
Paying Is Voluntary at This Selfie-Friendly Store - extarial
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/13/technology/dirty-lemon-drug-store.html
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CPLX
I know these guys. This is genius.

They have a very successful business already, the product is marketed like a
nightclub, to the same kind of people. It’s marketed as a restorative
beverage, to model types and those that love them.

The only way to buy it is via text message. The first time you enter your CC
and address the next time you just text them and it’s delivered to your
address. It’s also in a few places like the Soho House.

They have been absolute masters of free media. They get bloggers and
influencer types to talk about it. They have a secretive minimalist website
that makes you wonder what the buzz is all about and this memorable way of
getting it that feels like a drug deal. People go for it.

This mini store thing has absolutely nothing to do with a new model for
retail, or as a sign of a trend or anything else. It’s just clever and catchy
enough for people to say huh and to get in the Times. All for the very minimal
cost of a pop up store and some free product. And here we are proving their
viral success.

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tyu100
Spot on. We all know this from a mile away but I still went to check out their
website.

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collyw
Grab a drink, send a text, get a text back and enter your credit card
information......

What is the advantage of this system? Its sounds a lot more hassle than going
to a cashier.

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princekolt
I think this is genius actually. Notice that the article says the company has
divested money from their advertisement funds to run the stores. This means
they are not loosing any more money they were already spending in ads. Free
samples have been a thing for a very long time, and everyone agrees it makes
sense. Now they are only asking customers to pay shelf price for the free
samples they get, and the large majority will do.

~~~
jamiegreen
And I am sure the NYT article doesn't hurt :)

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tinus_hn
A nice idea if your products are sold with 500% markup.

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MrEfficiency
This is why these are short term projects.

Uncompetitive products can be interesting and fun while its trendy. After, the
market gets saturated if its a good idea.

If someone thinks you can create a business empire with this model, they will
fail to their higher quality and lower cost competitors. However, if you were
trying to pay bills for a few years, these niche ideas are fine.

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fabatka
Oh my god, do we really have selfie-friendly stores now? I get it from the
company's standpoint (free advertisement), but it is appalling to me it is now
normal to feel the urge to post in social media about purchasing an overpriced
lemon juice.

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pyrophane
Yes, we absolutely do. There is a matcha cafe near where I live that sells
rainbow colored drinks, and they have a wall in the back that specifically
designed to be a backdrop for selfies with the product. It is a natural
evolution from food items designed with instagrammability in mind. Love it or
hate it, this is the world we live in for the next little while at least.

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teekert
Yeah, the payment process sounds horrible but hey, it makes you spend more
time in this ultra hipster environment where you really want to be seen.

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deusofnull
nothing stopping you from popping in, grabbing yr 10 dollar water, and texting
the chatbot from a more dignified location 20 minutes later.

SMS txt bots are actually really useful. I use digit.co as a little saving
acct bot and i really love it.

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t0astbread
Nothing stopping you from popping in, grabbing your 10 dollar water and not
paying to tell them that their payment process isn't good. (Or just tell them
afterwards via SMS.)

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frobozz
Wow! It's like an honesty box, but without all the convenience.

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Rjevski
I appreciate the concept, as checking out has always been a bottleneck from my
experience, so not having to queue up to use awful self-checkout machine is a
nice plus.

However the SMS-based payment flow is awful and a security nightmare. Just
give me an app where I can select what I bought and pay for it via Apple Pay.

~~~
beaconstudios
They should just have a self checkout machine without the bag scales, that's
the part that ruins them.

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Rjevski
Without the bag scales, a decent touchscreen and an UI not designed by
monkeys.

The scale is the least of your worries when the UI is an absolute disaster and
takes ages to react to every interaction.

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a-dub
reminds me of the teacher's lounge from when i was in elementary school. they
had some lowbrow "on your honor" cardboard vending box with a cash slot and a
warning that "account imbalance will result in future reduction of
availability of chocolate items"

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amelius
How do these stores keep homeless people out?

It's not just the financial losses (which could be small), but I suppose the
last thing you want is to become the "brand of the poor".

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endorphone
This store is clearly a PR stunt, and a few drinks that cost a negligible
amount to produce is well worth the free advertising.

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pmorici
Anyone know if any of their drinks contain snake-oil?

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technobabble
"At Drug Store..."

Would they get in trouble for calling the place a Drug Store even though they
do not sell prescription medicine?

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have_faith
Oh you didn't get my txt? Must be a network problem

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thecatspaw
You dont even have to lie to them, you can just walk out and nothing will
happen

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sandworm101
That would still be theft. They arent giving the stuff away.

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t0astbread
Didn't the article mention it's handled as sampling?

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logfromblammo
That's the accounting impact. The legal impact is that they are actually
offering these for sale, and taking one without paying is shoplifting. They
have simply decided as a company to accept up to 100% losses of this limited
quantity of stock due to theft.

If it were me, I'd only restock the paid-for merchandise until the store is
empty. If you shoplift, you steal the kanban card too, but when you pay,
you're also sending the card back to the distribution warehouse.

