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Comment by fitandfunction | Hacker News Reader

One of the problems we're running into is that this problem (need for location and advice) does not seem to be an acute problem for users. In other words, most people are bothered by it, but not bothered so much that they pull out their phone to download an app.

What's HN's thoughts on this?

Should we keep searching for users for whom this is "a hair on fire" problem? or, try to find a different related problem that's more painful (for more people)?

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If you're thinking of making this an app, consider two processes:

Mine:

1. I realize I need something and don't know where to find it. 2. I look around for a person who looks like they work here. 3. I ask said person.

Yours:

1. I realize I need something and don't know where to find it. 2. I magically and suddenly remember, "Oooh, there's an app for this that I downloaded last night when I was looking for apps that would improve my shopping experience." 2. I pull out my phone from my pocket. 3. I unlock my phone. 4. I navigate around my phone looking for the app which takes a while because I can't remember the name of the app or the icon. 5. I open it and wait for it to load. 6. I wait for geolocation to warm up while it tries to figure out what store I'm in. 7. I finally get a button that says "Ask now." 8. I click the button and wait. 9. A squawky voice attempts to help me, but by now I've forgotten what I'm looking for.

I'm really not trying to shoot you down, but I think you could find a bigger problem to work on. :)

Ha! I like the second "story."

Btw, I think it explains the lack of user traction of apps like Aisle411, ShopKick, etc. They take too long to use and they don't "fit" well with a shopping trip.

What keeps us churning on this space is the magnitude of the $ spent. $1.4T spent annually in low-service stores (e.g. Walmart). These formats have minimal shopper-facing technology (lots of great supply chain stuff) and have evolved slowly.

So, that goes us thinking ... so far, still thinking

This reminds me of how price scanners are now placed around retail store chains. I can't remember ever feeling like it was a big pain doing without them when they weren't prevalent. It was inconvenient when a shelf was missing a price, or when I forgot how much an item was once I changed aisles. But it wasn't "hair on fire" important because there was no solution yet. Nowadays, of course, when I need a price check and the nearest scanner is 20 feet away (if there is one at all) I'm feeling quite inconvenienced.

So to answer, I wouldn't abandon the idea until I had bounced it off of several customers and potential clients. It could be solving one of those problems we never knew we had.

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