In today's "shopping is about to get really fucking creepy" news, The New York Times took a look at the future of the mannequin thanks to a company that develops and sells displays with embedded electronic sensors. The mannequin is an extremely old school element of shopping for clothing, but it remains an absolute necessity. Lay down photos online don't always accurately portray the shape of clothing amongst a bunch of other potentially problematic issues, so, yeah, mannequins seem like they'll always be around. But do they need an upgrade?
Universal Display, a mannequin company, is bringing them into the future with smart digital sensors. Through the use of beacons and other really smart technology stuff, shoppers near a mannequin will be able to find out exactly what piece a mannequin is wearing, what brand it is and how much it costs. Another company has created beacons that will scan shoppers' bodies and make suggestions for them based off the measurements. And there's even another that has created mannequins with hidden eye-tracking camera technology to see where customers look on any particular mannequin. It should come as no surprise that all of these bells and whistles come as a dedicated effort to bring consumers off the web and back into stores.
All I know is that if some I, Robot shit starts popping off and I'm getting body shamed in public for putting on an extra five pounds while I shop, I'll gladly take my business elsewhere, thank you very much. The future of shopping is only getting scarier if you ask me. The machines, THEY KNOW TOO MUCH.
