London - All that fun buying a new frock can often be ruined by the torturous wait at a till to pay for it.
But thanks to a new mobile phone app, you may never have to queue again. In fact, you may even be able to pay while you’re trying on the clothes in the fitting room.
The ‘InStore’ app from online payment firm PayPal will allow shoppers to purchase goods on the shop floor in less than 30 seconds.
Shop assistants carry portable scanners which are used to read the barcodes on customers’ goods wherever they are in store. Shoppers then use their PayPal app to enter a passcode, which produces a unique barcode on the screen of the phone.
This second barcode is then scanned by a shop assistant, which completes the sale while avoiding the need to visit a conventional cash till. Receipts are automatically sent to a shopper’s email. It has been launched at 230 branches of fashion stores Oasis, Warehouse, Coast and Karen Millen today with more stores expected to accept the payments later this year.
Cameron McLean, managing director of PayPal UK said: “Today marks the start of a quiet revolution in the way we shop on the high street. We’ve created a simple, secure way to use a mobile phone to pay in your favourite stores.”
Millions have already been invested in developing “contactless” technology, which lets us buy goods without inserting a card into a machine. Barclaycard and Orange launched Quick Tap last year – where shoppers can spend up to £15 (about R200) by waving their phone over an electronic pad. However, customers using this still need to go to a till. - Daily Mail