NCR Pay? Borders Restaurants and Mobile Payments

Have you ever heard of NCR Pay??  Nope.  If you are in the biz you'll know who and what NCR is.  National Cash Register is one of the big players in point of sale systems. I had no idea they were building a payment system, for mobile payments.

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/on-the-border-promotes-mobile-pay-at-the-table-via-in-store-signage

Here is a snippet from that piece:

The restaurant chain recently integrated NCR Corporation’s mobile payment solutions to enable diners to pay the bill on their personal devices at their leisure and refrain from waiting for their server. Now, the brand is putting up in-store signage on tables to ensure that all consumers are aware of this offering and also understand how to use it, a move which other food marketers would be well-advised to follow.

Can there be too many mobile wallets?  Maybe not. I do believe consolidation is coming however.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Digital Retail Strategy

The world is changing so rapidly we can often find ourselves lost.  However, as with most things when we look closely we find that what was old is new again.  If we take a moment to evaluate where we have been, where we are now, and what we can see coming we can begin to plan for the future with some sense of certainty.

That is the purpose of the new white paper I've recently finished.

Here is the title:

Digital Retail Strategy

And the Impact of Phase IV Product Marketing

The Story of Mass Marketing in America Continues

Here is a link to the full 50 page white paper, with roughly 2.5 pages of executive summary followed by a few dozen pages of appendices:

Digital Retail Strategy White Paper

Here is the opening paragraph:

     The modern era of the mobile internet combined with an explosion of social media has created a new paradigm for retailers and manufacturer brands in the United States that present risks and opportunities for both. Manufacturer brands are now rushing to embrace the opportunities presented in the new era and retailers must respond or risk disruption and irrelevance. The 1990s launched the Information Age and a new form of product marketing. This was named the 4th phase of product marketing by Richard S. Tedlow of Harvard Business School. At the time of the 1996 update to his book ‘The Story of Mass Marketing in America’ the strategic characteristics and implications of the 4th phase were unclear, while the defining infrastructure was determined to revolve around the information revolution. In 2015 we can see the call to action that is the new phase of product marketing and it is loud and clear: digital and mobile is king, customers have much more power, and both retailers and brand manufacturers are faced with new risks and new opportunities.

I hope you enjoy the read. This was a fun one to research.  It took me to many places I was uncertain of when the journey began.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Snapchat Geofilters and PepsiCo on Digital

I'm clumping two stories together today as they are related.

First is a fun little read on Snapchat's growing marketing capabilities that are benefiting quick service restaurants most of all.

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/why-qsrs-retail-brands-see-highest-commerce-potential-with-snapchat-geofilters

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Marketers such as McDonald’s and Lilly Pulitzer are taking to social media to invite their customers to snap photos in their physical establishments, emblazon them with branded geofilters on photo-sharing application Snapchat and send them to friends or family. As location-based data becomes even more prevalent this year, this strategy could indirectly aggregate more new customers as mobile users become inspired by their friends’ Snaps and head to local stores to purchase items.

“In terms of leveraging branded geofilter stickers specifically: that is obviously just one of the ways to capitalize on an increasingly robust segmentation and targeting toolkit offered by Snapchat,” said James McNally, director of business development at Fuzz Productions, Brooklyn, NY.

Next is a brief interview with a PepsiCo digital marketing rep:

http://www.canadiangrocer.com/top-stories/pepsicos-james-clarke-talks-digital-55083

Here is a snippet from that piece:

PepsiCo Foods Canada has a strong marketing team – I’d say one of the best in the industry. We had a new CMO join the Canadian organization last year and one of her asks of the marketing department is to implement a 70-20-10 rule in our 2016 plans: 70% of time and money should be dedicated to “tried and true” channels, 20% to “safe bets” and 10% to “experimental/cutting edge” opportunities. The 10% is a great place to explore some of these emerging digital spaces – this where amazing things can happen.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Pizza Hut Goes Digital

Retailer after retailer is making the move to customer engagement through digital and mobile.

Pizza Hut is the next to move.

http://www.zdnet.com/article/pizza-hut-eyes-digital-data-transformation-in-pizza-wars/

Here is a snippet from the piece:

In the pizza wars, the food and taste comparison serves merely as table stakes. The real war will be won via technology.

At least that's what Yum! Brands' Pizza Hut is hoping. As Domino's Pizza positions itself as a food delivery company armed with technology, digital engagement tools and mobile ordering, Pizza Hut is in the middle of a digital transformation that---from an information technology perspective---offers a little bit of everything.

• An emphasis on customer data and engagement to replicate Yum's success with marketing to Taco Bell customers.

One of the executives charged with helping Yum Brands get to this level spoke with me about doing their mobile app a year and a half ago.  While that opportunity never came to fruition I've been curious what Pizza Hut is up to ever since. I wish them luck, though I prefer the local pizza joints so commonly found in the Greater Boston Area.

I think the large national chains are going to have to do everything to head off the rise of fast casual now coming in to the pizza realm along with examples such as Chipotle and Five Guys Burgers.  Here is one great story on that:

http://www.businessinsider.com/pieology-pizza-business-story-and-expansion-2015-6

Here is a snippet from the piece:

The fast-casual pizza restaurant is the fastest-growing chain in America, according to data compiled by Technomic.

Pieology has 60 units in 11 states. The company expects to nearly double that number by the end of the year. 24 new locations are anticipated to open by the end of the summer.

Pieology's founder, Carl Chang, told Business Insider the company started when he identified a problem in the pizza industry.

"Pizza for us was somewhat broken," Chang, who is the brother and former coach of professional tennis player Michael Chang, said.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

BRotD - Entry 0223 Beacons

Best Reading of the Day

This is an excellent time to be in mobile and digital.  If you aren't sure about that, this great story on beacons should help you see why:

http://www.mytotalretail.com/article/offering-store-shoppers-beacon-hope-via-mobile/

Here is a snippet from the piece:

Beacons are a mobile marketing technology poised to transform the way consumers shop in stores and the ways stores market to and interact with their customers.

Push notifications triggered by beacons — tiny store-based transmitters that communicate with retailers’ mobile apps on consumers’ smartphones via Bluetooth Low Energy wireless technology — will influence $4.1 billion in U.S. retail sales at the top 100 retailers in 2015, mobile technology research firm BI Intelligence estimates. The firm predicts that number will soar to $44.4 billion in 2016 as use of beacons increases and merchants begin to formulate actual mobile in-store strategies.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

American Eagle Goes Mobile

In what I'd call a laggard move the Pittsburgh based retailer American Eagle is going mobile.

http://triblive.com/business/headlines/8624280-74/mobile-sales-american#axzz3e4xZrlJU

Here is a snippet from that piece:

American Eagle Outfitters is looking to hook up more often with teenagers on the Internet and through their smartphones.

The South Side-based retailer is revamping its website to work better with phones, rolling out robust apps and integrating mobile sales within its physical stores to capture more business from tech-savvy teens.

Mobile offers “the flagship opportunities for almost all retailers” and the company's success in this area will define the brand, said Michael Rempell, American Eagle's COO, at the Oppenheimer Global Consumer Conference in Boston on Wednesday.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

**UPDATE** I've seen this trend again and again.  A retailer begins releasing pent up work in digital and mobile and the news comes flowing out one after the other.  Here is another story on American Eagle and their new in-app reservation ordering system:
http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/american-eagle-outfitters-addresses-on-demand-mindset-with-in-app-reservations

Here is a snippet from that piece:


Users of American Eagle Outfitters’ application are getting first crack at trying a new service enabling items to be reserved online and then tried on in-store, reflecting the growth in mobile-enabled omnichannel shopping experiences.

With the retailer’s app experiencing triple-digit growth, higher return visits and higher bag size, giving users first look at the new Reserve, Try & Buy service helps keep them excited about coming back.

In-store Product Scanning and Home Depot

In-store product scanning by customers is becoming a big deal.  I'm not talking about reading a bar code.  I'm talking about using the camera to "look" at anything you put in front of it and the app tells you where products like that are located.  Have a blue dress you like?  Scan it and locate it.

Home Depot is the latest to roll out this technology.

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/home-depots-visual-search-beta-highlights-technologys-appeal-beyond-apparel

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Once customers find the item they are looking for using the visual search, they can purchase it online or pick it up in the store.

The move into visual search is part of a recent update to the retailer’s iOS apps that also included an iPad app redesign to give it a landscape orientation, something users had been requesting.

Visual search is a popular feature addition for large retailers’ apps in the past year.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

BRotD - Entry 0222 CPGs and Retailers by PWC

Best Reading of the Day

Can Consumer Packaged Goods companies, national manufacturer brands, and retailers co-exist?  They have so far, but they're both trying to gain leverage over the other.

A new study by PWC makes the case for everyone playing nice.

http://www.retailleader.com/top-story-trends-retailers_and_cpgs__working_out_the_tension-4372.html

Here is a snippet from the piece:

Retailers have the advantage in the “interesting tension” between themselves and their consumer packaged goods suppliers, but both sides should try to work past that and cooperate on the best ways to reach consumers.

That’s the takeaway from “Retail & Consumer Insights: 2015 Financial Benchmarking,” a report from PwC, and from an interview with one of the report’s authors, Steve Barr, PwC’s U.S. retail and consumer leader. The report examined the state of the relationship between CPG retailers and their manufacturer/suppliers, especially in light of what it called the “sporadic economic recovery” in the U.S.

To get the complete study follow this link:

http://www.pwc.com/us/en/retail-consumer/financial-performance-report/index.jhtml

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

More on Gap, Inc.

At some point it could begin to feel like piling on, but I guess writers have to write and editors have to get stories published before deadline.  Still, these are good reads.

The New York Times has a bit on Gap's fashion and the impact of social media:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/21/business/gaps-fashion-backward-moment/

Here is a bit from the NYT piece:

At 8:50 on a Wednesday morning, nearly two dozen shoppers hovered in front of H&M’s new global flagship store on the corner of West 34th Street and Avenue of the Americas in Manhattan, eager to get inside as soon as the doors were unlocked at 9.

Directly across the street, a Gap store was also preparing to open. A lone woman stood in front. She was handing out fliers for a Cuban restaurant as pedestrians hurried by.

The contrast summed up the state of American retailing. One by one, iconic brands like Gap, J. Crew, American Apparel and Abercrombie & Fitch have reported slumping sales, while chic and cheap foreign fast-fashion brands like H&M, Uniqlo and Zara are opening bustling stores and luring away customers once devoted to a more basic American style.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

A&P and Omnichannel

Great little article over on Mobile Commerce Daily about the slowly fading but still historic A&P supermarkets and missed opportunities to go digital.

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/how-an-omnichannel-mobile-strategy-might-have-eased-aps-decline

Here is a snippet from the piece:

Embattled supermarket chain A&P could have used mobile as the linchpin in an omnichannel campaign to reach consumers, helping to stave off its latest round of financial troubles in a fiercely competitive marketplace.

The grocer’s biggest oversight has been a lack of an omnichannel experience with mobile delivery and loyalty, and failing to invest more in mobile to attract the millennial consumer. Today, A&P, once the nation’s largest grocery with as many as 15,000 stores, is down to fewer than 400 and on the verge of its second bankruptcy filing in five years, Bloomberg reported.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Mobile for Walgreens and for Supermarkets

Two stories today on mobile, in-store engagement, and mobile apps.

First is a critique of the efforts by Walgreens to be a digital leader:

http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/strategy/20713.preview

Here is a snippet from that piece:

“There is so much disruption and transformation taking place among brick-and-mortar retailers, I feel that Walgreens is missing out by not making its wellness-centric approach more prevalent and more connected to the mobile device,” said Vanessa Horwell, chief strategy officer for ThinkInk, Miami.

“For Walgreens, mobile is the key to in-store engagement, so the two experiences – physical and mobile – must be consistent and interconnected.”

Next is a brief story from Supermarket News on how mobile apps is transforming the grocery industry:

http://supermarketnews.com/marketing/how-mobile-apps-are-transforming-industry

Here is a snippet from that piece:

One area of explosive growth in the retail supermarket industry is the number of mobile apps that have come on the market to assist shoppers.

Take a look at the Center for Advancing Retail and Technology (CART), and you’ll see what I mean. A year ago, there were only a handful of apps featured; today, more than a dozen are available, with more coming.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Mobile & Social Engagement With Customers

Two stories caught my eye today and are worth looking at.  First up is eConsultancy with a look at brands focusing too much on influencers rather than influencing.

I'm not sure I agree with this approach but it is worth considering.  Not nearly enough brands have been able to even grasp the importance of engaging with influencers.  They need their thinking, their paradigm, changed.  This isn't going to help that.

https://econsultancy.com/blog/66583-for-brands-influence-is-about-more-than-influencers/

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Brands are increasingly on the look out for influencers and an entire market has been built around connecting brands with them to reach consumers.

But when it comes to wooing consumers, particularly young, digital natives, are brands focusing too much on influencers and not enough on influence?

Next is Mobile Commerce Daily on fundamentals of successful engagement through mobile.

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/6-fundamentals-of-successful-mobile-engagement

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Today’s customers are undeniably mobile. And that means they have access to more information than ever before – both on you and your competitor – and they can access that information anywhere, anytime.

So how can you make your brand’s messages stand out in a sea of digital noise?

The following six tips are not really secrets, but rather fundamentals of successful mobile engagement.

I like a lot of what is said in that article.  Mobile First is an important concept and I agree with Forrester's "Mobile Moments" that brands need to look for.

For all the dads out there, and I am part of that group due to my lovely daughter Lilly Rose, have a happy Father's Day this weekend.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Panera Mobile Loyalty

Panera is a mover and shaker in the digital retail realm and is the focus of a great story on Mobile Commerce Daily:

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/westfield-panera-execs-how-mobile-influences-future-of-in-store-digital-sales

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Executives from Panera Bread and Westfield Group claimed at CXNYC 2015 that mobile has a critical role in driving the future of commerce at shopping centers and restaurant locations, thanks to disruptive innovations and the growing use of technology such as beacons.

During the “Innovating the Customer Experience” session, the executives discussed their respective brands’ innovation efforts, highlighting how personalization and customer loyalty are paramount in rolling out new digital initiatives. Panera Bread has experienced momentous growth in mobile as a result of its mobile ordering and Rapid Pickup option, as well as the MyPanera Rewards platform.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Target News and Social Media Including Macy's

A couple of stories around Target have captured my eye today.  First is news of further layoffs as the company refines its strategy towards a new more digitally focused approach:

http://www.canadiangrocer.com/worth-reading/target-eliminates-140-jobs-in-latest-round-of-cuts-54685

Here is a snippet from that piece:

The retailer Target is cutting another 140 jobs at its headquarters and eliminating 50 other unfilled jobs.

The Minneapolis-based company says it is trying to simplify and streamline its organization.

Next is a great read comparing & contrasting Target and Macy's in social media:

http://risnews.edgl.com/retail-news/Mapping-the-Social-Media-Network--Target-vs--Macy-s100656

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Like Target, Macy's also has a big brand hub-and-spoke pattern, but, in contrast, it features a larger population of "isolates" — suggesting higher brand awareness for Macy's over Target. While the Target network is almost 40% larger than the Macy's network, Macys has a larger fraction of isolated participants (21% versus 10%). It has also attracted a handful of successful brand champions who have developed significant audiences of their own which responds to their mentions of Macys.

Is this the Age of the Customer?  Yup.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Gap Announces Strategy for the Future

Gap, Inc. is in the news at  its annual investors meetings for Wall Street analysts.

https://www.internetretailer.com/2015/06/17/gap-ties-its-future-more-digital-mobile-and-global-expansion

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Despite a rocky first quarter and a round of cost cuts, Gap will continue to grow e-commerce and its global operation, CEO Art Peck told analysts at Gap’s annual investor day meeting.

The future for Gap Inc. is digital and global. At least that’s the latest vision from Gap CEO Art Peck and senior managers to Wall Street analysts at the company’s annual investor’s meeting Tuesday in San Francisco.

There is also a conversation with CEO Art Peck over on Loyalty360:

http://loyalty360.org/resources/article/gaps-goal-of-brand-loyalty/

Here is a snippet from that piece:

“I want to underline that word consistency,” Peck said during the company’s 2015 Investor Meeting Conference on Tuesday, according to Seeking Alpha. “It’s a critical issue for us and it’s been our Achilles heel as an organization. And we are heads down across all of our businesses focusing on improving the consistency of our performance, day-after-day, week-after-week, season-after-season. Gap is a great brand, a relevant brand, a power house brand around the world, and it deserves its rightful place inside this portfolio and for our customers, and we are working very hard to it back to where it needs to be.” 

Working together as a team is crucial to any future success, Peck said.

This is the news I've been waiting for from Gap, and expect to see from other retailers.  Move to embrace digital or die slowly.  Sears is banking the future of the company on it, though things have gotten so bad it may be difficult to stop the bleeding.  Many others have led from the front or are trying to catch up quickly.  Soon there will only be laggards, likely to include regional chains and supermarkets.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

**UPDATE** Good addition to the above stories over on Bloomberg.com:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-06-18/gap-studies-old-navy-s-blockbuster-pixie-pants-to-spur-comeback

Here is a snippet from that piece:

The design team at Old Navy identified pixies -- slim, cropped women’s pants -- as a potentially hot trend for spring last year. In quick succession, Old Navy’s sourcing team and suppliers developed a versatile, cost-effective fabric, tested the pants in stores, then ramped up marketing and production. The product has been a runaway success, selling briskly and winning glowing reviews online.

That speed in turning ideas into sales has helped Old Navy become Gap Inc.’s star performer and shows how the company’s namesake brand and upscale Banana Republic chain should operate, Chief Executive Officer Art Peck said. Bargain-focused Old Navy posted U.S. sales last quarter that were almost double those of the Gap brand, which is closing a quarter of its full-price locations in North America after more than a year of declining comparable-store sales.

Walmart's Approach to the Participation Age

If you think of retail over the last 100 years it is convenient to think generally of eras.  Richard Tedlow from Harvard Business School lists in 1996 the three phases of Consumer Product Marketing and mentions but does not define a pending 4th phase as the internet dawned.  Walmart thinks about it similarly but with different description of the various phases or eras.

The 1950's might be approximately the start of the Age of the Brand.  Major nationally manufactured brands were able to push their products all over the country with a sophisticated logistics network and they pushed down their message through the new media platform television.

Later the retailers became much more adept as they introduced private label brands that shifted the power away from the brands and in favor of the retailer.  This started the Age of the Retailer.

Then the internet came.

The Information Age is transforming all of life as we know it.  Within retail, the consumer is now the holder of power and the determinant of the brand.  This might be called the Age of the Customer, or the Participation Age, where the participant actively works in the creation of a brand.

My pending white paper is titled:


Impact of Phase IV Product Marketing


The Story of Mass Marketing in America Continues

Walmart has a similar approach in mind as is detailed in this interview:

http://www.pymnts.com/in-depth/2015/how-walmart-is-reinventing-the-age-of-the-customer/#.VYHGHvlVhBc

Here is a snippet from that piece:

...according to Walmart’s VP of eCommerce Nikhil Raj, our imaginations may be misled. As it turns out, Walmart is onboard and ready to get reinventing.

“When we think about reinventing something, we really have to go back to what it was before and how it is changing now,” Raj told MPD CEO Karen Webster in a recent conversation.

“Early on it was ‘the age of the brands,’” Raj remarked. “Twenty-five or 30 years ago retailers, in general, relied heavily on our brand partners and followed their guidance. It was the age of the retailer.”

And, according to Raj, this “the age of the retailer,” is an age that is now drawing to a close.

“In the last five years, we have really seen the beginning of the age of the consumer, and that is how retail is re-inventing itself. The breadth and depth of the choices consumers have today to help them shop is truly amazing. It is also putting the power square in the hands of the consumers and we as retailers have to be focused on that to be successful for the next 50 years,” Raj noted.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

The Macy's Mobile Wallet Grows

Macy's continues to make excellent strides with its mobile wallet showing there is plenty of room in the burgeoning space.

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/macys-boosts-promotional-strategy-on-mobile-with-wallet-enhancement

Here is a snippet from the piece:

In reflection of how valuable mobile wallet users are, Macy’s is enhancing its own wallet, which was introduced last year, so as to better guarantee its place on shoppers’ smartphones in an increasingly crowded space.

Macy’s is enhancing its digital wallet with an eye toward reducing shopper dependence on paper coupons while boosting the retailer’s ability to optimize its marketing efforts.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Gap, Inc. in the News

Not a good day for Gap employees, though this may signal the beginning of a new phase for the company (I believe it does).  Gap is closing a bunch of stores and is trimming the staff at corporate headquarters.

http://www.newsweek.com/gap-plans-shutter-175-stores-cut-jobs-343336

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Gap is planning to close 175 stores in North America. Of those, 140 will close this fiscal year, the company announced Monday evening.

All of those affected will be regular Gap stores, rather than outlets or factory shops. An undisclosed number of European stores are also set to close. This will leave 800 Gap stores in North America, and about 1,600 worldwide.

“Our customers and employees want Gap to win,” Jeff Kirwan, global president for Gap, said in a statement. “We’re focused on offering consistent, on-brand product collections and enhancing the customer experience across all of our channels, including a smaller, more vibrant fleet of stores."

The Washington Post has a good read on Gap and Millenials:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/06/16/how-millennial-shoppers-have-made-gaps-basic-look-obsolete/

Here is a snippet from that piece:

During its most successful run, Gap’s fashion catered to children of the 1980s and ’90s — first with plain T-shirts and blue jeans, then with button-downs and clean-cut khakis. Artists and musicians helped popularize the androgynous look, one that seemed to define Generation X, whose shoppers strove to fit the trend.

It was a snapshot of pop-culture. In 1993, it was used as fodder for a “Saturday Night Live” skit “The Gap Girls.” In 1995 and again in 1998, Sharon Stone sported Gap shirts on the red carpet.

But the idea that once made Gap so popular has become obsolete.

I was part of that generation that saw all things Gap as a good thing.

Back to the overarching story here.  We've seen a slew of retailers make moves that look like what Gap is starting here.  Trim middle-management staff, trim under-performing stores, all of which provides annualized cash, and invest in digital to craft a new customer experience.  Staples in 2013, Macy's, Target, and more and more and more.  Best Buy is opening an innovation lab in Seattle, Walmart has one outside San Francisco, and even Wendy's just announced the same.  Digital is the pathway for brick & mobile.  Get on it, or die slowly.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant


**UPDATE** Excellent addition to the above links can be found here:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/sapna/gaps-store-closures-highlight-fate-of-americas-worst-malls

Here is a snippet from that piece:

While Gap hasn’t specified where it will close stores, the announcement underscores the fact that America’s malls have become increasingly bifurcated in the past decade.

At the highest end, retailers fight for space in what analysts refer to as “A” malls, which are home to brands like Apple and Tiffany & Co. and lure educated, wealthy shoppers. Lower down the list, “C” and “D” malls (where D means “dead”) are suffering from declining foot traffic, sputtering sales, and the exit of national retailers.

True Omni-commerce is Arriving

You've likely heard of omni-channel.  Previously this kind of concept was called multi-channel where a classic store-based merchant might enable online sales.  With mobile people are always connected to the internet, always living their lives connected, which means they might look to buy at any time from any channel.

Omnicommerce is always on sales from any direction.

With social media adding 'buy' buttons and incorporating a payments vehicle this is becoming a reality very quickly.

Here is a story on the concept:

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/as-social-media-buy-buttons-increase-retailers-must-dive-in-now

Here is a snippet from that piece:

“Payments are becoming embedded across the mobile commerce spectrum, and the rapid growth of in-app payments will accelerate the trend,” he said. “Prepare for the ability to pay for anything, any time, anywhere and on any device be it physical or virtual.

“True omni-commerce, incorporating payments, is happening.”

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

The Future of Retail - Malls and Boxed

Two stories that speak to the potential future for retail are worth checking out today.

First is a great read on the eCommerce startup 'Boxed' that ships mostly national brand CPG products in bulk.  I think they'v recaptured a bit of the spirit of Mr. Cullen's original supermarkets and have a real threat to traditional brick & mortar retailers.

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/boxed-wholesale-ceo-mobile-made-success-for-us-possible

Here is a snippet from that piece:

The CEO of Boxed Wholesale, speaking at the Global Mobile Internet Conference New York 2015, explained that his company would not have succeeded if not for mobile, where shopping behavior is not as rigid as on desktop.

During the “Using Mobile to Deepen Customer Engagement” session, the CEO detailed how developing an application first, allowed its brand to take off because there is room in the mobile space for a retail service such as this.

Next is PYMT.com on some new analysis regarding foot traffic and spending habits at malls as provided by the folks at RetailNext:

http://www.pymnts.com/in-depth/2015/why-a-decline-in-foot-traffic-has-retailers-looking-up/#.VXrbj_lVhBc

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Keeping in line with the unfortunate trend of 2015 so far, RetailNext’s latest survey on physical retail has a whole lot more red ink on it than the nation’s merchants wanted to see. On average, traffic to physical stores was down about 9.8 percent on average, while sales have fallen off by 7.6 percent.

However, RetailNext’s VP of retail consulting, Shelley Kohan, said that there’s more to measuring the health and well-being of physical retail than foot traffic and sales numbers.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

PS  One more story is a great testament to 'bricks & mobile':
http://www.businessinsider.com/retailers-are-making-a-huge-mistake-2015-6

Here is a snippet from that piece:

American shoppers have become addicted to checking consumer reviews on everything they buy.

But stores have failed to find a way to make reviews readily available in stores, and that's killing business for many traditional retailers such as Macy's, JC Penney, and Best Buy.

Regards

Misc on Mobile and Marketing - IoT, Twitter, & Programmatic Ads

Quite a few articles grabbed my eye today and I'm going to share a few in one big post here.

First up is Twitter Marketing:

https://www.internetretailer.com/2015/06/11/twitter-lets-marketers-target-consumers-based-mobile-apps

Here is a snippet from the piece:

Twitter Inc. is letting marketers seeking to drive consumers to download or use their mobile apps target consumers based on the types of apps they have installed on their phones or tablets.

Next is mobile programmatic ad buys:

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/251835/mobile-programmatic-growing-as-91-of-marketers-up.html?edition=83587

Here is a snippet from the piece:

Nearly all (91%) mobile ad-buyers have increased their programmatic spend in 2015, according to a new survey and research report from Millennial Media, a mobile ad exchange.

Next is the "Internet of Things" and how some visionary grocers view their potential:

http://www.progressivegrocer.com/departments/technology/grocers-can-use-%E2%80%98internet-things%E2%80%99-their-advantage

Here is a snippet from the piece:

For those who’ve wondered what the Internet of Things (IoT) is, let alone how they can leverage it to benefit their business, the June 9 FMI Connect Learning Lounge presentation "The Internet of Things," held on the exhibit floor, was a must-attend event.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

BRotD - Entry 0221 Discussion with CMO of Dunkin' on Mobile Loyalty

Best Reading of the Day

Great discussion over on AdAge.com with the Chief Marketing Officer at Dunkin' brands, right around the corner from me in Canton, MA, on their risky decision to go to a mobile loyalty model.  If you haven't been following that decision has paid off in a big way for them.

http://adage.com/article/datadriven-marketing/dunkin-s-john-costello-knew-time-mobile/298997/

Here is a snippet from the piece:

It's not often that a company with locations on street corners throughout much of the U.S. takes a big risk by changing the status quo when the status quo ain't broke. But that's exactly what Dunkin' Donuts did when it shelved its web- and paper-based loyalty program like so many day-old crullers.

"We decided to go all-in on a mobile-based loyalty program," said the company's Chief Global Customer and Marketing Officer John Costello.

The result was a re-launched version of the DD Perks Rewards program...

..."Mobile is devouring the world," said Mr. Costello...

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

How to Disintermediate Retailers 101

The news is real, though the headline is a bit sensationalistic.  I'm finishing up a white paper on this topic though so this subject is quite interesting to me. Kellogg is planning a fresh snack food subscription service, direct to consumer.  This cuts out retailers all together, something the big food companies would absolutely love to do.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-06-09/kellogg-said-to-plan-snack-subscriptions-as-general-mills-exits

I found the story over on MorningNewsBeat first:

http://morningnewsbeat.com/News/Detail/47220/2015-06-11/

Here is a snippet from the Bloomberg piece:

Kellogg and General Mills both have been looking for new ways to grow and appeal to consumers seeking healthier and more natural alternatives to processed foods. The companies also are testing sales channels outside of grocery stores as customers become more comfortable purchasing online.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

PS I'll be posting the white paper soon.

New Valuations for Duolingo and Spotify

More eye popping news out of the startup world focused on digital products & services. One is now valued at $8.2 billion with a 'B'. That is real money folks.

First up is the language learning app 'Duolingo' that I've used quite a bit to help with my French.

http://techcrunch.com/2015/06/10/duolingo-raises-45-million-series-d-round-led-by-google-ventures-now-valued-at-470m/#.sybdmf:xJRy

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Duolingo, the free language learning service co-founded by reCAPTCHA inventor Luis von Ahn, today announced that it has raised a $45 million investment round led by Google Capital. The company’s previous investors, which include the likes of Union Square Ventures, NEA and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, as well as Ashton Kutcher and Tim Ferris, also participated in this round. This round brings Duolingo’s total funding to date to $83.3 million and the company says its valuation is now around $470 million.

Next is the music streaming service Spotify that is worth watching closely as streaming has passed physical media and is fast approach digital downloads in the music arena.  Wow.  We've come a long ways since Napster.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/102747559

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Spotify has snapped up $115 million in investment from Swedish telecom operator TeliaSonera, valuing the company at around $8.2 billion, as it looks to fight off competition from Apple.

TeliaSonera will take a 1.4 percent stake in the music streaming platform and both companies will be "committing resources, staff and other assets" to areas including data analytics and advertising, the telecoms firm said on Wednesday.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

BRotD - Entry 0220 Small Businesses Using Social Media for Customer Engagement

Best Reading of the Day

This is a really great little story, good enough to qualify for best reading of the day even though it has been out there for a week already.  It focuses on 4 small business and their use of social media to connect with customers across the globe.  Impressive.  I often say the real action is at the SMB level where real test-tube creations are popping up.

https://nrf.com/news/4-small-businesses-using-social-media-connect-customers

Here is a snippet from the piece:

Seattle illustrator and designer Moorea Seal developed a large following on Pinterest before she opened her own store. “I love talking with the handmade community and getting to know people in it. I thought, ‘Well, let's meld all these things and start an online store,’” Seal says. That was in 2013. Two short years later, Seal’s eponymous brand has more than 900,000 followers on Pinterest and another 19,000 on Instagram.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Native Advertising Gets a Warning

The Federal Trade Commission is chiming in with a warning on native advertising, those social media posts that look and feel like a regular post in the user's newsfeed but is actually an advertisement.

This doesn't look good for the future of such practices:

https://econsultancy.com/blog/66555-ftc-warns-about-native-ads/

Here is a snippet from that piece:

At the Clean Ads I/O conference in New York last week, Mary Engle, the FTC's associate director of advertising practices, told attendees that the FTC is uneasy with native advertising that users can't distinguish as advertising, making them deceptive.

"An ad is deceptive if it misleads a significant percentage of consumers," she explained, noting that the FTC sees 10-15% of users representing a "significant percentage of consumers."

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Kohl's Engaging Through Mobile

Kohl's has been on a multi-year journey to become the best retailer in the world at the customer experience, through mobile.  Their app is definitely shaping up as a new piece writes about.

http://www.chainstoreage.com/article/kohl%E2%80%99s-seamlessly-engages-customers-enhanced-app

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Kohl’s “Greatness” Agenda is not named lightly. The enterprise-spanning strategy is designed to make the company America’s most engaging retailer by providing a convenient customer experience across all channels. Considering the ever-growing importance of the mobile channel as an omnichannel engagement tool, it is not surprising that Kohl’s is focusing on its mobile app as a key enabler of greatness.

“We approached the design of the new Kohl’s app with a family-first focus, with an emphasis on engaging customers where they are, not necessarily where we are, and providing a simple, easy buying experience for families,” explained Krista Berry, executive VP and chief digital officer of Kohl’s.

With mobile traffic now representing more than 50% of all digital traffic at Kohl’s, ensuring a smooth and seamless mobile experience for customers is more important than ever.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Beacons & Social Media with Facebook and Pinterest

Beacons, beacons, beacons, oh and news from Pinterest too.  Busy busy.

Two stories on beacons.  First up is continuing news from Facebook.  Now they are giving away BLE beacons for free to retailers.  Brilliant Trojan horse in my opinion though the service that will follow could become so valuable retailers won't be able to pass it up.  Time will tell.

http://recode.net/2015/06/08/facebook-is-handing-out-free-beacons-to-retailers/

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Facebook is offering up free beacons to retailers and businesses using its service as part of an update to the company’s Place Tips feature originally rolled out in January.

Place Tips, which works by showing Facebook users posts and photos about a specific retailer or business when they open the app within the actual store, was originally tested with a small group of businesses in New York City. On Monday, Facebook announced it was expanding the feature to all businesses in the United States, and included an application for these businesses to request a free beacon for each of their physical stores. (Facebook also provided free beacons to its test partners.)

Next is the consolidations we are seeing in the BLE beacon market that shows growing maturation:

http://adage.com/article/datadriven-marketing/verve-mobile-buys-beacon-startup-fosbury/298966/

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Verve Mobile, a firm focused on location-based advertising, acquired beacon-centric campaign management technology Fosbury for an undisclosed sum. It's a small deal, but Verve Mobile's move portends an inevitable consolidation within the sprawling beacon space.

Finally is news from Pinterest on their "Buy It" functionality:

http://www.cio.com/article/2933381/pinterest/why-pinterests-buy-it-button-is-big-for-online-retailers.html

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Later this month, Pinterest users will be able to purchase some of the products they "pin" without leaving Pinterest's app or website. The new "Buy It" button will show up next to the "Pin It" button that appears when you're about to pin an image of a pair of shoes you like or a coffee table you've had your eye on.

According to a recent survey of more than 2,000 Pinterest users, from Pinterest and Millward Brown Digital, 87 percent of them looked to the service when researching a buy, but 25 percent say they didn't make a purchase or visit a manufacturer's website after viewing an item. The "Buyable Pins" should be a boon for businesses, particularly retailers that see engagement from the site but few sales.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

**UPDATE** Expanding upon the Facebook entry is this piece that focuses more on the new national presence of 'Place Tips:
http://www.chainstoreage.com/article/facebook-expands-place-tips-adds-free-beacons

Hotel Mobile News for Marriott and Four Seasons

A couple of posts in a similar vein came on to my radar today and are worth reading.

First up is more news on Marriott that continues to make waves in mobile this time with Netflix:

https://www.yahoo.com/tech/s/marriott-offer-netflix-access-hotels-121124765--finance.html?src=rss

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Select hotels will allow guests to use Netflix by signing into their existing accounts through the Netflix app on the Internet-connected televisions. Guests can also sign up for a new subscription if they don't already have one.

Next up is Four Season taking mobile to the luxury market globally:

http://www.luxurydaily.com/four-seasons-makes-up-lost-mobile-ground-through-global-app/

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts is encompassing the entire consumer journey in its long-awaited, portfolio-wide mobile application.

From bookings to in-room requests, the app rapidly changes how Four Seasons guests will use mobile. The luxury hotel sector is not known for mobile mastery, so the new app propels Four Seasons to among the top in the field.

Hotels and mobile.  A good fit.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Apple's Software Gets Updated

Apple's World Wide Developer's Conference is a major source of news for all things related to Apple's software.  Want to know where iOS, the operating system that powers iPhones and iPads, is headed?  You need to follow the WWDC every year.

The folks over at Re/Code have done an excellent job live blogging and recapping.  Check it out here:

http://recode.net/2015/06/08/apples-worldwide-developers-conference-2015-liveblog/

A few keys from my perspective are:

• Apple Music is here and Beats’ Jimmy Iovine and Apple’s Eddy Cue is here to tell us how awesome it is. The service starts June 30 and costs $9.99 a month after a free 3-month trial.
• Apple Maps gets an improvement with Transit, which shows mass transit directions. 
• Apple Pay is expanding to include many more retailers, including Trader Joe’s, Forever 21 and Levi’s. It’s also coming to the U.K. and folks there will be able to pay for their fares using Apple Pay, which is pretty cool. The changes are part of the company’s effort to try and replace your wallet — by the way, Passport is now called Wallet.
• Apple’s newest version of OS X is called El Capitan

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

BRotD - Entry 0219 Apple Pay Not Catching On

Best Reading of the Day

Apple Pay

I've been reading quite a bit in the mobile payments space over the last few months.  Some stories are balanced, some are not.  This one is excellent.

http://business.financialpost.com/fp-tech-desk/it-looks-like-apple-pay-is-failing-to-catch-on-with-a-lot-of-retailers?__lsa=5687-4454

Here is a snippet from the story:

In a January earnings call with investors, Apple Inc Chief Executive Tim Cook made a confident prediction: “2015 will be the year of Apple Pay,” he said.

Since then, the company has aggressively courted retailers – and claimed significant success. “We’ve spoken to all of the top 100 merchants in the U.S., and about half will accept Apple Pay this year, with many more the following year,” a company spokesperson recently told Reuters.

But interviews with analysts, merchants and others suggest that Apple’s forecast may be too optimistic and that many retailers remain skeptical about the payment system.

The story does a good job talking about this space in general as well as discussing Apple Pay.  Well worth the read.

What I've been telling people is Apple Pay is really two things: (1) in-app purchases and (2) in-store purchases at point of sale.  Apple Pay is doing very well in-app, but hasn't seen good adoption in-store.  This does, however, allow the good folks at Apple to merely state something to the effect of 'Apple Pay is doing very well'.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Marriott Hotels and Mobile

Excellent write-up available today through Mobile Marketer that talks a lot about what Marriott is doing in mobile.  Well worth the read for a "state of the industry" piece.

http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/software-technology/20608.preview

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Marriott International has become a mobile leader by taking the time to think about the customer experience at a hotel and finding ways to simplify it, but needs to improve an inconsistent user experience, Mobile Marketer’s analysis shows.

The hospitality brand has introduced many mobile features in recent years, including keyless check-in, which allows consumers to skip the check-in at the registration desk and unlock hotel room doors with their phones. Although its app has a low Apple app store rating, Marriott, with about 4,100 properties in 80 nations, is a model for hotel brands that are working to shift bookings back to their own court as consumers gravitate toward online travel agencies such as Priceline and Expedia.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Kellogg Enables Receipt Scanning Rewards Points

In a new form of loyalty, especially for a consumer packaged goods company, Kellogg is in the news with its receipt scanning.  Here is the story:

http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/strategy/20596.preview

Here is a snippet from the piece:

Kellogg has updated its rewards program with a mobile-first approach, claiming to be the first consumer packaged goods company to use a combination of retailer frequent shopper integration and receipt scanning for point collection.

By allowing members of its United States Family Rewards program to collect points by scanning receipts while eliminating the need to enter package codes, the maker of Frosted Flakes and Raisin Bran cereals and other products will make it easier to automatically collect points for purchase, minimizing a challenge in rewards programs.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Mobile Check-In at Sam's Club

Sam Walton would be proud of the news being made out of Bentonville, AR.  Sam's Club is piloting mobile check-in at its stores.

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/sams-club-pilots-mobile-check-in-as-it-revamps-club-pickup

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Sam’s Club is piloting a new mobile check-in option at select stores across the nation as it expands its Club Pickup service, which aims to undercut competition from other warehouse retailers by offering convenience.

Sam’s Club, the only United States-based warehouse retailer to offer a pickup option, enables members to order thousands of household items at the click of a button, as well as create and save shopping lists for streamlined purchasing in the future.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Walmart "Delighted" With Grocery In-Store Pickup

The rumblings are getting louder.  Walmart is reportedly "delighted" with the grocery pickup store it has opened.  All of retail is changing, fast, or will become yesterday's store.

http://supermarketnews.com/retail-financial/walmart-delighted-grocery-pickup-site-test-continues

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Walmart officials said Thursday that they were “delighted” with the performance of its nascent Grocery Pickup facility, but noted it was only one of several fronts under attack in an ongoing global war to win virtual food shopping.

The facility, which allows shoppers to place online grocery orders for drive-up retrieval in as little as two hours, opened near its Bentonville, Ark., headquarters eight months ago and remains under examination before officials commit to expanding the concept to additional sites or cities, Keiran Shanahan, VP of operations for Walmart.com, said during a presentation at the site as part of Walmart’s Shareholders Week events.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

BRotD - Entry 0218 Path to Purchase Through Mobile by Google

Think With Google is a very good place to follow for interesting analysis about the world today as it relates to retailers, advertising, etc.  They are out with another good one titled "stuff".

You can read the story here (take notice of the 'download' button as well if you want the .PDF):

https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/articles/i-want-to-buy-moments.html

Here is a snippet from the read:

For today's constantly connected consumers, shopping never sleeps. Whether making an everyday purchase or researching a big-ticket item, we reflexively turn to mobile. These I-want-to-buy moments are important for consumers, and they're critical for brands. Are you winning these micro-moments?

The world is changing rapidly.  Fundamentals behind how we do things are changing.  Keep up or be rapidly left behind. This has never been more true for retailers.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Gap Making Moves in Mobile

Gap, the San Francisco based retailer, is starting to do interesting things in mobile and looking to engage with customers more effectively.

Spring is a retail app that operates as a virtual mall, creating a collection of relevant brands based off of the user’s interests, and which is growing in popularity with millennials.

Here is the full story:

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/gap-attempts-to-revive-image-with-millennials-via-spring-app

Here is a larger snippet from that piece:

“With over $200 billion in mCommerce sales last year and a predicted $600 billion in the year 2018, partnering with a mobile app like Spring could play a crucial role in driving sales for Gap through their mobile channel,” said Melissa Greenberg, general manager at Fetch, New York. “Mobile app features like push notifications, loyalty rewards and social referrals can act as tools to help engage users and promote products and push users to make purchases directly on the app.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

BRotD - Entry 0218 Netflix Redesign

Best Reading of the Day

I've been sitting on this one for a few days since finding it over the weekend.  It is a great read though. Which digital video streaming service do you currently use?  Hulu?  Amazon?  Netflix?  HBO? YouTube?

Here is a great read on Netflix.

What do you do if you design a system that is used by 10 people?  Chat with them and see how it works, maybe make some minor adjustments, and plan on the next big update to help them out.  What about if you have 10 million people using that system, or many more like say 62 million?

That becomes a pretty big challenge right?  Sure is.  Read more here.

http://www.theverge.com/2015/5/22/8642359/the-science-behind-the-new-netflix-design

Here is a snippet from the piece:

Back in March, a developer named Renan Cakirerk wrote a small piece of code that made a big impact on Netflix. Cheekily named "god mode," it addressed one of the most annoying aspects of trying to use Netflix in your browser: scrolling through the company's ever-growing list of movies. Once enabled, it would simply give you one, big list. Instead of sitting there, holding your mouse in anticipation, you could simply find the title you wanted and get on with watching.

The web lit up with stories hailing it as a crowning achievement of little-guy ingenuity. TechCrunch called it a fix for a "wonderful problem." CNET dutifully noted that it "saves you from the slow monotonous horizontal scrolling." Mashable, meanwhile asked, "Are you listening, Netflix?"

Inside Netflix, though, god mode was old news. In fact, the company had already tried it out on thousands of unsuspecting users years earlier. And it was a total disaster.

Good stuff.  I like the A/B testing at play there.  Release it to a scientifically controlled sample size with a control group and analyze the results.  Is the impact significant?  If so, in what way?  Does it "help" or "hurt" the user experience?

I'm a user of Netflix after coming back in to the fold recently.  I hadn't used them for years since I previously received DVDs through the postal service.  I like the digital service and am blown away by the 4K presentation of shows like 'House of Cards' on my fancy new LG set.  Good stuff and a fun company to follow.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Next Generation Apps Deep Linking One App to Another

Foursquare and Uber.  Two apps that seem natural fits.  A customer searches for a restaurant or store, finds it, and wants to get there.  Uber can make that happen by sending a driver to pick you up.

How should the two apps interact to close the loop on this?

With the help of 'Button' it happens quite naturally.  Here is one story on the subject:

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/251008/foursquare-deep-linking-partnership-with-button-le.html?edition=83316

Here is a snippet from the piece:

When a Foursquare user has indicated interest in going to a place that was searched for, Button's DeepLink Commerce platform serves an Uber button, allowing them to order an Uber to their destination with a few simple taps. Rather than using an API, which is much more difficult to integrate, Button's technology pulls information from the Foursquare app, and deep links this content into Uber, sending traffic from one app experience to another.

Here is a look at Button:

http://www.xconomy.com/new-york/2015/06/02/how-button-pushed-its-way-into-the-midst-of-uber-and-foursquare/

Here is a snippet from that piece:

“There should be more connectivity in the app world,” says Button CEO and co-founder Michael Jaconi. “We’re trying to solve that.”

On Monday, his New York-based startup announced its software was being used in a partnership that gives people the ability to book Uber cars through Foursquare. Just about a year old, Button’s software is a kind of bridge that allows a feature from one app to appear as a “button” within a third party’s app.

In particular, Button wants to be the connection between apps that are part of daily spending habits such as dining, travel, and deliveries, Jaconi says.

Passive apps running in the background helping us with our daily lives.  Perfect.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

BRotD - Entry 0217 The Internet's Third Wave [Post #500]

Best Reading of the Day

Curious where the world is going?  How about reading a bit from someone who has been there?

We are merely in the middle of the Information Age as everything we know and do is re-imagined for the new world blooming all around us.  The world looks very different than it did when I was born a few decades ago and is going to look different still when I am not around, hopefully a few decades from now (or more).

Here is a very good read on where we might be going:

www.washingtonpost.com/business/steve-case-get-ready-the-internet-is-about-to-change-again

Here is a snippet from that piece where he talks about the second wave of the internet, following the first wave that focused on building the internet:

That second wave — from the turn of the century until now — involved a shift from building the Internet to building on top of the Internet. The focus moved from connecting people to creating new ways for them to access information and one another. The sheer volume of information enabled Google to create a dominant search engine. Apple roared back to life with a vision of seamless integration of hardware, software and services. And the explosion in smartphones enabled the Internet to go mobile, unleashing the app economy.

...

The third wave of the Internet is about to break. The opportunity is now shifting to integrating it into everyday life, in increasingly seamless and ubiquitous ways.

Here is a shout out to MorningNewsBeat where I found the article you see linked above:

http://morningnewsbeat.com/News/Detail/47133/2015-06-01/

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

PS  I had seen it coming but didn't notice this would be the one.  Post #500!  Wow.  Hope you've read all of them.

**UPDATE** Follow that read with this one that spells out big trends on the internet around usage, etc.
: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/innovations/wp/2015/05/28/6-key-takeaways-from-mary-meekers-must-read-report-on-internet-trends/

Target's Bumpy Road To Digital Solutions

Mobile Marketer is out with a worthy read about Target. A few of the major retailers are making major moves towards digital and Target has been one of them.  Certainly worth keeping an eye on.  This story lays out some questions around their path so far.

http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/software-technology/20552.html

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Target has earned a reputation as a mobile leader by aggressively pivoting from a traditional bricks-and-mortar retailer to a mobile-centered operation, but the company may have overextended itself in the race to have a presence across multiple platforms, with the user experience suffering in some cases as a result, according to a Mobile Marketer analysis.

Despite the department store chain’s focus on testing, learning and working hand-in-hand with consumers in its digital transformation, its current ratings on app stores reflect dissatisfaction with the user experience, an undesirable development in a hyper-competitive marketplace. The issues may point to Target’s need to hire a bigger and better UX team.

Here is another little article that captures an interview with the Target CEO talking technology and digital:

http://www.chainstoreage.com/article/target-ceo-brian-cornell-talks-tech

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Brian Cornell, CEO and chairman of Target Corp., has focused on digital innovation since he took the top spot at the chain last August. He recently participated in a Q&A at the high-profile tech event, the Code Conference, in Ranchos Palos, California.

Here are some highlights from his conversation, as posted on Target’s very own Bullseye View blog.

When asked about Target's digital priority: “I want to make sure our guests and our entire organization know how committed we are to digital ... We put up that 40% figure (Target’s plan for digital growth) to show that we’re all in. We’re bringing in talent and great engineering to elevate the online experience.”

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

**UPDATE** Another good story about Target's work towards bricks & mobile.  This speaks to the $1B they are investing on the approach:
http://risnews.edgl.com/retail-news/Target-Addresses-Digital-Channels-After-Overwhelming-Demand-for-Lilly-Pulitzer-Collaboration100396