Decoding the Challenges of Online Shopping AliveCast inc. IP

QR codes are already used to pull up bus and train timetables, sign up for promotional campaigns, and more. But the ExOrder app seeks to use these monochrome mosaics to streamline the payment process and take the hassle out of both online shopping and making purchases at brick and mortar stores.

As Osamu Nakamura, President and CEO of AliveCast explains, ExOrder grew out of a personal need: “I have to admit, the idea for the product didn't come from a client telling me that they wanted someone to develop it; it was because I thought online shopping was a real pain.” Clients register their products on the service directly, and customers enter their payment information when they sign on with the service. The app, which is available on iOS and Android, sends users directly to product pages within ExOrder after they scan a code. A user only needs to tap the pay button and the purchase is complete; delivery is handled by the company that the seller chooses.

The service can be used to buy goods via QR codes that can be displayed on everything from direct mail pamphlets and catalogs, to billboards and TV screens. Unlike smartphone-based systems that require additional hardware, ExOrder uses only the mobile device's camera. An additional feature in the ExOrder app allows the buyer and seller to chat through a built-in messaging system.

The ExOrder service is already being used by Fukuoka Prefecture and several businesses around Kyushu, and in the year to come, Nakamura is looking to partner with firms from a variety of different industries. Ticketing companies have already expressed interest in the system, as it would allow customers to buy their tickets with ease. “Virtual stores” – or shops filled with images of products accompanied by QR codes – could let customers buy products without the need for cash, and make it easier for some small business owners to simplify their retail operations. And, as Nakamura adds, “no matter what people are selling through ExOrder, it can generate a huge amount of marketing survey information, which can then be mined for big data analysis.”

Nakamura hopes that ExOrder can be used in the future to make the tourist experience in Japan a little easier for visitors. Restaurants outfitted with the system would enable patrons to scan menu items and pay for their meals using very little Japanese. Meanwhile, shoppers at popular tourist destinations could buy souvenirs with ExOrder and have them sent directly to the airport, where they would be waiting for them on their way back home.

The company has applied for several patents in Japan and the US, including one for affiliate licensing within ExOrder, and they plan to launch their first overseas efforts – a virtual shop for Japanese tourists in Thailand and a product affiliate project in Singapore – next year. Nakamura hopes to show the world that the familiar black-and-white mosaic of the QR code has the potential to make shopping as simple as snapping a selfie.

Based on interview on December 2015