E-commerce and interactive catalogs are no brainers, but future uses could also include using
the iPad as a virtual sales assistant. A salesman might, for example, customize an automobile in the lot. Transactions could be completed on the spot, as they are now with iPods at Apple stores,
although one would think that auto dealerships would still insist on trips to the manager's office to discuss add-ons such as rustproofing. Other observers envision personal shopper applications.
Few stores have developed iPad apps so far, however. Gap is one of them. "I believe the iPad will be a new cultural icon. And the way it allows people to engage, we didn't want to be left
out of that," says Ivy Ross, Gap's executive-vp marketing. "It makes your brand modern."
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