Some shoppers research products and sales online and in print, make lists and check them twice before heading out the door. Others simply take their chances that deals and discounts will materialize as they make their way through stores.
As it turns out, technology is putting these two kinds of shoppers on even footing, delivering access to some of the latest sales information to their smartphones while they are in place to act on it.
ShopSuey is one of the success stories of the inaugural Hawai’i Fashion Month. The Apple-oriented app (an Android version is in the works) launched in March and picked up 1,500 users over time, but didn’t catch fire until being named the official app of the fashion event.
In October the number of users increased to 12,500 as word spread about the app’s ease of use and handy shopping information, including mapping of restrooms and ATMs at the major malls and enabling people to photograph and mark their parking spots with a pin so the stressed and/or distracted never have to wander the parking lot looking for their lost car.
The experience is customized as new users start by checking off names of shops they would like to hear from. Then folks can sit back and receive notifications about events, offers and sales. They can also create shopping lists for the holidays and beyond.
ShopSuey marketing director Anna Covert said the app was in the works for three years as co-founders George Chalekian and Jason Ho’opai tried to figure out ways to make shopping easier.
"In general, men have more trouble shopping than women. They thought people needed shopping tools. For people like me, who don’t shop all the time, it’ll show you where the restrooms and elevators are, and best offers from your favorite merchants," Covert said.
"It mixes shopping with a social experience that younger people would actually use. Before, the only way to connect was through 20th-century technology, a sale sign in the window. It’s prehistoric!"
The app would go nowhere without the participation of merchants, but for retailers the lure is the possibility of attracting customers who are already at the mall and trying to decide where to go next.
Participants are not restricted to shops. Those with no interest in fashion will be able to find a handful of restaurant deals, with more on the way, and they will soon be adding museums and other cultural and leisure destinations.
With ShopSuey, Covert said merchants can message people just as easily as if they were on Facebook, offering flash sales, prizes or special deals for the first 10 people to stop by after the deal appears.
"If (a flash sale) is too successful, they can take it down," Covert said. "They can target people at the mall, or they can target people by interest, so everyone will have a different experience."
——
Learn more at getshopsueyapp.com.
