Tag Archives: location based marketing

Retail Stores Adapt for the Future

future_retail_scenario1I just read an article entitled “Mobile Increasingly the Only Tool Used in Purchasing Decisions”, which stated that mobile is increasingly the only tool used in purchasing decisions. And I thought, “Man! The headline really nailed it!”

Does this mean that “stores” are doomed? Not necessarily.

No one thinks physical stores are going away permanently. But because of the frenetic pace of advances in technology and online shopping, the stores that remain will likely offer amenities and services that are more about experiences and less about selling a product. Think: Apple Inc.’s stores. Associated Press

What kinds of things can we look forward to? Here are some highlights, with bonus dumb commentary!

Services: Stores will offer day care, beauty, and veterinary services, and so on. Sort of like Walmart does today, but more FUTURISTIC, I guess!

Convenience: Self-checkout, drive-thru pickup of items ordered online, etc. It’s my dream that self-checkouts of the future actually work properly at least half the time, which would be a 200% improvement!

Location-based marketing: This is happening now (we talked about it a while back) but will only increase. You walk into the store, the store recognizes your mobile device, and it sends you coupons for the things you typically buy. Also, things related to the things you buy (You like makeup? How about some cotton balls?”) Which is fine. Sadly, they get greedy sometimes, and it’s “You like makeup? How about a lawn mower? Snow tires? Term life insurance?”

Further integration of mobile devices: How about picking an item off the shelf, scanning it with your mobile, and walking out of the store with it. No need for checkout, just cross the threshold, and it’s charged to your account. Maybe, but half the fun of shoplifting is setting off the alarms!

So, stores will adapt. They have to! My question is: are you seeing any of these advancements in your local brick-and-mortar? Seeing any others? Let us know over at the MindField Online Facebook page!

The Sound of Savings

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You won’t hear it with the human ear, but the next time you are in a big chain store, Shopkick may be calling out your name!

According to a recent article at Forbes.com, Shopkick is a location-based customer loyalty app like Foursquare or Gowalla, but with an important difference:

…it doesn’t use the phone’s GPS. Instead, Shopkick uses a different technology. It plugs in a small box inside each participating store. The box emits a high frequency sound that humans can’t hear. When the Shopkick app is opened, it recognizes the sound so that it knows that the person is actually in the store.

The bottom line is engagement. Remember a few posts ago we were talking about the difference between TV ads that are just on, shooting dumbly out into the atmosphere, versus web ads that tease you and make you click? If you click the web ad, you are already interested in the product. That’s engagement, and the same principle applies with Shopkick. You physically go into the store, you turn on the app, and you wait for the deals to come to you. And Shopkick claims a success rate of 45% that, if it’s true, is a really high number!

For now, because it requires hardware, Shopkick is mainly in large chains like Target, Best Buy, Macy’s, Disney and so on. Foursquare uses existing satellite tracking, and it is popular with smaller independent stores. But of course, they are looking into copying Shopkick’s success. Hopefully the winner will be YOU.

So have you used Shopkick? What do you think?

You Can’t Hide from These Deals!

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Heard of location-based marketing? It’s been around for a few years, and it’s growing. And a 400 pound gorilla just entered the game!

Basically (very), in location-based marketing you sign up with a retailer somewhere in town. Using GPS or something, they know when you are physically near the place – say you are grocery shopping a mile away – and they send you a text or email with a coupon or some announcement about today’s special.

A lot of tech companies are in this field, including a start-up called The Dealmap. And Dealmap just got PAID, yo!

In a strategic no-brainer, Google has acquired The Dealmap, a startup that shows on a Google Maps-powered map just where you can find all the Groupon-like daily deals in your geographic area.                                                                             Venturebeat.com

Which is great news if you love deals, and you are familiar and comfortable with Google Maps. Bad news, I guess, if you are worried that Google is taking over every aspect of the internet! What do you think?