Tuesday, September 18, 2012
PayDragon Takes On Frictionless Mobile E-Commerce
Hamilton Chan, head of PayDragon, has what might be considered a enormously ambitious goal: totally frictionless, mobile e-commerce. Chan is one step closer to that--or perhaps, as close as you're going to get--with PayDragon's latest mobile app, which lets users scan in a UPC on any item, and instantly order that item for delivery by mail. Want another package of those chips on your desk? Scan the UPC with the app, click "pay and order". Want another can of that soup in your pantry? Again, scan the UPC, and confirm the order. No checkout, no additional shipping charges. Chan says the new app is an attempt to solve the whole issue of abandonment of shopping carts, and--thanks to social gaming and rewards features--"addicting and fun". PayDragon says its service features over 50,000 household items, ranging from everything from toothpaste to potato chips, and came out of Chan's own experience as a busy entrepreneur who had family errands he had to run in addition to running his business.
The new order-anything-by-phone app is the latest incarnation of PayDragon, which launched its newest app earlier this year to help users pay for local items using their mobile phone; users can continue to use those features, which were originally targeted at the Los Angeles food truck market, but also can use the app to pretty much order anything you might find at your corner supermarket. PayDragon is venture backed by Rustic Canyon Ventures, SV Angel, Y Combinator, Yuri Milner and Mark Schwartz.