On October 31 2019, BeBridge Inc., a digital consulting firm, announced the launch of “souveni” app, a platform to connect foreign visitors with local souvenir makers and shops in Japan.
To search for a desired item, the app users can set up a language of choice, such as English or Chinese, and choose a suitable currency to get the price of a souvenir.
The “souveni” platform provides such information as souvenir pictures, product ingredients and best-by date, payment method, among other data in the chosen language.
The app functionality allows users to search by various categories such as souvenir type, production area, price range, popular trends and tags, etc.
Other exciting features are augmented reality navigation, activity timeline and wish list.
With the “souveni” app’s AR navigation, users can find their way by turning a smartphone camera on and following the dots and arrows displayed on the screen.
The app’s SNS features, activity timeline and wish list, allow users to share travel experiences with friends and followers by posting messages, pictures and movies; also, users can group souvenirs into wish lists and share with others on social media.
While the current app release is for iOS platform, the company intends to add the Android version in the near future. The multilingual features will be expanding as well into traditional Chinese, Korean and Spanish languages among others.
By enhancing the app functionality, the company aims to create a platform to connect visitors to Japan with the local communities.