Southwest Airlines Accepts Amazon Payments

Fly the Friendly Skys?  Wait, that isn't right.

Pay with Amazon.

Huh?  I'm certain Amazon will suffer the same growing pains PayPal has had trying to get in to physical locations for payments but this is interesting news.  Pay for in-flight services and products using your credentials stored with Amazon.  This is an innovative way to leverage an existing service and worth keeping an eye on.

http://www.digitaltransactions.net/news/story/Sky_s-the-Limit-for-Amazon-Payments-As-It-Handles-Onboard-Purchases-for-Southwest

Here is a snippet from the piece:

Announced Wednesday, the service enables Southwest passengers who have stored payment data in their Amazon.com Inc.accounts to pay with those credentials. To pay for entertainment options on their laptops or mobile devices, passengers can use their Amazon user names and passwords to log in and authorize payment, eliminating the need to type in a 16-digit card number, a name, an expiration date, and an address. They can use the payment option to pay for WiFi access, messaging, and movies.

Nice to see Southwest continue to innovate. This company has a history of thinking outside the box and this is an example of continuing that tradition.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Starbucks Rewards and Chase Pay

The biggest news is the change to the rewards program.

The move is one away from transaction based and towards dollar based rewards.  So that $2 coffee won't carry the same weight as someone else's $5 beverage.  It will be interesting to see where this leads them to.

Read on:

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/starbucks-overhauls-mobile-rewards-program-integrates-with-chase-pay

Here is a snippet from the piece:

Starbucks has made big changes to its mobile rewards program, adding Chase Pay to checkout and shifting how customers earn points in a bid to maintain its leadership role as competition grows.

The coffeehouse chain announced that starting in April, loyalty customers can earn stars and free redemptions based on how much they spend rather than the number of visits. Starbucks is also extending its partnerships by adding Chase Pay to the list of payment options.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Target Growing Again

Target is seeing growth in its online or omnichannel services as a driver of overall growth with same store sales seeing steady increases.

Read more here:

http://www.chainstoreage.com/article/target-winning-back-shoppers-especially-online

The key reason this is relevant is the question of viability for brick & mortar stores.  If the Amazons of the world are truly the future, in entirety, then traditional retailers have no place in our shopping future.  That doesn't appear to be the case with significant investment in digital capabilities.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

BRotD - Entry 0241 Restaurant Loyalty as Extension

Best Reading of the Day

I've spent a bit of time talking with the digital team at Brinker's, heading the Chili's work on tablets, et. al. Quality group of folks doing really interesting work around customer engagement.

This interview with VP Wade Allen caught my eye and is a great read. I've found Wade to be a smart competitor with interesting new ideas in this space and his views should be made a note of.

http://adexchanger.com/advertiser/chilis-loyalty-new-audience-extension/

Here is a snippet from the piece:

What do loyalty programs and paid media have in common?

Not a lot, at face value. Loyalty marketing has long been relegated to card-based, point-of-sale programs and customer retention. It was always the stuff of database marketers and direct mail – not user acquisition.

But that’s starting to change. Coalition loyalty programs or “co-ops,” such as American Express’ Plenti program, aim to bridge the gap between traditional and digital, as well as upper and lower funnel marketing.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Perspectives on Brand Stories

I've been discussing brand management with a few folks recently so this article really struck me.  Great lessons from the master, lessons that can be applied in countless ways for businesses of all kinds across the globe.

Here is the story:

http://www.cmo.com/articles/2016/1/20/disney-legend-marty-sklar-shares-walts-secrets-to-irresistible-brand-stories.html

Here is a snippet from that piece:

1. Walk In Your Audience’s Shoes
Imagineers take “know your audience” to a whole new level. When creating attractions, they experience the park as their guests do so they can understand how they feel every step of the way.

When Imagineer Bob Weis traveled to China, he learned that the hit “Pirates of the Caribbean” attraction wouldn’t work in Shanghai because the popular ride didn’t feel exciting to the Chinese. Instead, Disney is building a “whole land with live action and (a) boat that turns around,” Sklar said. “They made major changes because they talked to the audience.”

Other brands have run into similar hurdles when expanding globally. Starbucks has struggled to establish itself in Australia for years because it cannot capture Australians’ tastes or compete with local shops. Whether you’re trying to sell roller coasters or coffee, you must walk in your audience’s shoes.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Wendy's Mobile App

If you are interested in the intersection of mobile and physical (bricks & mobile) the folks at Wendy's are worth keeping an eye on.

Here is a piece on their mobile app strategy for 2016:

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/wendys-pivots-forthcoming-sales-around-new-mobile-app-self-order-kiosks

Here is a snippet from the piece:

The Wendy’s Company is starting off 2016 with a competitive edge by testing in-restaurant beacon technology, a new mobile application and self-service kiosks, pointing to how quick-service chains must evolve to stay with the times.

The fast-food chain has been testing a number of new mobile-first initiatives at its labs in Columbus, OH, as well as in select restaurants. Wendy’s fans can expect to see the new 2.0 app roll out sometime later this year, while store employees can anticipate a region-by-region introduction of beacon technology to augment the brand’s mobile ordering tests.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

The Vision Required to Embrace Mobile & Digital

Great little read by a research analyst.  Let me quote the title of this article first thing:

Rejecting Retail Apps Lacks Vision
Here is the entire story:

https://www.abiresearch.com/blogs/rejecting-retail-apps-lacks-vision/

Here is a longer snippet of the piece:

...there is now a gaping hole in the retail app market, which will be filled by third parties if retailers do not react. Once again, Macy’s is taking the lead here. It uses Shopkick, in-store Wi-Fi and its own beacon-enabled app, as well as partnering with companies like Mobiquity to give it coverage across malls. This means that a customer can engage with it on a smartphone any way they like.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

The Future of Retail Payment

I completely agree with this article.  The future of payments will be a seamless interaction with the customer.  The old point of sale will disappear from many retail stores (though shrinkage interests will ensure some of the old methods).

Mobile & digital in all of its forms will provide new ways.

Read on:

http://www.digitaltransactions.net/news/story/Payments-Execs-Already-Foresee-the-Store-Checkout-Yielding-to-_Uberesque-Approach_

Here is a snippet from the piece:

While mobile wallets, near-field communication, and EMV have focused all eyes in the payments industry on the physical point of sale, some mobile-payments executives are starting to prepare for what they see as the fading away of the traditional checkout counter.

Technology already exists that allows customers to order ahead and pay, to order while standing in the aisle in front of the merchandise, and to pay for services like car rides without an actual checkout. Now some see these processes ultimately rendering in-store checkouts obsolete.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Update on Apple Pay

Flatlining is not a word we want associated with a new digital service we've created.  I'm sure the folks at Cupertino aren't thrilled at this.

Read on:

http://www.digitaltransactions.net/news/story/Apple-Pay-Survey-Shows-Flat-Lining-Adoption-and-Usage_-but-Most-Users-Like-It

Here is a snippet from the piece:

A new study of smart-phone users shows awareness and usage of Apple Pay is slightly down from last spring, providing yet more evidence that the much-touted mobile-payments service from Apple Inc. hasn’t set the world on fire.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Accenture Says Retail not Embracing Mobile Fast Enough

This story is certainly something I've been at the center of the last few years in mobile & digital for retail.  Customers have embraced mobile far faster than the companies they shop at can manage, except possibly for Amazon.  That spells problems for retailers.

Read this short coverage of the new analysis from Accenture:

http://www.chainstoreage.com/article/accenture-mobile-retail-not-advancing-quickly-enough

Here is a snippet from the piece:

Retailers are failing to meet consumer demand for increased convenience while shopping with mobile devices.

According to new research from Accenture, the number of consumers shopping with mobile devices, grew 10% in the past year, from 36% of consumers in 2014 to 40% in 2015.

Not surprisingly, the number of shoppers who want more retail services via mobile devices, particularly real-time in-store promotions, also grew to 47%, up from 40% in 2014. However, only 7% of retailers said they currently have the ability to send real-time promotions.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

**UPDATE** The folks over at Mobile Commerce Daily have a good read on this one as well:
http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/47pc-want-real-time-promotions-few-retailers-offer-them-report

Here is a snippet from there's:

Substantially more shoppers want to use their smartphones while shopping compared with a year ago, but retailers are not moving fast enough to meet consumers’ increasingly sophisticated mobile needs, according to a new report from Accenture.

While retailers, for the most part, have adopted basic mobile strategies such as offering a mobile-optimized Web site, very few are addressing more sophisticated needs, such as offering real-time promotions or in-store navigational capabilities. A key takeaway from the findings is that retail capabilities once considered nice-to-have are increasingly becoming must-haves.

Innovation Lessons from Tennis

As a nearly life-long player of tennis this story really caught my eye and was quite enjoyable.  As I read it, however, I was even more struck by the possibility of applying these lessons to any of our endeavors.  Want to be innovative? Need to be competitive in an ever changing market?  Read on.

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-tennis-court-is-a-laboratory-for-innovation/

Here is a snippet from the piece:

Every singles tennis match is bound by the same dimensions — played on a court 78 feet long by 27 feet across and a net 3.5 feet high at the posts, with rackets no more than 29 inches long and 12.5 inches across — yet each one is a laboratory for innovation, unrestrained by a risk-averse coach or the conflicting desires of teammates. Not every tennis player thinks or talks deeply and consciously about analytics, but each one is analyzing herself and her opponents, strategically and tactically, before a match, between points and before every shot.

So how might these lessons be applicable in whatever industry you reside in? We are seeing disruptive innovation in a variety of industries from retail to taxis. The Information Age is still progressing and is changing the fundamental structure of our society.  Innovation might merely mean catching up to the new normal yes?  At this time in history there may be no greater skill than that of innovation.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant