Mobile for Retail : Going Mobile

More retailers are embracing mobile commerce and marketing. Here’s why you should take the plunge

May 2010 By Det Ansinn

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Other retailers have begun testing a product from IBM called Presence, which allows shoppers to sign up to be detected as soon as they enter a store. Presence can offer those shoppers real-time mobile coupons or recommend products.

If a shopper buys a store's private label baby wipes, for example, Presence might suggest buying the store's private-label diapers and baby lotion, too.

Retailers are turning mobile phones into information displays and ordering devices for their brands. While they're at it, they're also strengthening the link between their physical stores and the web, which makes good business sense. Multichannel shoppers, after all, are the most loyal.

Payment Options
Mobile payment options are yet another area where technology is gaining ground quickly in the U.S. Amazon, for instance, released Amazon Mobile Payments Service last year. The service lets its merchant partners process transactions via mobile phones, and allows consumers to check out using the company's "1-Click" service.

Starbucks introduced the Starbucks Card Mobile App, which allows consumers who shop in stores in two markets — eight in Seattle and eight in Silicon Valley — to pay for Starbucks purchases through the iPhone or iPod Touch app. Earlier this year, the coffee retailer expanded this program to more than 1,000 Starbucks locations in Target stores nationwide.

After consumers fund their accounts, the Starbucks app displays a mobile barcode that can be used similarly to a Starbucks Card to make purchases. In addition to mobile payments, the app allows customers to set up and register Starbucks Cards, check balances and reload the card with a credit card.

Mobile commerce, marketing and applications are important tools for multichannel retailers to communicate with consumers shopping a variety of channels. If these examples are any indication, 2010 should be a banner year for mobile.

Det Ansinn is chief technology officer of Mobile Tag, a Wayne, Pa.-based provider of mobile marketing solutions (detansinn@ gmail.com).

Companies Mentioned:

Amazon.com

J.C. Penney

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FROM THE BOOKSTORE

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Social Media ROI

“Blanchard is demanding. He won’t allow you to flip through this book, nod your head, and leave. If you’re in, you’re going to have to invest to get your rewards.”
--Chris Brogan, president of Human Business Works

“Social media isn’t inexpensive; it’s different expensive. The human effort required to do

...

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Available as a PDF.

A guide to prospecting, lead generation, building an Opt-in database, tracking, social media integration, deliverability, mining content and balanced creative. While email marketing has reached maturity, there’s still plenty of life in this channel — if used wisely.

That’s the focus of this new guide to email

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MORE ON MARKETING >>

FROM THE BOOKSTORE

Social Media ROI

“Blanchard is demanding. He won’t allow you to flip through this book, nod your head, and leave. If you’re in, you’re going to have to invest to get your rewards.”
--Chris Brogan, president of Human Business Works

“Social media isn’t inexpensive; it’s different expensive. The human effort required to do

...

ORDER NOW

Email Marketing that Works (2nd Edition)

Available as a PDF.

A guide to prospecting, lead generation, building an Opt-in database, tracking, social media integration, deliverability, mining content and balanced creative. While email marketing has reached maturity, there’s still plenty of life in this channel — if used wisely.

That’s the focus of this new guide to email

...

Mobile for Retail : Going Mobile