New research by retail experts Conlumino, commissioned by eBay, reveals that the retail industry is on the cusp of a third wave of technological revolution. After online and mobile, a new wave of shopping technologies will again present opportunities and challenges for the industry.

Interactive TV will have the most influence, as by the end of 2014 one in four (25 per cent) people will regularly use interactive television to shop. By bringing together television and the internet, it will generate nearly £750 million (€942m) worth of direct sales by the end of 2014.

Angus McCarey, UK Retail Director for eBay commented: “We are entering a period of transformation in the retail sector. Consumers are driving this as they demand more choice, more interactivity, specialist knowledge and price transparency. Third wave technologies are about meeting those demands and presenting information back to consumers in ways that haven’t been possible before: using virtual reality to try clothes on, or watching your favourite show on TV and buying the box set at the same time.”

Using technology to enhance the shopping experience like never before could present each of the UK’s 10 largest retailers with additional sales of £235 million by 2014, eBay reveals. That’s a potential direct boost of £2.4 billion for the retail industry as a whole in two years. The technologies will also indirectly influence £9.1 billion in retail sales in the same period.

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