PayPal Australia have partnered with the Australian university-focussed Co-op bookshop to enable students to buy textbooks from their smartphones by scanning QR codes in its store windows, and have the books delivered, instead of queuing in store.
Rather than queue up in store at the start of each term students can jump the queue by simply scanning a QR code wall in the shop window, pay with PayPal, and have their text books delivered to their home the next day. The specially created mobile website, developed by PayPal, provides instant access to over 160 popular textbooks. With this new innovation there are no long queues, no waiting, and no carrying books home for students as free postage is included.
Jeff Clementz, managing director for PayPal Australia explained “The Co-op Bookshop came to us needing a solution that would help reduce the large queues deterring students from purchasing textbooks from their stores. We worked with them to develop a QR-code shopping experience and a fully transactional mobile site within a month.”
This is remarkably similar to SnapMeUp which launched last month in the UK, but is much more tightly focused at the student market.
QR codes haven’t caught on as much as might be expected, although retail stores such as Debenhams have trialled them their QR code posters seem to have disappeared from the high street. It will be interesting to see if more retailers trial the technology in the future, but the Australian Co-op bookshop has a higher chance of success as students are generally keen to adopt the latest technology.
