It partners with retailers to offer interactive experiential centres. Hobbyists usually have to go to a store to buy their favourite games and collectibles. Depending on where they are based, they may have a limited range of merchandise to choose from and have to wait sometime to lay their hands on the items. “Is there a better way of delivering value to the end-user?” This is a question that a team of 20 people from tech firm Corous360 tried to solve in developing PLAYe, a 3-in-1 online-mobile-offline integrated platform. Launched in July 28, 2015, it aims to redefine the Asian consumer experience and to bring together all consumer profile channels into one.
PLAYe claims to be the next wave of evolution for games and entertainment. It offers consumers an enhanced user experience wherein they can browse through a wide range of latest games and merchandises and make them accessible, convenient and secure purchase transactions via an app and online platform. The app is now available for download for free from Apple App Store and Google Play store.
Consumers can also pre-order upcoming merchandises through PLAYe app and have them delivered to their doorstep.
PLAYe also provides an up-close visual experience at retail outlets, also known as interactive experiential centres. These outlets double as convenient collection points for online purchases. Through its curated contents, PLAYe engages the gamers and hobbyist community by delivering timely and customised news at their fingertips. According to the Corous360, the most unique selling point is an in-built push-to talk function that further enhances the users’ experience.
“Our goal is to bring the store front “face-to face/human interaction” experience to you through ASK PLAYe, which serves as a concierge service to consumers, where consumers can engage in a conversation on the latest range of collectibles and gadgets and offers updated information on the newest games and products at the push of a button,” said Kelvin Tay, CEO of Corous360.
The PLAYe experiential centres are expected to be rolled out in the next six to twelve months.
Kelvin added that they are ‘reinventing’ the shopping experience for the end-user by combining the satisfaction and reliability of the physical retail experience with the convenience and speed of a mobile platform.
“The online and mobile platform becomes an extension of the physical store, and the physical store becomes an experiential centre that guides the consumer through the catalog and product descriptions,” he explained.
The benefits for retailers
Not only is PLAYe useful to consumers. According to Kelvin, PLAYe is also trying to solve the age-old problem of finite resources.
“Anybody can point out that m-commerce/e-commerce represents the next opportunity for growth for retailers. The question, of course, is how would any given retailer accomplish a credible platform to tap into this growth without diverting their current limited resources?,” he said.
By tapping into the PLAYe platform, Kelvin explained that retailers will be provided with a “plug and play” cost-effective e-commerce to integrate with their physical stores. They can then concentrate on their core strength which is to provide a superior brick-and-mortar experience. PLAYe will then work hand-in-hand with the retailer to realise their unique retail experience online.
“For retailers, PLAYe app is able to reach out to a wider audience beyond the geographical location of a physical retail shop. Our PLAYe platform tracks both offline and online transactions. This consumer profiling allows the retailers to make more accurate forecasts on consumer demands, which helps improves their business efficiencies,” he said.