Localization and Expansion of Shopping Apps

Shopping apps are expanding to fill more niches, and incorporating customer feedback at the same time. Their evolution is similar to the evolution of movies. Movies started with silent film and became talkies, then branched out offering more options like animation and 3D. Shopping apps also started out basic and now they are taking it to the next level. Naturally, more and more apps are branching out to fill the gaps in their category’s services. Consumers want to have all of the information at their fingertips. They want to look at an item and get all of its product information, a picture, price comparisons at local stores and online websites, be able to tell if it is in stock and be told how to get to where it is from their current location. Basically, they want the shopping app that does it all. I am not sure if that exists yet, because it seems each app comes along with its own individual strengths. At the same time, the trend is also moving towards localization. This means driving as much foot traffic into local independent, small and medium-sized stores as to stores belonging to national chains. eBay has recently entered into these areas with its first shopping app acquired in the recent aquisition of Milo http://on.mash.to/lAHoOp. Milo’s partnerships with over 100 retailers enables it to deliver real-time information on inventory from about 50,000 stores. The app can show you if a nearby store has the product you are looking for on its shelves, and if it does, how its price compares with other local stores. Meanwhile Shopkick, an app known for its launch with national retailers like Macy’s, is now focusing its efforts on driving more foot trafic to local stores http://bit.ly/mDnQ9E. Through a sponsorship with Citi, Shopkick plans to install its hardware for free at the first 1,000 local businesses selected. The hardware senses when consumers using the app walk through the door of a participating store. Shoppers then get kicks or points towards purchases and rewards for browsing certain items. The last app is not really an app yet but is planning on developing a mobile component, which means it will probably become an app.

It is a website that is claiming the niche for reviews of common grocery products and product categories. Known as the ‘Yelp’ of packaged goods, its Consmr. Consmr is a recently launched website that aims to be the main source of packaged goods reviews http://bit.ly/kdwaVZ. Meaning if you ever find yourself at the store debating which product within a certain category is the best, or which brand of product is the best for a certain recipe, Consmr is where you would go for the answer. The website features brand pages for each of its 50,000 products, complete with reviews and ratings from regular shoppers as well as well-known bloggers. Men’s Health, Women’s Health and Prevention reviews are also incorporated. Unlike check-ins for other places and products, there is no barcode scanning or product in hand required. A simple check-in on the website is all you need to do. Chobani and AriZona, the site’s first two advertisers, are awarding Foursquare style badges (also known as pieces of flair like in Office Space) to those who complete certain tasks. Although there are few products and advertisers at this time, the site’s unique niche is sure to attract more to participate. You may ask, where is the localization component here? Well, that would be my suggestion as they evolve. Consmr will need to incorporate some type of access to grocery store inventory and prices to stay competitive in this age of localization. Each of these shopping tools provides a missing piece of the puzzle. Milo empowers consumers with store inventory numbers and price comparisons between stores and between stores and online sites. Shopkick drives more foot traffic into local stores and drives more foot traffic and attention to their featured products. Consmr hosts packaged goods reviews and ratings so that consumers find their desired product faster, with less time spent trying several products that do not suit them well. Two out of the three focus on independent, small and medium-sized local stores and the third may eventually adopt that trend to suit its purposes also. Shopping apps are evolving. No longer are they one-dimensional barcode scanners. A whole new generation of shopping tools is coming, and with them come new consumers. It is truly a new type of playing field.

The Future of Groupon

There have been a lot of announcements about Groupon lately and speculation about its future in light of its recent IPO filing. Let’s dive into the conversation. The main inspiration for this post comes from E.B. Boyd declaring Groupon will either go the route of Webvan or become the next Google (obviously not literally because Groupon is not a search engine)http://bit.ly/muZDWU. Webvan was apparently the first one to think of home delivery for groceries, with customers ordering groceries online to be delivered in a half hour window, which is similar to what many grocery stores now offer as a service that you can sign up for online. Wonder if Webvan patented that? Anyways, the model proved unsustainable and the company floundered. Then there’s Google, which originated the search engine concept and changed the industry forever. If Groupon were able to go that route, it would be because they added services that added something to and resonated with their bottom line. In other words, services that are an extension of the ones they already offer. This would be the most profitable outcome and would prevent them from going the way of Webvan. While I am not going to take sides, I do believe Groupon is sending out a mixed message. I believe this because of two recent articles I read, one about the founders funding on online pawn shop venture and another about its possible insertion into grocery store loyalty programs. One points them in the right direction and the other sends a mixed message. The one that sends a mixed message is undoubtedly the pawn shop venture. Granted this is through their investment group Lightbank, but it still reflects on them and they are still associated with it in some capacity. The company they are funding is called Pawngo http://bit.ly/kwY6C0. Basically, customers who need between $1,500 and $15,000 send in information about items they would like to pawn and receive an estimate within the hour. The items are shipped to Pawngo’s vault and the loans last 3-6 months. Eventually they may even extend the business to sell unclaimed items.

This venture sends a mixed message about Groupon because it does not relate back to who they are. The worst possible thing that Groupon can do is confuse its audience by not proclaiming a strong brand identity. If Groupon ventures into too many unrelated side projects it runs the risk of going that direction. Confusing its audience means that it will most likely lose users and merchants and lose touch with its origins, which are the daily deals that made them so well-known in the first place. However, if it stays smart and executes new extensions of this daily deal technology then the sky is the limit. E.B. Boyd discusses the opportunity for Groupon to carve an additional niche in driving sales during non peak hours by offering immediate deals that customers sign up to be notified of via their phone when they are in the vicinity. Surely this is one way they can capitalize on the foundation they have built. Another is the partnership with grocery store loyalty programs http://bit.ly/laS8g7. Recently Groupon has been testing this concept out with Big Y stores. An example of what they could offer can be found in their pilot seafood deal where customers could purchase a $39.99 seafood grill pack of lobster tails, clams, mussels, etc. for $24. This prepaid deal would be loaded into their account and reflected at checkout. Groupon could revitalize the coupon industry. It’s a natural extension of the deals they offer in partnership with other businesses and would be a great niche for them to acquire. That type of innovation is what is going to set them apart from any comparisons to Webvan. Groupon already sent a mixed message with their Superbowl commercial, lest we forget, and so the smart move would be to clearly spell out who they are from now on. That is how you build a company, by forming a strong brand identity and leveraging it with brand extensions that build on the bottom line. Groupon seems like a company who is willing to take risks, but they need to be smart ones. The next move, is up to Groupon.

Turning Check-ins into Checkouts

Mobile check-ins are like store visits. It’s one thing to get a customer to come into your store, but it’s another thing to get them to buy something. So many companies have been focused on check-ins but not necessarily on turning them into sales, until now. Sure there have been rewards or deals offered for checking in but they are not always consistent or related to sales. Some deals are for free things and some rewards are not even deals at all but badges. Increasingly, services are popping up to generate coupons each time customers check-in so businesses can increase customer loyalty and capture more sales. There are a few different ways to check-in and various ways to tie a check-in to a checkout. One such way involves a consumer internet company called Meebo http://nyti.ms/lrtcIz . Meebo allows users to check into websites in order to receive deals, and regular visitors will soon be able to receive VIP status. VIP status includes earning rewards from businesses and suggestions for content they might like. VIP visitors can also follow each other and receive feeds of websites that others are checking into. In this way it still pays homage to the badge origin of check-ins while tying in crucial deals that will create repeat customers. Another is an ad network called LocalResponse http://bit.ly/m6lfNv. LocalResponse combines check-ins from 30 of the most common sources, generating relevant deals in real-time to those who check-in either directly or indirectly through a publicly posted sentiment or mention of a location. Additionally, LocalResponse is also targeting people who publicly post about brands or products. Meeting customers where they are in real-time is key to driving sales. That is what makes this next one, which involves geolocation in a different way, an interesting venture. As if we have not seen everything yet, here is a new reinvention of the billboard. There’s been ones that smell, such as the one I wrote about in my entry Taco Bell and Olfactory Billboards, there’s been augmented reality billboards and even live Twitter billboards.

Now there are gaming billboards where you can play for rewards that are redeemable nearby, such as this McDonald’s one in Switzerland http://on.mash.to/lDkghb. Any player with a smartphone that is in range of the billboard can play the interactive billboard’s game, which just happens to be Pong. Interesting retro throwback there. Basically, a player types the URL into their smartphone browser and when it confirms that the player is in the area the game begins. Players control the billboard game by utilizing their smartphone’s touchscreen. What they see on the screen is being played out on the billboard and vice versa. The game gets harder and harder, but if the player can last for 30 seconds they receive a coupon redeemable at a nearby McDonald’s for the reward they selected at the start of the game. A coupon is sent to their smartphone and they can redeem it at the register. Imagine if this concept came to the US. All of these methods are creative and relevant ways to lead customers from check-in to checkout. However, I think they can take it a step further. I think that when a customer checks in their purchase history should be tied into the types of targeted deals they receive, kind of like the coupons you get at the grocery store checkout. I also think that a map of the store they are in should pop up and it should be an interactive map that takes them directly to the product in the coupon they receive. One thing I have learned in all my years of customer service is the more seamless and easy you make the sales process, the more likely the customer will purchase what you are suggesting. In other words, make it so easy and accessible that it is highly unlikely that they will turn your offer down. It is good to see a solid start to closing the gap between check-in and checkout, and it will be interesting to see the statistics from these methods. I hope that, just like anything else, they will use this as a jumping off point and continue to add to it. Maybe even in some of the ways I have suggested here. Regardless, this type of innovation is the inevitable next step in the check-in process and should produce some interesting results.

Twitter’s New Features and Competition

The big news this week is the launch of Twitter’s ‘Follow’ button. Similar to the spread of the Facebook ‘Like’ button across the web, Twitter’s ‘Follow’ button is now available to add to any website. However, Twitter’s ‘Follow’ button shows more promise and depth than Facebook’s ‘Like’ button. Facebook’s button merely allows for the one-time action of liking something. Some may argue that Twitter’s new button is a one-time action, but it has long-term results. Gavin O’Malley reports that this button allows Twitter users to instantaneously follow a Twitter account without leaving the web page they are on http://bit.ly/l6VEqA. What does this mean? It means not having to visit Twitter to search for the Twitter account associated with the website, company, brand, etc. you are seeing online. Also, by following them you are receiving their updates in your Twitter feed. This is a constant reminder of the company, brand, etc. while the Facebook ‘Like’ feature is not. There are no updates connected to the fact that you chose to click the ‘Like’ button. The ‘Like’ button leaves engagement up to the Facebook user while Twitter makes sure that it does not lose anyone. Clicking the new ‘Follow’ button on a website links a Twitter user directly to the ongoing feed of the user they wish to follow. A smart move. Why redirect someone to Twitter when they can interact with you by following your Twitter account via your web page. Making Twitter more accessible means more Twitter followers, more traffic, and more engagement overall. Twitter is also revamping search by allowing Twitter users to sort tweets by relevancy and those with links, and Firefox users can search by username and hashtag http://bit.ly/kdktV1. This is a similar concept to an idea I had about a year ago, as you will see when you read My Suggestion for Twitter. Searches will also turn up related videos and photos because Twitter is introducing photo-sharing as well http://bit.ly/jzVECs.

At the same time Reuters reports that another ‘Follow’ button is gaining acceptance online, and that is Mashable’s ‘Follow’ button. Mashable’s ‘Follow’ button, launched in April, is similar to Google’s +1 button (which went public yesterday). Both are in the same category as Twitter’s Follow button but they have a slightly different focus. Mashable’s and Google’s buttons are more concerned with following news while Twitter is all about business. Not that Twitter’s button cannot be used for other things, but that was the focus in launching it. Business will benefit the most from the spread of the Twitter ‘Follow’ button. Google’s button may have launched publicly yesterday but it has some ground to cover before it catches up to Mashable’s button. Mashable’s has already gained 10,000 users who can keep up on news and share it with their Twitter, Facebook and other social networks simultaneously with the click of a button http://reut.rs/km7i33. If I were to rank all of these buttons here is what they would place. 1) Twitter’s ‘Follow’ button: Not only does it have applications for business, it competes with those more geared towards following news and can also be used to promote one’s LinkedIn site or blog. Most importantly, eliminating the two-step process to follow someone and interact with them has tremendous benefits for all involved. As I said, more followers, more traffic, and more engagement overall. 2) Mashable’s ‘Follow’ button: Ease of use for those with multiple platforms to share topics of interest, similar to programs like HootSuite and TweetDeck which allow for something to appear on all of a user’s social platforms. 3) Google’s +1 button: It’s a great concept for search, and draws more people into the topic, but is limited to Google. Read more on my thoughts in my entry Facebook 0, Google +1. 4) Facebook’s ‘Like’ button: One time engagement, need I say more? A great base concept but not self-sufficient. Based on this analysis I would say that Twitter’s features are very competitive with similar ones that are already up and running. Being that it is so innovative, and now seems to be moving in the right direction, Twitter should stay competitive. Gavin Dunaway predicts some paid search advertising type of product may be in Twitter’s future http://bit.ly/kdktV1. Regardless of whether that happens, Twitter’s new features will ensure that its popularity and relevancy can only go up from here.