Tag Archive for Online shopping

Lookup messaging app for local shopping lets consumers chat with shops

new chat appLookup is a free messaging app that allows consumers to send messages about their shopping needs to local shops & businesses & get back an instant reply.

Obviously, it only works when the business or shop in question is a participating merchant using the app.

This calls for a managed rollout, so the Lookup messaging app is being launched with participating merchants in Bangalore, as a start.

It’s not hard to see the appeal of a messaging app for local shopping, as long they can get shops & businesses to hop on board. It eliminates the last remaining online-to-offline jump & makes it entirely eCommerce.

Instead of finding a business using search & then calling them up via telephone, the app allows you to message your query or interest in a product or service & hopefully get back an instant response.

You can make use the app to make reservations at bars, pubs, hotels, restaurants & more. You can likewise book spa, salon, hospital or clinic & other such appointments.

You can get information about prices, product availability, deals, timing of brick & mortar stores, etc.

You can even share a picture & get back an answer. For example, you could send a scan of a medical prescription to a pharmacy & ask if they have the medicines, how long they’re open &/or whether they can deliver to your place.

As a business, you can be available as a verified business on Lookup by using the “Claim your business” option in the app’s Settings menu.

Lookup is currently available as an Android app for Bengaluru (Bangalore). Hatchery Software, the company that developed the app, expects to expand to other cities soon.

The Bangalore-based Hatchery Software Pvt. Ltd was founded in 2014 by Deepak Ravindran. The company has received funding from Infosys founder Kris Gopalakrishnan.

Click here to download the Lookup messaging app on your Android device.

 

Image Credit: Google store/Lookup

 

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A “unique” Online shopping site is born in the UK

By: Rishikesh Kulkarni

There’s a “unique” Online shopping Site that has launched in the United Kingdom on January 20.

But before we get into that, a quick wrap on Online shopping & the way it exists today. We are in the Internet age where more than 74% of world’s population uses the Internet.  The Internet has provided a whole new platform to large & small businesses all around the world. 81% of total Internet users research various products online, 61% of users buy products online. Without doubt, every year, more and more people shop online for various products like clothing, accessories, electronics, furniture & digital content.

An average Internet user spends 15 minutes every day shopping online and searching & purchasing for products. Most of the time is spent in searching rather than purchasing as many sites offer different pricing for these products which puts the user in dilemma whether he should purchase from a certain site.  Sometimes, the user cannot find a specific product which he/she wants.

To reduce the timeframe between searching for a product & actual purchase a startup called BuyHandPicked has come up with a solution.  Here, the user has to provide some details of the product he/she wants & bunch of personalized shoppers get to work to find the product for the user from various sources. The user then gets search results from various sources for the product from these “personalized” shoppers.

Shopping_Online_UK_Infographic_blue (2)This method saves the search time for the user, & he can directly purchase the product. The user can also save his money as personal shoppers will compare the prices of products on various sources. Users just have to post a request of the product and the personal shoppers will get him the results.

So who are these personal shoppers? They are fellow users or volunteers who have interest in Online shopping. Anyone can become a personal shopper; in return the personal shopper gets a commission for every successful purchase. This is a simple way to earn a quick buck in free time.

This personalized shopping service was founded by Ben Cole & Richard Lamb who are based in UK.

BuyHandPicked is currently available in UK only. Users from US, Canada and Australia can register to become a Personal Shopper, though.  BuyHandPicked has 37 users registered as Personal Shoppers & claims to reach 100 within 48 hours of launch.

This service is free for the user who posts the shopping request. The personal shoppers help the user to find the product as per users specification and when the purchase is complete then only the personal shopper gets paid for his effort.

The success of this service depends on the number of Personal Shoppers doing their job and making a sale. BuyHandPicked has to compete with existing comparison sites that use a certain algorithm to get prices from various sources to the users. The Personal Shoppers digs into Online retail stores like Amazon & John Lewis for getting the users what they want. There are 20 major online retail stores in UK. Hiring more Personal Shoppers would help the service get a substantial market and growth in Online Shopping.

Image Credit: BuyHandpicked

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