A newly-launched service adds a whole new dimension to on-line shopping, and provides a visually exciting addition to every retailers capability to show their wares on-line. The new system can ‘cross-pollinate’  and integrate with other ‘Web presence’ tools already available.

SHOWSTREET© has been launche by  web creative consultant and development company WEBCONCEPT (NZ) Ltd., based in North Shore City.  The technology has just been released for public viewing for the first time in New Zealand. The system builds on a range of tools designed to integrate mapping  systems with  retail environments, helping locate venues, and identifying choices.

Director of Operations, Peter  Wilson said that the service is an important addition to the retailers capability to represent their presence on-line. “The technology is available to allow the integration of such tools as Google Street with a much more parochial, community-based service approach. Google Street goes part way to meeting this need. SHOWSTREET© goes the whole way.”

Mr Wilson explained: “The SHOWSTREET© system has almost unlimited capability to represent the retailer and the service provider. It’s aimed at the bricks-and-mortar businesses that may not be able to justify the expenses associated with a self-contained Web presence. Even if they do, then SHOWSTREET© can still be an important point of presence for them .The WebConcept (NZ) Ltd business model is aimed at making the cost to retailers absolutely trivial in comparison to the benefit they will achieve through their association with SHOWSTREET©.”

Asked what the long term expectations are for the newcomer, Mr Wilson  said:” We expect to be a mainstay of community-based referral tools, in the same way as Yellow Pages is now.”

So, what makes SHOWSTREET© special now? “Well, we offer to provide a very easy content management system to retailers. Each retailer can change certain elements of the data that displays in their SHOWSTREET© information, such as menus, clearance specials, and items of special interest. Typically, things that are time sensitive, like promotional or seasonal changes ”

He continued: “We also provide panoramic views of the inside of a retail environment, with ‘hotspots’ for viewers to ‘discover.’ Clearly, this is of huge significance to the real estate industry, where the principles are already being implemented to some degree. There isn’t any substitute for a visit to a property of interest, but our panoramas come pretty close. However, it offers for the first time, an opportunity for any retail store to have interior views highlighting specific points of focus. Other marketing uses are still rather sensitive at the moment.”

“This is a great marketing tool, along with other provisions we have in place to use GPS technology in a, so far, un-utilised marketing capacity. In truth, the deeper we get into our marketing applications, the fewer limits we see in the applications for SHOWSTREET© technology,” Mr Wilson said.

He added that SHOWSTREET©  is a product of ongoing development work between WEBCONCEPT (NZ) Ltd and a technology exchange partner - Rain.D. Detailed information about the concept is available at www.showstreet.com and the website of WebConcept (NZ) Ltd can be found at www.webconcept.co.nz

Enquiries from retailers interested in listing with SHOWSTREET  are welcome at sales@webconcept.co.nz or by filling in the online form, found at http://www.webconcept.co.nz/contact/