back to article Ker-ching...Er, ZZZWIP: Square-alike mobile swipe type scores $96m

Sitting above what used to be Laskys in London's Tottenham Court Road is a British mobile money startup which has just raised almost $100m in its second round of funding. Powa, together with its mobile products mPowa and Powatag, provides a system for retailers to both take payments and mine information about their customers …

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  1. Pen-y-gors
    Thumb Down

    Oh yes?

    "If you put something into a basket with an online shop without completing the purchase and then walk into retail branch they will spot that you are the same customer"

    and exactly why do they think this is a good thing? And why on earth would the customer (you and me) think this is a good thing?

    Sales assistant (in loud voice): "Ah, good afternoon Mother Theresa, welcome to Boots, would you like to pick up that bulk pack of pregnancy testing kits you put in your online basket yesterday?"

    1. Micky 1

      Re: Oh yes?

      For the rest of use not bulk purchasing pregnancy tests, we can use the service to look at TVs online, then if we want to see that tv "in the flesh" (you can never really tell what it looks like from a picture on the interwebs) we can add it to basket wander down to a store and see what it's like, before simply clicking buy or buying there, it saves having to search aisles and aisles of similar looking TVs before you find near enough the model you thought you were looking for. It would make life a little bit easier and the store may end up with a sale rather than the online business if their prices aren't that far off.

      I can see it being a good way of getting people back into stores, it would also cater to those people who need an item there and then, rather than waiting for Citylink to claim to have attempted delivery with the "you used city link you fool, now go to the depot and wait for your football" card. I would quite like to be able to research my new car online, walk into the dealer and him have the exact spec I have chosen ready to order and just needing my signature and debit card. I can think of many situations where this would be a useful service....whether it is £100mil useful is a question for the investors.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Oh yes?

      Indeed, people put things into their online basket because annoying companies don't let you see the shipping costs or the fact that the prices are ex-VAT in advance or very clearly.

      What's more, adding to baskets is not an opportunity to gobble up my address and phone number.

  2. JimmyPage Silver badge
    Stop

    All you need to know in one line :

    The key to this is a proprietary technology – Powatag – which is not NFC and about which Wagner will not reveal any details,

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Is it me.....

    ...or am I just really missing the point of this?

    Why would I NOT purchase something online then randomly go into the same shop. Maybe clothes, but surely if I wanted to try them on I'd go to the shop in the first place....and what if it's not in stock?

    Or is it like Argos ' ring and reserve? Or like buying online with Toolstation or Screwfix?

    Please, someone dumb this down, it may be Monday and all that, as I really can't see the point of this, other than to try and sell you something you didn't want.

  4. Paul Webb
    Thumb Down

    Chasing 'abandoned' sales

    They must think the only reason a sale is abandoned it because they didn't pester you enough so this lets them (physically) beat you into submission until you will buy anything to leave you alone.

    I abandon sales for many reasons (never to return) one of which is only by getting to the till am I able to see the full range of additional charges they wish to gouge me with.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Chasing 'abandoned' sales

      I'm with you. Apart from the site going down while I'm getting my CC out of the vault and across the piranha moat; if I abandon a buy it's because I want it abandoned. Further attempts to browbeat me into buying said product is going to result in hostility, at best.

      Plus retailers "mining information about their customers" is not a desirable feature for me.

  5. hugo tyson
    FAIL

    Just make a Bluetooth connection?

    So presuming your phone is running their app, with which you were just shopping online, it just connects to a device in the store when you come in range? That device therefore knows who you are &c. and can bother you "appropriately". The connection could be the other way round too of course... your phone could be the peripheral and a central at the till could connect to it. The latter is better for your device's battery life...

    No advantage for the customer at all, far as I can see...

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Just make a Bluetooth connection?

      If they are automatically hooking up their till to anything that comes in range there might be advantages there.

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