I can’t imagine the days when there wasn’t a remote control. The most common utility of the remote is the ability to play, pause, and then play again. This experience has taught us that we can consume content on our own terms. Fast forward (yes, pun intended) to today when you have a plethora of devices that you consume content on, at different points throughout the day. My expectation is that I can start doing something on one device, continue on another and finish on a completely different one. I want a continuous experience and I expect that brands will support this.

Here’s the good news: Entertainment brands are getting this. Perhaps it’s the simplicity and linear nature of their content. My favorite continuous experience example is Amazon’s Kindle. Before I even owned a Kindle, I downloaded the app on my iPhone and MacBook. I mostly read on my MacBook but would flip through pages on my phone while getting my car washed or waiting in line. And every time, I was fascinated that it remembered where I had stopped reading. This experience has since caused me to buy 2 Kindle devices.

Another entertainment example is DIRECTV, which I blogged about in my Mobile trumps traditional post. With its Whole-Home DVR Service, you can now start a show on one TV, pause it and finish playing it on another TV. That’s a true pause-and-play experience.

I find myself wanting retailers to offer me this same type of experience. Never mind re-targeting—I want continuity. Start at the point where I last left off, regardless of the device. Let’s take single sign-on and create a smarter cookie so I can view a product image on my iPhone, go deeper on product details during lunch on my iPad, and after an afternoon of rationalizing the purchase, buy it on my MacBook. This isn’t a crazy, futuristic consumer scenario. I expect it and surely others do, too.

Do you know of any retail brands that support a continuous shopping journey?