HYDERABAD: Have you been a victim of queue rage? Did you ever have to walk out of a store leaving your trolley filled with products annoyed at the winding queue? You can soon skip the wait at the billing counters and walk out of the shop with your products, after paying for them of course!
All you need to do is download the app iRetail on your Android phones, log in, scan the products yourself and make payments with either cash or non-cash modes.
Amar S Revadi, director of xlogix, a Bengaluru-based company which has developed this app, says, “Queue rage was coined for when people jump queues and others are angered by it... the app will soon be attached to dedicated counters, for cash payments.”
But the team intends to promote online transactions. “It saves lot of time and also, the concept of change like 50 paise, gets eliminated,” he says. “The whole idea is to complete the transactions as efficiently as possible.”
The customer will have greater control over the transaction. He can edit the number of items he has purchased or cancel the product from the app, if he has changed his mind. Exchange of products also becomes easy with the soft copy of the bill on the app which can be recalled anytime. The app also provides a demo video of the products. It also help you avail your loyalty points, at both the product and store levels.
Shoplifting is a big question, we had to find solution for and redesign the product for, says Amar. “Where there is a security system, the products can be retagged and packed. In grocery stores, the floor manager can do the scanning and ziplock the purchases. The customer can then pay and leave.”
The company started in 2015. Amar says, “The idea developed out of a necessity. Wife of Deepak Kaushik, the other director, was carrying and she had to spend about an hour in a queue. It seemed tough for the expectant mom. After she returned home, she asked him why they can’t we do something about it.”
As a part of their market research, Deepak and Amar then stood in queues at different hypermarkets including Hypercity, which is said to be the largest retail chain in the city with the highest number of billing counters.
It was found that even on a Monday morning, when you expect less consumers, and for a low bill value, it took about 15 to 20 minutes to bill, pack and dispatch an average of seven products. “That is a huge amount of time that a customer spends in a queue,” he says assuring that using iRetail, “for every 10 minutes, one could save about more than three minutes.”
Time is money. Amar says, “Most of the people use two-wheelers or four-wheelers. At the parking lot, you either pay for an hour at 55 minutes or two hours for 61 minutes. If you could save at least five minutes by using this app, you can save on an average about Rs 20 for your two wheeler parking or Rs 50 for four wheelers.”
Xlogix will tie up with Health & Glow outlets in Hyderabad in a few weeks, says Amar. Talks are on with stores and chains such as Crossword, Fabindia, Futura Group and Dabur Wellness.