As mobile and localization become even more vital pieces to the shopper marketing puzzle, retailers are utilizing strategies to reach and communicate with consumers in more relevant ways.
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Macy’s is striving for personal and interactive experiences with its recent nationwide rollout of shopkick, a mobile, location-based rewards shopping app, to approximately 800 Macy’s locations.
Through the shopkick rewards tool, consumers receive “kicks,” which act as shopkick’s currency, simply for walking into a Macy’s location. The more consumers use their smartphones to scan item barcodes in brick-and-mortar locations and complete specific challenges, the more “kick” points they earn. All “kicks” are redeemable for tangible items, such as discounts and free goods, allowing Macy’s to create a “gamified” experience as well as boost impulse purchases.
“The shopkick app allows us to interact with our consumers in a very personal way,” Orlando Veras, a spokesperson for Macy’s, told Retail TouchPoints. “We’re dedicated to being an omnichannel innovator and engaging with our customers wherever they are. Shopkick allows us to do just that.”
Macy’s was among shopkick’s initial wave of customers, implementing the tool in 2010 across 160 brick-and-mortar locations. “As the mobile market keeps growing and changing, Macy’s will continue to communicate the best we can with consumers across the mobile channel,” Veras said. “I anticipate that we’re going to see a lot of engagement with this expanded implementation.”
Macy’s augmented the implementation by leveraging technology from its in-store solutions partner, Mood Media. Through its existing Mood Media audio system, Macy’s instantly was able to activate the “shopkick signal,” which allows each location to pinpoint shopkick users the moment they enter a store. With this strategy, Macy’s was able to ensure a seamless rollout across all locations.
“Macy’s wants to be at the cutting edge of all technology changes and innovations taking place in the retail space,” Veras reported. “This includes our recent launch with Google Wallet, and our robust activity on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. As our newest technology rollout, shopkick delivers store- and item-based activity information, along with rewards redemption data, to help us determine how we can better leverage our brand messaging, whether that’s through sale opportunities or offers.”
To boost usage of shopkick and better educate shoppers on its benefits, Macy’s is promoting the app heavily in print and online advertising, according to Veras, as well as across social media.
As of July 2012, shopkick had a presence in more than 7,000 individual stores for retailers including Best Buy, Crate & Barrel and Target, and in 250 malls across the U.S.
