There’s mobile technology-driven change
brewing in the way you shop at brick-and-mortar stores. Disappearing are
the days when you walked in and headed blindly for the sales section.
(Shutterstock)
Disappearing are the days when you walked in and headed blindly for the sales section; or located a much needed item then headed straight for the checkout counter. Retailers from Bed, Bath & Beyond to RadioShack are investing in new e-commerce technology that encourages consumers—often with smartphones in hand—to shop strategically for deals inside physical stores.
By “checking in” with your mobile device after you walk into a retail store—and offering some personal data including your location—shops in turn offer targeted digital deals right to your smartphone for immediate redemption. Retailers see enormous potential in marrying the physical-store experience with our growing dependence on smartphones. And that’s why a growing crop of startup software and technology companies are mining this fast-evolving e-commerce space.
Digby, a small company of 50 based in Austin, Texas, was founded five years ago and has been working with brick-and-mortar stores to leverage technology that includes location-specific messaging to target consumers on the ground.
“The more profound opportunity for them is how mobile is going to impact how they engage with customers in and around their stores,” said David Sikora, Digby’s founder and chief executive. “The smartphone is so personal that you’ll never go anywhere without it.”
Rapidly evolving mobile commerce is among the key trends at the National Retail Federation‘s annual New York City expo and convention, which runs through Wednesday.
Shopping on Smartphones, Tablets
To be clear, the mobile platform solutions offered by Digby and its competitors don’t directly tackle the issue of shopping on phones.Smartphone screens are small and navigating your way from a shirt, for example, to final payment isn’t a consistently seamless experience yet. Despite the room for improvement, mobile devices accounted for about 11 percent of total U.S. retail e-commerce sales in 2012, according to eMarketer research. The figure is expected to grow to 15 percent this year, with shopping using tablets also gaining ground.
More stores, meanwhile, are migrating to digital payment platforms. PayPal this week announced it’s expanding its payment service to more brick-and-mortar retailers such as RadioShack and Dollar General stores. PayPal, EBay’s payments subsidiary, already is accepted at Barnes & Noble, Foot Locker and the Home Depot among other retailers. Separately, PayPal is also unveiling a pilot program in Emeryville, Calif., with smoothie chain Jamba Juice that lets customers order ahead using a PayPal app.
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