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The high street is fighting back with high-tech devices to lure customers away from the internet and back into shops.

Men will be able to use their mobile phones or handheld computers as “sat navs” into which they can key what they are looking for and how much they want to spend and be guided immediately to the right store.

Women are already experimenting with a “magic mirror” computer screen in which clothes change colour at the touch of a button.

Both sexes will be offered a new text message service in London’s West End that alerts them to bargains and special offers.

Smart retailers are hoping to take advantage of new technology rather than let it be their death knell.

While online retail sales rose 16% in November compared with 2007, sales in stores fell by 0.4%. This has driven some stores to extend opening to 24 hours in the run-up to Christmas and some to slash prices by 50% or more.

The retail sat nav uses wireless internet technology to lead shoppers directly to the store with the best deal for the items they want.

The system, called Shomas (which stands for shopping multi-agency system), enables customers to combine the ease of online bargain-hunting with the attractions of handling a product or trying on an item of clothing.

It is being tested in a mall in Salamanca, Spain, and both the Lakeside shopping centre in Thurrock, Essex, and the Bull Ring in Birmingham said they would be interested.

“We will be interested in looking at this new technology when it reaches the UK,” said Sophie Scott, marketing manager at Lakeside.

Many internet shoppers use high street stores to try or inspect products – a pair of jeans or a digital camera, perhaps – before buying them more cheaply online.

Those who use Shomas are instead peppered with offers from nearby shops where they can buy an item cheaply straight away, rather than having to wait for it to arrive by post from a website.

Shoppers would use Shomas by downloading free software onto an internet-enabled phone or handheld computer that is then connected to the shopping centre’s server by wireless transmitters.

Consumers enter the products they are looking for and are then sent the locations of the best bargains by Shomas, which also pinpoints their position and gives them directions.

Currently, the device can be used only in enclosed shopping centres with a small radio transmitter worn on the wrist, but its inventors plan to make improvements.

Separately, Selfridges department store in London has an electronic tailoring service for women’s jeans called Bodymetrics which scans customers by laser and feeds the measurements into a machine that sews the trousers to fit.

Scientists in Germany have now gone one further and designed a virtual dressing room using touchscreen technology.

The system works by taking a lifesize 3-D image of customers’ bodies and “dresses” them in a picture of the outfits they have chosen.

Numerous companies are working on technology that combines mobile phone tracking technology with advertising by text message or the internet.

The New West End Company, which represents retailers in London’s main shopping district, including Oxford Street and Bond Street, is investigating a system that sends text messages advertising bargains and special offers in shops close to the customer.

“This sort of technology is going to play a big role in the future,” said a spokesman for the company. “Once customers are in a shop they will always browse.

“This technology just cuts out hassle. We think we can find a way to combine the efficiency of the internet with the traditional shopping experience.”

Richard Perks, director of retail research at the market research firm Mintel, said the improved efficiency would suit some shoppers, but others would prefer to continue browsing largely at random.

“I don’t think most people go to a particular store thinking, ‘Right I’ve got four oranges, now I need a stripy jumper, take me to the cheapest.’

“That said, we are on the threshold of cracking new technology that will make a real impact on our lives.”

Maureen Hinton, lead analyst at Verdict Research, the retail consultancy, said Shomas was likely to be most popular among men. “Men tend to like to find what they are looking for and buy it quickly – it’s the hunter gatherer in them. Women like to look around a bit first,” she said.

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