By Aimee Chanthadavong
A new shopping experience has been designed by PayPal Australia and Point and Pay to help both retailers and the media world move into the digital world, which was launched in The Weekend West on Saturday.
A four-page advertising lift out in The Weekend West, which is published by The West, allowed consumers to purchase products directly with their smartphone. Using QR-code technology, consumers are able to scan the paper using their smartphone to directly purchase products from The West Australian and The Weekend West, securely through PayPal and the Point and Pay service.
Click here watch a video on how it works.
Damian Cook, managing director of Point and Pay told RetailBiz the mobile commerce revolution is here to stay and the aim of the solution is to help retailers and the media better connect with their consumers.
“The data and research is showing us that mobile is fast becoming a preferred way to access the internet and we see that will really continue. We believe e-commerce was missed and we’re trying to really make sure they don’t miss out on the mobile market in the same way,” he said.
“There were two big barriers for why retailers missed out on e-commerce. Price was one and other was that retailers are not so technical in nature and found it quite daunting to integrate something they didn’t know anything about. This is why we’ve created something that will help them through all the hurdles.”
Cook said retailers are provided the technology and all the provision necessary to get them setup. The free e-commerce platform provides support as a content management system right through to auditing. Also, analytics of who is scanning what product is also provided to retailers so they have the opportunity to work out which product customers prefer.
“Zero risk is involved for retailers and it’s a very simple platform for them to use where not too much involvement is needed from them when we help them set it up,” Cook said.
According to Cook, the plan is roll the solution out nationally and internationally.
“That’s the goal, we’re aligning with key media players to get mobile transaction more readily available and aligning with Paypal offer a secure checkout option both in Australia and overseas,” he said.
Jeff Clementz, managing director for PayPal Australia said using an innovation like this is allowing retailers to take advantage of the growth of mobile shopping.
“There is a huge opportunity for Australian retailers to take advantage of the growth in mobile commerce, providing consumers with seamless shopping experiences powered by PayPal’s digital wallet anywhere, anyway,” he said.
“With over 50,000 merchant partners in Australia, PayPal is continuing to provide innovative solutions for our merchants to ensure they are well prepared to compete in a digital world.”