Shop What You See…The New Way To Buy
What did we do before QR codes? They were revolutionising our shopping experience long before the global Covid 19 outbreak, but with physical contact out of bounds the QR code became a way of life, ordering food at cafes, drinks at pubs, they were suddenly everywhere.
I have been using QR codes from early on in my art business, using them as a way for hotel and restaurant guests to find out more about me and potentially buy my work. Being able to collaborate with hospitality venues across Cornwall was a game changer for me, being one more way in which I could market my work outside of the typical art gallery.
Don’t get me wrong, I am a huge lover of an art gallery, I always have been. I love the excitement of learning about a new artists work, seeing a painting in real life and studying the composition, use of colour, texture, it makes me feel like an excitable little girl again. I can lose hours just wondering around a gallery absorbing an artists body of work. I love it so much that I have a dream to one day open my own gallery, exhibiting my work and that of other passionate emerging artists.
I do however find when I talk to a lot of my collectors, that they may never have walked into a typical white cube gallery, feeling almost a little intimidated and that they don’t belong in there as they have never bought art before and have no idea what they like. Having my work on a hotel wall or restaurant space while they are there, being something they look at whilst creating a cherished memory, it becomes a link to their experience but in a very subtle way. It may not be that they buy an original painting straight off the wall during their stay, but it’s a way in which they discover my work. Saving that webpage for a later date, following me on social media, signing up for my email newsletter, ready for the day when they are wanting to purchase.
That is why when I was approached by new tech start-up company LiBi Loves, I was immediately intrigued. The female founders of the business, both ex buyers like me, saw a gap in the market and wanted to make hotels shoppable, allowing guests to literally ‘Shop Their Stay’.
I liked the concept so much, as I’d already seen the proven success of using QR codes to allow people to shop, that I offered to help them spread their message, working for them on a freelance consulting basis. I want other artists and business owners to know the huge potential out there for them to market their products and to change the way we shop. We already expect an experience now when we shop on the high street, online and when we stay in a hotel, we expect more. So for me this is a no brainer, allowing a guest to purchase something that immediately links to their stay and the memories they have created. It allows them to bring the memory to life back in their everyday world.
With The Esplanade Hotel in Newquay now live with their ‘Shop Your Stay’ store I am really excited to see where everything leads; from reaching new people with my art, to meeting new hotels to exhibit my work.
I’d love to hear from you if you discovered my work in one of the hotels or restaurants I exhibit in. Where did you see my work, what did you like about it?
If you’d like to learn anymore about using QR codes or LiBi Loves, email me, I’d love the share what I’ve learnt so far.
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