QR code scans jumped 50pc on Black Friday

QR codes help marketers close sales
 

In a sign of the growing role that mobile plays in helping consumers make purchasing decisions, mobile bar code scans on Black Friday increased 50 percent, according to a recent study.

Black Friday is one of the busiest shopping days of the year and consumers are increasingly using their mobile devices to scan QR codes and UPC codes that appear on products, in-store displays and ads to help them make informed buying decisions. The numbers also point to continued adoption of QR codes by marketers and media publishers.

We believe that this holiday season, QR codes are helping retailers close sales and amplify their message via social networks.

Showrooming is here to stay, but QR codes can give shoppers the confidence they need to shorten the path to purchase.  Seventy five percent of the scans from Black Friday that were processed came from QR codes and they will undoubtedly play a large role in holiday shopping.


What are you waiting for?  Get your QR Code TODAY and close more sales tomorrow!

www.beachbumsmarketing.com

The mobile, social link

Many of our clients recently launched new versions of its mobile bar code application for Android and iOS users to make it easier for users to discover the best QR codes and products via Facebook.
To promote the app and mobile bar code scans, they are running a "Like It to Win" holiday giveaway, giving mobile users who download the app, scan a mobile bar code and indicate their favorite scans a chance to win an Amazon gift card.

Over 15,000 “Likes” have been recorded so far. The most liked brands are Best Buy, Kohl’s, Heinz and Samsung.

“This data is showing that people of course like content that provides holiday shopping deals, but they are also giving their approval on a Heinz Corporate Giving effort” Mr. Wehrs said.
“This again proves the potential for QR codes to go far beyond just leading a consumer to a product’s Web site,” he said.

“Interestingly, all of the most liked items are from content that is made for mobile, and none that were PC formatted. This shows again that people appreciate getting content on their mobile device that is relevant and easy to use.”

What mobile strategy do you have?  Get started TODAY so you'll have more "Likes" tomorrow!

www.beachbumsmarketing.com

81pc of smartphone owners have accessed a retail mobile site

 

Whether it is for researching or directly shopping, consumers are interacting with retailers in multiple ways on their mobile devices, according to a new study from the Interactive Advertising Bureau.

In a recent study on Mobile Shoppers: Growing Adoption Shifts Shopping Landscape looked at the impact that mobile sites, apps, coupons and offers will have on consumer shopping this holiday season. The study also breaks down which cities in the United States are savviest when it comes to mobile shopping.

Consumers will use their mobile devices to shop more this holiday season.  You may ask yourself:   Is my website mobile ready?  Will they be able to view our products on their phone?

They are going to use their mobile device for everything from researching, to buying, comparison shopping and buying spur of the moment.

In our stressful lives, consumers have found that phones can be a useful tool during the holiday season.

Get mobile ready today - contact us for a free strategy session!


www.beachbumsmarketing.com
 

Are you ready for mobile shoppers?

In a recent Mobile Insights biannual study that surveyed 20,000 consumers across fifteen top United States markets in June 2012 it was discovered that approximately 68 percent of U.S. consumers own a mobile device, which is classified as a smartphone, tablet or ereader. This is an increase from 57.2 percent in 2011.

Interesting Facts:

• Smartphone owners are equally split between males and females, per the research.
• More than half of smartphone owners have used their devices inside a store in the past three months. Thirty percent of tablet owners have done the same.
• Forty-seven percent of mobile owners have a QR code reader downloaded onto their device.
• The report also points to a study from comScore in July, which found that 81 percent of smartphone owners used their mobile devices to access a retailer’s mobile site or app. These users also tend to skew younger in age than desktop users and point to mobile becoming a primary medium for consumers to shop from.

With the holiday season upon us, it's important to have a mobile strategy in place for your clients.

Are you mobile ready?  Contact us today for a free strategy session!

www.beachbumsmarketing.com

Are you ready for couch commerce?

This holiday season, PayPal predicts that couch commerce will explode even further.

The term was coined by eBay and PayPal, and last year, both companies predicted that Thanksgiving Day 2011 would be a day when consumers went from their dinner table to their couch to start their holiday day shopping on Thanksgiving Day on their mobile devices.

Both companies saw a 511 percent increase in global mobile payment activity than on Thanksgiving Day 2010.

“Retail has fundamentally changed,” said Anuj Nayar, director of communications for PayPal, San Jose, CA. “We expect to see some of the phenomenon, massive spike in shopping on Thanksgiving Day and couch commerce to explode.

“We also expect to see a percentage of shopping from mobile devices to rise.”

According to Mr. Nayar, although many marketers tend to differentiate mobile and online shopping, the two are similar in many ways. Mobile shopping, however, is done on a smaller device.
“From our point-of-view, mobile is popular,” Mr. Nayar said. “People shop on their smartphones during the day and their tablets at night.

According to the executive, PayPal sees shopping from their mobile devices during the hours of noon to 1p.m. and users turning to their tablets from 6-7 p.m.

“The way that people shop from their devices is different,” Mr. Nayar said. “It just varies at each device.

The shopping paradigm is changing and mobile is changing that,” he said. “I think the key point that we’re seeing as a company, is that consumers are using technology in new ways to find the best deals and they’re fundamentally changing what retail means and how people shop.

“The mobile device, more than anything else, has bridged the lines between online and in-store commerce. It’s changing the ways that consumers shop. Retailers have to react to catch up to what consumers are doing.”

“Consumers are exercising their mobile shopping skills, with more than two-fifths – 41 percent – pre-shopping online versus only 27 percent in 2011,” he said. “”Consumers have increased their use of smartphones inside stores and are leveraging their devices to the frustration of retailers.”

Contact us TODAY so that you are ready for the couch consumer!  It's never too late to get your website mobile friendly!

www.beachbumsmarketing.com

College Kids Use Mobile During Thanksgiving

Mobile is also effecting college kids.

Did you know that two in five students – 38 percent – say they will do holiday shopping on Thanksgiving?

Moreover, 22 percent of students are more likely to decline a Thanksgiving meal invitation if they know they would not be able to use their mobile devices while there.

The Digitas study also revealed that 76 percent of those who shop by mobile device and computer say that it is easier to shop via computer.

Only eight percent of consumers surveyed said their shopping experience was easier via mobile and 16 percent said there is no difference between the two.  The reason?  Mobile businesses do not have their website mobile friendly....is yours? 

The big news for retailers is that the battle for shoppers is definitely getting beyond just getting them in the store or onto the ecommerce site.  It’s also about getting on people’s smartphones and tablets.

Mobile makes life shoppable – so retailers and brands need to focus on being a part of those moments when people are shopping on their mobile devices.  Honestly, the most surprising finding was that there were actually people who would decline an invitation to Thanksgiving if they couldn’t use their smartphones.

I thought that if there is one institution that could withstand our increasing need to always be connected, it would be Thanksgiving. But it just indicates how much mobile is changing behaviors, attitudes and culture.

According to many, mobile is going to play a very substantial role in the holiday shopping this season.

It’s going to play three key roles.  As a way for people to research and compare features and prices, as a way for people to transact and as a way for brands and retailers to proactively reach out with offers and information.

www.beachbumsmarketing.com

Which mobile channel will reign this holiday season?

Large retailers first to embrace mobile marketing

This holiday season marketers are going to be using different mobile channels such as QR codes, mobile advertising, SMS and applications to drive in-store traffic, engagement and sales. However, which one will lead the pack?

Mobile has changed over the years. Retailers such as Target and Starbucks are using mobile to interact with consumers on a deeper level.

"If the recent CMO Council survey is to be believed, you can ask whether marketers are looking at the holiday season differently this year,” said Jeff Hasen, chief marketing officer at HipCricket, New York.

“Only 16 percent had a mobile strategy,” he said. “Contrast that with mobile users who are way ahead when it comes to mobile and the holidays – 56 percent of mobile shoppers will showroom and 27 percent will buy via their devices, according to Accenture.

"This creates excellent opportunities for mobile-savvy marketers to differentiate and satisfy the needs of the mobile subscriber and sell more stuff.”

‘Tis the seasonAccording to Mr. Hasen, many marketers who will win will provide consumers with mobile choices rather than dictate that interaction happens through one medium or another.

"Marketers should think of inclusive mobile strategies rather than ones that exclude users who have neither the technology nor the interest in interacting in just one way dictated by a brand."

“My wife has adapted her buying experience to include mobile, but the next time she scans a QR code will be the first time,” Mr. Hasen said. “However, if you give her an optimized mobile site, convince her the experience is secure and provide a winning price and convenience, the deal is done.”
Mobile presents marketers with key opportunities to reach consumers like they could never before.
According to the National Retail Federation, online holiday sales are predicted to grow by 12 percent this year and retailers are promoting new tactics to drive sales on mobile devices.

“Because of this, I predict that we will see QR codes utilized by major brands to help facilitate mobile and online sales,” said Laura Marriott, CEO of NeoMedia, Denver.

“Brands will also leverage bar codes to drive customer loyalty through, for example, driving consumers to mobile rebate pages or product comparison pages at the point-of-sale,” he said.

Emerging technologiesIndustry experts agree that brands and retailers will incorporate more mobile initiatives this year.
There will be an increase in some of the basics – such as the establishment of mobile sites, SMS and QR codes – and also an increase in mobile commerce, including NFC, mobile payments and couponing.

“Deloitte predicts that shoppers' smartphone activity, including research, coupon use and purchases, could account for $36 billion in holiday sales this year,” Ms. Marriott said. “As always, online shopping will prove to be the most-utilized forum for holiday shoppers, but we will see much more of the traffic to online sites come from mobile devices,” she said. “Because consumers have a powerful device at their fingertips, marketers need to ensure that their sites are optimized for mobile device access which will ultimately lead to sales.

“This is especially important, seeing that a new report from Gartner found in 2011, 79 percent of major advertisers had not launched a mobile friendly site.”

Ms. Marriott believes that mobile commerce and couponing will continue to be prominent within the industry.

Nowadays, consumers are always looking to save money – especially during the upcoming holiday seasons.

Therefore, coupons will be big. However, mobile coupons will be even more impactful.
Consumers are constantly on-the-go, therefore giving them an option to save coupons to their mobile devices to be redeemed at the point-of-sale will be essential.

“Coupons will offer consumers the opportunity to make an immediate purchase on their device, and this trend will continue to increase as the use of coupons via mobile devices have already risen 10 percent from last year, according to Deloitte,” Ms. Marriott said.

“Additionally, as showrooming remains a critical issue for retailers, we’ll start to see more retailers/brands utilizing mobile to their advantage,” she said.
“For example, they may choose to include a QR code on their packaging/in-store signage to drive consumers to a landing page which compares the product to similar products from other brands, both in price and features.”
According to Vivian Rosenthal, founder/CEO of GoldRun, New York, mobile apps have become the go-to channel for brands for the holidays because they allow brands to connect with consumers while they're on the go, in-store and at home.
"QR codes are being replaced by GPS-based experiences, which don't require the user to scan anything," Ms. Rosenthal said. "And while SMS is in widespread use, it doesn't create a personal or visual connection with the consumer the way a mobile app experience can, if done well.
"Bringing consumers into a dialogue with the brand is critical," she said.
This holiday season, mobile marketing is going to explode and be the biggest way that brands reach consumers in the coming years.
 
"We are anticipating photo sharing on mobile as the go to solution for brands because it creates both a personal connection with the brand and also has the viral effect that the retailers are looking for," Ms. Rosenthal said.

Testing on mobile
The biggest opportunity for retailers and brands this holiday season is to connect and engage with customers via their connected smartphones.
While QR codes, SMS, and the promise of NFC are likely exciting to marketing departments, they are really just vehicles for driving traffic.

"The question every retailer and brand should be asking is 'what experience are we providing to mobile consumers and how can we best drive conversions?' said Wilson Kerr, vice president of business development and sales at Unbound Commerce, Boston.

"Any marketer that is not working in lockstep with their ecommerce team to ensure an optimal mobile commerce experience delivery is simply not paying attention," he said. "An integrated, dedicated mobile commerce site is the obvious first and most-important step to unlocking the door to mobile traffic and subsequent conversions as sales revenue.

"All else is secondary, as there’s no use driving mobile traffic to a site not ready to receive it."
According to Mr. Kerr, real world trigger points such as NFC ad QR codes are hot, but an often overlooked key to mobile commerce success is a rapid seamless checkout process.

"Mobile integration with ecommerce registration allows mobile users to access pre-stored shipping and billing information so this data is autofilled on a mobile device, at checkout," Mr. Kerr said.

Key trends
Although there are many emerging mobile technologies out there, QR codes are becoming a hot commodity.

"QR codes will reign this holiday season,QR codes is the new generation of modern technology innovation," said Isabella Lin, content director at Appitalism, New York.

"Consumers expect immediate service and immediately understanding and knowledge of the product in this holiday season, this only QR can be done," she said. "For the interest of consumers, QR codes can provide all - service projects, the commitment of the transaction in the form of additional benefits, coupons, video lottery, social media interaction.

"Additionally, QR codes also helps ads break through the clutter."
In the past marketers were facing dizzying array of options to help capture the audience's attention and drive sales.

Mobile technology has rapidly gained momentum.

"Mobile and the upcoming holiday season follow with QR code potential is immeasurable, the next generation of bar code, will be held - so much more information and an Internet connection, will not even be necessary," Ms. Lin said.

"The content will be simple and efficiently embedded in the code," she said. "You will see QR code in all areas of the market everywhere."
Proliferation of devices

Over the past few months, there has been a proliferation of new devices including Apple's new iPad mini, iPhone 5 an the new Windows 8 tablet.

Tablets are becoming bigger and bigger each and every day.

"The tablet will rein this holiday season," said Bruce Bennett, CEO of Mad Mobile. "We will witness the first large scale test of the shopping season couch surfer/buyer.

"A recent study shows that 73 percent of consumers prefer to shop on mobile-optimized sites rather than just 27 percent of people who prefer to shop on a mobile app," he said. "So when it comes to shopping this holiday season, mobile-optimized sites will be the primary medium where consumers are engaging with brands.

"It is important to note that mobile shopping does not necessarily mean mobile purchasing. You have two types of mobile shoppers – those using their smartphone to search for information such as store location and hours, price comparison and product reviews, and those who are actually looking to make a purchase on their mobile device. It is equally important to have a mobile-optimized site for both types of shoppers."

Marketers will try to balance their omni-channel efforts. Mr. Bennett believes that spending will increase.

"Microsoft will be a huge player in the rise in spending around their launch of Windows 8," Mr. Bennett said. "Mobile and social ad spend will be a large part of the $1B plus spend for this holiday season rollout.

"Windows 8 is a massive step in the direction of touch management for laptops and tablets," he said. "Mobile marketing was a key contributor to the 2011 holiday shopping season and it will be much bigger in 2012 as more and more consumers are using their mobile devices for shopping.

"Large spend on tablets of all vendors, sizes and price ranges. The widespread rollout of 4G LTE will make true mobile web browsing a reality for mobile phones. Showrooming in its many forms will affect the majority of mobile shoppers. This will be the basis for a mobile-ffirst strategy for holiday seasons to come."

www.beachbumsmarketing.com