Retailers received a big push today as Placecast announced that its ShopAlerts platform can now be integrated with any smartphone app to offer shoppers location-based push notifications when a consumer is near a store, even when the app is not on. ShopAlerts is a service that delivers real-time notifications about deals, offers and events in the shopper?s immediate area to any mobile phone. With the new feature, retailers deploying apps can encourage consumers to use their app, visit a nearby store or event and generate higher engagement around offers and specials ? bringing consumers ?back to the app?.
Many retailers have developed apps but struggle to get consumers to use them because the app experience requires action on the part of the consumer to open it and search for offers, new products or other content from the brand. ShopAlerts? new feature now enables consumers to receive a location-based message from the retailer?s nearest store or other relevant location, without the app being open - encouraging them to open the retailer?s app for more information. Just as ShopAlerts programs work on any phone, this new feature works on any smartphone platform.
Placecast will work directly with retailers to integrate ShopAlerts into their apps, helping them to design a program and create a messaging strategy, select the number and size of geofences and activate locations. Placecast advises brands by using the company?s extensive research and expertise in powering successful geofence marketing programs. Geofences are virtual perimeters around real-world geographic areas, such as store locations, entertainment venues, outdoor destinations or neighborhoods.
After a retailer integrates with ShopAlerts, opted-in customers will receive location-based push notifications when they are in a geofenced area. Not only does ShopAlerts notify the consumer of offers, discounts and events at nearby stores, but they can also leverage preferences expressed by the consumer, CRM, loyalty or past purchase data to increase the relevance of the message. Time of day and weather can also be taken into account to create added relevance, and brands could also enable a location-based notification when a specific product is available at a nearby store. As with all ShopAlerts programs, consumers are in control; they must choose to download the app and must opt-in to receive location-based push notifications from the participating brand.
?These new features enable an app to deliver push notifications tied to nearby locations, which immediately extends the utility and usage of a retailer?s app,? said Alistair Goodman, CEO of Placecast. ?Consumers see ShopAlerts as a valuable service - they can get an alert for a deal or store nearby without having to take the time to turn the app on and search for something around them.?
Consumers are quickly warming to the idea of push notifications from brands and deals companies like Groupon and LivingSocial. In a recent comScore State of Retail survey, 5 percent of those questioned said they have opened the Groupon app to search for offers, and 6 percent said they had opened the LivingSocial app. Strikingly, 14 percent reported that they had opened one of these apps after receiving a push notification ? showing that push notifications for deals can result in double or even triple the engagement with the app.
?The amazing thing is that users went out of their way to write in ?push notifications? as the way they most often access Groupon and LivingSocial deals. That?s off the charts, and likely underrepresents the impact push notifications have for these kinds of services,? says SVP of Mobile at comScore Brian Jurutka.
The combination of geofencing with push notifications opens up exciting possibilities for brands. ?Geofence retail marketing is one of the biggest trends of 2011, as evidenced by the adoption by major carriers like AT&T and Telefonica?s O2,? said Greg Sterling, founding principal of Sterling Market Intelligence. ?Placecast?s decision to integrate geofence retail marketing into apps has the potential to bring more utility and relevance to the retail app industry.?
Placecast recently announced the launch of ?ShopAlerts Self-Serve?, a B2B solution that the company will license to vertical companies like mobile operators, yellow page providers, retailers, financial institutions or deal services that work directly with merchants. ShopAlerts Self-Serve gives small and medium businesses the ability to create, launch and record results of location-based mobile marketing campaigns including coupons, through a self-serve platform.
ShopAlerts is currently used by major carriers such as AT&T in the United States and O2 in the United Kingdom, both of which are running nationwide location-based retail programs that reach millions of consumers. Brands such as Starbucks, L?Oreal, Subway, Kohl?s, Kmart, HP, Chico?s White House Black Market, JetBlue and SC Johnson participate in ShopAlerts programs. The ShopAlerts platform can now serve retailers in every mobile medium, ranging from SMS (text messages) and MMS to apps.
To learn more, please visit http://www.placecast.net.
About Placecast
Placecast is the first global-scale location-based marketing platform used by mobile operators, OEMs and brands. The platform is specifically designed to use digital marketing on mobile to drive consumers into physical environments.
Placecast?s geofence marketing platform ShopAlerts has transformed the location-based industry, taking home the top prize for innovation awarded by the National Retail Federation. Brands such as The North Face, Starbucks, L?Oreal, Subway, Kohl?s, Kmart, HP, Chico?s White House Black Market, JetBlue and SC Johnson have all run ShopAlerts through Placecast and its partners. The Placecast platform is licensed by O2/Telefonica in Europe and by AT&T in the U.S. and is currently being used by millions of the carriers? subscribers.
Placecast is backed by ONSET Ventures, Quatrex Capital, and Voyager Capital.
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