Shopping in supermarkets…it’s a nightmare. One of the worst aspects is simply finding where product x is, amongst the forest of signs for products a,b,c etc. Wandering about looking is supposed to satisfy your hunter-gatherer instincts as well as induce you to buy more stuff (I’m not sure at all about this).
Today’s invention is to equip each store with say 100, separately switchable pocket projectors. These would each be located in a different section of shelving (one for sauces, one for breads etc) and aimed at a nice flat ceiling vertically above them.
The shopper walks into the store, grabs a small wireless microphone, labeled with a unique symbol or number, and says the name of a product category eg “baking.” Press a button on the mic and immediately, the projector where this stuff is housed flashes on the mic’s number for a second so the shopper can get there directly.
This massively reduces the signage in stores and allows produce to be moved around flexibly in the way that retailers love to do.
