eBay gives customers a glimpse at the future of shopping
Online shopping giant eBay has become the first retailer to use neuroscience technology in order to bring an end to our repetitive shopping habits.
In a bid to ‘combat beige shopping’ and reintroduce customers to a more inspirational browsing experience, the ecommerce site has joined forces with Saatchi Art and tech experts MyndPlay for a truly unique experiment.
Aptly named ‘The Art of Shopping’, the project requires customers to wear EEG (electroencephalogram) headsets while participating in various challenges. The innovative experiment is designed to measure shoppers’ brainwaves in order to draw an understanding of their spending habits based on interaction and taste.
Vice President of eBay UK, Rob Hattrell, explained the reason behind the project: “Shopping is intensely personal. It’s a reflection of what makes you, you. eBay is encouraging Brits to reject the boring and beige, and to stop shopping like everyone else. Instead, we want shoppers to be bolder and express their individuality.”
According to eBay, shoppers are divided into two categories, Shop-y-cats and Inspired Shoppers. The latter group don’t rely on trends when browsing and as a consequence, 84 percent of them experience a prolonged high after shopping. It’s that euphoric, it’s comparable to the emotion felt by a Formula 1 driver after completing a circuit.
While the Shop-y-Cats (a large majority of whom are male) are often left feeling exhausted after browsing online.
The answer? The online retailer believes that customers will shop better when still, calm and in ‘the zone’.
And to achieve the perfect shopping state, shoppers are encouraged to play games during the experiment. As customers interact with the iPads on offer, a data collator measures their brain activity.
Next, shoppers are asked to browse an art gallery and interact with their favourite pieces for as long as they like.
Nicole Garton from Saatchi Art helped to curate this aspect of the exhibition and told Yahoo Style: “When we chose the artwork we had to ask ourselves, ‘What will stimulate a reaction [from the customer] either emotionally or thematically?'”
She continued, “I think this is an opportunity for shoppers to wade through all of the messages we’re given and really hone in on what matters to us as individuals.”
Following the interactive experiment, the relevant data is collated and the customers’ newly discovered tastes will help determine a unique shopping cart.
The idea is that shoppers are allowing their subconscious to do the hard work for them. And ultimately, customers will be introduced to items they may never have considered before.
Whether it’s a camp tent due to the shopper’s outgoing personality or headphones after they demonstrated an interest in music.
Fancy testing it out for yourself?
‘The Art of Shopping’ is open to the public from 12pm to 6pm on Wednesday 4 October at 2 Fitzroy Place, Mortimer Street in London. Make sure to book your tickets in advance to avoid disappointment.
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