Enhancement of Consumer Support in Retail Scenarios by Utilization of Semantic Product Memories

In this chapter, the utilization of Digital Product Memories (DPMs) in the retail domain is discussed. We demonstrate a complete retail-related usage scenario from a consumer perspective that begins with the preparation of a shopping list before the physical in-store shopping activity. Throughout the entire shopping process in the retail store, the DPM infrastructure effectively supports the consumer with appropriate product recommendations. It provides explicit and implicit access to the consumer’s user profile with different interaction modalities, e.g., via a display on the shopping cart or the consumer’s cell phone, and supports the payment and checkout process based on digital user representations stored on the consumer’s physical items such as his car key. In order to fully close the circle, we then conclude the discussion of DPM-based consumer support by analyzing the way home by car, as a DPM infrastructure in a car provides ample opportunities for driver assistance, including but not limited to monitoring the temperature in the car or finding an optimal route home that avoids roadworks in order to address the extra need for a shock-free ride for bought items such as raw eggs or bottles of champagne.