Future Of Retail: Explore Shops Through Google Maps

Google Maps’ Street View feature is one of the most novel ways to explore the real world through a digital lens. The service allows users to travel to places they’ve never seen in true, spacial reality or visually locate an address they’re trying to find.

In the past, business promotion was vastly limited to merely viewing building facades, nearby amenities and landmarks. But as geo-based devices direct the compass on our navigational experiences, window-shopping will likely soon follow.

Recently, Google has started accepting applications from businesses to have their store interiors and sales floors photographed to be added to each location’s corresponding “Places Pages” when arriving at its address via Google Maps. The company is describing the feature as a way to showcase businesses to millions of potential customers in full panorama view. The service is currently only available to businesses in cities in the United States, Japan and Australia.

Google Maps, Business Photos

[via ReadWriteWeb]