THE APP’S NEW VERSION ALLOWS FOR BACK-AND-FORTH COMMUNICATION
Que Bueno. La aplicación, 5miles, puede traducir Español y Ingles.
You may not understand that but the new updated 5miles app can translate that to English seamlessly.
The new version launched today allows customers to communicate back and forth to complete a transaction without a language barrier.
“More and more Spanish speakers were using the app. There were obstacles from time to time,” Rick Cantu, general manager for 5miles, said. “Customers would say, we just couldn’t communicate on price, condition or location. They both walk away frustrated.”
5miles SAYS ITS ADDS 30,000 NEW USERS DAILY
Dallas-based 5miles, which has more than 7 million downloads and adds 30,000 new users every day, added a new feature that looks at the mobile device’s language settings and adjusts accordingly.
The entire marketplace experience can be done in Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Japanese and Korean. For Spanish speakers in particular, they’ve got a live bilingual help desk.
“This enables us to come together and have a good transaction,” Cantu said.
5miles started as a mobile version of Craigslist but they took it a step further with the hyper local feature. The app had a soft launch in August 2014 and had its big launch in Dallas in January 2015.
It’s being used in 15 markets, the biggest being Dallas, Houston, Miami and Los Angeles.
“We added a variety of features and functionalities, scheduling capabilities and messaging,” Cantu said.
PICKING A SAFE MEETING PLACE
5miles also educates users on picking a safe meeting place for the transaction.
The app sells a range of products from household items like you’d find at a yard sale to services and even job openings.
“Everything that you need, you can find with the app in five miles,” Cantu said. “We do not get involved in the transaction. We leave it to them to set a location to complete the transaction.”
Looking to the future, Cantu said they hope to add new features, including a mobile payment system and a shipping feature. They’ve also got additional languages in the works.
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