Google Glass Glashion app and its promotional products potential

The Glashion app that Google unveiled at TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2013 hackathon is, as the name implies, for fashion. But its See-It-Get-It functionality has potential to serve a wide range of industries, including the promotional products industry.

Here’s how the new app for Google’s wearable computer works, per TechCrunch itself:

"Glashion allows you to snap a photo of a fashion item you see on a bypasser or in a store, and then the app queries the ShopStyle API for similar matches. … You either tap to buy or swipe to see more products. If you tap, Glashion will send you an email with the link to the product on the retail site for purchase. You can also use the app to find a store nearby your location that has the product or similar items.”

How might that functionality work for the promotional products industry? Say you’re a distributor at Expo East and you see a cool new promo product. You want to make that or something similar to that for your end users.

You tell your glasses you want it. Then you swipe and tap your way through the promo products suppliers who can provide its parts. Next thing you know, your inbox is filled with links and maybe even quotes for everything you need to make a promotional product that you only discovered moments ago.

"It would be like the Google Glass version of a very powerful Compass feature,” Essent President Eric Alessi said, referring to Essent Compass business management software for the promotional products industry. "Compass lets you pick a promotional product and then use integrated supplier catalogs to find product details like pricing and imprint methods -- then request samples and buy them. A Google Glass promotional products app would be a new wrinkle to powerful See-it-Get-it features that already exist in Essent promotional products software."