Many years ago, a friend of mine, told me he was making a smartphone app that would tell you all about the store you were standing in front of in a shopping mall. Retailers like the Gap, Starbucks, and Nike could show up on your phone offering daily specials.

The possibilities would be endless. Retailers would finally have direct access to their customers, and customers would not miss a sale or promotional opportunity. Everyone would be happy. At least it was supposed to work that way. The truth was my friend was way ahead of his time. He spent a lot of money on a start-up that his programmers could not ever perfect. That was a long time ago

Today there are many variations of my friend’s app. One is coming from VOXX Electronics. The company will be introducing a retailer branding car-starter app with CarLink. CarLink customers use their phones to remotely start their cars or lock/unlock the doors. In a few weeks, retailers will have their names, logos and messages in the app when potential customers drive by their stores. Retailers are limited to one message per month so customers are not “spammed.”

The app also features the retailer’s store information, hours, Facebook page and a GPS. The VOXX app supports both iPhone and Android devices.

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