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Back To The Store – The Future Of Shopping May Yet Be Set In Stone

The decline of retail stores may not come as news to anyone, but it sure has shown up in headlines a lot this year. A quick search on state of matters yields these results: “Stores Confront New World With Less Foot Traffic” (Wall Street Journal), “The Decline of Department Store Sales” (U.S. News), “Are Malls Over?” (The NewYorker), “Is this the end of retail as we know it” (MarketWatch.com).

 

The disappearance of retail stores reads as though it’s a certainty, but does it have to be? Do we really want to do all of our shopping online? Is there a way to stop the doors from shuttering and the plague of vacant lots from spreading?

 

If innovation can halt the demise of brick and mortar storefronts, it may very well come in the form of this week’s Best In Beta selection: JumpQ.

 

JumpQ eliminates the need for antiquated checkout lines by allowing shoppers to pay for goods within stores using the application. A mobile device lets shoppers self-scan goods, make mobile payments in real-time, then walk directly out the door without losing a moment in line. Cloud technology, wireless beacons and proprietary hardware control the process on the retailer’s end.

 

 

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This creates a very promising arrangement. Shoppers are spared the frustrations of waiting in line to pay, or worse – waiting for an employee to appear at one of fifteen unmanned registers. Stores win by making the shopper’s experience both more pleasant and efficient, increasing the likelihood that people will return.

 

JumpQ reduces a lot of waste for retail stores – the space occupied by checkout lines, the business lost by people unwilling to stand in line, labor costs. What’s more, employees can better assist customers since they’re no longer tethered to registers.

 

 

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It’s easy to understand how retailers might view technology as the enemy, but JumpQ proves that it can benefit storefronts by giving consumers many of the perks and conveniences that they’ve become accustomed to when buying online. No need to carry a wallet, budget control via cloud-based receipts and spending tracking, no surprise totals thanks to auto-scanning while shopping.

 

Don’t count on the sky filling with drones just yet.

 

Visit getjumpq.com to be one of the first to skip the checkout lines or to learn how to equip your store with JumpQ technology.

 

Which startup is going to be the next big thing? Investors, bloggers, job seekers, and inspiring entrepreneurs everywhere are dying to know. Hundreds of startups enter private beta each month, and that’s far too many for any one person to keep up with. Fret not! Each week, I share one of the hottest new startups in this column, Best In Beta. Let’s discover the next big thing together!

 

Photo Credits

JumpQ | Patrick Hoesly

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