TVs are becoming stores: built-in cameras and NFC will sell you what’s on the screen
TVs can now not only show you products, but also sell them right away. The startup Displace has created TVs that use built-in webcams and NFC payment readers so that people can immediately buy what they see on TV.
Displace has not yet officially released its product, which it is to demonstrate at CES 2024 in Las Vegas next month. The first Displace Flex and Displace Mini TVs are due out in mid-2024.
The Displace Flex (55-inch 4K OLED TV) and Displace Mini (27-inch 4K OLED TV) will use proprietary gesture technology and a built-in 4K camera to detect when a user raises their hand. It’s unclear how accurate this will be (is it possible to accidentally activate the shopping process if, for example, you raise your hand to scratch your head?), but at this point, the TV should pause the content playback. The TV then uses machine vision technology to analyze the screen and find the products shown that are available for sale. For example, the handbag worn by the actress in the shot.
Displace also sees people using Displace Payments to pay for telemedicine applications, and has equipped the Flex and Mini with thermal cameras.
Displace Shopping will work anytime the TV is on, and users will be able to buy things they see in ads.
When the viewer is ready to pay, Displace Payments allows them to make a payment by holding their smartphone or watch to the TV’s built-in NFC payment reader. Viewers can also pay from the Displace app.
If the TV can’t find a particular product on sale, it will search for similar products without user intervention, according to Displace. The TV will show products from any available online stores, allowing users to choose where they want to make a purchase.
Displace did not provide full details on how it will make money from these transactions, but founder and CEO Balaji Krishnan said that Displace has different business models, and one of them is to charge a fee per transaction. Displace will share more details later, he said.
Displace also answers the problem of the camera that constantly monitors users while watching TV. Krishnan noted that built-in retractable cameras can be hidden in TVs.
In addition to being user-friendly, Displace says that their system will also allow them to measure the effectiveness of TV ads. After all, today TV advertising is sold per impression, and it is difficult to measure the effectiveness of this impression. The Displace system introduces cost-per-click and cost-per-purchase, which allows advertisers to better see the effectiveness of their ads.
