How GoInStore and Epson are merging in-store and online retailing

What if your e-commerce customers could see exactly what visitors to your store see? E-commerce is now so dominant that it’s almost time to drop the ‘e’, but that doesn’t mean that the in-store experience has to die.

Welcome to GoInStore, developers of a unique solution for retailers. By wearing a pair of Epson’s Moverio BT-200 smart glasses, it’s possible for a sales assistant to broadcast exactly what he or she sees to a customer browsing online: the one-to-one demo is back.

For specialist retailers in particular, the advantages of GoInStore are obvious. "It's designed to address the gap between online and in-store retailing," says Andre Hordagoda, co-founder, GoInStore. Highly-trained staff in Dawsons music stores – all of them musicians – are now able to impart their expertise to website visitors via video-link, whether it's a demo of a keyboard or a close-up study of a particular guitar. "Using the Epson Moverio BT-200, we capture and transmit a live video feed one-way from a sales person in a retail store directly to a desktop, facilitating a two-way audio conversation," says Hordagoda. "That way, we're able to transport website visitors directly into a store."

Dawsons Music is just one of a number of retail and specialist stores taking advantage of this unique solution. Those selling high-value goods can also benefit from GoInStore's technology and the Moverio BT-200. "We get over the 'trust issue' – customers can see that the cars are here – and they can see that a car is in the exact condition advertised," says Ali Keyhani, head of operations at supercar dealer Amari. "We can show them the cars, and make a connection with them, just as if they were in the showroom," he says, adding that GoInStore gives Amari the edge over its competitors, as well as speeding-up the process.

GoInStore is made possible by Epson’s Moverio, a pair of smart glasses that’s uniquely suited to the task. "We decided to work with the BT-200 because it's better than competitive devices – it's comfortable, the battery life is much longer, it has a much more capable CPU – especially for live streaming and two-way audio – and the developers found it easy to use," says Hordagoda.

Using the internet to buy commodities is fine, but for specialist retailers the e-commerce world needs a new dimension. By giving back to online consumers that valuable in-store experience, and allowing retailers to connect with their customers in new and exciting ways, GoInStore and Epson’s Moverio smart glasses are what e-commerce has been waiting for.