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Guest Blog Post: How to Jump Into the Mobile Retail Game

December 20, 2011 • Retailigence • No comments

With smartphones redefining the role that technology plays in our everyday lives, coupled with the fact that they become more accessible to a growing range of mainstream consumers each year, retailers need to be focused on getting ahead of the game when it comes to mobile integration – if they haven’t already.

Is that easier said than done? Following are a few examples of ways to integrate mobile phone use into retail stores. They are meant to get your gears turning and provide a launch pad for building your own mobile campaign, whether your goal is brand awareness, targeting a specific demographic, building customer engagement, or optimizing the consumer experience.

Checking In

FourSquare made it popular, Facebook made it accessible, and there are several other mobile platforms that are making it easier than ever for users to check in. Since most check-in apps are plugged directly into social networks, every time a customer checks in at your location, all of their friends will see that they visited your store. A report published by Market Platform Dynamics shows that people are up to 62% more likely to “trust their friends as credible sources of information than companies, advertisements, television news and even newspaper articles.” If you are a less-known retailer looking to be put on the map, this may be your golden ticket.

QR Codes

For a detailed explanation on what QR Codes are and how they work, visit SystemID’s website. Any smartphone with a camera most likely has an app that can scan QR codes. These codes are incredibly versatile in their applications. If your retail store has an app, you can create a QR code that downloads your app to a user’s phone when they scan it. If your app has a shopping cart function, you can create a QR code that automatically adds an item to the user’s cart. If used creatively and strategically, QR codes can make the consumer experience incredibly swift, simple and easy.

Proprietary Apps

It seems like this should be the first item on the list, but these are being covered in order of most to least accessible. Every brick-and-mortar company can promote their brand through check-in apps. It takes a bit more effort to run an effective QR code campaign, but it can be done by anyone willing to put the time into learning how. Creating your own app for your store, however, is an in-depth process that will more than likely require either hiring a developer or outsourcing to one. However, an efficient, helpful, easy-to-use smartphone app can be one deciding factor as to whether  your target demographic shops at your location or at your competitor’s. Creating a smartphone app sounds daunting, but all you really need is a searchable catalogue and an online checkout system. Although integration with a QR reader and social check-in network couldn’t hurt either.

Find Your Lure

Most people aren’t going to go out of their way to do something they don’t understand. If someone doesn’t know the value of checking in, they most likely won’t do it, much less download the app. Consumers, like fish, need you to bait the hook. And, like with fishing, different lures work with different fish. When you launch your mobile campaign, make sure you are clear about the value of participation. If you want them to check-in at your location, advertise that they get a discount for checking in. If you want them to scan a QR code, make sure to explain what’s in it for them (e.g. Scan this code for a free promotional code to get 20% off your entire order!).

If you’re in the retail business, you’ve got to be in the mobile business. Expect people to carry their cellphones into your store. Expect people to search the app store to see if you have an app. Expect people to check in. In this generation of tech-savvy shoppers, going mobile is really just a matter of encouraging people to do what they already do on their phones – you’re just giving them direction. Namely, the direction of your store.

 

Author Byline

Ryan Bayron is an Account Executive at online marketing agency WrightIMC. He has worked on several videos and infographics for the company’s clients, some of which have gone viral. He is passionate about animation, and has experience producing both live action and animated short films. He is currently pursuing a BFA in Film and Video at the University of Texas at Arlington.

Website: http://bayron.org/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/BayronDotOrg
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/rbayron
Company: http://www.wrightimc.com/

In Consumer Use of Mobile & Shopping, Guest Blog Post, Mobile Facts & Apps, Retailer Facts & Trends

Guest Blog Post: Nokia’s Successful Check-in Campaign In Austria

December 8, 2011 • Retailigence • No comments
With mobile commerce numbers on the rise, there are many incentives for developers and retailers to look into optimizing their location-based smartphone applications. Mobile coupons, barcode scanners, QR codes and bathroom locators are just a few ways that these applications are engaging consumers, but what about mobile check-ins?

Macy’s and Aflac have partnered for a “Check-ins for Charity-type” campaign and while this does have a certain ring to it, are check-ins and holiday do-gooding popular enough to drive real foot traffic into stores? Nokia thinks so. This week we have guest blogger, Alexander Oswald, Head of Marketing ASE for Nokia here to share a few details about Nokia’s most recent efforts in generating buzz and reviving the mobile check-in.

The Nokia check-in rewards campaign was run in Austria for the very first time on 05th August 2011 – 09th September 2011.  The campaign simply rewarded users for checking into local retail stores using either Foursquare or Nokia maps.

Our aim was to find out whether a foursquare campaign in combination with mobile advertising and social media could work in Austria at this moment in time.

We decided to select only one device – the Nokia X7 – choose only 1 retail chain as partner – being the SATURN group – and conduct the promotion without any major campaign support, be it TV-spots, print ads, etc. So we made it really tough for ourselves in order to understand what we can really achieve with social media and Foursquare in particular.

Our overarching objective was to increase foot traffic through the doors of local retailers, whilst raising awareness and sales for Nokia devices and accessories.

Objectives in more detail:

  • Increase footfall into retail stores
  • Target youth market through social tools (go to them, instead of waiting for them to come to us)
  • Increase awareness around Nokia smartphone devices and Nokia accessories
  • Increase awareness around Foursquare
  • Increase sales
  • Celebrate pre-travel season

Check-in reward mechanic


Sunglass call to action

 

Key wins

Within a little bit more than a month we convinced 597 people, to get off the couch and go into retail stores (597 check-in’s). Out of all Nokia X7 sales with SATURN, 71% of those device sales during the time of the campaign were generated by this initiative! Check-ins to SATURN stores during the campaign almost doubled as well.

This result clearly demonstrate that even at an early stage of adoption, location-based-marketing activities can activate the target group of early adopters and generate conversations about the brand and the device as well. The campaign generated 21% of all conversation in Austria around Nokia during the period.

Who checked-in?

  • The majority of those checking in were male and aged under 34
  • Appx 45% were aged 25 to 34
  • And another 40% of those checking-in were aged 13 to 24

Users were asked to upload their photos to Nokia Austria Facebook in order to drive fan acquisition and content uploaded to the Check-in reward tab.

We reached out to key influencers within the mobile tech industry in Austria. Due to this campaign 15 posts with a 99% positive sentiment were achieved and those generated 42,280 social connections.

Bought media (mobile advertising only) showed an impressive 1.25% CTR

Mobile page and campaign

Summing up those results prove that today location-based-marketing activities are successful. Social media and mobile advertising – in combination with POS marketing – proved to be enough support to get attention of the target group and convince them to check-in and spread the message of the “#NokiaX7Aktion” in Austria within their communities.


Alexander Oswald is the Head of Marketing ASE for Nokia with 13 years Management experience in 
telecommunication and consumer electronics industry. He is also the author of the book “Mobile Marketing” the first handbook for mobile marketing and mobile campaigns in the German language. His is a TEDxVienna speaker and experienced in working for global brands in fast changing business environment with a focus on Central/South America and Eastern Europe. To see Alexander’s TEDxVienna presentation, please visit: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9_6G8J6VJg

 

What are your thoughts- do you think check-in’s have a real and lasting place in retail? What are some ways that you can see successfully integrating check-ins into your applications to increase retail foot traffic?

In Consumer Use of Mobile & Shopping, Guest Blog Post

Guest Blog Post: Mobility in Retail: What’s “In-Store” for the Next Few Years?

November 15, 2011 • Retailigence • No comments

Mobility continues to dominate retail technology news this month. RIS News reported that the percentage of consumers who made purchases with mobile phones doubled from 2010 to 2011, from 9% to 18%. STORES devoted almost its entire November issue to mobility, too. These are just a couple of additional proof points for the meteoric rise of consumer mobility, which Retail Systems Research describes as the “most galvanizing force (in a positive way) we’ve ever seen in retail.”

Mobile technology is changing the retail landscape in ways that haven’t been seen since the rise of e-commerce. However, the trend that’s captured my attention lately is what’s happening with mobile devices inside the store – and more specifically, how retailers are using smartphones and tablets inside the stores.

A recent research study from retail analyst firm IHL Group included a fascinating statistic. According to IHL’s survey, more than 2.7 million tablet devices will be shipped for use in North American retail and hospitality by 2015, an increase of 450% over current rates. These figures don’t even take into account the handheld devices that retailers are scrambling to roll out in mobile POS deployments.

The bottom line? Get ready to see millions of tablets and smartphones in retail stores in the next few years, along with fundamental changes in everything from the physical layout of stores to the way that consumers interact with store associates.

61% of retailers surveyed by IHL Group rate mobile technology as their top priority, so what we’ve seen so far in store-based mobile systems is just the beginning.

Retailers are looking to mobile devices to get their sales associates out from behind the cash wrap and onto the sales floor, where they can interact with customers, guide the shopping experience, look up product reviews and ratings, and check inventory on out-of-stocks in order to save the sale.  Early deployments are promising, but the we’re just at the beginning stages of the mobile’s retail revolution.

Here are a few predictions:

  1. For one, the very nature of store layouts will change dramatically in the coming years.  Retailers have devoted a lot of expensive floor space to cash wraps – space that could be better used for merchandising. Cash wraps are expensive, too; retailers can reduce their capital expenses significantly by replacing fixed cash wraps with mobile devices – while creating a much better customer experience, too, along the lines of Apple’s wildly successful stores.
  2. These changes won’t be limited to Tier 1 retailers, either. If IHL’s projections hold true, mobile devices will proliferate at all levels of retail, giving even smaller retailers the opportunity to provide their customers with an Apple store experience.
  3. Finally, the proliferation of iPads and other tablet devices is ushering in a new wave of advanced applications that move far beyond mobile POS. Clienteling, for example, is far more practical on an iPad, along with accessorizing, accessing ratings and reviews, building side-by-side product comparisons, and much more. Tablets give store associates access to a wealth of information, and highly visual devices that can be used to develop stronger customer relationships and deliver highly personalized service.  Mobile will continue to enables a new era of store applications that can help make the store experience more engaging and relevant.

Mobility is one of the biggest stories in retail technology in years, and I’m looking forward to watching it unfold. It promises to be an exciting ride.

Jeff Ketner is president of Ketner Group Inc., an Austin, Texas PR and marketing agency with a diverse group of technology and B&B clients and a strong focus in retail and mobile technology. 

In Guest Blog Post, Retailer Facts & Trends