I think this is genius actually. Notice that the article says the company has divested money from their advertisement funds to run the stores. This means they are not loosing any more money they were already spending in ads. Free samples have been a thing for a very long time, and everyone agrees it makes sense. Now they are only asking customers to pay shelf price for the free samples they get, and the large majority will do.

And I am sure the NYT article doesn't hurt :)

I thought that too

> by sending the company a text message.

Oh allright, thats convenient, they will just add it to my phone bill.

> In the store, customers are expected to text Dirty Lemon to say they have grabbed something. A representative will then text back with a link to enter their credit card information, adding, “Let us know if you need anything else.”

Oh, they dont?

The one advantage of this system that I can see is that the shop will receive your phone number.

I think the 2nd transaction they just confirm that you want to used the card on file, essentially linking your phone number to the card for transactions on their products.

They also redirect to web for CC entry the first time, I think they're using stripe to store it or equivalent. It's essentially sms-based interface.

(from https://dirtylemon.com/ordering)

SF reinvented yet another wheel in worst possible way.

Stuff was sold this way for centuries. Take a fruit or a newspaper, leave coins in a jar, no cashier needed.

The problem is no one carries around coins any more.

No but they carry contactless cards and nfc enabled phones. Tapping a card reader is far more convenient than both cash and the system outlined in the article.

Contactless payment...

I'm guessing this is just a stop gap solution to test the waters while they try to find something better. Hopefully they're smart enough link your card to your phone number after the first transaction.

That doesn't sound very smart- when I change phone numbers, or if some one steals my number, I would rather not have to deal with the possibility of them buying stuff with my money!

You can contact them asking for a refund if that happens. They are pretty much forced to return the money or risk the chargeback.

That said, I think a phone number changing owner and someone else purchasing in the exact same store within the card expiration date isn't very likely. Can happen, sure, but that's about it.

You can add a password or ask for the cvv code. The main thing is not having to re-enter my credit card details every time.

They keep your cc on file so the next transaction is simply a text message.