October 7, 2010
Comments by Guillermo Kopp / @GuillermoKopp
Chairman, GUAU Corporation / gk @ guauco.com
Participants Included: Xtify, Buzzd, Facebook, Where, Loopt, Topguest, DoubleDutch, MyCityWay, The Hotlist, Philo, and Grouptabs.
1. Check-in culture: Social networks engulf hundreds of millions of people, and will be a formidable force to drive mobile transactions. As a new conduit, creative check-in dynamics will shift purchasing habits.
Comment: We think that brands and merchants should also mind the check-in benefits as perceived by customers. Rather than rehashing in-store promotions, active check-in dynamics should allow consumers to discover innovative interactions that will pinpoint emerging needs and opportunities.
2. Merchant benefits: The ability to bring customers into the store and sell more is the ultimate goal for check-in. Despite the adoption of mobile coupons, tangible economic benefits are slow to come.
Comment: We believe that merchants should tap the full potential of check-in workflows to boost the effectiveness and efficiency of store operations. Besides attracting and enticing customers, check-in information will serve to orchestrate seamless in-store interactions that boost sales and productivity.
3. Local Competition: Stores compete aggressively on discounts, and will pitch to consumers who are checking-in at a neighboring rival. If customers walk out from a store, it might lose the intended sales.
Comment: Price wars on existing products are zero-sum games, and lead to lower prices that benefit consumers. Merchants should better refine their segmentation and orchestrate vertical services that create new value and spur cross-selling, such as spotting the ingredients of a meal or recipe.
4. Innovative use cases: Skeptics point at flaws in location services, such as low conversion rates when passers-by get prompted to visit a rental, or are mistaken as fans of the sports team in a nearby stadium.
Comment: Comprehensive marketing analytics from other sources should result in better targeting. We see that airport shops will serve as a fertile ground for real-time location services. Many passengers have idle time between flights and will be willing to experiment with synergistic uses of mobile check-in.
5. Check-in metrics: Most people will have smart phones, but data on purchases is lagging. Brands would like to own the location history of their customers exclusively. Discounts will reach a point of saturation.
Comment: We find that tracking the actual purchase back to the source of the transaction will shed a better light on the role of check-in. Clarity on the mobile source will enable merchants to better understand the buyer’s intent and sell incremental products and services in a cost-efficient manner.
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