Startup Q&A: Michael Valdsgaard, Founder, London Dynamics
RTIH catches up with Michael Valdsgaard, former Senior VP Digital Transformation at Ikea, who has just launched an augmented reality startup called London Dynamics.
RTIH: Tell us about London Dynamics
MV: London Dynamics is a company that aims to help consumers make better purchase decisions when shopping online. We provide a plug-and-play platform to retailers and brands that enables an advanced augmented reality (AR) experience.
With our solutions, retailers can extend their e-commerce platform experience beyond the 2D realm of text, pictures and videos, and allow customer to try before they buy. London Dynamics brings online shopping back into the physical world in a way that’s accessible to businesses of every size and scale.
RTIH: What was the inspiration behind setting the company up?
MV: Our inspiration is an enduring love of emerging technologies, in particular those which offer a truly impressive uplift to customer experience.
We have assembled a team of award-winning specialists who have been pushing the bar on innovation in online shopping for decades. Together, we want to transform the way the world shops. We want to usher in an era of truly ‘experiential’ online shopping, seamlessly merging the digital and physical worlds.
RTIH: What has been the industry reaction thus far?
MV: We have received an extremely positive response to our technology from both local prospects and the wider industry. What we have noticed, especially among people familiar with building and integrating AR technology for e-commerce, is how much they appreciate for the ease with which our AR platform can be incorporated into their existing e-commerce systems, and how consistent an experience we can offer across multiple devices and operating systems.
We are seeing how much this elevates our offer over other existing solutions, which can get locked into separate apps or discrete ‘pilot’s that go nowhere.
AR technology is evolving rapidly, in a few short years we are certain it will be ubiquitous in all areas of modern life, including brick and mortal retail. Educating the sector of the incredible opportunities and current possibilities of AR is critical in these nascent years.
RTIH: What has been your biggest challenge/setback?
MV: The biggest challenge when pushing for what’s possible with new technology is the readiness of the market and consumers to embrace change. When stepping into unknown territory, you have to paint a very clear picture for people who aren’t working every day with technology and who are less familiar with how far we’ve come.
There’s an understandable preference among prospects and investors for a safe bet or technology with proven ROI. However, the upside of this is how it positions us to lead and shape the market with the most digitally-savvy consumer base and companies, which lets us build a larger evidence of what will be the ‘new normal’ for everyone.
“AR is poised to become so omnipresent that customers will wonder how they ever lived without it. It will change everything, just as the tipping point to browser-based shopping did – only much, much faster”
RTIH: What are the biggest challenges facing the omnichannel retail sector right now?
MV: The biggest challenge comes from consumer expectations from the shopping experience, and how technology is raising expectations for both seamless and experiential shopping.
Retail’s basic ‘come to our store and get your product’ model is less and less relevant in a world dominated by ‘on demand’ and convenience. Retailers need their instore and online experience to be more fluid and more fun to keep pace. By the time the basics are in place, consumers are already moving on to expect the next level of experiential shopping. The bar is moving too fast for a ‘slow and steady’ roll out approach to adopting new technology.
RTIH: What's the best question about your company or the market asked of you recently by a.) an investor and b.) a customer?
MV: Interestingly, the question is the same for both customers and investors: “Is 2020 the year we will finally see AR breakthrough?”
We are far closer than most think. AR technology is gathering momentum on an exponential curve. We are seeing incredible progress as both hardware and software which is reaching a tier across ever more common devices capable of making things that once seemed impossible a reality.
People may argue what moment is the true ‘breakthrough,’ but that discussion matters far less than the understanding that it will happen. AR is poised to become so omnipresent that customers will wonder how they ever lived without it. It will change everything, just as the tipping point to browser-based shopping did – only much, much faster.
RTIH: What can we expect to see from London Dynamics over the next 12 months?
MV: After our initial launch we have no plans to slow the constant development of our platform and performance. We are incorporating new emerging technologies such as AI and computer vision (image recognition) to let our AR offering solve even more sophisticated online shopping tasks, such as try-before-you-buy options for jewellery, and intelligent, intuitive recommendations for eyewear based on the shape and features of the customer’s face.
We are exploring the ability to offer sales recommendations drawn from an analysis of the user’s surroundings, such as home furnishing suggestions based on the style, colour tone and lighting of a room.
What’s certain is that we are going to constantly evolve our solution to ensure we offer something ahead of retailer expectations, and continue to set standards that allow us to thrive in a very competitive market.
