Like other major cities, London has a proud tradition of quirky boutiques, and independent stores. Now, instead of trying to kill them off with online transactions, some of the residents of its start up scene are trying to use mobile technology to save them.
Streethub is a new iOS app launched by London based entrepreneurs who have built an inventory of boutique shops, providing online ordering and click and collect services. They want to bring independent retailers to a whole new audience, and build a community around them.
One of three co-founders, Mandeep Singh explained that the team were “looking to try and bring the technology that larger retailers had to smaller retailers”. This included both mobile, same day delivery, and click and collect technology.
Singh describes the take up of the service as “fantastic”, revealing that they have got 330 retailers signed up to the app since since November of last year, generating between 500/600 transactions a day.
Indeed,things seems to be going so well that the team are looking to expand the service into the nearby seaside city of Brighton, which has a strong tradition of independent retail.
All the retailers who sell their products via StreetHub pay a commission on the sales. The click and collect service, whereby people buy products online but pick up the item in the store, means that StreetHub is “generating footfall for them”, resulting in customers buying extra products when they go in.
As well as sales, the StreetHub app wants to build a “networking community between the best independent shops.” The stores “realise they have to work together”, says Singh. The company put together Meetups, including shop part’s with representatives of major department store House of Fraser.
Obviously when payment transactions are involved, security and privacy are very important. All the data in StreetHub is encrypted, and they don’t have payment information with in the app.
It is all location based though, and as with with every service like this there are clearly going to be some privacy concerns. Singh describes it as “a values exchange” – shoppers reveal their location, and get access to better independent retailers.
Not surprisingly, the team are looking into the possibility of using iBeacons in the future, opening up the possibility that users could be alerted to offers and nearby shops by the app.
Singh tells me that StreetHub is the “first location based shopping app anywhere in the world”. As they look to build into both more locations and utilise more technology, StreetHub could prove that mobile is part of the solution to saving bricks-and-mortar shopping, not it’s killer.