This year, your favorite department stores are getting a digital makeover including QR codes and augmented reality apps into your holiday shopping experience. Ready or not, Tis the Season for Digital.
If ever there was a cool use for QR codes (not just practical), this might just be it. JCPenney’s new “Who’s Your Santa” campaign has a QR code extension for 2011, where everyone who buys a gift for Xmas will receive a unique QR code Gift Tag or “Santa Tag” as they are calling them…
That QR code allows the gift giver to scan and record a personalised voice message for the recipient… Once they are done, just stick the QR code Santa Tag on the present and you’re done! It’s actually a pretty innovative way to utilise QR codes, particurally in such a personalised way, and for me, this is a super smart experiment for JCPenney.
With Macy’s the latest brand to release an AR app for the festive season. This time, it’s a Christmas Card App, where you can turn up at any of the Macy’s “Believe Stations” to post your kid’s letters to Santa, only this year, if you’ve got the app on iOS or Android, the little ones will be in for a nice surprise, with Virginia and her friends to life… Check it out here.The app lets you choose your favourite characters, take photos and then customise virtual cards… I quite like the functionality, it’s empowering the kids to do something a little more engaging once they’ve had the AR experience, and makes perfectly shareable content on the fly!
