San Francisco Parking Auction Apps

Sometimes it amazes me how quickly things can move.

I'm in mobile in a big way and mobile payments as well.  I've been quite interested in seeing big city parking turn over to mobile payments.  Why not?  Seems perfect right?

Yes, it can be.

On a recent trip to San Francisco I had a chat with a brilliant young friend of mine, Derek Gillaspy, on his parking woes.  He had just driven back in to the city from S.F.O. and was quite concerned how long it was going to take him to locate a parking spot over by the Coit Tower area.  Yeap.  Quite a problem I'm sure.

Here is a selfie at some of the redwoods downtown:

What I wasn't prepared for was the recent piece on Yahoo about the apps in San Francisco for auctioning traffic spots.

Wow.

Here is the article:

https://www.yahoo.com/tech/san-francisco-government-cracks-down-on-parking-apps-89756826544.html?src=rss

Here is a snippet from that piece:

San Francisco’s new crackdown on a mobile app that allows people to auction off their public parking spots marks yet another clash between innovative technologies and regulators trying to maintain law and order, public safety and a sense of social decorum.

The app, called Monkey Parking, allows a driver who scores a notoriously hard-to-get San Francisco parking spot to sell it for $5, $10, even $20 and then hang out there until the buyer arrives to take his place.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Best Reading of the Day - Entry 0128 Misc

Travel to and from San Francisco last week limited my availability to provide comment.  I'm going to catch up with the 4 stories that most captured my interest.

First is the brand crisis ISIS is facing thanks to the group in Iraq with the same name.  Does this spell trouble or what?

http://www.paymentssource.com/news/isis-faces-a-branding-crisis-3018333-1.html

Next is the rumor that Microsoft will use the Lumia name instead of Surface, something this writer mentioned at the time of the release of the Surface Pro 3.

http://www.zdnet.com/microsoft-rumored-to-be-planning-to-replace-surface-branding-with-lumia-7000031028/

A good little article that talks about disruption in retail and some simple thoughts on how to approach the phenomenon.

http://chainstoreage.com/article/three-ways-retailers-can-capitalize-digital-disruptions

Finally, a short piece on the accelerating pace of mobile payments.

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/mobile-pay-seen-trailing-cards-despite-dominance-over-desktop

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Best Reading of the Day - Entry 0127 Mobile First

Excellent read from HuffingtonPost.com yesterday:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/julie-ask/why-retailers-must-embrac_b_5512239.html

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Mobile has fundamentally changed consumer expectations. Already, 65 percent of online consumers use their smartphones in stores. Among those under the age of 34 years, more than half use this device to research products online while browsing the aisles.

Consumers have come to depend on the immediacy that mobile offers, be it access to their grocery list on their device, or the ability to buy groceries while waiting for the bus, knowing they can be delivered home later. This is the mobile mind shift - the expectation that you can get what you want in your immediate context and moment of need.

For retailers, the new customer battlefield is in these mobile moments. Those brands that are there for their customers in the moment of need will be loved; those that aren't will lose business.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Apple iWatch News

You can't visit a news website today without finding something about the Apple iWatch news.  Here is Bloomberg:

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-06-20/apples-smartwatch-plans-coming-into-view#r=tec-ls

Here is CNBC:

http://www.cnbc.com/id/101776202

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Google Wallet Instant Buy

Google has made available its 'Instant Buy' solution for iOS to enable speedy online checkout:

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/eat24-exec-google-wallet-instant-buy-for-ios-apps-a-game-changer

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Google Wallet’s streamlined mobile checkout solution Instant Buy is now available on iOS applications for the first time, a development early adopters such as Eat24 say could finally make Google Wallet a bigger focus for consumers.

Despite the fact that Google’s digital wallet has so far struggled to catch on with consumers and merchants, the technology company continues to bring out new features and functionality with the hope that something will catch on with mobile users. Instant Buy, which was introduced earlier this year for Android apps and the mobile Web, makes checking out from a mobile device easier, with the process often taking as few as two clicks.

This has become a hyper-competitive space recently.  MasterPass, PayPal, Amazon, Google, and Apple may join in with their 800 million registered iTunes accounts.

This is one form of mobile payments that is proving to see good consumer adoption.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Best Reading of the Day - Entry 0126 The Retailers Strike Back

Retailers for years now have appeared to be the slow, lumbering, behemoths no longer equiped for the day.  Shackled to their hugely expensive brick & mortar stores they will be too slow to adapt and will die off.

Are we underestimating them?

Lowe's has created a virtual reality room, in the store, through a custom tablet, that allows consumers to visualize what their home project will look like.  Amazing.

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/lowes-strives-for-competitive-advantage-with-life-size-augmented-reality-experience

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Lowe’s stores in Toronto will be the first to feature the Lowe’s Holoroom, an immersive experience enabling shoppers to see how products will look in their bathroom using augmented reality and a specially designed tablet.

The Holoroom is billed by the retailer as a “home improvement simulator” that uses 3D and augmented reality technologies to create the life-size experience designed to help consumers envision how certain products would look in their homes. The Holoroom, which is the first concept to come out of the Lowe’s Innovation Labs, was previewed this week at the Exponential Finance conference in New York.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Best Reading of the Day - Entry 0125 Walmart and Loyalty?

What is the best way to enact a loyalty program at a retail establishment?  Don't let the consumer ever know they are signing up for it.

Publix, the Florida-based grocer, knows this and uses phone numbers as a virtual loyalty program without ever enrolling people.  Walmart may have found an even better way to do this without any form of overt opt-in by the consumer.  They do one thing and see tangible benefits for it, and Walmart benefits by establishing a virtual loyalty program without the silly plastic card.

That is the take Advertising Age has taken on Walmart's latest digital offering.

http://adage.com/article/dataworks/walmart-rivals-discounts-fuel-loyalty-program/293596/

Here is a snippet from the article:

Walmart is using a new digital extension of its longstanding guarantee to match competitors' advertised prices to address a question that's dogged it for years: How can it launch a loyalty program without the promotional deals it's long shunned as part of its everyday-low-price philosophy?

The answer: Walmart is essentially using rivals' discounts to fuel its own loyalty program and get individual shopper data into its database.

Yet again I would have never found this article without the excellent 'Morning News Beat':

http://www.morningnewsbeat.com/

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

News on Apple, Amazon, and NFC in China

Several news items or bits of information I find quite interesting.

First up is a story on Apple's Maps App in their iOS devices and the apparent internal problems inhibiting improvement.  Let this story stand as a warning against having too many cooks in the kitchen and a poor execution on vision.

http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/apple-maps-app-update-delayed/#!W0mBO

Next is a story about Amazon expanding its services offerings to include payments online, moving in to space currently held mostly by PayPal.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/09/us-amazon-com-payment-idUSKBN0EK0HW20140609?type=companyNews

Finally is a story about a Chinese Telecom that is moving on NFC adoption.  Could we see a backflow of demand as China begins using NFC and it flows back to the United States that could see inevitable adoption?  Or is NFC truly dead in the U.S.?

http://www.mobilepaymentsinsider.com/2014/06/10/china-telecom-selects-gemalto-for-commercial-launch-of-nfc-services/

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Amazon Smart Phone With 3D?

A 3D screen that doesn't require 3D glasses to view it, on a phone, that is a smart phone.  Sounds like the kind of innovation Apple or Google might once have launched.

Amazon.

Yeap.  It appears the Amazon phone may be just around the corner.  An event will be held June 18th to launch their new mystery product.

http://money.cnn.com/2014/06/04/technology/mobile/amazon-smartphone/index.html?iid=HP_LN

How does 3D work when you don't have the glasses on?  This is called 'autostereoscopy'.  Automatic stereo (two) vision.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autostereoscopy

The 3D monitor for desktop computers, sans the requirement for glasses, has been just around the corner for years now.  Looks like Amazon may have leapfrogged everyone with their work.  We will have to wait and see.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Best Reading of the Day - Entry 0124 Startup Funding Changes

The world of start-ups is changing.  What once was more than acceptable is now amateur hour to the new world of venture capital that has risen dramatically with the new mobile internet age.

http://techcrunch.com/2014/06/04/series-a-is-the-new-series-b/

Here is a snippet from that piece:

When I moved to Silicon Valley over a decade ago, I thought “venture” meant looking for smart people with great ideas. I’ve learned that’s not true; they’re looking for smart people with great ideas who are “killing it.” That last bit is a fundamental change and has made modern-day Series A rounds effectively the Series B rounds of the past.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

How to Drive Adoption and Usage of a Retail Mobile App

Building a new product can be a tremendous challenge.  Finally showing your product to the world can be terrifying.

What if it is poorly received?

What if the product fails?

How can I help ensure my product has the best chance of gaining acceptance by consumers?

In the mobile application world there are plenty of unique challenges, but we can draw tremendously on what has come before.  In the retail world you have the brick & mortar store as an asset as well.  If you are launching a retail mobile app this white paper is for you.

How to Drive Adoption and Usage of a Retail Mobile App

This graphic may be familiar to those of you in sales.  It is the classic funnel approach to understanding a sales pipeline and conversions.  You'll find much more about this concept in the white paper.

Here is the summary paragraph:

     When launching a new retail mobile app three key areas of focus are critical to drive adoption and usage of your new app: (1) Definition of Success, (2) Product Launch, and (3) A Cycle of Innovation. First you must work with the business owner to determine the criteria for success that also aligns with the company’s strategic goals. Next is the crucial, one time only, initial product launch phase. Efforts must be focused on touch points with consumers both outside of the app, in the physical world, and inside, in the digital world. Finally, the ongoing effort must not be overlooked as a critical component of the product’s lifecycle. The effort does not end at launch; rather it is the end of the beginning and the start of a journey. This white paper will provide a high level view of the steps required to help ensure healthy adoption and usage of your retail mobile app.

Even if your app has already launched or you are in the world of websites this should be an interesting read for you as an overview.  The appendices are loaded with great stories and information including reference to three books I highly recommend.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Best Reading of the Day - Entry 0123 Mobile First

A new study titled "Mobile Path to Purchase" has some revealing new insights in to consumer behavior.

I first learned of the study through an article by the folks at Mobile Marketer:

http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/research/17925.html

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Forget mobile "playing a role" in purchase decisions; in certain categories it is increasingly the only media outlet consumers are consulting before making a purchase, according to a report released today by xAd and Telmetrics.

Dining is one category where mobile is dominant, with 60 percent of consumers using only a smartphone to pick a restaurant and 40 percent a tablet. Other key findings from the third annual xAd/Telmetrics Mobile Path to Purchase study include that 42 percent of mobile users consider mobile the most important resource in their purchase process and more than one-third of mobile shoppers turn to mobile exclusively.

Here is a link to the company that did the study along with Nielsen:

http://www.telmetrics.com/xadtelmetrics-mobile-path-to-purchase-study/

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Apple's 2014 Developer's Conference (WWDC)

It is a wrap in San Francisco as Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, has just left the stage following a 2 hour long live-streamed presentation at the Apple WWDC 2014.















The Developer Conference is focused on software Apple is working on and releasing.  However it has become a large media event and Apple uses it to announce anything they want, often including Mac hardware announcements, etc.  Last year was iOS 7.  This year it is iOS 8.  Maybe next year we'll see ... wait for it ... iOS 9.  Hmmmm.

The theme this year seems to be the "Seamless Experience" that is possible with all of your Apple devices working together.

Microsoft is definitely using that "one experience" approach to sell its devices and services and has in some ways leapfrogged Apple in making this a reality.  Apple has definitely been lagging behind in the cloud arena.  Today's news attempts to make up some of that ground.

Here are the major announcements that I feel are most worth capturing:

Consumer Facing

1. iOS 8
2. "HealthKit" acts as a software API set for developers and as a possible dashboard for all of the fitness, health & wellness, programs and devices now available.
3. Pictures and photography improvements.
4. iCloud improvements.
5. "HandOff" that provides proximity awareness between Apple devices and, therefore, better interaction between them like with a family plan.
6. Considerable updates to chat.  Since we use this app more than any other it may have the largest impact on our usage.

Developers

1. "TestFlight" beta program toolset in the app store to create instant beta programs for your new apps
2. Service-oriented app capabilites so one app can talk to another such as providing a service.  This has been available on Android for some time and will enable things like third-party keyboards (Swype!) to be used throughout the device.
3. "HomeKit" is a set of software APIs for in-home device management like turning on/off lights, etc.
4. "Metal" for 3D games replaces "OpenGL" and is basically the Microsoft DirectX for iOS.
5. "Swift" programming language runs side-by-side with Objective C.  The guide is available now in iBooks.

No direct news on payments in this announcement but the service oriented capabilities really enables all of the "other things" you'd need to make this a reality.  One Apple payments system could then interact with and be available in any other app.  The same thing is true for health & wellness functionality (HealthKit) and the in-home controls (HomeKit).

New iPhone

iOS 8 will be available in the "Fall" for all developers, to take a direct quote.  Since the new iPhone typically ships with the new iOS we can work forwards from this announcement to time the earliest possible release of the new iPhone(s). Since developers need to get the iOS before it is made available for download to consumers, so they can update their existing apps, this means a month or more in to Fall before iOS can be released.  Thus the new iPhone will likely be released mid-Fall this year or about October 22. 

That's a wrap.

Have a great day,

J.W. Gant