Short message service that enriches shoppers’ experience launched
Making a call. Mobile phones can now be used to shop for goods and services. Fredrick Onyango
A new short message service that allows shoppers to sample products in the market has been launched.
The service adds impetus to Kenya’s changing shopping landscape as businesses embrace technology to boost sales and increase efficiency.
The service, dubbed 6777 Chap Chap, was launched by technology firm Information Convergence Technologies (ICT) in partnership with Safaricom and India’s Voicetap. It allows shoppers to send short messages inquiring about products they are looking for. The SMS is then forwarded to different companies offering the goods or services.
For instance, a consumer sends a keyword like “Loan”, “Eatery” or “Insurance” to code 6777 at a fee of Sh1.
The 6777 Chap Chap Platform automatically connects the consumer to a bank, an eating joint, an insurance call centre, or a sales department without human intervention. The message hits the platform’s servers which respond with a list of service or product providers.
Targeting banks “We are targeting financial institutions like banks, insurance firms, medical providers, towing companies, second hand car dealers, computer dealers, pay TV firms, colleges, and taxi companies, among others,” said Information Convergence Technologies chief executive Symon Ndirangu.
“Businesses can also use the platform to position themselves as experts, thus generating branding for themselves,” Mr Ndirangu said.
The system’s initiators are counting on falling communication costs in the country to spur uptake of the service. It will also raise consumer knowledge before they buy a product as well as cut down on time and costs incurred in market intelligence. Currently, most consumers rely on physical window shopping which is limiting in cases where there are many players with different goods and services to offer.
The cost of sending a text message is as low as Sh1 across the four mobile operators, even lower for bulk users. “Companies will also be able to engage customers who are interested in their products,” said Mr Ndirangu. He said the system adheres to the pay per performance model, meaning businesses are charged only once a user connects with them. Banks are already eyeing revenues from this type of transaction. They have launched credit cards that target shoppers, joining telecom firms’ mobile money payment solutions.
A combination of these products can see a shopper get information about a product using his mobile phone, see and feel it using e-commerce technology, make an order, and pay for goods or services from the comfort of his home.
Under pressure
This comes at a time when shopping malls, supermarkets, specialist stores, and mobile companies are under pressure to handle a new class of demanding consumers who want to test products before buying them. There is also growing need for store managers to squeeze more items in store space. As a result, retailers are increasingly adopting technology in their quest to gain a competitive edge in a value-driven market. This has also seen retail firms turn to discreet technology to detect theft even as they deal with a more demanding crop of customers who want to compare products on offer before buying them.
For example, the Samsung phone shop in Westlands, Nairobi, has installed technology that allows customers more freedom to sample gadgets and test them with little supervision from shop attendants.
Consumer suspicion
The technology, dubbed Sensormatic Anti- theft Solution, enables retailers to install electronic tags that sense their devices at the door to safeguard merchandise, without arousing consumer suspicion.
The platform uses magnetic technology and features a comprehensive range of hard tag options with a modern detection system.
According to Compulynx, an ICT firm that manufactures software for retail chains, merchandise theft has become more sophisticated in the wake of increased offerings by outlets.
Most retail chains now stock everything from freshly baked bread to groceries as well as a range of technology products in an effort to enhance the one-stop shopping experience.
