Key moments for social commerce in 2010

Defining moments for social commerce in 2010 (via digital buzz blog)

Key retail IT trends to watch for in 2011

Key retail IT trends to watch in 2011

1. The use of tablets as part of the instore experience
2. Multichannel fulfillment
3. Better online experiences
4. Mobile platforms & convergence

Full article here

(via retail customer experience)

Creating cross-channel success

In a recent US survey amongst 1000 respondents nearly one in two stated they would be more likely to do business with a retail store if that store had a mobile web site.

This got me thinking about the whole area of cross-channel retailing – particularly as we lead up to Christmas.

The digital channel (defined here as online, web, mobile, apps) is getting a fair bit of airtime lately. I recently wrote about Toys R Us and their iPad catalogue app and today read that Target US (see pic above) have recently launched their own iPad solution. Target are hoping it will help drive purchase intent amongst their expansive and ever-increasingly connected shopper base.

Why does this all this matter?

In a recent interview, Glen Senk CEO of Urban Outfitters in the USA stated that his highest value customers use three or more of their channels and spend six times what a single-channel shopper spends in the process.

Wow. Now that’s a motivation!

Insight? Focus on helping your shoppers shop your brand – not your channels

The US based brand, Moose Jaw is an example of a brand that really “gets” this. Whilst they have a seriously well-planned multi-channel retail strategy, they measure success on the total value of their customers (vs siloed metrics for each channel).

As Jason Goldview from Crossview stated “They [MooseJaw] understand that the more opportunities they create to touch each customer across different channels, the more valuable that customer will be in the long run.”

The other thing I thought was brilliant about Moose Jaw was that they reward customers for interacting with the brand – not just buying from it.

Insight Two? More brand interaction drives greater lifetime value

Brands that successfully implement cross channel retailing share two things in common. First, they know how to manage deployment of touch-points and tactics “in the trenches” (ie: channels). This is important because some of your customer segments may only shop in particular channels and not others. Second, they have vision. They know what kind of bigger brand story and experience they’re wanting to create and use a “helicopter view” to ensure that all channels and touchpoints merge together.


Sources
www.mobilecommercedaily.com
www.retailcustomerexperience.com

Brands join up with Farmville

Macca's Chicago have just teamed up with Zynga (creators of Farmville + other social media games) to launch a one-day campaign whereby Macca's branded and launched a neighbouring farm on Farmville that enabled players to earn virtual points via McCafe etc to spend within the game. Very cool.

According to Brandchannel:

It’s a significant crossroads for in-game branding and a first-of-its-kind campaign for McDonald’s. McDonald's currently serves 26 million customers daily, while Zynga attracts more than 215 million monthly active users, and FarmVille remains its most popular title.

Dubbed a “neighbor farm” for the one-day campaign which ran yesterday, Farmville highlighted the MacFarm and visitors who helped grow tomatoes or mustard seed crops received in-game rewards dubbed FarmVille McCafe Consumable.

The Consumable is a valuable virtual good that makes game-play easier and delivers energy to players that doubles navigation speed and awards McDonald's Hot Air Balloons for decorating one’s farm.

7-Eleven ran a similar promotion this year (see pic above) when they teamed up with Farmville and integrated Farmville codes onto real products which were sold in 7-Eleven stores (think "Farmville Slurpee")


It allowed customers to "bite - earn - play" as they put it. This was another potent example whereby a brand facilitated the intangible (virtual online game) becoming real.

You know my passionate stance about retail being "anywhere a transaction happens" .......well digital convergence is making this happen (and it's only going to keep getting faster).

This latest Macca's example is further proof that the lines between online and offline have blurred. Savvy brands will continue to find even more ways to create experiences of value within and across these two arenas.

iphone 5 will get us closer to going cashless

The future is mobile and according to Fast Company, Apple is helping it edge forward another step.

Currently under development, iphone 5 due for release in 2011 is being touted to feature cashless payment technology. According to the article in Fastcompany, Apple has just taken out a patent on RFID technology which will enable them build an RFID loop into their iphone circuitry to act as both an RFID tag or tag reader.

This is an exciting revelation that provides further proof that retail has truly shifted to being ‘anywhere a transaction happens’. By thinking of the ‘store’ in these terms, brands open up new opportunities to create even more value, convenience, delight (and differentiation) for shoppers.

The penetration of smart phones will be at the heart of the digital path to purchase. In the USA, Nielsen predicts 51% of all consumers will own a smart phone by 2011. Whilst Morgan Stanley has predicted that by 2014 more Americans will be accessing the internet via mobile devices than desktop computers.

This has massive implications for brands and retailers who will be defined by how they adapt, harness and apply convergent digital solutions into their marketing.

According to the In-Store Marketing Institute, marketers will need to do the following to take full advantage of the new digital era:

1. Focus on insights
2. Look beyond the brand to solutions
3. Focus on message, audience and technology (in that order)
4. Develop relevant content
5. Target
6. Commit the organisation
7. Integrate activity
8. Test
9. Scrutinise partnerships
10. Be ready to adapt

For me, the key points here are integration and ensuring that technology remains the servant (not the master). An exciting time.

IKEA rocks it with Facebook in Sweden

This is all over the web but wanted to share as a great example of how IKEA utilised existing social media (in this instance, Facebook) to promote a new store opening in Malmo, Sweden.

Click this link to view the clip

30pc of consumers accessing retail content on mobile are not online or in-store

The August SMART report just published by Millennial Media USA, has found that nearly 30 percent of subscribers accessing retail content on their phone cannot be reached online or in-store.

The research was conducted in partnerhsip with comScore with the purpose of investigating mobile retail advertising, usage and growth over the past year.

The study points out the opportunity for brands to connect with this potentially 'forgotten' audience when planning their forthcoming retail Christmas campaigns.

For the full report look under 'research' on Millennial's website here

Uniqlo Love

It's no secret that Uniqlo are headed our way. They're one of my favourite retailers - innovative, immersive branded experience creators. My first experience with them was in NYC back in '03 ...it was love at 'first shop'. They've just won another award for their '09 Lucky Switch Campaign (below). No surprises there.

Thought the above pic was cool - 580 people already signed up to "bring Uniqlo to Australia" on Facebook....(yes I'm one of them)

Talk about brand loyalty...this is brand love (and they haven't even arrived yet).

Cool.