Interesting article about wireless commerce>
A Virtual Barista At Your Fingertips; Tully's Coffee Announces Wireless Point-of-Sale Capability
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 27, 2000--Tully's Coffee today announced an agreement with Seattle-based NetCommerce, LLC to introduce Wireless Blvd(TM) in select Tully's retail locations on a trial basis.
Wireless Blvd, a new wireless service designed to enhance the ordering and payment of coffee and pastries, will be available for a limited time to randomly-selected Tully's customers from several Seattle neighborhoods.
With the service, Tully's customers will be able to order their coffee and submit payment instantaneously using their wireless phone. Once a customer has inputted their order through their wireless phone, the data is immediately transmitted to a specified Tully's Coffee retail location. When the customer arrives at the store, their coffee is ready and waiting, and already paid for from the customer's pre-paid account set-up on the World Wide Web. A detailed receipt will be attached to the customer's order. Upon conclusion of the trial, Tully's will determine the feasibility of offering the Wireless Blvd service at its 134 store locations around the globe.
Wireless Blvd provides for one touch ordering capability from a mobile phone, allowing customers to order products and services from a customized "hotlist" of merchants and menu items. Wireless Blvd's exclusive wireless merchant terminal receives an order at the merchant's site within seconds of a mobile customer's request. Wireless Blvd users configure their personal menu selections via the World Wide Web. Merchant and product selections then appear as a hotlist on the customer's mobile phone, and a one-touch order menu now resides in the palm of the customer's hand. Customers can also place orders using simple voice commands associated with their hotlist. The SimplySay(TM) voice portal provided by Parigon Communications Inc. allows any wireless handset to interface with the Wireless Blvd system.
Matt Howe, president of NetCommerce, said, "Wireless Blvd provides an easy to use, practical way for consumers to purchase everyday products and services from the convenience of their mobile phone. Most importantly, it accelerates the order taking and fulfillment of the order at the merchant location; we like to call it jumping to the head of the queue."
Tom O'Keefe, chairman and CEO of Tully's Coffee, said, "We are very excited about this new wireless service and look forward to potentially offering it to all Tully's customers. We view this trial run as a way to work through any operational issues that may occur, allowing for a seamless roll-out of the Wireless Blvd service to Tully's stores worldwide."
With on-line shopping becoming more popular, and wireless penetration nearing 40% in the United States, and 60% in parts of Asia and Europe, the Wireless Blvd service is a natural extension in the e-commerce revolution. Designed to provide a convenient way for consumers to conduct everyday transactions -- from banking to picking up last-minute concert tickets, to checking stock prices or grabbing a burger on the go -- Wireless Blvd saves the consumer time on the most elementary level, while remaining easy to configure and use.
Based in Seattle, NetCommerce, LLC is a leading provider of electronic commerce capabilities across wireless networks. Wireless Blvd supports multiple mobile digital standards including GSM, CDMA, TDMA, CDPD, WAP and has been constructed to support emerging protocols such as 3G and Bluetooth. NetCommerce, LLC has applied for several patents in association with Wireless Blvd. For more information about NetCommerce, call 206/264-8300 or visit the company's Web site at www.netcmrc.com.
Parigon Communications Inc., a division of Authentix Network Inc., located in Tuscon, Ariz., is a leading provider of voice portal platforms geared toward Carrier / Operators, ISPs, ASPs and Enterprises. Parigon's SimplySay(TM) platform provides simplified access to Internet content by using intuitive natural language. SimplySay is access-independent, providing "true mobility" by working with all existing wireless handsets. For more information about Parigon Communications Inc., call 520/323-3280 or visit the company's Web site at www.parigon.com.
Founded in 1992 by Tom O'Keefe, Tully's Coffee Corporation is the third largest company-owned specialty coffee retailer in the nation. Tully's Coffee has 134 locations in Washington, California, Idaho, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan and Sweden. Tully's Coffee corporate headquarters and roasting plant is located in the former Rainier Brewery facility and Seattle landmark at 3100 Airport Way South in Seattle, Wash., USA. For more information, call 800/96-TULLY or visit the company's Web site at www.tullys.com.
CONTACT: for Tully's Coffee
Cate Bick/Cory Magnus, 206/682-6979
cateb@richmondpr.com |
