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Best Buy turns Sunday circulars into interactive 3D demos

August 6, 2009

Electronics retailer Best Buy has quietly unveiled a new interactive domain,www.BestBuyin3D.com, which turns the company's Sunday circulars into impressive interactive displays.

A user turns on his webcam, visits the site, and gives the site permission to control the cam. Then, he holds the Best Buy Sunday circular up to the cam, and what appears on screen is a real-time photo of the person holding the ad, with extra three-dimensional data superimposed on top. As the user moves and turns the page, the three-dimensional images also move, as well as cycle through various sets of targeted data.

In the picture to the right, you're seeing a capture of what is on the user's screen — so while he's holding a mere sheet of paper, his screen gives him a realistic view of the product on the page.

There's a looping video demo at the Best Buy in 3D web site that shows how the effect changes as the user moves the page. While it can be argued that this is a novelty and will never take the place of handling the products yourself in the store, it certainly is a differentiator — and could conceivably add value to a retailer's newspaper ad spend.