Simply Tap: A new experience in pay-by-mobile communication
Tuesday, 29 March 2011
The mobile phone. First it was a brick that could only actually
make calls when connected to a large car. It wasn't even that
mobile.
Then it began to shrink. Everyone over the age of 20 remembers
when all the phone companies were competing to create the smallest
phone possible - the only restriction became how much of the
ability to actually use the keys consumers were willing to
sacrifice.
Then things began to shift again. People began to communicate
more and more using the internet, and suddenly the internet went
portable too. Consumers didn't want a phone that could only be
operated with a magnifying monocle and a pair of tweezers, they
wanted a phone that meant their whole connected world of social
networking, entertainment, and communication (both verbal, written
and video) could be carried out of the home and around with them in
their pocket. Or handbag. Or man-bag.
The mobile phone essentially stopped being a phone and became a
mobile connected high speed communication and entertainment
experience. But the acronym MCHSCEE never took off, so instead
we've got the smart phone.
This integration of everything important in our lives into
a single dazzling piece of technology continues apace, and it is
money and the way we use it which is set to be revolutionised
next.
Last month we wrote a blog about NFC (Near Field Communication -
you should check the blog out if you haven't read it already, it's
great /play/facebook-check-in).
Near Field Communication has nothing to do with farmers having a
natter, it's about paying for stuff by waving a chip near a sensor
and your account automatically being debited the correct amount.
This is technology that is already available, and is already being
integrated into MCHSCEEs. Damn it! I mean smart phones!!
And now it's the turn of Carphone Warehouse's founder, and the
man responsible for bringing the mobile phone to the masses in the
first place, Charles Dunstone, to provide the first high profile
fully integrated smart phone pay-by-mobile system. And he's calling
it Simply Tap.
Despite the name, this doesn't as yet use NFC technology,
although it of course will. Simply Tap uses data storage and
connectivity to make purchasing items easier than ever before -
taking out the need for queuing, cash, pin numbers, repeatedly
inputting billing and delivery addresses, wallets, cards…basically
all you need to buy something is a home, a phone, and a finger.
The idea is to provide codes for products, to be displayed on
billboards or posters, or even in store, so the user texts off the
code of something they like (effectively just by taking a picture
of the modified bar code) and the goods are delivered direct to the
home. Lemon squeazy.
The biggest challenge faced by Charles and the specially created
Mobile Money Network is getting other brands and retailers on
board. But that shouldn't be a problem, if for no other reason than
the enormity of the clout wielded by Charles and his fellow MMN
board members.
The initial senior board consisted of Charles and Andrew
Harrison, his long time colleague at Carphone Warehouse with
Lord Davies, who until recently was Minister of State for Trade
Promotion and Investment, as non exec director. And this
week saw the appointment of a new chair, in the shape of former
M&S boss and retail legend Sir Stuart Rose. Also appointed as
non-exec director was the partner of one of the country's
leading advertising agencies, CHI & Partners, Johnny
Hornby. It's like the British business worlds equivalent of
the A Team.
So what does Simply Tap mean for consumers? And for the wider
world of mobile devices? Well in its essence it's a really simple
idea, and one which has been toyed with by brands and businesses
before. It doesn't use completely new technology - rather it just
amalgamates existing software and hardware into one cohesive
product.
Current trends for retailers are increasingly moving away from
bricks (stores) and towards clicks (online). The Simply Tap system
is just another form of clicks, but integrated into the mobile
world for active consumers who find themselves out and about but
not always in a position to spend hours trawling shops.
For us, the really exciting thing about this is that it's
creating another powerful tool for the mobile device and further
focusing the consumer's day to day interaction with the world
around them through a single device. The implications of this are
further reaching than just saving some time on purchasing
items.
Now our smart devices are our phones, our social networks, our
entertainment, our physical currency, our shop fronts, and our
offices. You could say they're our PSNEPCSFO's, but sticking with
smart phones probably makes more sense.
Through products like Simply Tap smart phones are becoming more
and more important, both to consumers and to brands/retailers
struggling to maintain sales and consumer interaction at a time of
cuts, credit crunch, and increasing consumer cynicism.
We predict this is going to be HUGE!!! Get on board now...!
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