Facial recognition technology has been around for quite some time but rarely is it used in the retail industry until now.

Debuting at the Digital Signage World Exhibition in Sydney, Yeahpoint has unveiled three applications that use facial recognition technology – the MiMirror, a digital mirror that integrates social media with the customer’s in-store experience; facial recognition order matching for the supermarket; and audience measurement scanning, to allow retailers to target real time content to suit consumers.

Yeahpoint CEO John Anderson said the future of retailing is here with the new products.

“There has been talk of utilising facial scanning in the consumer marketplace for years but it has never been financially and commercially viable, until now,” he said.

Yeahpoint’s MiMirror application allows customers to try on various products such as clothes or accessories, and use the mirror to take photographs to compare how they look and share with friends online for a second opinion.

Yeahpoint is also taking facial recognition technology directly to the checkout with their revolutionary facial matching application now able to match customers with orders to eliminate order miss-matching and lengthy cues.

“Now, goods and services can be matched to the customer based on extremely accurate facial matching software which is great for both retailers and consumers alike,” Anderson said..

“Consumers benefit from a much more streamlined process to save time and retailers reduce overheads through a much simpler logistical process, it’s very much a ‘win win’ situation.”

Yeahpoint has also released an integrated facial recognition-based audience measurement tool which can be utilised with any other application, or independently, to measure customer metrics and then allow digital content to be tailored to suit.

“Our audience measurement tool is the icing on the cake and can ‘bolt on’ to almost any existing system to not only scan a person’s face, but also determine their size, gender, age and even their mood through the use of the very latest in pinpoint facial scanning technology,” Anderson said.

“While it may sound a little futuristic, it is incredibly exciting as it allows content such as in-store advertising to be tailored to the consumer in real time, as well as providing organisations with a way of collecting valuable data on the types of people who are engaging with their brand.”

According to Anderson, facial recognition software will become increasingly common in consumers’ lives as it will help streamline and add-value to the shopping experience.