Mobile Couponing Hits Fast Lane

Mobile Couponing Hits Fast Lane

1468

Major retailers all over the country are ramping up their mobile coupon offerings, and if you’re an imaging retailer, now might be a good time to truly figure out a strategy in this game.

In 2010, Target launched a scannable coupon program that they are delivering to mobile phones. Best Buy launched an entirely new retail direction with Best Buy Mobile. Even more significant than all this is the fact U.S. consumers are officially ready to be marketed to through their mobile devices.

Late last year, Target claimed they were the first major retailer to let shoppers access gift card accounts from smartphones, and have the barcode scanned at checkout. Now they are claiming these scannable mobile coupons, which they are sending out directly to customers who can then redeem them via barcode at checkout, are another mobile retail first.

Best Buy is in the mobile coupon game via a partnership with a company called Cellfire (cellfire.com) and also through a mobile phone trade-in program working with ReCellular.

While recently released data from Forrester Research reveals that only a very small portion of the shopping population has adopted the technology, they also advise that this sector is heating up and the slow start simply indicates merchants should “take the time to plan carefully before launching mobile coupon programs.”

Though Target may be the first big-box store to really roll out a mobile coupon strategy, there are others that have been experimenting with the technology over the last few years. As more and more consumers are getting comfortable with the idea of using their mobile phones for m-commerce transactions, many experts feel growth in this area could happen swiftly.

“It’s following a similar pattern to what e-commerce went through,” began Connecticut-based m-commerce researcher Martha Refik. “As consumers got more comfortable and more trusting of shopping online it began to explode. It’s not a matter of if with m-commerce, it’s just waiting for the when—and that’s coming soon.”

JCPenney began testing scannable coupons at stores in the Houston area back in 2009 with some solid success, and Yahoo recently partnered with Coupons Inc. to form Yahoo Coupons to allow brand advertisers to distribute coupons via Yahoo Mobile. At last report that partnership was off to a solid start.

But perhaps the most encouraging mobile coupon news comes from a clothing store chain called Planet Funk, who recently ran a mobile coupon campaign they claim “resulted in a 377% return on investment.”

The retailer saw a 91% redemption rate on the mobile coupons. Also, 20% of revenue for the month of December 2010 was generated by the almost 2,000 coupons that were generated and sent as text messages via the digital marketing campaign they set up through a company called MobileStorm (mobilestorm.com).

“Mobile is a natural fit for our customers, and being able to give them such coupons, both in the store and online, that can be instantly received on their phones is a no-brainer,” the folks at Planet Funk explained.

Now granted, the store targets that “hip youngsters” demographic, so obviously mobile was an ideal medium for them, but the ubiquitous nature of smartphones is blurring the lines between “hip” and “youngsters” more and more each passing month. Also worth noting: if you’re not paying attention to consumer trends that are affecting all of retail, it’s time to broaden your focus.

Back to the Target program for a minute, as they too have set up a fairly simple way for their customers to get in this game. Shoppers interested in getting the mobile coupons must “opt in” and register on Target’s website. They can also text the word “COUPONS” to 827438. Once consumers are registered, they get text messages on their phones with links to a web page that features various coupons. The program works with any phone that has a mobile browser and data plan for Internet use, the company said.

Target claims they will be issuing new coupons every month and as older coupons expire, new ones will appear on the mobile site. The coupons can be used at any Target store nationwide, but they cannot be used on Target.com.

When you see a statistic that claims 89% of the U.S. population now has a cell phone, (CTIA), it’s not at all surprising that smart retailers are looking at ways to leverage that to get people into their stores—and spending.

No clipping, no ink-stained hands, no crumpled pieces of paper—mobile couponing would appear to have a bright, stain-free future.

NO COMMENTS