At a time when most are watching their pennies, many are turning to e-commerce to make savvy consumer decisions. After all, product information and consumer reviews are a mouse click away.

Until now, this information hasn’t been available in the aisles of your favourite stores. But entrepreneurs Trevor MacDonald and Jesse Richard want to change this.

They’ve created a software application for small touch-screen devices which “sends product information and consumer reviews downstream to the aisle to give consumers more information to make better purchase decisions,” says Richard. Inspired by listening stations in record stores, the touch-screen application applies “the best traits of e-commerce to brick-and-mortar,” he says.

Their company, Swiftclips Networks Inc., is targeting big box stores, but the technology is also appropriate for malls and other retail venues Participating in TEC VenturePrize “was eye-opening for us,” says Richard.

In addition to getting help fine-tuning a business plan (they operated for more than a year without one), the entrepreneurs found great value in the networking opportunities. One concrete perk was the invitation to an exclusive retail conference.

“We wouldn’t have had that opportunity if we hadn’t been a Fast Growth finalist,” says Richard. The two have also benefited from mentorship from experienced Alberta business people and were inspired by the creativity and intelligence of other participants.“It was really encouraging to see the innovations coming out of this province. It’s a bright future we can all look forward to,” says Richard.

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