Macy's Digital Wallet

Big news for you if you are a loyal shopper of Macy's.  Their new digital wallet looks like a tremendous leap forward to true omnichannel capability.

Read a brief story on it here:

http://www.wwd.com/fashion-news/fashion-scoops/macys-offers-digital-wallet-option-7850439?src=rss/fashion/

Here is the official Macys.com introduction:

http://www.macys.com/m/campaign/splash/wallet/faq

Here is a snippet from that piece:

My Wallet allows you to manage payment options, Macy's deals & promotions and more. You can use it when you shop on macys.com or with your Macy's Credit Card in your local Macy's store.

When signed in to your Macy's profile, choose My Wallet from the left navigation menu and follow the instructions.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Best Reading of the Day - Entry 0150 Personalization

The folks over at CMO.com have an excellent article encouraging brands to provide real-time personalization.

This is the nirvana for marketers, to be sure, and has been unattainable until now.  Here is the article:

http://www.cmo.com/articles/2014/8/15/real_time_personaliz.html

Here is a snippet from that piece:

What is the objective of your digital marketing strategy? Do you simply want to be seen? Do you want to reinforce brand values? Or do you want to exploit the extraordinary depth and breadth of consumer data now freely available to create a one-to-one personalized brand experience that attracts and retains customers for life?

Hope everyone has a fantastic Labor Day weekend.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Mobile Apps Not Translating to Sales

This is very interesting news over on Re/Code:

http://recode.net/2014/08/20/should-there-be-an-app-for-that-why-mobile-sites-could-be-more-important/

Here is a snippet from that piece:

We live in a world of apps: More than a million can be downloaded from Apple’s App Store; another 1.3 million or so from Google Play. We spend the vast majority of our Internet time using apps on our mobile devices (86 percent of it, says Flurry).

Much has been made of the dominance of apps in the world of mobile. But guess what? When mobile shoppers actually buy stuff, it’s not through apps, but on mobile websites, according to an eMarketer report, based on work by Baynote and the E-Tailing Group.

I've been following this for a while and am fascinated at usage statistics in this area.  It does seem there is an excellent opportunity to offer a strong experience in the mobile web world.

So if retail apps aren't used all that much for buying stuff, what are they being used for, and what should retailers be building?  Seems the focus should be on everything else.

I wrote a paper that makes that argument, in part, a little over a year ago.

http://thagent.blogspot.com/2013/06/is-it-truly-mobile.html

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Best Reading of the Day - Entry 0149 Facebook Product Design

This is a very interesting problem written about in the article below.  How do you make changes to Facebook webpages?  The 'Like' button is clicked approximately 22 billion times per day.  Do you make a change to that button lightly?

No way.

Here is the article:

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-08-20/facebooks-product-design-director-redesign-for-1-billion-users

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Comcast Sales Metrics

Waitaminute, the service support staff is supposed to sell, sell, sell?!!?

Hadn't we figured that out?

I think there is no question this has been the case for some time with some of the major service providers but this story tells the inside details we always suspected.

http://www.theverge.com/2014/8/19/6028059/training-materials-show-how-comcast-pushes-customer-service-reps-to

I first found this story over on ArsTechnica:

http://arstechnica.com/business/2014/08/leaked-comcast-employee-metrics-show-what-we-figured-sell-or-perish/

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Media attention and fallout from Comcast’s viral customer service missteps continue to plague the country’s largest Internet service provider. First there was Ryan Block’s ludicrous cancellation call, then Comcast refused to refund invalid fees for Tim Davis until he caught the company in a lie, and then Comcast kept Aaron Spain on hold for three hours, long enough for the customer service lines to close and leave Spain in limbo.

Each instance has been met with a swift response from Comcast’s PR group after going viral, but quick, reactionary responses don’t do anything to fix the underlying problems. Leaked documents obtained by The Verge (full PDF) paint a portrait of exactly how broken things are in Comcast call centers throughout the country, and the documents confirm what current and former Comcast employees have been saying for the past few weeks: selling services is a required part of the job, even for employees doing tech support.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

**UPDATE** It feels like the floodgates have opened.  Here is a new story about a poor customer service call.  This one was recorded for YouTube, lasted nearly 2 hours, and had the caller go through 6 different reps without getting an answer to his issue.
http://bgr.com/2014/08/20/why-is-comcast-so-bad-15/

MCX, Amazon, Netflix and More

A couple of stories appear to be drawing headlines mostly by the comparisons they are making.

First is an article that tells the story that wants to do what MCX does, but better:

http://www.pymnts.com/in-depth/2014/the-better-than-mcx-mobile-commerce-approach

Here is a snippet from that piece:

If that sounds familiar, it’s supposed to. It’s what MCX is pitching to a coalition of merchants. The DoubleBeam proposition is different in one important way: DoubleBeam doesn’t require that a retailer be part of a coalition to get all of the goodies and is agnostic about what a merchant should or must offer to use its mobile platform. Tekippe and Toewe recently talked with Karen Webster about their plans, their vision and the future of payments.

Next is a take on the personalization of Amazon and Netflix and how a little company wants to do the same thing, but better:

http://betaboston.com/news/2014/08/12/coherent-path-aims-to-provide-a-gateway-effect

Seeing a pattern?

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Amazon and Netflix are known as the pioneers in bringing you personalized recommendations for what to buy or watch next. A Cambridge startup unveiling itself today is hoping to one-up the sites in the quest for a better recommendation.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Best Reading of the Day - Entry 0148 Apps and Retail

I've reached a tie for two related stories today.

First up is a story on retail mobile apps and the move towards mobile sites:

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/is-retail-enthusiasm-for-mobile-apps-waning

Here is a snippet from that piece:

A number of the retailers presenting at last week’s eTail East 2014 conference came down on the side of mobile sites in the ongoing debate over native applications vs. the Web, pointing to the larger issue of how best to reach shoppers across a multitude of devices.

Next is a piece that states consumers are increasingly less likely to download a new app of any kind:

http://www.cnbc.com/id/101925585

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Smartphone owners' waning appetite for new apps is casting a shadow over what has been a technology market hotspot and is fueling mobile developers' concerns that their best days of growth are coming to an end.

Almost a third of smartphone users do not download any apps for their devices in a typical month, according to a report by Deloitte that predicts the volume of app store sales is hitting a ceiling.

Interesting reading.  Always good to look to the end of the hype curve.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

More Bad News for Comcast

Can you believe Comcast is in the news yet again for poor customer service?

Then again, if you are one of those who has experienced poor service from that company maybe it isn't too hard to imagine.

This fellow was put on hold so long the customer service center closed ... with him still on hold.  Ridiculous.

https://www.yahoo.com/tech/comcast-keeps-customer-on-hold-until-it-closes-to-avoid-cancellation

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

PS  This marks my return from a summer vacation week.  Very good time.  If you have never ventured to Montreal and you are in the Northeastern United States go ahead and make the trip.  Great time.

Best Reading of the Day - Entry 0147 Walmart App Price Comparison

Big news for Walmart as their app has reached a whole new level:

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/walmarts-price-comparison-tool-catapults-app-downloads-to-new-heights

Here is a snippet from that piece:

The addition of Walmart’s Savings Catcher feature to its mobile application earlier this week pushed the app to the top of the Lifestyle category on the Apple App Store for the first time.

The news points to the significant potential that lies in the convergence mobile and consumers’ love for a good deal as well as how bricks-and-mortar retailers can embrace in-store price comparisons. Savings Catcher is a receipt comparison tool designed to take the work out of finding the best price for an item.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

More Beacon News and Coupons

Beacons, beacons, beacons.

And iBeacons.

The drumbeat goes on and on.

Mobile marketing automation company Swrve announced beacons:

http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/2105815

Now Epicurious app users will be interacting with beacons as well:

http://appadvice.com/appnn/2014/08/epicurious-users-will-now-experience-apple-ibeacon-technology-in-stores

So how is big data helping?

http://smartblogs.com/food-and-beverage/2014/08/06/why-big-data-is-a-big-deal-for-supermarkets/?utm_source=brief

Tying it all together is the ability to provide personalized offers, coupons, in the new mobile world.  Just in time couponing is a marketers dream right?

http://www.clickz.com/clickz/news/2358929/mobile-coupons-to-reach-more-than-1-billion-consumers-study

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Best Reading of the Day - Entry 0146 On-Demand Delivery Returns

Re/Code has an excellent article about on-demand delivery making a great come-back.

http://recode.net/2014/08/07/instant-replay-the-second-coming-of-on-demand-delivery/

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Today’s era of smartphone-enabled instant-gratification startups may be new, but it has already had its own share of flops. And like their dot-com ancestors, some of those recent failures have already returned to the game to give it another try.

Just within the last few years, there was Cherry, the Uber for carwashes (“acqhired” by Lyft). Exec, the Uber for TaskRabbit (refocused on housecleaning, sold to Handybook). Zaarly, an Uber for anything you want now (pivoted a few times, now also focused on home services). Rewinery, the Uber for wine (shut down). And Prim, the Uber for laundry (shut down).

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Best Reading of the Day - Entry 0145 Google Shopping, Payments, Starbucks and Apple

This all ties together.  Really it does.

The best reading today is probably this story about the efforts by Google to close the loop on shopping:

http://recode.net/2014/07/06/inside-googles-big-plan-to-race-amazon-to-your-door/

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Google is the undisputed king of search in all but one lucrative and vital category: Product searches.

Over the past decade, Amazon has transformed itself from a seller of books online to the place Americans turn to when they want to search and buy just about anything — from diapers to flat-screen TVs. In some cities, Amazon has started delivering fresh groceries. With each product search that starts on Amazon instead of Google, the search giant’s main business of selling ads alongside search results weakens.

That is only the start, however, as mobile payments is a critical piece to the shopping puzzle and several stories contribute to that discussion.  Will Apple actually add NFC to the iPhone 6 and enter in to an agreement with Visa (no and yes)?

http://www.pymnts.com/news/2014/more-rumors-about-apple-and-nfc-this-time-with-visa/#.U-DYReNdX9Y

Another story in the same vein though it digs at Google Wallet's failures:

http://blogs.barrons.com/techtraderdaily/2014/08/04/apple-visa-to-accelerate-e-payments-where-google-failed-says-pac-crest/

Starbuck's app is in the news again with its successful mobile wallet:

http://www.paymentssource.com/news/interchange/starbucks-mobile-success-provides-lessons-for-food-services-3018727-1.html

Finally a piece that states Google will not create a bank, 'Google Bank', rather it will create the services for shopping that comprise everything except the need for a bank:

http://www.finextra.com/news/fullstory.aspx?newsitemid=26310&topic=innovation

Google.  Shopping.  In-store experience.  Mobile Payments.  It all ties together.  Exciting times in retail.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Wal-Mart Mobile Becomes More Like Amazon

'The Retailers Strike Back'

Personalization is the key and those acquisitions Wal-Mart has been making this year are helping their San Francisco technology base get Wal-Mart.com closer to Amazon.com

Wal-Mart.com has undergone a major redesign to make all aspects more mobile friendly.  Maybe that won't make Wal-Mart a 'mobile first' company but it will significantly close the gap.

Here is the best story covering this:

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/walmart-coms-latest-overhaul-drives-more-personalized-omnichannel-experiences

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Mobile is a key focus of Walmart.com’s latest significant overhaul, which caters to the needs of the on-the-go shopper with more personalized product recommendations, an easier transition from digital to bricks-and-mortar and a three-step, single-page checkout process.

The site, which is built on a brand-new ecommerce platform that has been in development for two years, used small tablets used as the baseline for the new design, Walmart revealed in a post on its corporate blog yesterday. Given the growing numbers of consumers researching their purchases online from their smartphones before visiting a store, the new site attempts to meet the needs of these shoppers by making it easier to find items of interest and a nearby store where it can be bought or to complete a purchase online.

Here is another take on the story that is also worth reading:

http://www.cnet.com/news/walmart-com-tries-to-go-modern-with-mobile-focused-redesign/

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

More Beacon News - Lord & Taylor and Mobiquity Technologies

A couple more stories came out about iBeacons/Beacons as the year of the beacon continues.

I should just change the 'BLE' tag in this blog to 'Year of the Beacon'.

First up is Lord & Taylor taking their limited program national to all stores in the chain:

http://risnews.edgl.com/retail-news/Lord---Taylor-Personalizes-In-Store-Experience

Here is a snippet from that piece:

To deliver digital experience to consumers' smartphones while they shop in department stores, Hudson's Bay and Lord & Taylor will deploy Swirl's in-store beacon marketing platform in Canada and the U.S. Using beacons installed in merchandising areas through the stores, the retailers will automatically deliver branded content and personalized offers to in-store shoppers through an array of company-owned and third party mobile apps.

Next is Mobiquity and the retail real estate company Simon:

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/simon-and-mobiquity-technologies

Here is a snippet from that piece:

INDIANAPOLIS, Aug. 4, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Simon, a global leader in retail real estate, has announced the expansion of its agreement with Mobiquity Technologies, Inc., a leading technology company focusing on location-based mobile solutions, to create "smart malls" in 200+ Simon retail destinations in the U.S. using Bluetooth-enabled iBeacon technology.

Simon's deployment of Mobiquity's Mobi-Beacon network, already in place in 75 of its premier shopping destinations, provides a unique, opt-in opportunity for customers to engage with retailers, brands and mall apps for timely and contextually-relevant personalized offers, information and real-time experiences.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Best Reading of the Day - Entry 0144 Apps, Dunkin' Brands, Mobile and iBeacons

Several stories caught my eye though one is really the best read of the day.

Read this story by TechnoCrunch on the proliferation of spin-off apps by the major names such as Facebook:

http://techcrunch.com/2014/08/04/why-standalone-apps-are-supposed-to-fail/

Here is a snippet from that piece:

It’s scary to move a billion people’s furniture. That’s why Product Manager Michael Reckhow tells me Facebook built Paper. This fear has spawned the standalone app boom of 2014. Tech giants are experimenting with new user experiences outside the hallowed halls of their main apps that are too important to meddle with.

But while the press and public scrutinize the success of these different apps like FacebookSlingshot, Instagram Bolt, and Dropbox Carousel, they may be missing the point. Standalone apps are supposed to fail, at least most of the time.

Here is one on iBeacons in Missouri:

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/08/prweb12060085.htm

Here is another about a study on mobile influencing shopping:

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/231298/mobile-influence-is-category-dependent.html?edition=75018

Finally, a story about the success Dunkin' Donuts is having with mobile:

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/dunkin-donuts-winning-mobile-triple-play-geofencing-behavioral-targeting-and-coupons

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant