Comment: We are smiling all the way to the bank! Why? You will know soon ;)

IKEA mobile campaigns average 5-10 percent response rates -

source: Mobile Marketer-Database/CRM

June 16, 2009

IKEA gets idea

When IKEA Seattle launched a mobile loyalty program in June to build a database of people interested in receiving discounts, the home furnishing retailer never even imagined that 23,000 consumers would sign-up.

The text-to-enter loyalty program is a means for IKEA to start a dialogue with interested consumers. BCode is powering the text discounts and has found that there have been more than 15,000 offer redemptions to date.

“The greatest thing about mobile and retail is the fact that consumers cannot bring their PCs with them everywhere, but they do bring their mobile phones everywhere,” said Michael Mak, CEO/founder of BCode, San Francisco.

IKEA is one of the largest home furnishings retailers worldwide, with more than 275 stores in 36 countries, including 35 in the United States.

The key demographic of users is female ages 18-49, with a secondary demographic of families.

Consumers love the BCode “iPhone-like” user experience and BCode claims that usability and user experience is key to consumer adoption and response rates.

Mr. Mak claims that IKEA campaigns average 5-10 percent response rates.

Specifically, the campaigns are sent out at times when the recipients are not in the store. This percentage shows the percentage of consumers that have been driven to visit the store as a result of the attractive mobile coupon offers.

The calls to action for the mobile loyalty program are posted online and promoted via email campaigns. 
In-store signage asks consumers to text IKEA1 to short code 30364.

Texters get a message back letting them know that they will be receiving at least one IKEA message per week with deals, games and alerts.

Examples include 20 percent off special products, or class of products, restaurant food offers or dollars off certain purchase size.

During Q4 2008, the BCode mobile coupon platform generated six figures in sales that were directly tied to IKEA Mobile members shopping in the Seattle store.

This figure is growing on an average of 10 percent every month. The “Closed-Loop” nature of BCode’s scanning service allows this type of sales statistics to be tracked down to per-customer and per-offer level.

IKEA traditionally sends out catalogs with special promotions and discounts.

The Swedish-owned company first began using mobile eight months ago, asking consumers to text-to-play IKEA trivia. All the answers could be found in the catalog.

Valassis aided in the development of the text-to-play. This was a push for the IKEA catalog, with players having to look through, interact with, and involve themselves with the catalog.

Sending potential customers coupons via their mobile phone as opposed to printed coupons is eco-friendly because the consumer only prints the coupon(s) if he or she is interested in the offer.

“BCode can track offers down to the actual transaction,” Mr. Mak said. “Consumers really love it as the results show. We have aided IKEA in increasing its revenue and have been helping drive people in-store.”

Associate Editor Giselle Tsirulnik covers ad networks, advertising, content, email, media, messaging, legal/privacy, search, social networks, television and video. Reach her at giselle@mobilemarketer.com.

International spending could change more than domestic, one expert says

By Bob Berwyn
Sun News Service
KEYSTONE, Colo. — New consumer behavior emerging from the ashes of the worst recession in a century will require mountain resorts to change the way they reach out to customers, said Dr. Lalia Rach, speaking Wednesday morning during the Mountain Travel Symposium in Colorado. 

Rach, an expert on future trends, branding and marketing strategies, said consumer behavior has changed fundamentally in the past few months and that businesses need to recognize the changes and learn how to respond. Framing her discussion in a global context, Rach said Western Europe is going to experience a worse recession than the U.S. 

“They loaned all the money to Eastern Europe and Eastern Europe is now in the bottom of the barrel,” she said, explaining that it matters because it’s a global economy. “It’s going to impact our return,” she said. “Let’s turn to the U.S. Economy … This is the broadest recession we have seen since before the ‘70s. No states are continuing to grow. The only bright spot is D.C. because the only bright spot is government spending,” Rach said. 

And things may get worse before they get better. Unemployment is forecast to climb above 10 percent next year, she said. 

“Even if we have jobs we are worried. We know someone who is affected, our wages frozen and we’ve been asked to cut back and furlough … Collectively in the U.S. we lost $11 trillion in economic value. That exceeds the combined output of Germany, the U.K and Japan. It should tell you what a rich country we are, and we are still standing. That’s what I wish all consumers would recognize,” Rach said. 

She said business that don’t lose money this year can be considered big winners. If you are somewhere between zero and 15 percent negative, you are ahead of the game, she said. Rach pointed out that there are people with money and that they are spending. But the balance of the equation has shifted. 

“People are demanding value and quality, and everything is negotiable,” she said. Consumers are looking to find bargains on luxury items. More importantly for the mountain travel industry, they also want bargain prices on their vacations, she said.

Changing aspirations “What happened in the ‘80 and ‘90s is, we changed our aspirations. Ninety-five percent of the people who bought a flat-screen TVs bought it because they wanted it, not because they needed it. 

“We are now repairing, not replacing. We are, for the first time, telling our kids, you don’t need 10 pairs of sneakers. We are cutting back,” Rach said, trying to pinpoint how consumer behavior will affect the travel industry. Consumer surveys show that people are choosing Home Depot, Target and Wal-Mart. “People are still buying, but they are much more selective,” she said. Rach went on to suggest a few ways that businesses can respond. 

“Are you offering a coupon? Don’t make them clip it, send it to them. Don’t make them suffer, make it easy for them. Consumers are saying, show me your loyalty before I give you mine,” Rach said. According to Rach, establishing intimate, direct communication with customers could be one key to success. 

To do that, businesses must buy into the concept of tech-mobility, which means offering customers customized information in bite-size chunks. Rach said version 2.0 of the web is all about mobility and blending social and professional communication a portable communication product. 

She said consumers increasingly want their information delivered to handheld devices, and businesses need to be on-board with a portable web site that’s “visually dynamic, uncluttered and useful, with prominently placed contact information.” 

“You have to have a mobile web site within 18 months, because of Web 2.0,” she said, referring to networking tools like Facebook and Twitter as electronic word-of-mouth. To illustrate the importance of the new technology, she described the success of a Korean-Mexican taco van in Los Angeles that communicates with its customers solely via Twitter. 

“That’s the only way people know where they are,” she said. 

The business is apparently growing rapidly and recently set up two new vans to meet demand, she added. To wrap up her presentation, she re-assured the audience as to the prospects of the mountain resort industry. 

“This will end. Not as fast as you want, and not with a bang,” she said. Rather than seeing an explosion of pent-up demand, it will be a gradual, incremental return to confidence and some growing level of spending, and that will include travel. 

“The obituary of the travel industry has been written too soon. When we realize how much we’ve lost by not traveling, we will find ways,” she concluded.

SOURCE: Juniper Research Limited

http://www.marketwire.com/mw/rel_us_print.jsp?id=962016

Mar 17, 2009 03:57 ET

Money Saving Coupons Issued via Mobile Phones to Increase by 30% During the Next Two Years Says Juniper Research

, UK—(Marketwire - March 17, 2009) - Mobile Coupons are expected to be one of the biggest winners of the current global recession. Juniper Research forecasts that the redemption value of mobile coupons will increase by over 30% by 2010.

Juniper Research found that the twin effects of shoppers needing to make economies in their spending and merchants ever keen to make sales will combine to have a very positive impact on the overall demand for mobile coupons.

Mobile coupons are attractive to both consumers and vendors as they can be targeted at specific groups of customers and can be matched against particular interests and purchasing patterns, as opposed to the vanilla approach where “everybody gets every coupon” as in the traditional model.

Report author Howard Wilcox explained: “We believe that merchants will see targeted, quick one-to-one marketing campaigns via mobile coupons as a valuable marketing weapon. Considering that mobile coupons offer much better redemption rates and are more cost effective, they represent a win-win approach for innovative retailers.”

Peter Johnson, VP, Market Intelligence and Strategy from the MMA (Mobile Marketing Association), says: “Juniper’s research confirms the MMA’s own findings that consumers are most likely to respond to mobile marketing offers that result in clear personal benefits. Mobile coupons are a prime example of how mobile can be used in this way, combining relevance with immediate, tangible value for the consumer. We welcome further research such as this report from Juniper which helps to build a clearer picture of the way in which mobile marketing will develop over the next few years.”

Other findings from the Juniper Research report:

—  With in excess of 100m mobile phone users globally forecast to use

mobile coupons in 2010, Juniper Research sees significant growth across the

developed markets of North America, Western Europe, the Far East and China.

—  As well as the key drivers, however, there are some significant

hurdles, including the lack of suitable point of sale (POS) infrastructure

at the supermarket checkout allowing for the quick and easy redemption of

coupons, which is critical to the consumer shopping experience.

The Juniper Research Mobile Coupons study provides an analysis of the trends and issues affecting this market, exploring how the mobile coupons market will develop to 2013. The report provides forecasts of user take-up, coupon redemptions and values. The report also presents profiles of 6 key vendors and 12 mobile coupon trials and services pioneering in this developing market.

Whitepapers and further details of the studies, “Mobile Coupons: Strategies & Forecasts 2008-2013” and “Mobile Commerce: Payments, Ticketing and Banking 2008-2013” can be freely downloaded from www.juniperresearch.com. Alternatively please contact John Levett at john.levett@juniperresearch.com, telephone +44(0)1256 830002.

Juniper Research provides research and analytical services to the global hi-tech communications sector, providing consultancy, analyst reports and industry commentary.

Contact

John Levett

john.levett@juniperresearch.com

telephone +44(0)1256 830002

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March 30 2009

The pizza chain found that 1% of orders in the US were coming via its mobile website — without it doing any promotion of the site. Now it has launched a mobile coupon programme aimed at boosting mobile orders

Domino’s Pizza has implemented a mobile coupon campaign management platform from Air2Web that is designed to serve its franchises across the US.

“Mobile coupons provide Domino’s Pizza with the ability to target prospective consumers who are most likely to respond to an offer,” says Curtis Rapp, vice president of sales and marketing for Air2Web. “Mobile coupon campaigns have been shown to drive retail traffic and increase sales.”

Domino’s sends coupon codes to opted-in consumers via text message. Customers can use the coupons when they place orders online in English and Spanish by visiting www.dominos.com or from a Web-enabled cell phone by visiting mobile.dominos.com.

Last year Domino’s more than tripled its number of opted-in consumers and, in 2009, plans to further expand its mobile offering via the addition of new ordering features, coupons, new products and an improved user interface.

“Paper coupon usage has declined 40% percent in the last few years due to lack of immediacy and the manual effort of clipping, according to the Food Marketing Institute,” says Air2Web. “Real-time offers, geographic targeting, personalization, time-of-day redemption tracking, and a lower cost of delivery make mobile a more compelling solution than traditional paper coupons.”

Rob Weisberg, vice president of multimedia marketing for Domino’s Pizza, says “We’re extremely satisfied with the results we are seeing with our text campaigns, as well as the overall growth of our mobile-ordering customer base. We will continue to invest in systems and technologies that will allow us to build and maintain relationships with this highly valuable segment of our customers.”

Air2Web developed a customized promotional program for Domino’s on the company’s DirectTEXT/Info Center platform. The specific promotions developed for Domino’s are, says the firm, direct response in nature, providing transactional integrity, predictable and reliable throughput and comprehensive reporting.

by Sarah Clark (Web Editor)

This article is tagged as: opt-in Air2Web SMS US Domino’s mobile site fast food mobile coupons coupons

Published:

Monday, March 30, 2009 12:18 PM EDT

(ARA) - In this economy, people are looking to save money wherever they can. That means many are turning to an old favorite: coupons. There’s no question that coupons can save shoppers serious money at check-out, but grocery coupons have come a long way since the days when they could only be found in the Sunday newspaper.

Today’s shoppers can print coupons from the Web, add electronic coupons to their store savings cards and even use their cell phones to select coupons to be redeemed at check out. It’s easier than ever to cut that food bill in half thanks to coupons, and here are three easy ways to get started saving money in new ways.

1) Click-and-Print Coupons: There are several Web sites that compile grocery coupons so you simply click on the ones you want, then print and cut them out to take to the grocery store. You can also find printable coupons on the Web sites of your favorite brands, like Pillsbury.com and BettyCrocker.com.

2) Electronic Coupons: Online coupon sites like Shortcuts.com allow you to load electronic coupons onto your store savings cards. No need to print or clip. Just click on the coupons you need and they’ll be automatically redeemed at check out when you use your store savings card.

3) Mobile Coupons: You can now get coupons right from your constant companion, your cell phone. One service to check out is Shortcuts.com Mobile (go to www.shortcuts.com on any cell phone with a Web browser). Just  click the coupons you want and within five minutes they’ll be loaded up on your store savings card and ready to use at check out.

It’s easy to save money at the grocery store, especially when you have the right tools, like your computer and your cell phone. In no time you’ll be saving serious dollars in the check out line.

Courtesy of ARAcontent