We’ve completed the circuit of the major fall fashion runway shows—New York, London, Milan and Paris.

The big trends we spotted were geometric shapes, animal prints and furs and skins plus some head-to-toe knits—a seeming nod to ’60s mods. But there were also bits of extreme fantasy (fairytale gowns) counterbalanced by staid, tailored looks.

But more than what fashionistas will buy, all the chatter was about exactly how they will buy it. Specifically, the word on everyone’s lips: Omnichannel.

Omnichannel, which we discussed in ZEITGUIDE 2014, remains the holy grail for retail: seamless sales of anything, anytime to anyone through any outlet—online, social, mobile, or brick-and-mortar. But as we learned from our Zeitguide friends who are experts in this space, no one’s there yet. But a new entry — a mobile app called PowaTag — hopes to speed everyone to omni-channel nirvana.

It essentially rolls up what others have been trying to do in the digital shopping space:

·      Mobile wallet companies like Square, Isis and Google Wallet are trying to get consumers to pay with their smartphones.

·      Beacon technologies, like Apple’s iBeacon, use Bluetooth to “push” coupons and special offers to the smartphones of nearby shoppers. A number of new companies are building on Beacon technology, such as Estimote, StickNFind, and Swirl.  Others, likeShelfbucks, which showcased its technology at SXSW, lets users “retrieve” offers from transmitters in the shopping aisle.

·      Sensor technologies like the ones that drive the music-identifying app Shazaam and QR code readers, are also gaining use by advertisers.

So, what’s interesting about PowaTag is that it bundles these technologies together in a truly omnichannel-ish way. It holds your payment and delivery information—all secured on the cloud.

Then, as the Los Angeles Times explains, “the app can also link up with outside cues created by Powa—QR codes printed on advertisements and price tags, audio watermarks on TV or radio spots, even Bluetooth ‘beacons’ in physical stores—to pull up a product and purchase it with one touch.”

And that’s it. No separate app for every store. No separate payment system login. No items left in your “basket.”

Founder and CEO Dan Wagner has 240 brands signed on, and thinks that’ll increase to a half of million. Those participating pay a.1 percent fee for every purchase and must spend $99 for a 3 beacons set.

Sounds ideal, and yet getting the critical mass of customers to adopt the platform will be very challenging. Technology users are fickle—as team PowaTag well knows.  Wagner, who has raised$100 million for the platform, is a serial entrepreneur whose seen his share of dotcom crashes.

We expect to see even more shopping innovations to pop up as thefuture of retail evolves.

How long until you can photograph a passerby’s shearling jacket and purchase it on the spot?

For more context on the conversation around Ominichannel and what we call “Brick & More Tech,” purchase Zeitguide 2014 here.

Also, happy 25th birthday, Internet!

Keep Learning,

Brad Grossman
Founder, Grossman and Partners
Creator, ZEITGUIDE

Artwork by Kristofer Porter