RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:
Let's report on another piece of technology now, our last word in business: smart hangers. A men's store in Tokyo is using radio-frequency identification, or RFID technology, inside its clothes hangers.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
When a customer removes an item from the rack, that triggers a display on a nearby screen to show product information for that item, and even matching accessories.
MONTAGNE: Supposedly, you no longer have to ask the sales person: Does this pink shirt go with these pants? But the shopping technology doesn't stop there. According to a technology blog, the hangers can be programmed to trigger music and lighting that might make you more likely to buy.
INSKEEP: So, as you pick out a new blazer, you might hear...
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SHARP DRESSED MAN")
INSKEEP: ...this very music, putting you in the mood to purchase. That's the business news on MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep.
MONTAGNE: And I'm Renee Montagne. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.