Online shopping has become a matter of course for most of us, but the disadvantages are obvious: there are shipping costs, if the goods don't fit or you don't like them, you can't avoid going to the post office and you're already wondering whether there might soon be no "normal" retailers anymore because we simply don't visit them anymore (well, we're still a long way from that, but the trend is definitely going in the direction of, for example, the Welt forecast). And let's be honest: Sometimes we were disappointed when we were finally able to get the eagerly awaited product out of the box, right? So what can be a mutually satisfactory solution? Of course, a stronger networking of offline and online shopping. However, this requires the technical equipment and apps like locafox could pave the way for a new way of shopping called Click & Collect.
Chapter in this post:
What is Click & Collect and what are the advantages?
Imagine surfing the net during your lunch break and discovering a great gift for your wife that would be ideal for giving her a little pleasure and sweetening the evening for both of you. Instead of shopping online and waiting a few days, you simply reserve the product at a retailer near you and pick it up on the way home. Sound practical? It is too! This so-called Pick-up service enables cross-channel shopping and gives us customers the opportunity to save on shipping costs, examine the goods before buying and also support local retailers. As soon as I started researching this topic, I came across this App “Locafox”, and I would like to introduce them to you.
How does Locafox work?
The Locafox app offers the possibility of a regional search for the desired products, which are displayed with images, descriptions and the social media buttons in the same way as you know it from the classic online shop. Instead of buying online, however, you can reserve the item you want and pick it up in the store at the next opportunity. Of course, the app provides information about opening times and allows easy navigation to the address. Locafox works as a web service on the desktop and on mobile devices, but I find the iOS app to be the most practical. When the site was launched, it was waiting with 4 million products from the stationary trade, meanwhile there should be even more. The provider's vision: All products. All retailers. In every city. On one platform.
My conclusion: great in big cities, a bit of a flop in the country
I think the idea of the Click and Collect principle is good. I already have something like this with providers like Mercateo seen implemented. There, however, I found the lack of clarity so time-consuming that I ended up back at Amazon as the shopping center.
The Locafox app implements this principle differently and thus offers better usability. An interesting thing that can make shopping easier and faster, protects the environment with fewer parcels to be sent and supports stationary retail.
In my opinion, the current weak point of Locafox is the low availability of regional providers when I look in rural regions like here in Northern Hesse. I understand why this is so, but of course this makes the app unusable for customers who do not live near large cities. Basically, I wouldn't mind if it were extended to include us in the country. :)
Related Articles
Jens has been running the blog since 2012. He acts as Sir Apfelot for his readers and helps them with technical problems. In his spare time he rides electric unicycles, takes photos (preferably with the iPhone, of course), climbs around in the Hessian mountains or hikes with the family. His articles deal with Apple products, news from the world of drones or solutions to current bugs.