ROXIMITY is a new app that alerts you to local sales on items you like in real time as you drive. The app won a Ford App Developer Challenge in 2011 and now it is available for use in Ford radios.
If you want to know the best deals on pizza or an oil change, you can ask a Ford radio.
With this new app Ford becomes “the first automaker to offer a personalized daily deal location service,” said Global Direction of Ford Connected Services Doug VanDagens.
It works like this. You enter your preferences and interests and then as you drive or walk or bike past a business that has a special sale or deal, you get a push notification to your phone. Then the SYNC AppLink lets you ask for deals nearby as you drive (via an iPhone connected to the radio).
“While driving, users can simply say, ‘lunch deals,’ and their favorite lunch options will be read out loud,” said Danny Newman, co-founder and CEO of ROXIMITY. “There’s nothing like ROXIMITY. Other deal services offer coupons for the entire metropolitan area or for things that are not relevant to you. ROXIMITY is personalized and will provide you what you want, when you want it.”
The Ford Developer Challenge took place during the 2011 TechCrunch Disrupt Hackathon.
Newman said the app will be used for platforms other than Ford in the future, but wouldn’t give us more details.
Roximity is now in the App Store for Apple devices and will soon be available for Android devices.
Watch the video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djHoH_bnHNY
As a consumer, this app seems like a great idea. However, thinking about it from the 12 volt retailer’s perspective, it’s yet more encroachment from the online space into the brick and mortar world. Combining this with Amazon’s announcement (https://www.ceoutlook.com/2012/07/19/amazon-to-charge-sales-tax-in-many-states/comment-page-1) the environment is clearly changing for 12 volt retailers.
What works in favor of the 12 volt retailers however is the fact that the mobile electronics manufacturing industry is somewhat overcrowded so consumers end up with a tyranny of choice when they attempt to make a purchasing decision. The true value (and long-term strategic advantage) of the 12 volt retailers is in the expertise and guidance that they can provide. Since the tyranny of choice is probably one of the single largest pain points the consumer faces, it’s the prime area for 12 volt installers to target to keep the e-commerce vultures at bay…