This 'Shopping Gun' Allows You to Buy Underwear at Bus Stops

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Perfect for those all too common oh-shit-I'm completely-out-of-underwear moments, underwear label 2(x)ist has teamed up with Powa Technologies to create "virtual stores" around NYC's bus stops, taxis, and billboards, WWD reports.

Shoppers who come across the 2(xist) ads can download the PowaTag app and scan the ad's tags to purchase all the fancy men's underwear they desire—the glaring issue being, however, that they'll have to stand in front of a massive likeness of a half-naked man for a longer-than-normal amount of time and feel like a total creep.

Outside of taxi television screens, you can find the ads at nine locations around Manhattan, including Third Avenue at 56th Street, Lexington Avenue at 62nd Street, and Fifth Avenue at 47th Street.

"By enabling travelers to instantly, effortlessly complete transactions by simply holding up their phone and tapping, PowaTag is empowering 2(x)ist to turn impulse into action and reach a huge and currently untapped market, essentially opening virtual stores in some of the busiest parts of the city," explained Dan Wagner, founder of Powa Technologies.

The technology, which uses Bluetooth, QR codes, JavaScript, audio sensors, and instant payment authentication, has been described as a "shopping gun" by Mortimer Singer, CEO of Martin Traub Associates, which has been working with Powa Technologies to create the app. "[It] allows every café, phone booth, or bus shelter to become shoppable. The most important thing today is the point of impulse, and this is the catalyst."

Though PowaTag is currently only working with 2(x)ist in New York City, more than 1,100 other brands have already signed on to the app worldwide, including Ugg and Champion. The goal, Wagner said, is to compete with Amazon by speeding up the billing and shipping steps, cutting buying time down to a couple seconds. But does it work? If you've attempted to purchase 2(x)ist underwear from the PowaTag app, let us know how it went.

· PowaTag Digi-Shop Billboards Land in NYC [WWD]
· Kate Spade Saturday Launching Giant Touch Screen Storefronts [Racked NY]