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Spotting a good patent application is like searching for sunken treasure - lots of shipwrecks, only a few are full of bullion.  With this in mind, I spotted a Google patent a little while ago that peaked my interest...

Google applied for an interactive Kiosk patent, that would essentially replace the information kiosk at your local shopping mall, airport, hotel, etc.  Replacing those 'mall maps' with something more interactive is an interesting idea, especially when you consider the advantages to both the business and consumer.  The patent suggests such a device would allow people to search for specific products and it would return a list of retailers with the product in stock, details about the product, a map to the store and promotional material for that specific retailer whether it is a coupon or sale price.  There are endless possibilities for such a device that Google will no-doubt take full advantage of.

One of the things I find interesting about this is how it mixes traditional shopping (the mall) with online shopping.  Google is essentially building an 'intro to online shopping' and dropping it into places where there are high concentrations of non-online-shoppers.  Knowing that Google generates most of it's revenue from advertising, it would make sense for online retailers to advertise on such a device...

Imagine a non-online shopper walking into a mall and searching for 'sony wega'.  The results show 3 hits, listing the price ranges, a map and promotional material for different retailers in the mall.  The results also list 2 online retailers selling the same item for 20% less with free shipping.  At this point, as a consumer, the mall becomes a giant showroom for products.  I can view, touch, try and discuss the product  with experts at length, then walk away and purchase exactly the same product online for considerably less money. 

Awesome!

Posted at 09:54 AM in General | Permalink