Project Hermes

In 2017, my friend and I recognized an opportunity for retailers. Through our years of creating digital products for customers inside and outside of brick and mortar stores, we consistently saw customers pick up a physical product and ask “Do you have this in my size?” or “Do you have this in another color?” This led us to ask the question, “How might we create an experience that connects people with more information about a product without the aid of an associate?”

Several months later we created the first prototype (out of wood). Months after that we had a functioning physical product that we piloted in stores. The pilot gave customers the opportunity to learn about in-store availability of a product, nearby store availability, and online availability by simply placing a shoe on circular platform.

This experience involved NFC stickers, NFC readers, Particle WiFi (IoT), an iPad app, and 3D printed SLA components designed using Fusion 360.

EDIT: Added a photo of Hermes in a store pilot for context.