Virtual Senses

Twelve years ago I remember being wined and dined by some up and coming dot.com that was hosting a seminar and was trying to get as many digital virgins to invest in their new “virtual mall.” At the time it all seemed so futuristic, and therefore sketchy. I opted to invest in my schooling instead. Lucky call. The dot.com crash hit a couple of weeks later.

Ironically, this new, futuristic virtual mall that I had fabricated in my head as a result of this seminar is a far cry from any virtual mall that I have visited in the last 12 years. Was my imagination so limited that I could only conjure up images of this ultramodern place, with drop-dead store designs where I could spend hours perusing and window-shopping, trying on clothes and playing till my jaw dropped in awe? Perhaps. But I tell you what...never in a million years did it occur to me that a virtual shopping mall came down to virtually an online catalogue. What was the point of that?I guess having online access to stores you otherwise couldn’t is a definite advantage. But I must say, I am rarely enwrapped by a website as I have been by real stores. I have never bought anything online because...”it was such an incredible experience, that I just had to have a keepsake...” This might sound like a pipe-dream for marketers, but I have honestly had those thoughts right before pulling out the plastic.

So what is it about online shopping that’s still missing that human je-ne-sais quoi?

Challenge: How can we translate that ineffable sensation of touch, taste & feel that inevitably moves us to the point of irresistible spending? What new senses can the digital world awake that could possibly replace real-life retail therapy?