The art of incorporating smartphones into the retail experience is just beginning to take hold, with rich mobile engagement taking hold of almost every aspect – from checking-in to receive relevant offers and coupons to a host of other location-based services.
While everyone has been focused on the “check-in,” a brand new LBS startup has its sights set on the “check-out” instead. AisleBuyer is combination LBS plus mobile commerce app that turns the entire retail experience — from receiving relevant offers upon entry to checking-out and paying for your items — completely interactive.
Here’s how it works: A consumer downloads the app and opens it up at their favorite store. They use the smartphone’s camera to scan the barcodes of items they want to purchase or simply research. Upon scanning, the app shows you comprehensive product information like pricing, customer reviews, etc., but more importantly, provides an opportunity for the retailer to insert personalized special offers and incentives based on what the user just scanned and other variables.
While shopping, just add the items you want to your cart and you can checkout directly from the app, with no standing in line necessary. It provides a unique comprehensive experience for the user, but also provides a powerful back-end platform for the retailer as well. AisleBuyer allows for the customization of offers including the ability to utilize the “Digital Circular and Dynamic Couponing System,” which allow retailers to personalize their promotions based on demographics, location, and shopping history.
We’ll be keeping a close eye on this one. In the meantime, AisleBuyer has offered up some interesting stats to justify its postion: the value of self-checkout transactions surpassed $775 billion in 2009 and is projected to grow to more than $1.6 trillion by 2013. Nearly 20% of all transactions are now self-checkout, according to the company.
