MARKET WATCH
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Stop & Shop Expands SCAN IT!
The Stop & Shop Supermarket Company is expanding the availability of SCAN IT! Mobile - a first of its kind grocery app that allows customers to use their personal mobile device to scan, tally, and bag their groceries while they shop.
First introduced last June for iPhone 3GS and 4G in three stores, SCAN IT! Mobile is now also available for many Android devices which will double the reach of customers. In addition, the pilot will expand to an additional 42 Stop & Shop stores in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.
Company officials call this a natural transition from the in-store handheld device currently in use across 350 Stop & Shop stores, SCAN IT! Mobile provides shoppers with the industry's first fully integrated in-store mobile experience where they can scan, tally and bag their groceries. It also provides personalized, relevant and specific offers to shoppers based on their location in-store and purchase history. Customers can anticipate potential savings of $250-500 each year, based upon receiving 8-10 targeted coupons per shopping trip.
Facebook Highlights Coupon Factory
The technology behind CouponFactory.com was highlighted by Facebook in a guide called “Couponing on Facebook” sent to advertisers interested in using the social media giant as a promotional vehicle.
The guide emphasized that consumers aren’t happy jumping through hoops in order to print a coupon. Through the CouponFactory technology, businesses can post an offer on their page, allowing customers to print the offer inside of Facebook without the need to download a Facebook app or a third-party’s print software.
Three Grocers Join Cellfire Network
The digital offer network from Cellfire is expanding with the addition of D’Agostino, Marsh and Harps grocery stores. The new partners provide digital coupons to a larger geographic set of customers, including those in Manhattan.
The firm’s digital coupons will be accessible for all 17 D’Agostino stores in New York, 97 Marsh-affiliated stores in Indiana and Ohio, and 64 Harps stores throughout Arkansas, Oklahoma and Missouri.
Earlier this year, Cellfire released an app for Windows Phone. The addition created the first grocery coupon app to support all four major mobile platforms: iPhone, Android, BlackBerry and Windows Phone.
DemandTec Expands Cloud-Based Capabilities
DemandTec, the collaborative optimization network for retailers and consumer products companies, has expanded its cloud-based planning and performance capabilities designed to deliver richer merchandising, marketing, and trade planning. This update introduces new features for deeper analytical decision-making, more comprehensive planning, and expanded community interaction on the network.
Significant enhancements to the cloud apps on the DemandTec network include:
- Decisions Sales and marketing teams are able to create more comprehensive plans with additional data visualization and analytic components.
- Shopper Insights Merchants and marketers can more quickly and easily tailor the products and locations analyzed in each insights dashboard to meet their specific needs and interests at the point of decision.
- End-to-End Promotion Management Promotion planning extends throughout the retail enterprise with additional integration points while merchants enjoy additional reporting capabilities.
- Lifecycle Pricing Merchants and marketers can proactively assess and manage promotions in-flight by viewing actual sales information relative to forecasts.
Social Networking on the Go
The U.S. social media audience grew 37% in the past year, says a study by comScore, a leader in measuring the digital world. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn posted mobile growth of at least 50%.
According to comScore, 72.2 million Americans accessed social networking sites or blogs on their
mobile device in August 2011. The study also provided new insights into how mobile users interact with social media, finding that more than half read a post from an organization, brand or event while on their mobile device.
“Social media is one of the most popular and fastest growing mobile activities, reaching nearly one third of all U.S. mobile users,” said Mark Donovan, comScore senior vice president for mobile. “This behavior is even more prevalent among smartphone owners with three in five accessing social media each month, highlighting the importance of apps and the enhanced functionality of smartphones to social media usage on mobile devices.”
Facebook Fans ‘Like’ Coca-Cola
Coke is it! Especially on Facebook, says Covario, Inc., the nation’s largest independent provider of global search marketing services and technology solutions. In a Covario study focusing on the Facebook health of 100 leading advertisers, Coca-Cola ranked as the world’s No. 1 brand.
Coke has a huge following on Facebook of more than 34 million fans, which is growing at a monthly rate of nearly 3%. The leading beverage brand also has strong fan engagement, typically seven posts a month that each garners more than 235 comments and nearly 1,750 “likes.”
Coca-Cola came out on top, slightly ahead of second-place Hyundai. Rounding out the top five brands were MTV (Viacom), Disney and Bayer. The study included the top 100 spending advertisers as reported in Advertising Age magazine.
Goodbye Wine Kiosks in Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLBC) has terminated a test of wine kiosks in Pennsylvania grocery stores operated by Wegmans, Giant Eagle and others.
According to published reports, the action resulted from a financial dispute with the program’s vendor, Simple Brands, which owes the state nearly $1 million. Previously, mechanical and technical issues with the kiosks prompted shopper complaints. Because of this, some grocers removed the kiosks before action by the PLCB.
Generation Gap with Smartphones
A mobile phone with a powerful operating system - that is, a smartphone - is preferred by most younger consumers, says a recent Nielsen survey of mobile phone users. In fact, 62% of mobile adults aged 25-34 report owning smartphones. Among those 18-24 and 35-44 years old, the smartphone penetration rate is almost 54 percent. This compares to 43% of all US mobile phone subscribers
The penetration rate of other age groups is slightly lower. Around 40% of 12-17 year-old teens and 40% of 45-54 year-olds reported owning a smartphone, compared to a standard mobile phone.
Android is the best-selling smartphone operating system in the U.S., with 43% of the market, while Apple is the top smartphone manufacturer, with 28% of smartphone consumers owning an iPhone.
Go Viral with Brands on Video
A creative web services company has come up with a way for brands to build affinity with customers via video clips that can go viral in minute. Percy3D encourages people to “put yourself in the picture” using the latest 3D visual effects and multimedia technologies.
Recognizing the growing influence social networks and viral videos have on the entertainment world, the team works with industry giants to license content for consumer personalization. Using the company’s PERCYFX app, consumers personalize clips from popular Hollywood movies, and receive a custom video file that can be shared across the social web or downloaded to a computer or mobile device.
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