The Migration to Mobile III--All Shopping Can Be Local

It used to be a sign that you were cool with current technology; you did research on your computer before heading to retail stores to shop. That’s no longer true. Now shoppers can use their smartphones or tablets to get the information they are looking for right at the POP--and maybe a coupon to boot! That is a powerful concept and it is driving profound changes that go all the way down to the individual retail location.

It doesn’t start when the shopper nears the store or walks in the door, though. It starts by building a meaningful SoLoMo strategy. One interpretation of the mobile shopping funnel captures the essence.

http://www.brafton.com/news/smx-advanced-buzz-social-local-mobile-marketing-leads-to-sales-800526890

Social marketing helps build—or maybe for the small local retailer builds all by itself— awareness and a positive brand image. Retailers use tactics ranging from paid advertising to instore promotions and events to lure followers to their social platforms. Mobile marketing—whether paid ads or content marketing—reaches people when they are actively researching a purchase or provides a triggering cue by suggesting a reason to purchase. Local marketing reaches them at the point of purchase, giving them compelling reasons to buy at that moment.

http://techcrunch.com/2013/01/25/mobile-shopping-apps/

Adding another dimension to that argument is data about the role of various types of shopping apps during the 2012 holiday season. The huge growth is seen in retailer apps and the lowest growth in the daily deals apps, whose difficulties have been much in the news. I wrote about the Macy’s shopping app during the holidays. The mapping application still seems to be available only for the Herald Square store but deals, wish lists and other retail services are going strong. At the moment they are offering me a 20% off promo code, which might be useful, and a bridal registry, which definitely is not! My initial reaction was “so much for personalization,” but how do they find out unless they ask?

The data also highlights another important mobile issue. Price comparison apps also experienced explosive growth. Showrooming—checking prices in stores then buying more cheaply online—seems to be ongoing.

But there’s good reason for local retailers not to hit the panic button. The trend can be their friend! No less a retailer than Walmart is encouraging people to use their phones in stores. Wired explains it well:

Walmart’s stores are “geo-fenced,” which means the location-aware app enters “store mode” when you walk through the door. Once in store mode, you have access to an interactive version of the weekly on-sale circular for that store. You can see what’s new in the store. You can scan bar codes with the phone’s camera for prices and keep a running list of everything you’re buying so you’ll know the total cost when you get to the register.

How can retailers without Walmart-level resources turn showrooming to their advantage? The advice from the Retail Customer Experience site is:

1. Embrace omnichannel.
2. Bring the best of online shopping into the store.
3. Implement innovative in-store technologies.
4. Empower in-store personnel.
 
Putting it all together they say:

Innovative in-store technologies can help shoppers engage with brands and create a great, enjoyable shopping experience that leads them to both return to the store and to act as brand ambassadors through social media, leading to more visits from their peers.

Very interesting—it all comes full circle. Use both the human touch of your store employees and the power of technology to give your customers a great shopping experience and they will share it with their friends on social media. Like all good advice, it’s easier said than done, but the guidelines are there!

Social Media for Good VII

On January 24 Twitter launched Vine, a platform for 6 second looping videos. Right now they are mobile-only. The free app can be downloaded at the App Store.

The New York Humane Society was one of the first users. They tweeted a video of Parker the cat.

The good news is that Parker found a home as a direct result of the video. NYHS was smart enough to tweet again, the image I captured, announcing that Parker had found his new home.

Good job!

Holiday Shopping is Apps Enabled!

Originally published Nov. 16, 2012.
Web sites and email notifications are now a staple of hoilday shopping. Specialized mobile apps aren’t new, but they become more sophisticated each year. This year is no exception.

There are a couple of basic kinds of apps for holiday shopping. There are the aggregator sites like Black Friday.com (specializes in ads) or Coupon Deals (specializes in coupons and offers) and about a zillion others. There are also the apps from individual retailers like Macy’s.

The new Macy’s app for iPhone and Android has gotten a lot of buzz. You can download it from a link on the Macy’s site by texting to their short code number. I tried it and it worked like a charm, much easier than having to locate it on iTunes. I was also able to sign up for updates at the same time. Warning; it only works on the iPhone5 or equivalent operating system. I tried it out, and it does everything advertised (pun intended; it is full of promotions!).

As you can see from the menu, the Macy’s app will do pretty much anything the shopper needs, either while planning a shopping trip or while in the store. I think the coolest thing is the instore navigation map, now only available for the Herald Square store. It will not only tell you where you are and the location of items you are looking for, it has the capability of offering or highlighting specials. The software site gives examples for not only retail, but also other large and often confusing venues like hospitals and airports. The Museum of Natural History has had its app since 2010 and its usefulness is obvious.


I like the idea that retailers are trying to improve the shopping experience. Any improvement is welcome. The importance to retailers is made obvious by WSJ data. It shows that over $100 of the per customer $400 spent during the Black Friday weekend was spent online. That means almost $300 was still spent in stores. I can’t tell whether “weekend” includes Cyber Monday or not. However, it’s clear that the apps are set up to guide shoppers through the holidays and the instore navigation systems have a potential far beyond that.


On the questionnable gift front, at least to me, is the sweater Macy's is offering that has a personal video viewer on the sleeve.

According to Recom Group, the developer of the technology, The fashion video tag slides into a pocket on the sleeve, which makes it waterproof, and comes with software that allows users to convert any YouTube or personal video. It holds up to two hours of content. The organic LED plays continuous video nonstop for 8 to 10 hours from a single charge.

Oh, well. At least it's a conversation piece. Happy shopping!