The biggest shopping bag might be in your pocket
Barcelona’s commitment to mobile commerce is not only strong but also increasingly visible. We have clear example of it in the new virtual shops recently deployed in two of the city’s main subway stations. Not very long ago we told you about the launch of the first European virtual supermarket also in a subway station, but this new solution by Pickbe is using a whole new new concept for shopping.
Looking back, in the history of commerce, the e-commerce has grown with a clear advantage for its costumers: the possibility to buy anything from anywhere, everywhere and at anytime. And on top of that, by buying at home the costumer also saves queuing and commuting time.
So when smartphones brought the Internet to mobile devices the question was obvious: Why not bring the advantages of e-commerce to mobile? Smartphone add even more advantages to commerce such as cameras, location based systems and the immediacy for the users to act-react in the moment. That’s when m-commerce made its appearance and clearly established itself as the next step in the evolution of commerce.
A good example of mobile commerce solution is Pickbe, a start-up based in Barcelona whose mission is to boost mobile commerce by bringing products of the user’s interests closer. They’ve kicked off by setting up virtual shops in Barcelona’s main subway stations that allow commuters to do their daily shopping.
The company, headed by Julio Garcia and Carles Farrerons, was bred at Inspirit, a technology incubator lead by Didac Lee. “The smartphone is the perfect link between the offline and online worlds” said Mr Lee, at the official launch last 26th of November.
Pickbe uses digital format stores as point of sales and smartphones as the purchasing tool to acquire products, services and coupons from online leading brands. Commuters in stations with Pickbe Stores (around 100.000 passengers per day); will be able to buy all sorts of goods just downloading the Pickbe app for free and scanning the QR codes placed on the products.
Fashion, leisure plans, groceries, culture, beauty and health… you name it. Brands such as Privalia, Groupalia, Ulabox, Casa del libro and Promociones Farma, among others, have already joined this new m-commerce solution that will transform any location into a store capable of measuring consumer’s behavior, optimize citizens’ time and bring the top online brands to the offline world.
