Best Reading of the Day - Entry 0069 Loyalty and Payments

One article I missed during my recent time off due to illness is well worth capturing in these pages.

http://www.pymnts.com/briefing-room/consumer-engagement/Loyalty/2013/more-proof-payments-is-killing-the-advertising-biz/

Here is a snippet from the piece:

The “hypothetical” scenario that I started with assumed an app tied to a store loyalty program but that is far from the only option available to consumers. In fact, I would say that it may be the category of player most at risk. Lots of third parties, large and small, are emerging who have clever ways of capturing consumer spending data and are using it to do things like compile shopping lists and then directing consumers to stores where the highly unengaged consumer product purchases like milk are the low-priced bait in an effort to help those consumers load their baskets with more of the higher margin unplanned items. And, apps that aggregate “wisdom of the crowd” data on key product category purchases are also shifting behavior away from stores and products that were once consumer “mainstays” to others that the community has said offers a better overall value equation.

Happy reading,

J.W. Gant

The Target Payment Card Data Breach

This one has been making some news and as the story has unfolded it has become incredibly interesting.

Wait, just another data breach right?  Just another case of credit card information getting in to the wrong hands right?

No.

First, the back story:

Thursday, December 19th Target, one of the biggest retailers in the world, revealed it had been the victim of unauthorized access to its payment card data:

Target today confirmed it is aware of unauthorized access to payment card data that may have impacted certain guests making credit and debit card purchases in its U.S. stores. Target is working closely with law enforcement and financial institutions, and has identified and resolved the issue.

...

Approximately 40 million credit and debit card accounts may have been impacted between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15, 2013. Target alerted authorities and financial institutions immediately after it was made aware of the unauthorized access, and is putting all appropriate resources behind these efforts.  Among other actions, Target is partnering with a leading third-party forensics firm to conduct a thorough investigation of the incident.

At first this story, while quite concerning, left me just nodding my head saying something to the effect of "another data breach".  Yes and no.  The methods used in this case appear to have been quite new.  This is a VERY different case from previous instances and consequently is much more alarming.

This latest incident … likely involved an attack on Target's point-of-sale (POS) system, most security experts agreed, meaning that customer information was probably sent directly from the store's mounted cash registers to the hackers themselves, probably due to malicious software. 

"I don't know how they did it," James Wester, research director of IDC Financial Insights…

"That is what is kind of mystifying at this point," Wester said. "It seems like from a security standpoint, Target was doing all of the right things, and somehow this code was put on the POS system, which isn't a normal access point for hackers."

You knew all along this was going to cost Target considerably.

Breach_Could_Prove_Very_Costly_for_Target

What is also interesting is the move by some to push for further implementation of EMV protocols in the United States.  It is not yet clear this would have helped at all.  Furthermore, hacking always looks for the weakest link.  There is no way a hacker could have infected all ~1800 Target stores at the Point of Sale without some severe security failure on the back-end.  EMV would have no impact at all on such activity.

More on this story as it continues to unfold.

As my colleague said last night "buy Target stock right now, as it tanks.  It'll go back up quickly once this passes."

Yeap.

The New York Times has a piece on this as well:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/20/technology/target-stolen-shopper-data

Is any retailer safe from this sort of activity?  Maybe not.

http://www.paymentssource.com/news/target-breach-sends-chills-is-any-merchant-safe-even-with-emv

Hope each of you is well prepared for the holiday season.  Best wishes.

Happy reading,

J.W. Gant

Best Reading of the Day - Entry 0068 Top 120 iOS Apps

When it comes to the ecosystem of apps all other players are second to Apple and iOS devices.  So many, over one million in fact, it can be impossible to know what is good and what isn't.  Great opportunity to leave it to an expert who spends way too much time on this subject.

The good folks at Digital Trends have compiled a fantastic list of the top 120 apps:

http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/best-iphone-apps/

Be sure to take a moment to browse by the categories that most interest you, and peek in at others you don't yet know interest you.

Happy app-ing,

J.W. Gant

Best Reading of the Day - Entry 0067 Black Friday by Google

Google Think Insights is out with another excellent write-up.  This one speaks to Black Friday and the importance of the multi-platform approach to retail.

http://www.google.com/think/articles/black-friday-multiday-multidevice-event.html

Here is a snippet from the writing:

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are no longer one-day events. Facing a shorter holiday season, retailers rolled out deals earlier than ever this year, and shoppers followed suit. In fact, people were searching for Cyber Monday deals as early as Thanksgiving Day when "Cyber Monday" was a top trending search on Google. What else does our data show? Not only did consumers start early, but they also hunted for deals all weekend long, often on mobile devices. Tech gifts dominated and vloggers shared their finds in “haul videos” on YouTube. Savvy advertisers are tracking these trends to inform and improve their efforts all season long.

Happy reading,

J.W. Gant

Target and Apple Move Past Wal-Mart

News of the day is a study released from Mobiquity.  Most striking is how problematic a poor app can be for a brand.  48% of mobile shoppers will abandon a brand entirely if they have a poor experience with the brand's app.

Market Wired has a write-up on the subject:

http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/apple-target-best-mobile-shopping-finds-new-consumer-satisfaction-study-from-mobiquity-1861311.htm

Wal-Mart held the crown as the best last year but has been passed by both Target and Apple.

Here is a snippet from the piece:

Compared to Mobiquity's 2012 study of retail brands' mobile apps and sites, the volume of mobile shopping has increased significantly in 2013, in some cases even tripling. For example, in 2012, 14 percent of consumers shopped at Apple using smartphones; in 2013, this soared to 49 percent. And then it comes to 2013 holiday gift shopping, 49 percent said they they'll spending $100 or more using smartphone apps -- a sharp increase from last year's 23 percent.

Happy reading,

J.W. Gant

Best Reading of the Day - Entry 0066 End of the Compromise Effect?

In Supermarket retail one can learn a lot about the thinking of the people who set up the store by looking at the products on the shelves.  Walk through the cereal aisle and you'll see kid-friendly products on the bottom shelf, or, right at the eye level of little kids.  Other products are sorted in a manner bottom to top with less expensive versions giving way to the most expensive at the top.  The middle level items are right at eye level of adults.

This is modeled after "the compromise effect" where people are more likely to choose the middle product when offered 3 versions: less expensive, middle, and more expensive.  This mechanism of human behavior has been used with tremendous potency for decades.

New research suggests the power of this tool for marketers may be lessening in the face of digital information.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/08/business/theres-power-in-all-those-user-reviews

Here is a snippet from that piece.  When provided with access to user comments on Amazon.com...

That made a huge difference. When given three camera options, consumers didn’t gravitate en masse to the midprice version. Rather, the least expensive one kept its share and the middle one lost more to the most expensive one.

I only found this research because of the excellent writing of Karen Webster.  Her piece can be found here:

http://www.pymnts.com/briefing-room/consumer-engagement/Loyalty/2013/The-Unexpected-Power-Shift-In-Payments/

The ramifications of this finding are enormous.  Digital marketing is showing to be more powerful than any other form, a true industry disruptor.  Next generation loyalty is the solution.

Happy reading,

J.W. Gant

Best Reading of the Day - Entry 0065 iBeacon Effectiveness

Mobile Commerce Daily has another good write-up:

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/apple-aims-to-drive-small-ticket-accessory-sales-via-initial-ibeacon-rollout

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Last week, Apple announced that iBeacons will be used all over the store for different sales and servicing needs. During a recent visit to the New York Apple flagship store on Fifth Avenue, it was clear that Apple’s focus is more on pushing consumers to buy low-cost accessory items versus bigger device sales.

The key takeaway in this article is probably the right one: without context or personalization this technology still isn't any better than previous tech with the exception of localization.

In other words, a company can begin using this technology immediately to help localize touch points throughout the store and that may solve some basic challenges for retailers.  However, without making the interaction meaningful to the customer this will not be nearly as effective as it might be.  The more you know about the person walking through the store and can make the messaging relevant to them the more effective your use of this technology will be.

Happy reading,

J.W. Gant

Apple Stores Roll Out iBeacons

POST NUMBER 100

I missed it as it was happening.  This was post #100, a mere 8 months after launching this blog.  Hope you have enjoyed the reading and found it to be valuable at times.

Now back to regularly scheduled programming...

Apple Stores Roll Out iBeacons

According to reporting by the Associated Press (AP) Apple will turn on iBeacon technology in all of its 254 retail stores today.

Using the iBeacon feature, the app will notify you if the computer you ordered is ready to be picked up, for example. Show a clerk your screen with the order number, and the clerk will get it for you. Walking by an iPhone table? You may get a message asking if you want to upgrade, check your upgrade availability and see if you can get money for trading in your old phone.

ABC has the AP story here:

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/apple-guides-shoppers-inside-stores-ibeacon-21120351

This will be worth following in the days to come.  If you have the opportunity to pop in to an Apple store this weekend be sure to download the "Apple Store App" from the app store and enable Bluetooth.

Here are several more stories on the subject:

http://techcrunch.com/2013/12/06/apple-ibeacons-u-s-retail-apple-store/

apple-stores-fire-up-ibeacon-to-track-you-while-you-shop/

http://thenextweb.com/apple/2013/12/06/apple-stores-fitted-ibeacon-transmitters-us-optional-store-notifications/

Also we have our first glimpse of the Shopkick beacons to be used in Macy's:

Happy reading,

J.W. Gant

Best Reading of the Day - Entry 0064 Holiday Shopping

An enormous amount is being written about the current holiday shopping cycle.  The short of it goes like this:

• More shoppers went to stores than last year
• They spent less money than last year
• Online and mobile sales grew tremendously over last year
• Sales overall are up over last year

CMO.com has the best article on this:

http://www.cmo.com/content/cmo-com/home/articles/2013/12/3/15_stats_Black_Friday_Cyber_Monday_Thanksgiving.html

Here is one piece from that:

Thanksgiving once marked a day of gratitude, spending time with loved ones, and, of course, a big turkey dinner. 

But that has clearly taken a back seat to what now kicks off the busiest shopping time of the year. This year marked the first time retailers opened their doors to customers on Thanksgiving Day, with big-box stores including Target and Walmart hoping to make up for the shorter holiday shopping season. What we're finding is that while in-store sales were lower than usual for the holiday weekend, online revenue for the period was up, further cementing the notion that online shopping is becoming the norm. 

Several more articles are relevant in their own way:

News on how Victoria's Secret is using mobile:

http://risnews.edgl.com/retail-news/Victoria-s-Secret-Is-Mobility89200

Cyber Monday is the biggest ever:

http://mobilemarketingmagazine.com/cyber-monday-biggest-ever-day-for-online-shopping-says-ibm/

Small form factor tablets, or large smart phones, known as "Phablets" are taking a growing share of the market:

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9244526/_Phablets_are_eating_into_the_tablet_market_IDC_says

That last one I find particularly interesting as I've been predicting growth in that form factor for some time now.

Happy reading,

J.W. Gant

Best Reading of the Day - Entry 0063 Decisions and Results

Are we as a society too results oriented in our thinking?

"Just get the sale."

"Just win."

What if you make all of the right decisions but don't get the sale or get the win?  Is that acceptable?  Do we think that way when we "Monday Morning Quarterback" things?

I believe we focus too much on results and a Bloomberg.com article makes the same argument using College Football as the backdrop:

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-12-04/when-the-right-decisions-go-wrong-in-college-football

This article uses an analysis of football as an excuse to tell some pretty good statistics.  Decision tree style analytics are an important business management tool yet we too often fall in to the pit of focusing too much on the result.  More importantly we should ask: was that the right decision?  All too often the answer is yes even if the result was poor.



Here is a snippet from the article:

The game was tied, and so Alabama should presumably have had nothing to lose when attempting a 57-yard field goal. Make it and win, miss it and go to overtime. Presumably.

... Alabama was facing:

• 36 percent chance of winning
• 64 percent chance of going to overtime
• 0.007 percent chance of losing

Even if you thought Alabama’s backup kicker had nowhere near a 36 percent chance of making the field goal—maybe you’re extremely pessimistic and only gave him a 1 percent chance—that’s still about 150 times more likely than having the ball returned for a touchdown. Again, the right decision was made even though it turned out wrong.

That’s the problem with percentages and averages: You can make the “right” choice when the numbers back you up and still end up with the wrong result.

Happy reading,

J.W. Gant

Best Reading of the Day - Entry 0062 Couch Commerce

cCommerce?

Yeap.

Couch Commerce.

Mobile retailing is up dramatically this year during Black Friday and on Thanksgiving day.  I like the tagline for this one so I'm using it to represent the bevy of articles on the recent shopping madness.

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20131130/BIZ/311300344

Happy reading,

J.W. Gant

Shopkick to Deploy iBeacon Technology

Several news pieces to catch up on from the previous week.  It is the biggest week of the year for retail and the news coming out is worth looking at.

Are you familiar with Shopkick?

They've partnered with Macy's to roll out possibly the first pilot of iBeacon technology in store:

http://www.gpsbusinessnews.com/Shopkick-to-Deploy-iBeacon-Retail-Presence-Systems_a4519.html

http://www.shopkick.com/shopbeacon

This is pretty big news.  A third party app company getting a footprint within the retail store environment to facilitate in-store marketing.

Wow.

I call that news.

J.W. Gant

The Amazon.com Drone

Last night's airing on 60 Minutes of the piece on Amazon.com has created a bit of a buzz today around the new Amazon delivery service currently being tested to use drones for delivery.

To industry professionals it has elicited more of a yawn.  This is old news.  Companies such as Domino's Pizza have been public about testing such technology for much of the year as you can read about here:

dominos-pizza-drone

Regardless, the buzz is insistent so the move has accomplished its mission.  I've gathered several articles on the Amazon Drone delivery service.  The best is on Bloomberg.com where he correctly argues there is another reason for Jeff Bezos, CEO and founder of Amazon.com, to time this piece now:

amazons-drone-fleet-delivers-what-bezos-wants-an-image-of-ingenuity

My thinking is Mr. Bezos never seems to do what Wall Street wants him to do, focus on profitability, so this is a way to get them off his back.

Here is the drone:

Here are a few more articles on the subject:

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/214561/look-its-a-bird-its-a-plane-its-an-amazo.html

http://techcrunch.com/2013/12/01/i-drone/

amazon-plans-to-deliver-packages-via-drones-within-the-next-4-5-years

Happy reading,

J.W. Gant

**UPDATE**

A well known hacker has just released specs to create a drone that latches on to other drones and takes control of them.  Zombie-drones headed your way.

http://arstechnica.com/security/2013/12/flying-hacker-contraption-hunts-other-drones-turns-them-into-zombies/

Might have to consider items such as this to be a small problem for Bezos and his grand idea.

**UPDATE #2**
The Amazon Rocket delivery vehicle.  Get your packages in 5 minutes or less!
amazon-drones-30-minute-delivery-time-forget-amazon-rockets-gets-done-5

Spectacular.

**UPDATE #3**
This one should help you see the theme coming out from the announcement by Amazon.com.  Ridiculous, and the responses treat it as such.  The latest details the proposed response by Wal-Mart: Surface to Air missiles on each of their locations set to target Amazon drones.
http://www.rockcitytimes.com/walmart-install-mini-surface-air-missiles-store-roofs-shoot-amazon-drones/

Brilliant!