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What is “teamLab Hanger” that might change the way of shopping in future?

Verscheen in BRUTUS op Aug 1, 2010


What is “teamLab Hanger” that might change the way of shopping in future?
teamLab Co. produced a new media which makes merchandise more exciting.

 Currently, less people are reluctant doing online shopping, because it provides us enough information, pictures, and comparable products that we don’t need to visit the store in real world. Of course there must be some limited information that real shop can provide, but don’t you think that’s not really a matter? In respect of such reversal idea, teamLab Co., the group that is committed to bring new excitement tools to the world trough cutting edge technology and creativity, created new media which makes the shopping experience more exciting and enjoyable. It is a hanger that follows extra information of the clothes. When you pick up clothes with teamLab hanger, a computer screen above the item displays relevant pictures, like the image of clothes that is coordinated. The idea sounds very simple that anyone could hit upon. However, this “discovery” of idea has great number of possibilities.
  “In the real store, the clothes which is displayed or wore by shop staff seems more attractive. Same in ecommerce, the clothes which is shown with a coordinated image sells better than just the clothing product itself,” Said Inoko Toshiyuki, the CEO of teamLabCo. The point is information volume. Then how about adding mass information that accumulated in ecommerce to the medium of real store? Products become more attractive when they are coordinated with images, the stories behind the design, and the knowledge of the materials. Also it is expectable that such hanger helps the sales growth. With teamLab hanger, the shop walls can be used to display images on monitors or using projectors instead of placing the mannequin in valuable space, and increasing the potential for expressive power. TeamlabHanger provides previously unavailable data such as “2 people pick up the hanger (clothes) but neither customer bought it.” All the more, an ordinary shopping in town turns into an overwhelming new experience. Inoko says, “In former time, internet has tried to approach the real world, but with the flow of information new strengths have emerged, and we discover the potential possibility to reconstruct the real world from the perspective of the internet or digital age. In the real world there are interests outside of the material. For example, action; an interface is not only limited to a keyboard or touch panel, but also the action itself.” Only for the real store, it is able to convey mass amount of information through an ordinary action like picking up hanger, which is different from the act with intention like clicking and searching. And it goes without saying that there’s countless number of ‘action’ in real world like the hanger. Those things will bring a rich experience to the real world in near future. Inoko emphasized, ”In future, I want people around the world to feel the shopping in Tokyo as a special experience. I want make them saying, ‘Wow! Japan is incredibly cool!’”


A sensor inside the hanger sends a signal to the customer’s computer. The photo is a prototype for teamLab Hanger.

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