The launch is being marked by a promotion with Thorntons using outdoor advertising. An image of an Easter egg has appeared at several poster sites across central London today, allowing Simply Tap users to try out the technology and buy one of a selection of Easter eggs for just 1p.
Simply Tap is an instant mobile checkout provided by MMN. Users simply download the application from either the Apple App Store or Android Market and complete the simple one-off registration process. Consumers can then buy direct from retailers signed up to MMN without the need to fill in forms and share their personal details. MMN is backed by Carphone Warehouse and Monitise Plc and has Sir Stuart Rose, former CEO of Marks & Spencer as its Non-Executive Chairman.
Now, retailers signed up to MMN’s Simply Tap service will be able to enable their customers to take a photo of the desired product or scan the related QR code through the Simply Tap app and instantly purchase it with a single tap on their mobile phone.
Retailers signed up to MMN will convert significantly more sales by making every customer communication transactional. Offering a truly multi-channel sales solution to retailers, typical applications for the new IR and QR code technology will be poster sites, magazine adverts, as well as existing product pages on websites and social networking platforms such as Facebook.
Image recognition on Simply Tap is one of the first mainstream uses of the technology in the UK. In addition, MMN has supercharged the QR code. To date, QR codes have been used for information purposes, typically directing customers to websites. MMN is the first to make them transactional. Customers can use the QR code or image reader within the Simply Tap app to instantly identify a product and purchase it. Retailers already partnering with MMN and lined up to use the new technology include Thorntons, HMV, Goldsmiths, the Hut Group, Pretty Green and Carphone Warehouse.
“Today is all about showcasing the potential of this technology,” says John Milliken, Managing Director of MMN. “Image recognition and transactional QR codes will allow retailers to convert more sales, and significantly increase revenue by turning every communication with the customer into a transaction opportunity. For the consumer, the benefit lies in allowing them to buy the products they want, when they want them, in one quick, safe and easy step. That could be when they pass a billboard on the bus in the morning, when they are using Facebook or when they are reading a magazine. ”
Matt King, Head of Thorntons Direct said: “Mobile payments have a significant future within the Thorntons business. Buying chocolate has always been about a mix of excitement and impulse so the Simply Tap service lends itself well to this. It complements all of our existing sales channels and adds punch and measurable impact to any communication with customers.”