#branchbot

So today Branchbot went live on the App Store. Click here to download. As you play about with our lovely new app here's a breakdown on the services available in our first release:

Shops

Branchbot lists the nearest shops to your current location in the form of a list. This can be toggled to map view and each display view shows shop's with their corresponding colour codes. For example furniture is silver, women's clothes is pink and unique (or unclassifiable) is orange.

Each shop result displays their avatar, first line of address and their first fact. The challenge here is to give a user an instant idea of what the shop does before they view the profile.

Items

This loads a grid display of items nearby which can also be toggled to display items in full size view.

Shop Profiles

The top third of the profile shows all the relevant contact information for the store. By tapping address it will show the route on a map between your current location and the shop's address. Social and web links brings up a small menu to quickly access the shop's Facebook, Twitter, homepage as well as opening times.

All of these information points are crucial for shops however shoehorning them into a mobile screen is a UX challenge that we will continue to develop. We are happy with how this info is displayed now but we want to make it even better!

The second third of the screen is taken up by the three facts to sum up the shop. We made the decision that even though profile text and user comments can be brilliantly insightful they can be a bit TLDR to mobile users. As a result we decided that less is more here and each shop should just tell us the three short facts about them that matter the most right now. 

Along with the facts what sums up a shop best is their items. The first challenge here was load times for item images and getting them to generate in full resolution as quickly as possible. The results Branchbot have already got in this area has been sensational and we shall improve this as the business scales.

Faves

The first form of social functionality in Branchbot is following shops. Tapping follow on a shop profile adds them to your Faves list which can be viewed as a list or as pins on a map to help plan a shopping trip.

Branchbot, the mobile shopping giant, has announced a breakthrough in local search with the launch of their new Smart Sock product, ShopSocks.

ShopSocks are a light weight replacement for regular socks with the added benefit of being able to direct the person wearing them to their next-absolute-must-have purchase at a nearby store. The socks require no configuration or Facebook authentication to start working, all they need is to be worn. Once on a person’s feet they communicate with the human body's gut instinct to take them away from their current activity to get their next must-have purchase.

The UK based company's founder, Omar Francis, had this to say about their breakthrough product: 

"We will admit that Google Glass is a neat idea, in fact we are a bit jealous. Being given all these options about where to go and what to do can be a bit overwhelming.  That's why we have engineered a product to guide your feet to only the best items you really need and will be lost without." 

Early beta testers have been extremely enthusiastic, Clive a doorman from Wanstead told us that ShopSocks helped him locate an imported Iced Tea soft drink that he had first had on holiday in 1993. Meanwhile Rachel, a librarian from Camden, was delirious with joy after ShopSocks reunited her with her long lost pet dog who had ended up in a pet shop