• Ad Age, Thursday, April 22, 2010 12 PM

For all the articles about how the iPad might save the newspaper and magazine industries, little has been written about its other potential commercial applications. Natalie Zmuda surveys retail experts and concludes that the device could have a "major impact" on the retail industry.

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."

Read the whole story at Ad Age »