Kacper Neuman

5/5 (1)

We have all stood in the extremely crowded stores looking for a specific shirt or pants that we would like to purchase. Other days, we have been in that very same store, wondering aimlessly and seeing if anything pops-out at us. During the pandemic, our physical shopping has been reduced and we transferred majority of it online. However, the experience of going online to search for clothes has not been the same as going to a store. It is nice to scroll through, save time, and go through many different options. However, scrolling online does not feel very human and misses the personalized experience of each store. When you enter a Hollister, a Zara or a Michael Kors, your experience is significantly different and each decoration, sound, and smell has a certain feel that adds to your experience when shopping at the physical store. When scrolling online, besides the pictures and the clothes, there is not much of a personalized experience on the website. Nevertheless, this is all changing as we speak.

There has been an increasing need for more realistic and personalized online shopping experiences offered by fashion brands. Digital showrooms may become the new trend in the post pandemic world. One company, Diesel, has already recognized this increasing need and created their Hyperoom. This is a virtual room, which allows the customers to have a store feeling online with 360-degree displays of Diesel’s products. The following video shows you a better idea of what Diesel’s Hyperoom looks like:

However, I believe these experiences will only be further enhanced with augmented reality experience. The virtually enhanced experience is already offered by Loreal. A consumer can visit the webpage, then upload a picture or allow webcam access. After, they can apply a new hair color or makeup look to try it on in real-time. This will likely be applied even further in the fashion industry, allowing customers to try on a new look virtually through a truly augmented virtual experience. The showrooms, such as the one created by Diesel, are likely just the beginning of the fashion industry’s online transformation. Furthermore, the online showrooms may go beyond a unique 360-degree experience of walking through a store online. This will likely develop further to include avatar chat-bots to help you choose your next style, music to add to the vibes, but also augmented experiences related the brand. Building these unique experiences may be able to help companies not only differentiate themselves, but also connect better with their customers.

There are also expectations of fashion brands moving further than just creating 3D online stores, but rather create gravity defying and creative experiences. When it comes to luxury brands, the in-store experience means so much to certain customers and replicating this online can be more than difficult. However, to what extent could these companies use such technologies to replicate this online? The real question remains though, would you invest your time into a digital clothing shopping experience? Does virtually flying through a store made of candy add to your next experience of shopping for a new shirt?

Sources:

https://medium.com/datadriveninvestor/physical-to-digital-disruption-in-the-fashion-industry-1a88be78a3a5

https://techhq.com/2020/07/digital-showrooms-future-proofing-the-fashion-industry/

https://www.vogue.com/article/fashion-is-building-a-virtual-future-starting-with-its-showrooms

https://www.lorealparisusa.com/virtual-try-on/hair.aspx

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, the time we spent on our screens has increased drastically. Everything became remote and most of our human interaction consisted of our online contact. Instead of being able to speak with our colleagues, most of our face-to-face conversations turned to emails and Zoom calls. People who started a position while working from home may not even be able to recognize their colleagues if their cameras were not on during the virtual meetings. Working from home became the new normal, but is this transition safe? Will the threat to our cybersecurity be greater as we spend more time and share more online?

The need for keeping our data safe online has become increasingly important during the pandemic, as we spend more time interacting online, sharing more information, and working from home. Remote working has had an impact on the average cost of a data breach already, increasing it by $137,000. Employees working on private home networks rather than secure company ones are left more vulnerable. The pandemic has also limited the number of activities we can enjoy outside of our houses and provided us with more spare time. For hackers, this time was not wasted as pandemic related fraud reports, in the US, have cost around $114.4 million by mid-August 2020. Even when it comes to Zoom, our data has not been safe. In April, more than 500,000 users have been victims of a breach and the accounts were sold on the dark web. It is increasingly important for people to be aware of online threats, and for companies to ensure their cybersecurity strategies sufficiently protect our data, both as consumers and employees.

It has become increasingly attractive for cyber-criminals to attack as the value of data increases and we become more vulnerable. Individuals are not the only ones at risk, companies and other institutions have also felt the increase in cyber-crime. The laboratory at the University of California had their system frozen and ended up having to pay 116.4 bitcoins ($1.14m) to the hackers. The system was worth the money to the laboratory, since it had contained research relating to the search for a Covid-19 cure.

As more companies find ways to monetize data, there will be more money and value for cybercriminals to extort. There are many ways to protect ourselves such as checking our emails for phishing, using an anti-virus, using a VPN, strong passwords, two-factor verification, etc. However, even if we take the necessary steps to protect ourselves, we may still become victims. Facebook is constantly involved in data breaches and third-party misusage of users’ information. In 2019, 267 million Facebook user accounts were compromised with phone numbers and names obtained, then offered for sale on the dark web. Do you trust companies with protecting our data? I believe cybercrime will become an increasingly important issue as we transition to hybrid ways of working in the post-pandemic life (hopefully). Are you concerned about cybercrime and the safety of your data?

Sources:

https://www.pandasecurity.com/mediacenter/news/covid-cybersecurity-statistics/

https://www.ibm.com/security/data-breach

https://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-to-matter/how-to-think-about-cybersecurity-era-covid-19

https://www.forbes.com/sites/zakdoffman/2020/04/20/facebook-users-beware-hackers-just-sold-267-million-of-your-profiles-for-540/

https://www.ft.com/content/935a9004-0aa5-47a2-897a-2fe173116cc9

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/12/20/facebook-personal-details-267-million-users-exposed-online/