Best Reading of the Day - Entry 0151 Pinterest Personalization Issues

Personalization in brand interactions with consumers is the use of data related to an individual to provide meaningful and relevant information, offers, deals, etc. to the consumer.

Pinterest just blew it in a big way.

https://www.yahoo.com/tech/pinterest-accidentally-sent-emails-to-single-women-96643879969.html?src=rss

Apparently it is pretty common for some women to use Pinterest to 'pin' together a collection of ideas that form a vision for their perfect wedding.  This behavior, apparently, does not necessarily indicate whether or not the woman in question is actually getting married or even dating.  That didn't stop Pinterest from sending notifications to these women congratulating them on their upcoming wedding.

Oops.

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Some female Pinterest users got emails from Pinterest with subject lines like “Hundreds of wedding invitations (P.S. You might find the one).” The erroneous emails read: “You’re getting married! And because we love wedding planning — especially all the lovely stationery — we invite you to browse our best boards curated by graphic designers, photographers and fellow brides-to-be, all Pinners with a keen eye and marriage on the mind.”

I've been exploring the border within personalization that defines useful & friendly vs. creepy and unhelpful.  This one accidentally walked right across that border.  Clearly companies with very good ideas and very smart people working there are making this mistake regularly right now and I expect more of these kinds of stories to surface in the coming months and years.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Apple Issuer Fees and Amazon Groceries through the USPS

A couple pieces of news to post today.

First up is continuing rumors around Apple's possible mobile payments capability to be revealed September 9th.  This report says Apple has reached a deal with a number of major issuers (organizations that issue credit cards) to reduce the interchange fee for swipes through the Apple wallet with bio-metrics.

The key issue is proving the card is present during the swipe.  Since, technically, the card does not have to be present the merchant would see a higher fee known as Card Not Present.  With the card added to the Apple Passbook wallet with bio-metric proof of ownership it makes sense these should be considered Card Present transactions and that may be the deal they've made.

Here is the story over on PYMTS.com:

http://www.pymnts.com/in-depth/2014/apple-to-get-rebates-from-issuers-on-fees/#.VAmlcsVdX9Y

The article mentions the question of passing along relaxed interchange fees to the merchant in these instances.  This really does no favor for the merchant that is already paying what they consider to be a high interchange fee on Card Present transactions.

Take away some, take away more, then give back a bit of that last one and say you are giving me relief?  Doesn't sound to pleasant from where I'm sitting.

Next is news of Amazon working with the United States Postal Service to deliver perishable groceries:

http://www.internetretailer.com/2014/09/04/amazons-groceries-are-mail

Here is a snippet from that piece:

The U.S. Postal Service is delivering meat, vegetables and other groceries ordered via Amazon.com Inc. to consumers in the San Francisco area in a test that could produce a larger harvest of e-commerce deliveries for the federal agency

The test began the first week of August and was designed to run for 60 days, says a Postal Service spokeswoman. The agency will deliver orders to members of the AmazonFresh online grocery service between 3 a.m. and 7 a.m., when postal trucks typically would be idle. Perishable food comes in insulated bags, eliminating the need for refrigerated transport.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

MCX Announces CurrentC Brand for Mobile Payments

We have some pretty enormous events stirring up this September in the payments space.

The Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX), the consortium of retailers embarking on a journey in mobile payments together, yesterday announced its consumer-facing brand.

CurrentC

The logo above is the app icon.

We have a number of stories on payments that cover this and other news in payments so read on.

First up is one of my favorite sites for news in the mobile space, Mobile Commerce Daily:

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/mcx-launches-currentc-in-pilot-programs-targets-2015-nationwide-rollout

Here is a snippet from that piece:

While Apple’s rumored launch of mobile payments solution next week is expected to make a big impact, Merchant Customer Exchange – a consortium of retailers – has beat the technology company to the punch with a pilot already in market and significant potential for a quick impact on sales.

Next is PYMTS.com with a very good analysis:

http://www.pymnts.com/in-depth/2014/the-411-on-mcx-and-mobile-payments/#.VAjOhcVdXVU

Here is a snippet from that piece:

[Dekkers Davidson, CEO of MCX, stated] ... “The CurrentC Network will provide merchants with unparalleled reach and resources in the mobile payments category and will offer merchants new and exciting channels to engage with customers, strengthen relationships, and enjoy more control of transaction data.”

A couple more to read:

http://gigaom.com/2014/09/03/mcx-launches-currentc-a-mobile-wallet-for-walmart-best-buy-and-other-retailers/

http://www.digitaltransactions.net/news/story/Eye-on-Branding_-As-Wallets-Struggle_-MCX-Dubs-Its-Scheme-CurrentC-While-Isis-Says-It-Is-Now-Softcard

Next is news from McDonald's and their NFC-based mobile payments efforts:

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/mcdonalds-preparing-for-launch-of-mobile-payment-system-memo-shows

Finally is news from the troubled mobile carrier brand ISIS:

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/isis-softcard-rebranding-leaves-strategic-woes-unaddressed

Hope you have a fine day.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

PS  For purposes of disclosure I am involved in MCX through my employer Topco Associates, LLC.

Uber Now Delivering Fresh Food

Have you heard of Uber?

Then again, why would you be reading my blog if you hadn't?

Uber

Mobile payments, through Uber.  Prepared food delivery, through Uber.  What's next, grocery delivery, through Uber?  This little story on Supermarket News tells what you need to know:

http://supermarketnews.com/blog/why-uber-matters-food?eid=forward

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Mobile Usage Growing and More Effective

A couple of items, articles and news, caught my eye regarding mobile.

First is an article about the role of mobile devices to shop for back-to-school items.  Here is the article:

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/mobiles-role-in-shopping-research-grew-during-back-to-school-sales

Here is a snippet from that piece:

The number of consumers taking to mobile first to find out about seasonal deals and promotions during the back-to-school shopping season surged, fueled by improvements in mobile-centric experiences.

Thinknear’s Mobile Marketer’s Guide to Back-to-School Shopping report said that 40 percent of consumers spent at least one to two hours planning for back-to-school shopping on mobile. The statistics, based on consumer-panel research conducted last month, shed light on brands’ embrace of the opportunity to provide a mobile platform that motivates a consumer to use it.

Next is a bit of research on the effectiveness of ads.  We are seeing a dramatic benefit to ads in mobile apps vs. merely a mobile web site:

http://www.warc.com/LatestNews/News/Mobile_ads_work_well_in_apps_.news?ID=33503

Here is a snippet from that piece:

NEW YORK: The click-through-rate (CTR) for ads on mobile apps is twice as high as the rate for desktop web ads, according to new analysis of tracked activity.

Based on some 300bn data points from mobile ad campaigns in the first half of this year, mobile ad measurement platform Medialets concluded that ads on apps achieved 0.58% CTR compared with 0.23% on the mobile web.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Apple Payments - NFC, Amex, MasterCard, and VISA?

Wow.

The rumor mill is certainly churning with anticipation building ahead of Apple's announcement in Cupertino on September 9.

The biggest news I'm hearing that doesn't concern a wearable device such as an iWatch regards the following (all rumors until Sept 9):

• The new iPhone will contain a NFC chip to enable payments in close proximity.
• Apple has signed a deal with VISA for mobile payments.
• Apple has signed a deal with both MasterCard and VISA for mobile payments.
• Apple has signed a deal with American Express for mobile payments.

Wow.

Pretty intense rumor mill regarding Apple finally embracing NFC technology, something I've been extremely skeptical of to date.  You can't just ignore a firestorm of rumors though so September 9 should be fun, as we expected it would be.

Here is one excellent article by Karen Webster worth reading if you follow mobile payments:

http://www.pymnts.com/news/2014/whos-on-your-2014-fantasy-payments-team/#.VAW2hcVdX9Z

The American Express rumor:

http://recode.net/2014/08/31/apple-9-9/

The MasterCard and VISA rumor:

http://www.paymentssource.com/news/emerging-payments/apple-said-to-team-up-with-visa-mastercard-on-iphone-wallet-3019019-1.html

How many days left until the event?  Once again Apple has succeeded in building interest for their product launch.  Seems to be a strong feed of information from the supply chain yet again but the main points may have nothing to do with the hardware this time.  That is an opportunity for Apple to regain some of its vaunted secrecy ahead of a product launch.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

**UPDATE** Good article here that lays out the entire story:
https://www.yahoo.com/tech/what-is-nfc-and-why-does-it-matter-for-the-iphone-6-96456683964.html?src=rss

**UPDATE #2** Another good article on this story stated merchants will decide whether or not Apple's foray in to payments will be successful.  True, unless consumer demand forces acceptance, a difficult trick to pull off.
http://blogs.forrester.com/denee_carrington/14-09-04-merchants_will_decide_the_fate_of_apples_mobile_wallet

Macy's Digital Wallet

Big news for you if you are a loyal shopper of Macy's.  Their new digital wallet looks like a tremendous leap forward to true omnichannel capability.

Read a brief story on it here:

http://www.wwd.com/fashion-news/fashion-scoops/macys-offers-digital-wallet-option-7850439?src=rss/fashion/

Here is the official Macys.com introduction:

http://www.macys.com/m/campaign/splash/wallet/faq

Here is a snippet from that piece:

My Wallet allows you to manage payment options, Macy's deals & promotions and more. You can use it when you shop on macys.com or with your Macy's Credit Card in your local Macy's store.

When signed in to your Macy's profile, choose My Wallet from the left navigation menu and follow the instructions.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant