While Russian retailers are experimenting increasingly with multichannel approaches, Goodwin, a Moscow-based startup that has just secured seed investment, is introducing a pioneering mobile commerce project.
Inspired by the Amazon Flow concept, Goodwin lets smartphone owners buy products from “virtual storefronts” – which can be almost anything from an article in a magazine, to a poster in a metro station, to a TV screen.
Products are recognized by the smartphone’s camera through QR code scanning, barcode scanning, or other visual search and identification techniques. Goodwin will display product information and allow shoppers in Moscow to order, pay for, and receive the selected product on the same day.
“Last but not least: the product itself can be used as a support for promotion and further sales. You liked this bottle of wine? You may order another one just by scanning the bar code on its label,” Goodwin co-founder Dmitry Shmakov told East-West Digital News.
Goodwin also manages payment via either cash on delivery or via bank card, if the user provides bank card details in the Goodwin application.
“We also have a photo-acquiring technology, enabling users to automatically complete the payment form by just taking a picture of the bank card,” Shmakov said.
From content to mobile commerce
Goodwin partners with media companies to turn their content into a virtual mobile commerce platform. “If a girl likes a bag in a magazine or on TV, she may instantly buy it using her smartphone instead of going to a shopping center,” Shmakov explained.
The startup does not buy media space like a buying agency. “We prefer to partner with media companies, building together a comprehensive service offer which is then proposed to merchants,” Shmakov said.
With its iOs, Android, and mobile web applications – as well as Google Glass in the future, Shmakov promises – Goodwin defines itself as an instant shopping mobile marketplace. It claims to have already enrolled nearly 50 merchants, who mainly sell perfumes, accessories, high tech products, home decor items, gifts, and concert tickets.
“While focusing on impulse purchases, we also help NGOs such as the WWF and Greenpeace collect funds in an innovative way,” Shmakov added.
Shmakov is a former Marketing VP at Chronopay, a Russian payment acquirer operating internationally. Another co-founder, Sergey Baldin, previously developed Qiwi’s cash-in terminals in Moscow.
Initially financed by its co-founders, Goodwin has received a few hundred thousand US dollars from Igor Ryabenkiy (Altair Capital), a serial startup investor who lives between Moscow and Vienna. The deal has valued the startup at a few million USD pre-money, Ryabenkiy told EWDN.
“Ryabenkiy has been our first investor, but we’re open to other ones. Some funds have already expressed interest in the Series A round,” Shmakov said.