The first smart display window for all local heroes

The display windows of retailers and the facades of cafes, bars and restaurants are more than just calling cards for each business. They convey emotions and invite you in. In many cases, they are the only opportunity to present products, make offers and awaken curiosity. 

Unlike on the Internet, where offers appear everywhere and reach many people, bricks-and-mortar retail – and with it the display windows and facades – has a fixed location and has to wait for people to come to it.

‘That will fundamentally change now,’ promises Bernd Stender of tapicfy. After two years of development, the Hamburg-based start-up released the first smart display window for retail and restaurants in 15 European countries in the form of an app in November.

The goal is clear: to bring together many retailers and restaurateurs on tapicfy in order to increase the attractiveness of the app for consumers and in turn to increase the reach of each individual business. ‘Everyone can promote this by advertising the app in their area. The benefits are all the greater when more attention is paid to your own business, the street, the neighbourhood or the city,’ explains the advertising expert from Hamburg.

The way the app works is very simple. Retailers can register on www.tapicfy.com and get started right away: write a text, select pictures from the gallery or upload their own, post – done! Within seconds, the post appears on the app and is visible to all tapicfy users.

tapicfy uses functions that users of social media platforms are already familiar with. The company has only done away with the interaction between consumers and retailers and the reviews in the form of ‘Likes’. ‘It is not without reason that the big players are thinking about restricting or removing some functions. We also believe that the dynamics that can arise from review systems are not beneficial for users or society,’ says Bernd Stender, making his feelings clear.

The right moment for tapicfy is – now

Amid lockdown and fears for the future, the current situation in retail and the restaurant business is surely about as bad as it gets for the introduction of an app like this? ‘You could say that, but I don’t think so’, Bernd Stender assures us. ‘In the current situation in particular, tapicfy can help retailers, restaurants, and also service providers, associations and communities to share important information and stay in touch with other people.’ In order to make this possible for everyone, tapicfy has decided to offer its service free of charge until 01.03.2021. ‘If the situation hasn’t changed for the better by then, we will, of course, extend our offer,’ adds the developer of the world’s first smart display window for local heroes.