Once upon a time there was cash, then cards came, transforming paper, gradually, but relentlessly, into a thing of the past. Today we can already take a glimpse at what the next transaction methods will be, with services like PayPal and NFC technology increasingly tested by merchants as alternatives to more traditional forms of payment.
But what if, for the future of shopping, we had to consider the possibility of having ‘no payments’ at all?
An interesting project has been recently launched in San Francisco by two creatives, Daniel Soares and Pedro Sampaio, which made us reflect upon the very basics of shopping: the exchange of money for a product or service.
At the Merit Shop, the only accepted payment if you want to get your hands on one of the objects on the catalogue is in the form of video submissions showing a particular talent.
The online store currently has several products available, ranging from an iPod, to a football, to Kellogg’s cereals. Whoever wants to purchase an item must record him or herself “doing something awesome” on YouTube or Instagram and upload the link in the shop site – the two founders will then check the content’s originality and send a confirmation email.
The idea, a stretch of similar social initiatives such as TimeBanks, has its foundations in the desire to level disparities and make goods accessible to those who can’t economically afford them.
You might of course question the financial sustainability of such an ecommerce site, built exclusively on non-monetary payments. And you would probably be right, as even Soares & Sampaio have admitted to doing this for reasons that are far from profit – goodwill being the engine getting the project moving.
And while you can see from reactions that the concept has the potential to go down very well, we believe that the platform could offer companies great opportunities to connect with people at an emotional level – at no extra cost.
‘Freebies’ and ‘win product-name-here’ competitions are widely adopted to promote products and drive sales, but The Merit Shop could give brands the chance to get shoppers more engaged: they’d express themselves by doing what they love, and get rewarded for that (e.g. to buy an iPod, they could be asked to pay with their musical talent); at the same time brands would broaden the scope and improve the quality of the conversation around them, both online and offline.
Money won’t disappear (you know the New World Order wouldn’t like it…) but alternative methods could make their way through and become more frequent and popular in the future, even if just as ‘stunts’ or ‘social projects’, giving both shoppers and brands their chance to shine and make the world (of shopping) a better place.
Saatchi & Saatchi X London 