There are many examples of tech and bitcoin swag shops or brick-mortar food related venues accepting bitcoin, however, other industries are lacking a bit behind in this payment revolution.
I wanted to see how it would do in a sports industry where it should be totally free from the bitcoin bias since the distribution of customers is quite random.
If you have not seen it yet, let me introduce you to "probably" the world's first swimming related shop accepting Bitcoin and of course offering a huge discount when paying with Bitcoin.
360swim buoy
If you swim outside (lake, sea, rivers, etc.) and you do not have one of these, you should seriously consider it to keep you safer out there. And if you do not swim outdoors due to fear of the deep, this could be the product to help you get started.
The buoy will:
- allow you to store stuff, so it will not get stolen on the beach
- make sure any incoming traffic (boats, etc.) will see you from far away
- help you relax if you need a breather
- serve as a visual marker if your loved one is following you from the dry land
- etc. etc.
Shop links
- Pure Lightning shop
- FIAT shop with Bitcoin payment option - unfortunately, still requires some manual work to create payment links
The setup is quite minimal
- own LN node under https://amboss.space/node/030b6c222bfa9e177f52a6ecd28d3313f1b1d41db7b4432bd2f1e1b07d1cf87780
- LNbits instance (Invoice and marketplace extensions)
- Zaprite invoicing
- Monitoring of incoming payments
The experiment results so far
I wasn't sure what to expect, but after having the Bitcoin payment option for 5 months, it appears about 1% of customers choose it. Some know exactly what to do, some need a bit of hand holding. Hard to say if it is good or bad, but I think that even if only small percentage use it, I'd currently consider it a success.