Disclaimer: This idea depends heavily on the term App Clip Code. If you are not familiar, I am linking to Apple's description of an App Clip Code here. Succinctly, it is basically a nicer-looking QR code that can also be "tapped" instead of scanned to trigger something to happen on your mobile device.Brief description: All too often, we purchase gifts for others that we do not physically have in hand to give. Whether this is because the gift simply has not arrived in time, or because it requires input from the recipient (common when buying clothing when we don't know the size, technology where we don't know the specifications, or otherwise), we often end up printing out a picture from the internet, cutting the picture out, putting in the card, and explaining. My aim is to use a mobile app, and specifically, the App Clip technology, to create an immersive experience (incorporating 3D/Augmented Reality and ease of use) when giving gifts we don't have in hand.The Problem: My Dad is celebrating a milestone birthday this weekend. My family and I want to chip in together to buy him an Apple Watch. Given that it's a milestone, we want to purchase one of the higher end watches, but aren't sure if he'd like the Stainless Steel or the Titanium model. Further than that, we don't know his wrist size (a requirement of certain bands) or his feeling on certain colors.Solution: I have built an iOS app that is launched by scanning an App Clip Code. App Clip Codes can be scanned (or tapped) and can launch an app without the user having ever downloaded or sought the app from the App Store. Once the app is launched, the Augmented Reality technology built into the app is capable of locating the physical App Clip Code in the camera view, and once it is located, a 3D experience is tethered to that real-world App Clip Code.In this case, a 3D gift box appears on screen, which performs a fun animation, eventually popping up and revealing a 3D Apple Watch. The screen of the Apple Watch then shows a video of myself and my family, wishing Dad a Happy Birthday, and explaining the gift.When the video is done playing, 3D balloons float by, and a button appears, taking him to Apple's website, specifically being directed to the Apple Watch page so he can peruse the options of Apple Watches and pick out which one he wants.The Business Model: I believe this app, pivoting to a predominately SaaS business, has multiple potentials for revenue;D2C (The person giving the gift can pay a fee to use our service, allowing them to provide information about the gift - pulling from our collection of 3D models for many gifts, or uploading a photo - as well as customize who will be receiving it and what the experience will be like. They can then print out the relevant App Clip, or...)Premium D2C Purchase (The person giving the gift can use our service to customize the experience the recipient will see. We will print out, on premium card stock, the App Clip, with aesthetically-pleasing instructions for the recipient to follow. The App Clip will be mailed to the giver, who can insert it into a card, or it can be sent directly to the recipient).Partnerships with Greeting Card Makers (By partnering with greeting card manufacturers, be it professional, such as Hallmark, or individual, such as Etsy, we can charge a fee to use our system of creating the gift giving experience, and the card printer can include a unique App Clip code - we would provide the technical infrastructure to generate unique App Clips - making these gift-giving App Clip cards ready for this use case).Partnerships with companies (In this example, a partnership with Apple could allow for gift givers to specify a product they want to give someone, like an Apple Watch, and a maximum they are willing to spend. Our system would handle the user interface to present the experience and choices to the recipient, with the recipient using our app to pick our their ideal size/model/color, which is then sent to the giver for purchase. A company could pay us a fee to be included in our platform, allowing us to build an aggregate of "great gift ideas" and offering advertising opportunities for brands).Why: Gift giving is common activity that we all do many times a year. Birthdays, anniversaries, Valentine's Day, graduations, holidays, we're often buying gifts and don't even the quantity. We sometimes gravitate towards gift cards, and low-effort gifts that allow the recipient to be in control of their purchase (because we don't really know what they want)! This idea allows for a far more modern, immersive, and easier experience that could be streamlined, as the business scales, creating a new way of modern gift giving. Above all, it creates a more thoughtful, unique, and personalized gift.(Also prudent - the idea of partnering with greeting card manufacturers using App Clips opens the door to 3D/AR greeting card experiences, which is its own topic and potential for licensing).Forgive the length, but if anyone has taken the time to read, I'd love to know if I'm being unreasonable in my belief that there's something here, or if this seems too low-margin, given the customer education piece, to pursue, in your opinion. see hubwealthy.com/wealthy
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