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Dakis says new ‘WebApp’ is superior solution

Canadian photo retailing software specialist Dakis this month launched its new Mobile Print Solution for retailers as a free upgrade for Dakis online solutions clients.

DakisDakis new Mobile Print solution is a ‘WebApp’ accessible directly on the retailers’ websites – there is no software to download. With built-in automatic mobile and tablet detection, consumers are redirected to the Mobile Print WebApp, and can can order and pay directly from their devices.

‘This is a true revolution compared to current native iPhone Apps offered on the market today,’ said Philippe Hugron, CEO Dakis. ‘Dakis’ new Mobile Print solution works on most iOS and Android mobiles and tablets, allowing retailers to reach more customers than ever before. You don’t need to teach your customers how to download your App, so this is a truly scalable solution.’

Mr Hugron said that Apps that need to be downloaded from Apple or Google’s app stores is not suited for the imaging retail industry, as consumers surf the web and browse a store’s website from their browser. ‘Mobiles and tablets generate a significant portion of a retailer’s website traffic,’ he said. ‘If your online print solution doesn’t work for mobiles and tablets, consumers will go elsewhere and won’t think twice to download your App – you simply don’t exist!’

Native print Apps, he said, are a broken model for photo retailing as it is time-consuming and costly to make software changes and updates, since you need to pass Apple and Google’s vetting processes.

He said that native Apps are not compatible with all devices, and most don’t offer in-App purchases as 20 to 30 percent ‘would go in royalties to the App marketplace’.

‘What good is an App if you can’t make a purchase? At the end of the day consumers surf the web with their devices, so it is simply unacceptable that your website print solution doesn’t work for these devices!

‘There are more pictures taken today from mobiles and tablets than ever before. New products and revenue streams are now made available to retailers – these are exciting times!

5 Comments

  1. Frank Simon Frank Simon September 29, 2013

    I like anykind of new approach for the photo industry, but i cannot support the core message of this article.

    WebApps has from my perspective no major advantage over native Apps. Our company develop Native Apps and our Webclient is HTML5 based to support Mobile Devices like Tablet for the photo industry, that give us the advantage to compare the pro and cons for both.

    For us was in 2008 the first step for Mobile Devices to develop native Apps starting with the iPhone. Simply because the Mobile Browsers do not support the File Upload of HTML. A problem that was solved for Mobile Safari not before IOS 6.

    If you want to offer creation of photo products like collages, Photobooks and similar products the possibility of HTML5 are limited. Especially on Mobile Browsers and Devices because the CPU Power limit the possibility to realize features based on Javascript.

    Native Apps has to be downloaded by the consumer, thats true. But it is common practice that Websites detect mobile browsers and offer a shortcut for the download of apps. If the App is installed in the first place, the customer loyality is much higher than in on a WebSite/WebApp, where the next competitor is only “one click away”.

    To use the mobile payment solution is not possible anyway, because the policy do not allow to offer physical shipped products. The app itself is free, so the 30% revenue share that Apple ask do not apply here. You have to integrate – like on a website – payment methods like Creditcard, Direct Debit or Paypal.

    Finally WebApps are still applications on a Webserver, Like every application it need support, development for improvements, has to be adopted for new browser versions and it is a challange to keep especially HTML5 application compatible with the different kind of Browsers like Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer and more.

    Web Solutions has advantages if it become to make it easy to find new customers of the own service and for simple products like image prints or photo gifts. In todays time any web-based e-commerce solution should support mobile websites anyway, but it cannot be the only way to address consumers.

    Frank Simon, Ecce Terram

  2. Alan Alan October 1, 2013

    ?
    Confused!
    Lost!
    Don’t understand!
    If it works for my customers, I’m happy!

  3. Ian Ian October 2, 2013

    Frank Simon from where ?
    Alan, I,m with you, if it works Great

    • Keith Shipton Keith Shipton Post author | October 2, 2013

      – Frank Simon, from Ecce Terram, a competitor in the photo processing software field! (Sorry, didn’t realise that wasn’t published.) So clearly with an axe to grind, but also maybe worth an airing. (Speaking from a point of view of abject ignorance), I agree with Alan and Ian – if it works… And I thought Patrice Hugron’s (Dakis’) argument for WebApps was easy to follow and pretty convincing. But then again, what would I know!

  4. Patrice Hugron Patrice Hugron October 3, 2013

    If you have the time, money and inclination, offering an iPhone app, an Android app, a BB app, a Windows App, a desktop browser app compatible with Flash, Silverlight, Java, HTML5, a PC desktop software a Mac desktop software and a Linux desktop software… you’ll have more poles out in the water.

    The main advantages we see with our approach are:

    – Ease of use for the retailer as everything is wrapped into the website which makes it much easier to communicate and market to customers: Setting up homepage ordering links, sending out newsletters, setting up Google Adwords and Facebook advertising.
    – Ease of use for consumers who have one online touch point no matter the device (phone, tablet, PC) or OS vendor (Apple, Microsoft, etc) with the retailer.

    I won’t go point by point on the other topics.

    Regards,

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