I stole that tag line, but I still love it. Mobile has been a buzz word for a while in the retail industry. Seems like retailers and customers alike are just chomping at the bit to get in on this game, but to date there just hasn’t been any compelling ROI for retailers to justify the leap and customer experience in this area has been lacking to say the least.
So if you haven’t already seen the Cactus Soundriff mobile solution that was launched at NRF, we tried to take a different approach and provide real value to it’s consumers. It’s not mobile browsing. It’s using the mobile to provide a true digital cross-channel experience from web to mobile to brick-and-mortar and back again. And the great thing about it is it’s provides value to both the consumer and the retailer.
Actually, the reason I decided to write about mobile was that there’s a lot of new and innovative mobile solutions popping up quickly. Some are still just ‘mobile’, but some are ‘smart’ as well, so I thought I’d list a few that I found very interesting:
REI Snow & SKI Report
The REI Snow Report for the iPhone gives users a free way to check ski and snowboarding conditions throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, and parts of the Southern Hemisphere. The application also makes use of the iPhone's internal GPS to find resorts closest to the user at any given time.
A similar application has been available for a while on the REI web site and has proven successful and valuable to their consumers.
In the first few months after launching, the free application had been downloaded at least 54,000 times, putting the REI brand top of mind in the consumers using the app.
Note: The REI Snow Report is also available on Windows Mobile and BlackBerry devices.
North Face Snow Report
North Face launched a similar app in December, 2008 just weeks before the REI version. North Face contracted out the development and went with a lightly branded approach to the app that they now own. REI by contrast chose to sponsor an app developed by a mobile app company Zumobi. REI’s approach so far has proven to be the most successful in gaining market recognition.
Zippo’s Virtual Lighter
Zippo developed an iPhone application that’s a virtual lighter. The free Zippo Lighter application enables users to customize the look of their virtual lighters and simulate the reactions an actual Zippo would have to movements and conditions. Users can quickly jerk the iPhone to the left to open the Zippo and shift it to the right to close it. Lighting the Zippo requires a simple flick, and the application can recreate flame movement by recognizing bursts of wind blowing into the microphone.
Simple, but the application has been a marketing success with 2.5 million downloads to date. And online sales have spiked following the release.
"At concerts, there's a tradition we call the Zippo moment when people hold up their lighters. If they're going to be holding up their cellphones, they might as well be holding up their Zippo app on their iPhone."
Kraft Foods Recipes App
The application carries more than 7,000 recipes (most of which include Kraft products), a suite of instructional cooking videos, meal shopping lists, and a store locator feature.
Betty Crocker …
has a similar mobile cookbook.
Target’s Gift Globe
Last Christmas Target launched a new iPhone app called "Gift Globe" that acts like a snow globe.
iPhone users who had installed the app could shake their iPhone and snow will fall inside the virtual Target snowglobe, revealing a new gift idea each time.
GAP’ Merry Mix-It Holiday Campaign
Gap released an app based on their Merry Mix-It holiday campaign. Customers who downloaded the app could:
- Watch some videos of celebrities singing Christmas carols
- Use templates to mix and match different items
- Add items to a gift list and assign a recipient
- Locate the nearest GAP stores
Walmart Launches New iPhone App
Wal-Mart launched a new iPhone webapp on its American site in November of 2008. To access it just point your iPhone’s browser to www.walmart.com and you will be presented with a store front especially optimized for iPhone.
Some of the features available are checking Wal-Mart’s catalog, searching for products, store finder, and ability to make a shopping list online.
So this nothing that new, although the newly optimized iPhone layout is appreciated, what is interesting is that they also launched an SMS deal alerts program that promotes weekly specials to lure consumers within proximity.
Aerie.com’s Send to Mobile
American Eagle implemented this mobile functionality to drive in-store traffic, which lets you text yourself items from their e-commerce storefront to find the physical item in a local store.
The great thing about it is that it can be sent to any phone (yours or a friend’s) that accepts SMS, not just a Smartphone. Obviously the representation with an image is much nicer on a smartphone, but they’re really catering to the vast market.
Amazon Remembers
Amazon Remembers allows consumers to take a photo of an item from a retail store which then gets sent to Amazon.
Amazon's living, breathing Mechanical Turk workers (so-named for one of the first "robots") try to match the photo up to products for sale on Amazon.com. Amazon will send an email identifying the item and giving the consumer a link of options to buy directly from the Amazon site, also serving as a price comparison feature.
You'll get results back in 5 minutes to 24 hours.
It’s a great idea, even if some are toting it as a new app that ‘exists soley to make buying crap easier’. I love being able to by crap easier!
Lucky At Your Service – A Digital Shopping Concierge
Another app that hits home with me is from the Condé Nast magazine Lucky. If you don’t know what Lucky is, it’s a magazine all about shopping … and this particular app is all about shoes … lucky me!
Anyway, the iPhone application, Lucky at Your Service, lets shoppers find a particular brand, color, and size of shoe in a store near them. After users choose a specific shoe model, they can click the “Find It Near You” button. That will use either GPS or a ZIP code to determine which stores in the area have that shoe available.
Lucky has equipped a free call center with 20-200 representatives who confirm that the shoe is available, have a salesperson set it aside, and text-message the shopper the details.
So far the app can only be used the shoes showcased in the March 2008 issue, but the magazine plans to update the app to correspond with products in future issues.
ShopStyle.com – iShoes App
ShopStyle.com also launched a new app, iShoes that delivers 50,000 pictures of shoes to the consumer’s iPhone.
You can search and filter by shoe type and/or brand. When you see a shoe you like, just tap the picture and get full product details, bookmark it or find a retailer … this brings you to the product detail page of the retailer’s web store and you can then order right from your phone if you like.
I gotta say, this one I really like! The interface is clean and easy to use, and what better way to kill time.
The New Ralph Lauren iPhone Application
You may have heard that Ralph Lauren launched an iPhone app in the fall of last year that allows consumers to see all the latest styles available in stores and watch clips from fashion week. There’s was also backstage galleries,a lookbook and
a short video "Portraits of a Collection," which gives consumers an inside look at Ralph Lauren's work and art; narrated in part by the designer himself. There's also a world-wide store locator.
Last month they released an upgrade to the app that has a lot of new technology features and cool functionalities. Of course, they also added in the Ralph Lauren Fall 2009 collection.
Here is a list of some of the latest updates:
- In-depth Ricky Bag feature with 360-rotation using iPhone’s “accelerometer” technology
- The ability to pinch-zoom on all looks
- The addition of a Spring Accessories gallery and advertising section
- A new Video Library of short fashion films
- An even richer Backstage photo montage with audio
- The ability to contact a Personal Shopper for product information and assistance
- Email looks to a friend
Chanel
Chanel also created a similar iPhone application, which can be downloaded from the App Store. You can use the application to view the current catalog, read Chanel news or find a local store.
Godiva
Godiva partnered with mobile web solutions provider Digby to create a Blackberry-specific version of the Godiva site that allows customers to complete transactions, view rich product descriptions, integration with your contact list and a secure mobile wallet.
ShopLocal.com
ShopLocal is a marketing and advertising service that builds, hosts and maintains catalogs and online weekly ads for top U.S. retailers. Consumers can go to the site to view local flyers, specials, download coupons, sign-up for local e-mail advertising, etc.
They recently created an iPhone app that displays in-store circular content. The initial beta launch is already underway and getting really great reviews from clients, partners and analysts.
Adidas Urban Art Guide
Adidas launched an Urban Art Guide app last month that allows consumers to discover urban art from the streets of Berlin. It includes a mobile gallery, a tour guide of urban art and a feature that lets you ‘Find Artworks Nerby’, by using your current GPS location and then providing you with a map to the sites.
So that’s just a few, there are countless other examples of apps to bring shopping lists, shopping malls, coupons, tools, reminders all to your iPhone. Some are really just about marketing and some provide real value and convenience to the consumer. Looks like the promise of mobile commerce is finally going to find it’s place in the consumer’s hands after all.
Here’s just a few more that I didn’t get time to write up on:
http://www.shoprmall.com/iphone/
http://www.couponit.com/m/
http://www.etsyfeeder.com/iphone
Anyone else seen any interesting examples?
Pilot Program Beams Live, Local TV to Cell Phones
I also thought it was worth mentioning one more pilot program for mobile that’s been getting some press lately.
Mobile DTV will send live signals from local TV stations to a hand-held device or a car-mounted video monitor.
The Open Mobile Video Coalition, a group pushing the technology, believes that 20 to 30 channels will be available across Chicago within two years and will be offered by 63 stations in 22 markets at some point in 2009.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/65843.html?u=djr056&p=ENNSS_3618aecca787b0a0f43a7e81d6f296cd