BRotD - Entry 0264 Grocery App Usage Increase

Best Reading of the Day

Forbes.com has a great piece out about mobile apps and supermarkets.  That's something I know a little bit about as I led an effort for 3 years in that space.  They predict the apps will see a 50% increase in usage.  That is something else I know a little about having written a few papers on the subject.

Here is a snippet from the piece:

When the fridge is empty, and you are too tired to put on real clothes to go shopping, reaching for the phone to use a grocery app is an easy solution. You are not alone when you do this. According to a study from eMarketer, grocery app usage will grow by 50% this year, and 18 million Americans will order food this way. However, brick-and-mortar grocery stores are not going away and can take advantage of this industry shift.

Here is the whole story:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/lanabandoim/2018/09/11/grocery-app-usage-will-grow-by-50-what-this-means-for-the-industry/#752a389164dd

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Mobile Apps that Work

McDonald's has been in the news quite a bit recently.  This one focuses on the success of their mobile app and the use of appropriate incentives to drive customer engagement and participation.

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/mcdonalds-7m-app-downloads-highlights-effectiveness-of-welcome-incentives

Here is a snippet from the piece:

During this week’s earnings call, McDonald’s revealed it has seen more than seven million downloads of its mobile application since the fall 2015 launch, proving that welcome offers are directly correlated to high registration rates.

The food and beverage marketer introduced the app to United States markets approximately three months ago, after experiencing a lackluster year in sales. The seven million-strong downloads, however, have been able to fuel consumer purchasing behavior by prompting users to activate their welcome offers in-store.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

CPGs, Digital Coupons, Mobile Grocery, Digital Ads, eCommerce Delivery, and More

The Blizzard of 2015 is finally nearing an end though snow is still falling here north of Boston.  Looks like a couple feet of snow in my area and a major event for most of New England.

Here are a slew of stories I've found that are worth visiting.

First up is the life of a category leader especially as a consumer packaged goods company:

http://www.canadiangrocer.com/worth-reading/the-secret-lives-of-category-leaders-48724

Next up is new data from Inmar on digital coupons and the add to card method:

http://www.progressivegrocer.com/research-data/market-trends/redemption-digital-load-card-coupons-doubles-study

One supermarket chain has added new functionality to its mobile app and the news is good for their provider GPShopper:

http://www.progressivegrocer.com/departments/technology/lunds-and-byerly%E2%80%99s-add-new-features-mobile-app

Digital advertising gets two stories: first is a line of thought on brand ads vs. performance ads, then an AdAge.com story on who to blame when digital campaigns fail.  That second one has several great links so be sure to dig deeply there.

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/242440/beauty-and-the-geek.html?edition=79667

http://adage.com/article/digitalnext/blame-a-digital-campaign-wrong/296761/

Finally is news of delivery services such as the alcohol delivery startup 'Drizly' in Boston and the impact the Blizzard of '15 had on them in the NorthEast:

http://www.xconomy.com/boston/2015/01/27/alcohol-grocery-deliveries-spike-as-blizzard-batters-boston/

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Best Reading of the Day - Entry 0174 Social Media Nightly News

Does that title make any sense?

Social Media Nightly News

Didn't think so.  Yet, it does.

ABC is kicking off a Facebook version, supplement, or enhancement (call it whatever you like) to its World News Tonight.  Interesting new approach.

http://adage.com/article/digital/abc-kicks-social-media-version-world-news-tonight/296024/

Here is a snippet from that piece:

The 1-minute-long news summaries will appear every weekday, starting today, on the show's Facebook page. In what the company said was a first for a network anchor, "Facecast: The One Thing" will be hosted by David Muir, who took over the evening newscast from Diane Sawyer in September.

Three other stories caught my eye, finally, and are worth noting.  Digital coupons are catching fire in the Supermarket vertical.

First is the Golub Corporation promoting the new Groupon app:
http://supermarketnews.com/marketing/price-chopper-promotes-new-grocery-app

Next is Meijer with their new mPerks rewards campaign:
http://www.chainstoreage.com/article/meijer-readies-digital-coupon-promotion

Finally is SpartanNash with their digital coupons:
http://www.progressivegrocer.com/industry-news-trends/wholesalers-distributers/spartannash-digital-coupons-hit-15-redemption-rate

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

**UPDATE** Corrected a typo stating the three stories are worth "noting" vs. "nothing".

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 0137 MIT Study on Retail

Excellent read from MIT Technologies courtesy of SAP (they might want to sell you something).

http://www.technologyreview.com/view/528956/evolving-beyond-coupons-and-mobile-apps-retail-technologies-in-the-sensor-economy/

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Today, consumers don’t just walk in and buy. They stand in stores, use their smartphones to comparison-shop, read opinionated reviews online, and solicit social input from their families and friends. Finally, when they’re ready to purchase, they go online, often to different stores than where they did their research. Therein lies the challenge: how can retailers remain profitable when consumers expect commoditized pricing, rich product assortments, and superior levels of service, all at the same time?

They are spot on with much of their writing here.  Retail is undergoing a sea change as a result of the mobile internet.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Best Reading of the Day - Entry 0130 Coupons and Product Idea Savers

Two stories I found today grabbed my attention.

The first is a story about coupon redemption after the purchase.  Sounds paradigm breaking right?  Makes a lot of sense in many ways.  Here is the article:

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/229101/mobile-coupon-redemption-after-the-shopping-trip.html

Here is a snippet from that piece:

A couple of years ago, a California startup named Endorse created what seemed to be a path of least consumer resistance for mobile coupons.

The well-funded startup challenged the age-old concept of coupons by creating an app that allowed consumers to take a photo of their grocery shopping receipt, upload it to Endorse and receive credit that could be redeemed for cash, which was sent by check or via PayPal.

The offers, from brands including Kraft, General Mills and PepsiCo, were refreshed one day each week...

Next up is an app that is in limited availability at the moment that lets you use the pictures on your phone to identify items for purchase.  The kicker is what comes after.  The app then tracks the price of the items in your shopping list and can notify you of savings events.  These third party aggregaters are the real killers of brick & mortar retail.  They'll all be forced to be "honest" now because the consumer will have too much information.  Only the luxury brands will be able to get away with large markups even on a day to day basis.

Here is the article:

http://appadvice.com/appnn/2014/07/snapup-app-automagically-turns-your-screenshots-into-shopping-lists

The app is named 'SnapUp'.  Here is a snippet from that piece:

Basically, SnapUp lets you shop simply by taking screenshots of products you want from any app or mobile-optimized website, be it on Amazon, Best Buy, Target, or any of your favorite shopping apps and sites. The app then “automagically” turns your “snaps” into easily viewable and manageable shopping lists.

Pretty neat, right? But perhaps the neatest feature of SnapUp is its ability to monitor the prices of the items in your shopping lists and notify you whenever any of the items undergoes a price drop.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

BLE Beacons and Coupons

A couple of news items worth sharing.

First up is the success story of one retailer and their use of Bluetooth Low Energy beacons.

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/lux-beauty-boutique-enlists-mobile-to-streamline-high-turnover-sales

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Canadian retailer Lux Beauty Boutique upped in-store sales 20-25 percent this year for an anniversary sale thanks to the addition of a self-checkout mobile application.

...

The SelfPay mobile app uses geolocation and beacon technology to detect when a shopper is inside a store. SelfPay is a self-checkout app that lets shoppers scan in-store products from several retailers that they can then buy right on the spot.

Next is a story on Coupon.com and their latest digital efforts:

http://www.retailcustomerexperience.com/article/231529/Coupons-com-launches-new-retail-marketing-platform

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Coupons.com Inc. has unveiled Retailer iQ, a targeting and analytics platform for grocery, drug and mass merchandisers that the company says fundamentally changes the promotions and checkout experience for shoppers and retailers by making them digital, mobile and personalized.

According to the company, Retailer iQ combines several innovative components into one cohesive, omnichannel platform that is designed to drive consumer engagement, activation and shopping behavior for retailers and consumer packaged goods companies.

Apparently Walgreens' has implemented this technology with great success.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Best Reading of the Day - Entry 0046 Two Stories For You

I'm posting two stories today, one that has been sitting in my queue for a few days.  Both are excellent.

Mobile is driving digital coupons, or mCoupons:
well-of-course-mobile-is-driving-digital-couponin

Aisle411 is partnering with iBeacon provider Estimote to create best in breed in-store navigation:
aisle411-partners-estimote-indoor-retail-mapping

Very interesting information overall and both are worthy of being the "Best Reading of the Day".

Happy reading,

J.W. Gant