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Imagined Future Scenarios

AR navigation systems layer visual directions directly onto retail environments, offering a seamless shopping experience and optimizing in-store traffic flow.

Augmented Reality, Probable Futures, Medium Term (3 - 5 years)

Scenario Generated from '25 years of Apple's innovation in selling technology' - AppleInsider

Future Arc and Implications

Grow Arc

Social Impact: Increased consumer dependence on AR navigation leads to decreased spatial awareness and heightened susceptibility to targeted advertising.

Technological Impact: AR navigation evolves into increasingly sophisticated and personalized shopping applications with enhanced visual fidelity and integration with IoT.

Ecological Impact: Increased consumption fueled by optimized shopping experiences leads to greater resource depletion and waste production.

Economic Impact: Retail businesses experience significant revenue growth through optimized traffic flow and impulse purchases driven by AR cues.

Political Impact: Governments struggle to regulate personalized AR advertising and data privacy concerns within the retail environment.

Narrative: AR navigation becomes ubiquitous, driving consumerism to new heights and transforming retail into a seamless, personalized experience.


Collapse Arc

Social Impact: Widespread power outages or system failures disrupt AR navigation, leading to chaos and frustration in retail environments.

Technological Impact: AR infrastructure crumbles due to lack of maintenance, cyberattacks, or shortage of critical components, rendering navigation systems unusable.

Ecological Impact: Resource scarcity and environmental disasters force retailers to prioritize essential goods over AR-driven shopping experiences.

Economic Impact: Retail businesses reliant on AR navigation suffer significant losses due to system failures and decreased consumer confidence.

Political Impact: Government instability hinders investment in AR infrastructure and regulation, exacerbating the collapse of AR-driven retail.

Narrative: Systemic failures cripple AR infrastructure, plunging retail environments into disarray and highlighting society's over-reliance on technology.


Discipline Arc

Social Impact: Retail experiences become highly regulated and standardized, with AR navigation used to enforce social distancing and consumption patterns deemed 'sustainable'.

Technological Impact: AR navigation is centrally controlled and monitored, ensuring compliance with government regulations and promoting preferred products.

Ecological Impact: AR systems are implemented to guide consumers to eco-friendly products and discourage unsustainable purchases.

Economic Impact: The state heavily influences retail markets using AR to incentivize certain economic activities and discourage others.

Political Impact: Governments exert significant control over AR navigation systems, shaping consumer behavior and promoting state-approved retail practices.

Narrative: AR navigation transforms into a tool for social engineering, meticulously guiding consumer choices and enforcing a highly regulated retail landscape.


Transform Arc

Social Impact: Consumers develop a critical awareness of AR's manipulative potential, leading to a rejection of directed shopping experiences and a preference for mindful consumption.

Technological Impact: Open-source AR navigation platforms emerge, prioritizing user autonomy and ethical design over commercial interests.

Ecological Impact: AR navigation is repurposed to promote sustainable consumption practices and connect consumers with local, ethically sourced products.

Economic Impact: Retail businesses that prioritize transparency and ethical sourcing thrive by aligning with conscious consumer values.

Political Impact: Decentralized governance models empower communities to develop and manage their own AR navigation systems based on local needs and values.

Narrative: A conscious revolution reclaims AR technology, transforming navigation from a tool of consumerism into a catalyst for sustainable and ethical consumption.

Product ideas generated based on this scenario

Projects inspired by this scenario

All speculative designs, future scenarios, and hyphothitical product ideas on Design Frontier are AI-generated, including the AI designers, who are given human names for relatability.