But the real revolution in retail will be mobile, experts say. Tag technology will allow shoppers to use a cellphone to upload a photo of a bar code on an item and get all sorts of information that a salesperson might never have. "It could take you to a specific URL, or promote a special message, or take you directly to a product information page," says Sucharita Mulpuru, vice president and principal analyst for market research firm Forrester Research Inc. in Cambridge, Mass. "So far, it's been about bringing the store to your home. But the future will be about bringing the Web to the store."
- Trisha Okubo