QR Codes have been around for a while and people are continually coming up with new ways of using them.
As you may have see on ChurchMag, one grocery store chain in South Korea has done just that. In an attempt to increase market share without adding new storefronts, Tesco unveiled a virtual storefront in subway stations, using QR codes as a means of shopping.
Customers scan the codes using their smartphones, pay online using a credit card, and enjoy having the products shipped directly to their homes by Tesco!
Check out this video demonstrating the process:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7HnR02kJxY]
This got me thinking:
How might the Church use this technique?
Obviously we are not normally in the business of selling goods, but one area that this does apply is Church bookstores.
Traditionally, only the largest churches have bookstores in their buildings. The barrier to entry is fairly high, as it requires precious space, expensive staffing and hardware, and a way to maintain security of inventory. (Not to mention the cost of stocking inventory). For the vast majority of churches in the United States, selling books in the church is just not a practical possibility.
Until now.
Using Tesco’s approach offers churches of any size the ability to sell books and gifts in their building, while bringing in some extra income for the budget.
This can be done in a variety of ways.
The easiest and most space-efficient way is to have a printed “catalog” of books that are preselected by church leadership. Simply setting up a free referral account on Amazon.com can net the church 4-6% of sales. Simply print out a picture of the book cover and use a free QR-code generator (such as at qrstuff.com) to generate the QR code for your referral link to that product. More advanced setups might include using wall displays or magazine stands to display the book covers. Personally, I like the idea of a full-wall display the best, as anything that makes it easier for people to walk up and browse your selection will enhance the shopping experience and likely increase sales.
One important consideration to keep in mind:
Because this is for church ministry, it is important to be transparent about where the money is going. If the proceeds go for something in particular – such as fundraising for a mission trip or for a particular ministry, this can even boost sales.
People love to help their church out, and what better way than buying books!
Josh Street says
I’m stealing this idea and totally running with it. I’ll keep you posted on the results!
deb Christensen says
Totally BRILLIANT idea!
Where do I give stars for a post! I would give this one all the stars there are. 🙂
deb
Chris Ruddell says
Awesome Josh – can’t wait to hear what you end up with! 🙂
Thanks Deb for the appreciations!
Paul Clifford says
I think the next conference I teach at I’m doing this (maybe Infocomm in May). Imagine the convenience of carrying a poster instead of tons of material to sell. I guess I could have some books, video loops, etc, but when they sell out, you still have “inventory.” This definitely makes sense for digital goods. I’m recommending it to my church for messages and sermon series instead of CDs (even mp3 CDs) or jump drives, which we’ve used in the past.
I noticed that, at the last Summit, Willow Creek sold plastic cards with a code to download audio from the whole thing. Actually, I couldn’t make it and a friend bought one for me, so in effect they got my money even though I wasn’t there. You could do this same thing at church, selling the message before it’s even given. “Today is about worry? I’m picking this up for my mom. I’ll send her the link when I get home.” The duplication team wouldn’t have to rush to get CDs ready ASAP after service. They could make a few, but upload the mp3 and go from there.
Paul
Josh Gussler says
Yeah this sounds like a great Idea. I may present this to the pastoral staff and hear their thoughts. One thing I might change for a bookstore is buying a display copy of the books you want to sell so that people can look through book before purchasing. I always like to skim a book before I buy it.