Mobile Shopping Alerts
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by David Dorf
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Published on Tue, 01 Mar 2011 13:48:51 -0600
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2011/03/01
23:29 UTC
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It’s been popular to offer coupons when people check-in to a store, because you’re catching them at the best possible time – they’re presumably in a shopping state-of-mind, and they’re at your store. But wouldn’t it be even better to catch the people walking by your store and entice them to visit? That’s the concept of geo-fences. When people enter a geographic zone, they are sent a relevant text message alerting them about something nearby.
I wrote about Placecast doing this for The North Face, noting that the messages were a unique combination of both offers and useful information about outdoor activities.
After creating a program with European carrier O2, Placecast recently entered into an agreement to provide similar services to AT&T customers. The ShopAlerts program allows AT&T customers in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, and San Francisco opt-in to receive these messages. The program will be expanded nationwide as early as this summer.
It’s a much better model for customers (and Placecast) to sign-up once with the carrier instead of each individual retailer, but I hope the messages aren’t restricted to advertising. I really the like the idea of providing other information, such as nearby special events, races, and perhaps even things to avoid like construction.
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