Best Reading of the Day - Entry 0200 Dick's Sporting Goods Mobile

Great article over on Mobile Commerce Daily is your best read of the day.  I'll be travelling tonight and tomorrow so may have some catching up to do later in the week.

Here is the article:

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/dicks-sporting-goods-rules-mcommerce-via-geo-fenced-ads-in-aisle-mobile

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Dick’s Sporting Goods saw its ecommerce sales grow to nearly 15 percent of total sales in 2014’s fourth quarter as a result of the retailer’s decision to equip its sales associates with mobile devices for easy ordering in any aisle, enable geo-fencing capabilities for sending weekly ads and launch a stronger in-app loyalty platform.

Dick’s, which is the United States’ largest omnichannel sporting apparel and gear retailer, has been focusing on integrating mobile strategy more into its in-store, online and offline shopping experiences. It has found that its consumers spend approximately three times more on omnichannel platforms than bricks-and-mortar customers.

“Enhancing our mobile capabilities is a significant part of our omnichannel strategy both for consumers and Dick’s associates,” said Rafeh Masood, vice president of customer innovation technology at Dick’s Sporting Goods, Coraopolis, PA.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Geofencing, Shopping Lists, Something Cool, and Deep Linking

This entry will be a catch-all of good reads.

First up is a very good read on geofencing:

https://econsultancy.com/blog/65223-eight-more-examples-of-geofencing-you-should-know-about

Next is the evolution of Shopping Lists and what these might look like in the future.  By the way this is exactly how I shop on Amazon today.

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/230757/mobile-meets-the-master-shopping-list.html?edition=74784

Another entry from eConsultancy is well worth reading.  This contains a list of 5 new concepts that may change the way businesses make content.

https://econsultancy.com/blog/65249-five-technologies-that-are-changing-the-way-brands-make-content-2

Finally is an interesting research on the current state of Deep Linking between apps and websites.  Read the article if you don't know what that is.

http://www.internetretailer.com/2014/07/24/missing-link-mobile-marketing

Here is a link to the actual study:

http://www.pureoxygenmobile.com/research-as-many-as-95-percent-of-top-50-retailers-lack-deeplink-support-in-their-mobile-apps/

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Best Reading of the Day - Entry 0112 Mystery Mobile Coupons

The folks over at Mobile Commerce Daily have another excellent piece.  I love reading about the innovative ways marketers are using mobile to engage with their customers.

Lord & Taylor, makers of apparel, shoes, and accessories , have released a mystery coupon in their app.  The consumer won't know what the coupon is good for until the consumer enters the geo-located fence of a Lord & Taylor store.

Brilliant.

Here is the article:

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/lord-taylor-builds-on-mobile-innovations-with-geolocation-mystery-coupon

Here is a snippet from that piece:

“The goal of the effort is to better understand excitement through ‘gamification’ and excitement through mobile couponing,” said Ryan Craver, senior vice president of corporate strategy for the department stores group at Lord & Taylor’s parent company The Hudson’s Bay Co., Toronto.

Sounds like they are experimenting a bit with this to see what works.  I wonder if they have grouped the coupons in to two types to see which performs better in similar markets?

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Best Reading of the Day - Entry 0077 Privacy and Location Based Services

ComputerWorld has an excellent article on location-based services, how retailers and app developers are using them to reach out to their customers, and a bit on the resulting privacy concerns.

Location_based_services_Controversy_at_every_level

This is an excellent read so be sure to go through all 4 pages.

Here is a snippet from that piece:

"I was in Chicago for a client meeting and was interested in meeting with the people in a large firm located there," recalls Garen Mareno, director of strategic partnerships for a design firm in Los Angeles. So he consulted his Here On Biz app, which locates nearby business people he might be interested in meeting, based on their social media entries.

"When I got there, many people from that firm popped up on my Here On Biz radar. I was able to set up drinks and make that first step. Another time I was in Russia and was able to reach out to colleagues I did not know were there," Mareno recalls.
Happy reading,

J.W. Gant

Best Reading of the Day - Entry 0038 Excellence

Econsultancy.com has an excellent article up titled:

10 Inspiring Uses of Mobile in Retail

This is really a great piece.  The examples are fantastic.

One really stood out to me:

Meatpack: Hijack

This one is genius and resulted in the 'hijacking' of more than 600 customers from rival retailer's stores, who must have hated it. 

Meatpack is a shoe store in Guatemala, known for its edgy style and for being down with the kids. 

It used GPS technology to detect users of its app when they were in competitor stores, before sending them a message with a discount. 

It would start at 99% and drop by 1% every second. So, the faster users got to a store, the better the discount. 

Are you kidding me??!!??  Customers were literally running out of the store to go to Meatpack, sprinting across the mall to get their discount.

Brilliant!

Here is the complete article including a YouTube clip of the Meatpack example:

http://econsultancy.com/tn/blog/63446-10-inspiring-uses-of-mobile-in-retail

Happy reading,

J.W. Gant

Best Reading of the Day - Entry 0025 Geo-Conquesting

Geofencing is not a particularly new concept.  How it is being used is causing a bit of a stir this week, however, so lets take a minute to review.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geo-fence

The Wikipedia entry states:

A geo-fence is a virtual perimeter for a real-world geographic area.

A couple of options are available using hardware to send a signal covering a particular space.  A central point can generate a radiated fencing signal.  Or a custom area can be defined.  Both are illustrated in the image below.  As a user with a device capable of GPS triggers enters the area the designated event is triggered.

So what is geo-conquest?

What if a company used geo-fencing to tag a competitor's area with information that would drive possible customers away from that site and towards their own locations?  Sound science fiction?  Hardly.  Outback Steakhouse has recently engaged in a campaign to perform exactly that way and the results were very strong.

http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/advertising/15950.html

Here is a snippet from the article:

Outback was looking to increase intent to dine for lunch and dinner. At the same time, the chain wanted to drive traffic into restaurant locations from both loyal customers and those considering other casual dining restaurants.

To achieve these goals, Outback worked with xAd to put a 10-mile geo-fence around Outback Steakhouse locations and a five-mile geo-fence around other casual dining locations, which is known as geo-conquesting.

This does seem to beg the question, are we engaged in a marketing arms race?  Is this a "game theory" question where the initial benefit is outweighed once your opposition begins using the same methods?  For now the results are definitive.

Happy reading,

J.W. Gant