You've Shopped on the Net, Now Surf in a Store

Lincoln Spector, special to PCWorld.com

Shopping online and at a brick-and-mortar store are very different experiences. But an effort is underway to soon let you surf at a local electronics store--and do that surfing from a very odd-looking, futuristic chair.

The source is the WebSled, a slickly designed, sit-down, multimedia Internet kiosk that is designed to give you access to an online product database commonly used by retailers. The information comes from First Choice Solutions, which is known mostly to workers in the retail side of the mobile electronics industry. The company maintains information on car audio equipment, portable stereos, and other consumer electronics. Retailers use its custom software to answer customers' questions.

But WebSled will bring that info a bit closer to the customer. When you walk into a store to buy a car stereo, you'll be able to sit down in the WebSled to find out which models in your price range have the features you want and then make your purchase. You might even get detailed information, such as a model's instruction book, although this will depend on what the manufacturer supplies to First Choice. The service is expected to be available in some stores as soon as February.

The Kiosk As Giant Toy

Retailers will be able to limit the WebSled's use to purchase-oriented information drawn from the existing database, but First Choice hopes they won't. The company wants people to come into stores to play with the WebSled and even turn it into a neighborhood gathering spot. To that end, First Choice is encouraging retailers to let people listen to MP3s, play games, find out where to buy automotive parts, and even check local concert listings.

What sort of people will this attract? Primarily males between the ages of 16 and 28, according to First Choice's research. These are the people who spend the most on mobile audio, and therefore the ones the stores want to attract.

Hence, the WebSled's futuristic design: The device looks like something out of a science fiction film. You expect to see Arnold Schwarzenegger riding it through a time vortex while getting ready to shoot very bad people. First Choice hopes that the look will inspire teenage boys to say, "Oh, cool!" and hop right on.

The company acknowledges the obvious danger: A lot of teenage boys hanging out in a store can drive more affluent customers away. In case the WebSled becomes too much of a good thing, it comes with controls so that store employees can limit its use.