Showdown: Best Buy vs. Amazon and How the Brick-and-Mortar Can Still Win
While we may not yet be in the age of robots that clean up our messes or retina-engaged advertising, there's no denying that technology is changing our lives, especially the way we shop. And nothing seems to be more primed for rapid change than the intersection of e-commerce, mobile, and physical storefronts. Mobile and e-commerce continue to thrive and morph, but as my colleague Will said about those brick-and-mortar shops: "It's all doomed (I'm...read more >>
Using Mobile Video to Drive Retail Sales
There is no denying our love for shopping with tablets and smartphones. According to comScore’s 2012 Mobile Future in Focus report, more than half of the U.S. smartphone population used their phone to perform retail research while inside a store in 2011. While e-commerce retailers work out new ways to turn that in-store research into more sales, a recent post on Video Commerce offers up four ways they can do just that through the use of mobile...read more >>
The iPad 3 Hype: Good for Online Retailers
If the date March 7th doesn't spark a little bit of full-toothed glee for you, you may not be a sell-my-car-to-buy-a-Mac-product consumer. That's cool. I wouldn't hold it against you. But if the date March 7th--the day of the iPad 3 release--doesn't at least give you a it's-happening-again feeling, you may need to take a good look at your mobile strategy, according to Mike Randazzo. In an interview with Daily Deal Media, Randazzo explained why he...read more >>
Scan-and-Scram and Content Merchandising
It's known as "showrooming," and it is not something giggling hippies do in the woods. What I'm referring to is the growing habit of visiting a store only for the purpose of researching a product and with the intent of purchasing the item elsewhere for less--usually online. It's also called the "scan-and-scram." Regardless of which term you choose to embrace, you can add this activity to the list maladies plaguing brick-and-mortar retail (while benefiting...read more >>
QR Codes in Home Improvement: Kohler Nails It
I recently wrote a post covering the basics of quick response codes and how they are being used by retailers and other forward-thinking persons. Since then, Content Ping has been fortunate enough to chat with Seattle-based, QR-Jedi Murat Divringi. He's a true expert on the topic, so I highly recommend checking out his view of the future, which includes a retail landscape covered in "robot barf." I originally intended to give examples of both good...read more >>
Dynotag’s Murat Divringi: QR Codes Offer Retail Innovations
I recently put on a funny hat and piled into a photo booth with a group of friends. This was a modern, QR code-enabled photo booth... that sent me to a poorly designed, non-mobile-enabled website. For all of you who read my colleague Will's excellent introduction to QR codes, you realize how often QR codes can act as shortcuts to disappointment and annoyance. But it doesn't have to be that way. QR codes have the potential to provide a bevy of useful...read more >>
The Basics of QR Codes
There is a lot of talk among e-commerce pros on the topic of mobile marketing--and for good reason. One study found that the use of smartphones for product research grew by 320 percent between August and November of 2011 alone. One intriguing new tool spawned by smartphone proliferation is the QR code. For those who don't know, QR (quick response) codes are those pixelated, black-and-white stamps commonly found on product packages, posters, buses,...read more >>
Brands Falling Behind in Mobile Commerce
All of last year we were inundated with stats telling us that mobile commerce was charging forward at a bulls' pace. According to Forrester’s 2011 report, "m-commerce sales are set to quintuple over the next five years, resulting in $31 billion worth of sales by 2016." The latest mobile reports gauging mobile marketing practices among top brands are in, and the results aren't pretty. Despite the growth in mobile sales, a large number of retailers...read more >>
Another Giant Step for In-Store Mobile Commerce
As we’ve talked about before, consumers are leaning on their smartphones more and more to compare product prices, read reviews, and collect information--all while in-store. Retailers are taking note of this growing opportunity to reach their customers, so it’s no surprise things are moving rapidly in this direction. The latest innovation, according to The Sacramento Bee, is a new software platform called ViVOtouch, which will allow retailers to...read more >>
First Physical App Store Opens its Doors
The world's first brick-and-mortar app store, called OpenSpace, opened its very tangible doors this week in Boulder, Colorado. Considering that all other app stores reside in the pockets of smartphone users, the role of a physical store seems questionable. Mashable reports that OpenSpace intends to give app users a place to learn about and discover new apps, thus adding some variety to the app buying and browsing experience. A major idea behind...read more >>