Traditionally online retailers do advertise specials prior to the holiday season. Online behemoth Amazon.com and others give free shipping and other incentives to attract the online shoppers prior to the holiday season.
During the 2011 holiday shopping season EBay introduced a new kind of shopping experience to woo the online shoppers. It opened a pop-up store on Dean Street in London’s West End from December 1, 2011 to December 5, 2011. They displayed products with QR (as in quick response) codes, where customers swipe their smartphones to get to the EBay online checkout stand. EBay setup two other somewhat similar storefronts in New York and San Francisco named Give-A-Toy in association with the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation.
It was a new kind of shopping experience and the first ever QR code based shop. The London pop-up store gave customers another way to shop without the hassle from salespeople, no waiting in lines at the checkout stand and shop at the leisure of the customer. It was a mecca for smartphone lovers. Over the five day period, the London store attracted over 2,500 walk-in customers.
The EBay experience may open up a new way for e-commerce retailers.
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