Beacons are facing an uncertain future, as neither retailers nor customers have warmed to them. We’ve documented the challenges that beacons have faced and the competition that could replace them. But despite a mixed past, beacons could have a bright future with an estimation that 4.5 million beacons could be in usage by 2018. So [...]
Mobile has become a way of life. We expect that with a simple tap or swipe we will receive the answers we are looking for. This is no different from how we expect to engage with retailers. With more people than ever using a mobile device on a daily basis, it should not be a surprise that [...]
Shopping is a highly personalized, and an increasingly high tech experience. However for many retailers, the link between in-store shopping and online shopping remains weak. The struggle is to balance a holistic, integrated experience against a channel and contextually appropriate experience. As consumers, we shop to be around other people and to make purchases we don’t [...]
As the Internet of Things (IoT) moves from tech buzzword to reality, consumers now have another opportunity to get up close and personal with the latest IoT devices. We recently commented on who would be making money from IoT and even mentioned how retailers like Target and Sears had opened up device showrooms in Silicon [...]
Mobile payments not just grew last year, but exceeded all expectations with an adoption rate that tripled. Earlier this year, we were questioning whether Apple Pay, one of the pioneers in mobile payments, was a failure. But according to a recent report from Deloitte, the number of people using a smartphone to make an in-store [...]
Retail’s use of beacons is nothing new. But what is new is combining beacon technology with contextual marketing to get people back into retail stores and making purchases. With over 80% of consumers making purchasing decisions in-store, and often in aisle, developing a contextual marketing program along with beacon technology is the smart way to [...]
For brands to succeed in today’s mobile-friendly shopping environment they must first spend considerable time crafting and executing their online/in-store strategy. With more consumers researching products beforehand, this strategy needs to provide a seamless experience for the buyer from mobile to store. While many retailers are succeeding at this, some are not. Most notably, big [...]
As wearables increase in popularity, the technology that supports them will need to innovate. We’ve seen wearable goggles, watches and even hearables. The main complaint of users still lies in the screen. Since mobile has been an established computing standard, devotion to the screen has remained the standard interaction method. But is there a better solution to [...]
The days may be numbered when customers wait in line or crowd into a traditional retail space on Black Friday in order to get the best deal on holiday purchases. Despite optimism, traditional in-store retail may soon be a thing of the past as customers prefer purchasing online, more specifically using mobile devices. Clearly retail [...]
Mobile technology has been embraced by pharmacies and doctors to allow patients to better monitor their own health. While not new - remote machine to machine (M2M) devices were the earliest uses in the Internet of Things (IoT) - this new wave of technology is being driven by patient needs. According to Brian Tilzer, chief digital [...]
