The social commerce iOS app "origami" was released on April 23rd. Similar to Twitter, users follow their favorite brands, shops, and people. Brands share information about their products, and followers also share or like items in their feed. All of the products are available for purchase. Purchases can be made easily with two taps using credit card payment.

One month after its launch, the app currently has approximately 250 merchants. Another 200 to 300 merchants are currently applying to register. The person primarily responsible for the software side of origami—the brand lineup—is Maximilian Mackee, Vice President of Business Development. He worked as a lawyer in Japan and the UK for 10 years. He then attended the French business school INSEAD before joining origami in October of last year.

--What kind of app is origami for brands?

I'd like you to think of origami as a tool to understand your customers. Until now, brands haven't had a direct way to understand their customers. When we wholesale to a select shop, we probably have a sense of the general demographic of that shop's customers who like our brand, but we don't have concrete data, and customer trends are constantly changing. It's impossible to know how these trends will develop.

With origami's management tool, we can see the type of people who are purchasing, as well as their attributes, such as age, region, and favorite brands. We can also learn about changes in taste in real time.

What's even more interesting is that we can also see data on potential customers (those who have visited the store or taken photos there, even if they haven't purchased a product). We can also track people who have liked or shared items. Store owners can then launch marketing campaigns to these users.

--What kind of marketing, specifically?

We're still in the planning stages, but let's say there's a user in Harajuku who needs to buy a gift for their partner. If that user connects with their partner through origami, we want to be able to collect their partner's favorite items from nearby shops with just one tap. To users, this may look like a recommendation, but from the brand's perspective, it's targeted marketing.

We're also considering pushing items based on the age and preferences of people passing by the store. Overdoing it can be frustrating for users, but being pushed items they really want will make them happy. It's easier to implement with features related to location and gift-giving needs.

--So you're considering O2O.

I think that the development of digital technologies like apps and e-commerce up until now has prevented creative works like fashion and art from expressing their value. Physical stores have always been important in fashion, but many worry that online shopping will drive physical stores out of fashion.

But if brands use origami well, it can be a tool to leverage physical stores. It can attract customers, handle e-commerce, and conduct marketing, helping new users discover and purchase from them. It's like a new infrastructure.

--In recent years, the number of shops with simple interiors has increased.

I think that in today's world, simply creating a cool space is no longer enough. For me, a cool shop interior is enough, but it seems like that's not being conveyed to people in their 20s today. I think there needs to be "something" that makes the shop appealing.

These days, more and more shops are incorporating food and drink as "something." I think this is a good thing, but I want to do even more interesting things using digital technology. If brands can connect with potential customers digitally and get them to visit the store, there is a chance they will become customers. They need to enjoy the space, see the cool displays, and feel that "real-life shopping is more interesting than e-commerce." To achieve this, we need to constantly upgrade functions and provide feedback to brands.

To be continued in Vol. 2.