This App Wants To Pay You Bitcoin to Window Shop
TL;DR
sMiles is a free-to-use app that pays users Bitcoin in exchange for window shopping at physical locations.
You download the sMiles app → it shows you a map with Bitcoins scattered across it (marking stores) → if you visit those places, you can redeem satoshis (0.00000001 BTC)
The app generates revenue by selling ad space to brick-and-mortar businesses that want to incentivize foot traffic to their stores by purchasing a placement on the sMiles map.
It's a cool concept - but how long will the allure of 0.00000001 BTC payouts (~$0.000291 USD) hold people's attention?
Regardless, it’s an interesting way to incentivize crypto-rich individuals to visit brick-and-mortar stores and spend their new found wealth.
Full Story
Remember Step'n, the app that paid you Solana based tokens to walk/run a few miles per day?
The sMiles app is like that, except you get paid Bitcoin, and the app doesn't want you to exercise - it wants you to go shopping.
Here's the idea:
You download the sMiles app on your phone
It shows you a map with Bitcoins scattered across it (marking stores)
If you visit those places, you can redeem satoshis (0.00000001 BTC)
Up-bup-bup! Wait just a second.
Before you tell your boss to shove it and start your career as a professional window shopper, it's worth noting that one satoshi (SAT) is worth ~$0.000291 USD as of right now.
Here's what we like about this idea:
First, the incentive structure and economics are solid (at least, on paper).
sMiles is free to use and generates revenue by selling ad space to brick-and-mortar businesses, who can incentivize foot traffic to their stores by purchasing a placement on the sMiles map.
Contrast this with Step'n's model - which isn't as much 'play-to-earn' as it is 'play-to-repay.'
See, Step'n requires buy-in (the purchase of an NFT) from all new users, which means the revenue flows like this:
A new user joins → they buy an NFT → that revenue is used to pay existing users.
(Very ponzi-like).
Second, sMile uses Bitcoin - a cryptocurrency with a fixed supply that the app developers have no control over.
Most X-to-earn apps use their own tokens (with no maximum supply), which leads them to inevitably inflate and devalue over time.
The early users of these apps typically have enough time to make their initial investment back (and maybe even make some profit), while the late comers are left holding the bag.
(Again, very ponzi-like).
Here's what we don't like about this idea:
It's a cool concept - but how long will the allure of ~$0.000291 USD payouts hold people's attention?
The sMiles team will probably gamify the whole thing by running sporadic events with bigger payouts - but even so, we'd wager that an app like this is going to struggle heavily with user churn.
Here's why its a smart approach (whether it works out or not):
It's all about value creation and value capture.
Google creates trillions of dollars worth of value each year for businesses around the world, and captures a small portion of that value by selling ads on its platform.
Similar to Google, the crypto industry has generated trillions of dollars worth of value - putting a lot of it in the pockets of every day people.
So how do existing businesses capture some of that value without 'getting into crypto' directly?
They incentivize crypto-rich individuals to visit their stores (using apps like sMiles), and convince them to spend their new found wealth.
(It's the same reason why a bunch of luxury brands all of a sudden started accepting crypto payments in-store).
A browse-to-earn scavenger hunt app like sMiles ain't the perfect solution - but it's a start!