That's real-world shopping, I mean. Digital agency IconNicholson has unveiled a concept it calls "social retailing", in a press release that impressively shoehorns in Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Near Field Communication AND Web 2.0.
The concept is being shown off at this week's National Retail Federation show in New York. It's basically a shop that lets The Kids interact using text messaging, IM and email as they browse the frocks (which for the show have been supplied by fashion designer Nanette Lepore). It also includes NFC technology to monitor stock and make the checkout process more secure.
"Social retailing is a concept that evolved out of our work building personas based on youth shopping needs, behaviours and current technology trends," says Rachael McBrearty, VP of creative strategy at IconNicholson.
"The demonstrations in X07 provide retailers with a vision for how they can reach the audience at the center of the social computing craze seen in websites like YouTube and MySpace, to connect in-store shopping with the online world in a way that is new, entertaining, and completely relevant."
Up to a point. I can't help wondering whether young people NEED someone to provide them with a platform for communicating within shops. Partly because they're usually there with their friends anyway, but also because they're more than capable of using their phones for texting, sending photos back and forth - and in the future IMing too.
Still, I'm sure that won't stop the idea of social retailing being attractive to high-street brands keen to bring some Web 2.0 action to their business. Tying it together with NFC technology is intriguing too.
"Near-field Communication and Web 2.0 together show how much impact the emerging Internet of objects will have on everyday life," says Christopher Enright, chief technology officer at IconNicholson.