Struggling Brick and Mortar Retail Businesses Find Consumers and Increase Stores Sales Using Railway Technologies' Mobile Commerce Platform

TEMPE, AZ--(Marketwired - May 17, 2016) - Brick and mortar retail establishments are increasingly under pressure from the rapid rise of internet sales and the prioritization of technology by consumers. In a move that is bringing customers back into stores by providing technology capable of finding nearby consumers and improving their everyday buying experience, Railway Technologies today unveiled its mobile commerce platform. Using a combination of geofencing and beacons to map the real-time location of products and people, Railway creates a common open platform so that buyers, sellers, advertisers and app developers can work together to personalize the in-store shopping experience and make shopping more convenient, faster and cheaper.

From the corner store to the larger retail establishments, Railway has saturated the city of Tempe, Arizona by digitizing over 200,000 products and mapping the interior of over 360 stores; transforming the community home to Arizona State University into a digital marketplace with two million connected mobile users. During its first year of beta use, Railway's solution has proven to create new customers: brands are using digital coupons to drive people into nearby stores that sell their products and consumers are discovering businesses organically by searching the products on shelves of stores around them with the Railway Search app, now available for download for free on iTunes.

"Consumers are now in control as they turn to their phones with intent and expect businesses and brands to deliver immediate answers," said Nate Reis, founder & CEO of Railway and former founder & CEO of mobile marketing and payments company MobiSquad. "Internet giants such as Amazon and Google have long understood this and have the resources to adapt, but most brick and mortar stores do not. Until they adopt a customer centric strategy and implement technology capable of hitting a moving target, brick-and-mortar sales will continue to decline. We are leveling the playing field and helping merchants win again by providing a solution that gives consumers what they want, is easy-to-use and free."

The Railway Platform
The Railway mobile commerce platform bridges the gap between the physical and digital worlds, creating new possibilities for businesses, brands, advertisers and developers. The Railway Station app digitizes a business's product inventory and/or menu items scanning barcodes and taking pictures. A free beacon then maps the store and shares the products to the world. Within a suite of analytics-driven advertising solutions, brands and businesses are able to design geo-targeted campaigns connecting with mobile consumers in the community or inside stores as they approach their favorite products.

"We finally found something that brings customers in the door and provides us with the analytics to prove it," said Brandon Manus, at convenient market Thirsty Dog 2 Go, in Tempe, Arizona. "Connecting took a minimal amount of effort and we didn't have to change the way we do things. By searching the Railway network of products, people have discovered that we are much more than a specialty hot dog and sausage shop. We carry beer, wine, coffee, munchies and even sunglasses."

Railway also provides growth opportunities for merchant acquirers and marketing agencies. Mobile consumers expect a different type of in-store experience, creating a need for businesses to upgrade to a mobile ready point-of-sale system that can redeem digital coupons.

Creating The Future of Shopping
Now that Railway has achieved a 96 percent success rate of increasing revenues for businesses in Tempe, the company is developing its tools to rapidly scale. Railway will expand its network throughout the Phoenix metro area in 2016 and plans to connect two million of the underserved small- and medium-sized businesses in the U.S. over the next three years. Railway remains committed to keeping the solution free to businesses, made possible by Railway partnership subsidies.

"Railway solves a lot of problems for a lot of different stakeholders," added Reis. "I'm excited to see a world where every business is plugged into the on-demand economy. I envision a future where Railway eliminates the need for expensive distribution centers by making in-store inventory available to large e-commerce operations. The consumer is our North Star. We're committed to make buying better, faster and cheaper."

Follow Railway:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/TeamRailway
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teamrailway/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TeamRailway
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOX6-C6jpO5ZDBkvhnIZcww

About Railway Technologies
Using the Railway platform, buyers, sellers, advertisers and app developers are able to work together to personalize the in-store shopping experience and make shopping more convenient, faster and cheaper. The company is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona. For more information, please visit http://www.getrailway.com/.

Note: The Railway name and logo are trademarks of Railway Technologies. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective companies.