Mobile Marketing

Saks Fifth Avenue is driving consumers in-store via an offer for Nars lipstick after checking into any of the retailer’s participating locations on Foursquare.

American Apparel ran a location-based mobile promotion offering customers a 20 percent discount on products in-store to drive foot traffic to its New York locations.

It’s quite natural that many customer-focused businesses are asking themselves: “How does Foursquare fit into our marketing mix?” The answer: it depends on your audience, your approach and your aim.

A whopping 82 percent of shoppers use their mobile phone while in the store, echoing the immediate need for marketers to develop a mobile presence for the 2010 holiday buying season.

Aside from texting within conferences and the use of apps as repeat business tools, what has mobile to show for its role in B-to-B marketing? It's time to acknowledge the apparent lack of publicized success stories or frank discussion over the challenges of mobile B-to-B marketing.

Department store chain J.C. Penney has continued to roll out applications that support mobile coupons as it gears up for its holiday season sales push.

Apparel retailer American Eagle Outfitters is taking advantage of various channels within the mobile medium to enhance its multichannel consumer engagement efforts, ultimately leading to increased sales.

Best Buy is introducing a location-based retail experiment that examines the way in-store shoppers redeem offers and rewards via their mobile device. Consumers who walk in a Best Buy store will receive offers via the shopkick iPhone application. The experiment will take place in 257 United States stores.

Sonic, REI and American Eagle Outfitters participated in a ShopAlerts pilot program where 65 percent of consumers purchased a product as a result of a text alert they received.

Macy’s has launched an m-commerce website for its Macy’s brand department store chain and plans to roll out a similar Bloomingdale’s mobile shop next week.