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

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

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

Here is a snippet from that piece:

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

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

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

More Beacon News and Coupons

Beacons, beacons, beacons.

And iBeacons.

The drumbeat goes on and on.

Mobile marketing automation company Swrve announced beacons:

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

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

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

So how is big data helping?

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

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

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

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

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

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

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

Here is a snippet from that piece:

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

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

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

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

This all ties together.  Really it does.

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

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

Here is a snippet from that piece:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Wal-Mart Mobile Becomes More Like Amazon

'The Retailers Strike Back'

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

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

Here is the best story covering this:

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

Here is a snippet from that piece:

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

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

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

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

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

More Beacon News - Lord & Taylor and Mobiquity Technologies

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

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

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

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

Here is a snippet from that piece:

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

Next is Mobiquity and the retail real estate company Simon:

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

Here is a snippet from that piece:

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

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

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

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

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

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

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

Here is a snippet from that piece:

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

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

Here is one on iBeacons in Missouri:

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

Here is another about a study on mobile influencing shopping:

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

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

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

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant