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Source: BGR Todd Haselton | Nov 2nd, 2011 at 02:40PM

A recent report from Juniper Research suggests that the mobile coupon market will be worth $46 billion by 2015, a large jump from the $5.6 billion projected for the industry this year. Google Offers, a feature of the NFC-based Google Wallet mobile payment system, will be one catalyst for the growth. “Mobile coupons are going mainstream,” Juniper Research analyst David Snow said. “Cost effective mobile coupon campaigns are now within the reach of smaller retailers providing them with an easy way to drive profitable footfall and build customer loyalty. To ignore the potential of mobile coupons would be to ignore the future of mobile commerce.” A quick search of the iTunes App Store revealed dozens of applications for iOS devices, including apps from Coupons.com, GroupOn, Cellfire, Coupon Clipper and more, but there are also applications such as FourSquare that provide special offers for mobile users. Snow’s comments, which also suggest an opt-in approach could be more beneficial for retailers, complement a recent report from Retrevo that claimed retail stores are failing shoppers by not providing them with enough incentives to shop in-store instead of online. Read on for the full press release from Juniper Research.

Mobile Coupon Redemption Values to Exceed $43bn globally by 2016, Driven by Better Targeting and Mobile Apps

Hampshire, UK –  1^st November 2011:  A new report from Juniper Research has found that the total redemption value of mobile coupons will exceed $43 billion globally by 2016 as coupons are increasingly delivered by mobile apps. This is an eightfold increase from $5.4bn in value to be redeemed this year.

Pivotal Role of M Coupons

The report found that mobile coupons, sitting at the intersection of advertisements, payments and loyalty schemes is a key catalyst for the mobile commerce market, especially for bricks-and-mortar retailers and are now appearing as an integral part of almost every new mobile wallet launch.

Increasingly innovative targeting techniques are also being used to deliver mobile coupons to users not just based on location, but also with a holistic knowledge of the consumer’s lifestyle, work patterns and real-time activity extending even to social networking and gaming opportunities.

The Importance of Opting-In

The report stressed, however, the importance of users freely “opting-in” to mobile coupon schemes and not being subjected to indiscriminate and unwanted promotions.  Handled properly, the mobile coupon builds customer loyalty as the user enters into a permission-based exchange of information with the brand, merchant or retailer, so that only relevant coupons are received.

According to report author David Snow, “Mobile coupons are going mainstream. Cost effective mobile coupon campaigns are now within the reach of smaller retailers providing them with an easy way to drive profitable footfall and build customer loyalty. To ignore the potential of mobile coupons would be to ignore the future of mobile commerce.”

Other findings from the report include:

·         The integration of mobile coupons and mobile payment data is rare and an untapped opportunity

·         Redemption rates are set to rise in North America and Western Europe after a few years of experimentation and growing user acceptance

The Mobile Coupons Whitepaper is available to download from the Juniper website together with further details of the study ‘Mobile Coupons Update: Ecosystem Analysis & Marketing Channel Strategy 2011-2016.

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

Our two cents:
This is an excellent example of how a retailer (or in this case eTailer) is using technology to create more personalized shopping experiences. Wine is a complicated topic for many and personalization techniques create a clear way for shoppers to make easier purchasing decisions. Let’s look at some things wine.com is specifically doing:

1. Customers who log into the site will now receive unique recommendations based on their recent purchases, product searches and purchases made by customers deemed similar to them
2. Shoppers will also have the capability to personalize their own profile page, complete with a picture, recent site activity such as product reviews and searches, as well as wine club and Steward-Ship membership information
3. One click checkout feature to ensure a seamless and speedy shopping experience

Read full article on wine.com

http://www.ctia.org/advocacy/research/index.cfm/aid/10323

Sixty-three percent of affluent smartphone shoppers have made purchases via their smartphones

Wealthy Americans have been at the forefront of smartphone app use and mcommerce. And that trend is likely to continue, according to a Q1 2012 study by the Luxury Institute and Plastic Mobile of US consumers with an annual income of at least $150,000.

According to the report, 60% of these wealthy Americans owned a smartphone, of which more than 80% had downloaded an app.

Read full article on eMarketer

Our two cents:
The short answer is no. The reason? The showrooming phenomenon is a fundamental business problem and pricing is at the center of it all. Geofencing is marketing, and marketing will never (and historically has never) fix a business problem. What retailers have to figure out is a way to combat price sensitivity. One way to do that is though personalization, or an investment in technology that offers a unique set of content based on a shopper’s needs.

Read full WSJ article

Concept Overview:
While marketers would like to think that all shoppers fall into the same model of purchasing decision, the truth is there are many variations. These are the three most common. The trick for brands is to understand (usually though click-stream analysis) which type of path each shopper is on and cater the experience based on that. This is increasingly important in multi channel marketing as we see the majority  of consumers say they are overwhelmed with the amount of content they must process before making a purchasing decision.

Concept Overview:
In general, marketers are continually add more touchpoints to the shopper journey making it more difficult for shoppers to make decisions.  Not only is this inefficient and expensive, but also overwhelms shoppers with a surplus of data and content to sift through in order to make an informed decision. We think that modern marketers will adapt a “decision simplicity” approach whereby they establish both trust and value for the brand using fewer touchpoints. Great article in HBR that dives into this topic.