The launch of mobile app PowaTag has made a significant ripple in retail – more so than most technology product launches, and perhaps surprisingly so.

PowaTag is set to take the retail world by storm

There is an ever-growing number of clever apps and software services in retail, and PowaTag’s main use – reading QR codes embedded in images or products that will take mobile users directly to a retailer’s store – isn’t particularly new in terms of technology.

Apps such as Blippar have offered similar technology on the market for the past couple of years, but few retailers seem to have taken to the idea with a huge amount of long-term enthusiasm. Which raises the question, what is PowaTag offering that is different?

One part of the answer might be that PowaTag packages up a couple of different services, and its other service - that of audio recognition - is less widely available. This means the app will enable shoppers’ mobile phones to recognise a cue, such as a retailer’s radio or TV ad, and take them to a relevant web page.

Plus, PowaTag’s package also has a Bluetooth service, which will enable small beacons placed around a retailer’s store to communicate with a shopper’s mobile. A store shopper can immediately be recognised and relevant offers can be sent to them.

These are all timely technologies that have lots of buzz around them, and serial entrepreneur Dan Wagner – who appears to be a natural salesman – has clearly proven adept at selling them to both retailers and investors alike. The company raised nearly $100m in series A funding, and has more than 240 brands signed up including Carrefour, Argos and Waitrose.

Thomas Husson principal analyst for marketing & strategy at Forrester Research says: “There aren’t many start-ups that raise nearly $100 million. What’s interesting about their approach is the way they’re combining different technologies.”

The product has just enough to make it an improvement on other services in the market, and Wagner has clearly managed to tell the mobile story in a persuasive way.

But it all depends on how shoppers respond to the various services, and whether PowaTag result in actual transactions rather than forming another part of the shopping journey, such as helping consumers research or acting as a marketing channel.

What PowaTag has done brilliantly so far is tell its story in an engaging way – no doubt retailers are keen to find out how engaging it will be for customers.