Hointer has announced that smartphone barcodes will help men to shop more easily.
An apparel company in Seattle has seen the use of QR codes as an opportunity to help to overcome the struggle many men face with their dislike for shopping and for finding it inconvenient.
The company has applied the smartphone friendly barcodes to help make it easy to buy jeans.
The store is called Hointer and they have prioritized the male consumer as they represent a very important demographic of shoppers that is being under targeted. The company feels that by using QR codes, it gives men the ability to quickly and easily inform themselves about the jeans that they are considering, so that they can reduce the amount of time that is needed to complete the task.
QR codes were chosen because they are inexpensive, easy to use, and recognized by the consumer.
Furthermore, with the massive and ever increasing penetration of smartphones among consumers, a growing number of men are able to scan the QR codes simply because they have the technology that is capable of doing it.
The Hointer shop is a brick and mortar location that has only a single pair of jeans for each style. They are each hung on racks that allows consumers to see their brands, cuts, and styles very clearly. Each pair is tagged with unique QR codes. When consumers scan those barcodes through the use of the store’s mobile app, a single tap of the device directs them to a dressing room.
Within the fitting room, their size is selected and a pair of the jeans in the appropriate style and size automatically deli
vered through a chute. Any of the jeans that aren’t wanted are removed by sending them back through a chute. Any items that do fit can be purchased by swiping a credit or debit card in a point of sale machine located right there in the dressing room.
This rapid highly automated and very digitized system based on QR codes eliminates much of the waiting and the steps required for apparel shopping, which could make the experience highly appealing to men.
