend a bit more time making it look less like a chunky brick with an aerial.

Finally, we'll talk about CastAR, which is basically a pair of glasses with two micro projectors over each lens. Now this is a device that has received a lot of hype surrounding the fact that after being presented on Kickstarter for only 2 days, it surpassed its $400,000 funding goal and managed to raise over $1 million. The concept is that the glasses project holographic projections of 3D imagery on a real world surface. Okay so you might be thinking "huh?" I'll explain. Think about playing a game of chess without the chess pieces. How? Well imagine the pieces are holographic illusions which can only be seen through your glasses. Yeah, it's pretty cool and it gets better! The concept includes a 'Magic Wand' device which can be used as a joystick but also a 3D input device... It's gaming like never before!

But the market is even wider for the company Technical Illusions as potential uses also include flight simulations and business presentations. We'll have to keep an eye on this one: combining VR and AR, CastAR will definitely be a favoured contender in this tech race. Let's just hope in all this futuristic madness that they spend some time on the design because right now it's looking like those cheap glasses you have to wear at the cinema to watch a 3D movie. On a side note, it seems Apple and Amazon are remaining silent as far as AR and VR technology goes but then again Apple have always been good at keeping things to themselves and I guess Amazon is fairly new to the whole hardware and software development scene. But we should probably still keep our eyes peeled because it seems we're gettingone step closer to Sci-fi not being so fictional... and no one is willing to be left behind.

That was a lot of information so here's a little recap to conclude...

Oculus Rift = VR Sony's Morpheus = VR Google Glass = AR Microsoft's Kinect = VR + AR Canon's MREAL = AR CastAR = VR + AR

And the prizes go to...

Sony's Morpheus: for Best Design Technical Illusions' CastAR: for Most Interesting

Leaked iOS 8 Photo Reveals New Apps

The new update to Apple's mobile software, iOS 8 is expected to launch in June with new features which are reportedly focused strongly on heath and fitness. An alleged leaked photo of the iOS 8 update has revealed some of the new features and app we can expect in the update. The picture was shared on Chinese social network 'Weibo', and according to some reports Apple will be adding iOS versions of some of its excising OS X apps for mac, such as Preview and TextEdit which will help users view files stored in iCloud. As you can see from the picture is the long rumored 'Healthbook' App, which is meant to monitor the users fitness stats such as a step counter and a monitor on the amount of calories burnt. It is also rumored to keep track of blood pressure, heart rate and glucose levels. To go with all this software is rumoured to be new hardware including sensors that will work with the iPhone's M7 motion coprocessor. Whether this image is the real deal or not remains to be answered but it seems to be quite genuine when compared with the new rumored apps for the iOS 8 update.

StackMotion Is a Green Screen App for Your Camera Roll

A new iOS camera app now allows you to add green screen functionality to your iPhone. The app 'StackMotion' allows the user to add images or parts of images onto their photos and videos from their iPhone's camera roll. StackMotion, which only launched on Thursday, relies on image recognition software that allows the user to swap the image background for the photo or video that they want to change. The app also allows the user to create slideshows that can include up to 100 images. These slideshows can be edited by adding filters to the photos, adding text, adjusting the aspect ratio and being able to add music from their phones music library. Daniel Vinh who is one of the founders of the company being StackMotion says the app is mainly targeted at Instagram users who like to find new and creative ways to share their photos. "Instagrammers are always looking for that edge up, they try to be one of the first to use a cool feature, to really dynamically change their content and they're really trying to differentiate themselves from what everyone else is doing. We're offering people an opportunity to enhance their creation." As well as Instagram, finished photos and videos can be shared on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, YouTube and Viddy. The app is currently priced at £1.49 and only available on the iTunes app store although Vinh does not rule out and android version in the future.

Apple Announces CarPlay Infotainment System

Apple have announced a new in car system 'CarPlay' that lets you connect your iOS device with your car. The new CarPlay system is a re branding of apples past car system 'Ios in the car' and will be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show, March 6th-16th this year. The new system will allow the user with their iPhone's to make calls, access messages, use maps and listen to music. They will be able to control these features by wither using the touch controls on the CarPlay system, using Siri voice control or the buttons and dials in the car. It has also been revealed that some third party apps such as Spotify, Beats Radio, Stitcher and iHeartRadio will all be supported by the system. For the release of the CarPlay Apple have partnered with Ferrari, Mercedes Benz and Volvo to be the first car manufacturers to include the new system although soon after the launch the system will be available in an impressive list of car manufacturers including BMW Group, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai Motor Company, Jaguar Land Rover, Kia Motors, Mitsubishi Motors, Nissan Motor Company, PSA Peugeot Citroën, Subaru, Suzuki and Toyota Motor Corp. CarPlay will become available on the iPhone with an iOS 7 update on the lightning enabled iPhones (iPhone 5, 5S and 5C). We will see the first cars to support the new CarPlay system on the road sometime later in the year.

How Facebook's WhatsApp Deal Compares to Other Tech Acquisitions

Facebook announced on Wednesday that it will be acquiring messaging app WhatsApp for a staggering 16 billion dollars in cash with a further 3 billion dollars in restricted stock units. Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook have come along way since acquiring Instagram for a sixteenth of what they just paid for WhatsApp (1 Billion dollars). Its hard to believe that at the time 1 Billion dollars seemed like a shocking amount of money to pay for another app service. Although it has been confirmed that WhatsApp will not replace Facebook Messenger and that it will stay as a stand alone app it will be interesting to see what they will do with WhatsApp after spending such a crazy amount of money on it. The chart below shows Facebooks recent acquisitions compared with some other big names that have acquired companies lately in high profile deals.

Reports Suggest Apple Are to Dip Into Fitness Tracking With iOS 8

A new report is Suggesting that Apples next iOS update (iOS 8) will tell you your heart rate, blood pressure and glucose levels to work along side the "iWatch".

The report tells that Apple is working on new iOS software that is fitness and health focused and will launch later this year, with this news in mind it also points at the long awaited iWatch which will more than likely be integrated with the software and would debut when iOS 8 is released. Whilst iOS 7 was very focused on design updates, iOS 8 will be less focused on the interface design and more focused on working with new iPhone hardware packed with intelligent sensors that will track your body's movement and health.

the new software will also allow the user to put in information about the medicines they take and will get reminders on when they need to take them. The design of the app is said to closely resemble Apple's Passbook app, which houses coupons and loyalty cards. For people who keep up with Apple this move hasn't come as a huge surprise as they have hired health and fitness experts in the past year to help work on both hardware and software.

Facebook Plans to Launch More Stand alone Apps Like Messenger

Facebook have revealed that they are planning to release more stand alone apps like Facebook Messenger and Instagram. The company revealed this during its 4th quarter earnings call on Wednesday.

Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook said “While the core business growth is going to come from the main app that exists, you should also expect us to start building a few of these other things that we focus on over time and develop into meaningful things like Messenger and Instagram are today” Facebook launched its stand alone Messenger app in 2011 and have recently released some big updates in the last quarter of 2013, in the 3 month period after the updates were released CFO David Ebersman revealed that the Messengers users grew 70%.

Zuckerberg said the reason for turning Messenger into a stand alone app was to give it room to breathe”.

2014 could see a change in the way mobile users use Facebook with more than one new app suggested to be released by the company.

Android's Favorite Keyboard Could Be Coming to iOS

SwiftKey, which is Androids most popular keyboard app could soon be coming to iOS devices as a ‘note-taking’ app.

This report comes after an image was leaked on Twitter showing the ‘SwiftKey note’ an app featuring the popular keyboard.

There are no further details on when we can expect the app to be available (if it will be at all) or how much it will cost; SwiftKey is also yet to make any comment on a potential iOS release. Apple still does not allow any third party developers to change the native keyboard design on iOS, so unlike android versions any iOS iterations of SwiftKey will be limited to certain individual apps. If SwiftKey does decide to make its keyboard available to other developers, it is more than likely we will be seeing a lot more of the SwiftKey keyboard in more apps in the future. As it stands, the app is currently priced at $3.99 and is only available to android, could we see a price increase if the app comes to iOS?

Fitbug Rolls Out Personalised Fitness Plans

The low cost fitness tracker company ‘Fitbug’ recently released a series of fitness plans on a subscription basis for its wearable devices, which are designed to coach users through health, fitness and weight goals.

No matter why you want to get into shape whether it be those trying to just shed a bit of weight to people training for events such as marathons, Fitbug’s new ‘KiK plan’ is a 12 week programme that has been created by professional dietary and fitness experts. These subscriptions will work by buying the plans directly through Fitbug’s website or buying activation cards at retail stores, the prices for these plans start from £19.99 onwards. Paul Landau who is CEO and founder of Fitbug said "We internally referred to motivating and nudging people and giving them a gentle kick when they need it to help them stay on track, so naming the program KiK was a natural fit. Fitbug has always been focused on helping ‘real people’ to achieve their goals, and we wanted to provide each user a plan that’s relevant to them with feedback, advice and encouragement." With these types of fitness devices becoming more popular in todays market Fitbug’s collection of devices has maintained the most affordable prices. Unlike other companies Paul Landau wants to take the data collected to turn it into an actionable way to modify behaviour and help people get fitter. Paul added "By and large, the other devices on the market are very device-focused and constantly looking for the next hardware feature. Devices have to look and work really well, but they should be the enabler to helping people get the results they want."

Apple buys iPhone camera app SnappyCam

It has been revealed that Apple have acquired ‘SnappyLabs’ which is a one man Australian start up behind the popular photography app ‘SnappyCam’

The SnappyCam app is no longer available to download from the app store. The app allowed users to capture high resolution images at up to 30 frames per second, also allowing the user to take photographs in a range of different aspect ratios as well as being able to zoom up to 6x on photo subjects. SnappyLabs was founded by John Papandriopoulos, an electrical engineering PhD from the University of Melbourne who then developed the cameras technology into the app which would go on to be SnappyCam. Apple did not immediately respond with any comments about acquiring SnappyLabs but one thing is for sure, we are definitely going to see these great camera features very soon whether it be in an iOS update or in the shape of a new revamped app in the app store.

Pebble Smartwatch to Get Its Own App Store in Early 2014

The Pebble Smartwatch will be getting its own app store as soon as early 2014.

The Pebble appstore as it will be called has been frequently requested by users since its release, it will integrate directly with iOS and Android Pebble apps and will act like an all in one repository for Pebble apps.

The appstore will be launched along with the Pebble 2.0, which is currently in the beta stages. The Pebble 2.0 adds a lot of new features for developers, most noted is the ability for the apps and watchfaces to pull in data from other sources from around the web without needing a separate companion app running on the phone. Pebble gave some information on how developers can use the appstore, submitting apps to the store is completely free and is open for anyone to do. On its release the appstore won’t support paid apps but because developers can link paid iOS and Android apps that should sort out most issues. Pebble also said that third party directories such as MyPebbleFaces.com will continue to work on the Pebble 2.0 and there will be no blocks or problems with installations from those types of sites.

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