Social Media

Tysons Corner, Va. -- MicroStrategy Inc. announced that Guess has unveiled a new mobile app for its customers powered by the MicroStrategy Alert Platform.

The NRF 2014 Conference & Exposition kicked things off Sunday, Jan. 12 with sessions examining both how social media will continue to evolve as a dominant means of customer interaction and how the brick-and-mortar store will remain a highly relevant part of the retail environment in the 21st century. Let’s look at a few highlights from each session.

Picturing Social Success

Guess has unveiled a new mobile app for its customers powered by the MicroStrategy Alert Platform.

The new Guess app, which is available simultaneously on Apple iOS and Android devices, offers a personalized high-interactivity loyalty channel between Guess and its customers through their mobile phones. It merges social loyalty with traditional loyalty by rewarding brand ambassador customers for extending Guess campaigns and promotions through their social networks (Facebook, Twitter, SMS, or email).

New York -- A new IBM study of more than 30,000 global consumers found that consumers are willing to share their personal information with retailers, particularly if they get good value in exchange.

According to the findings, the percentage of consumers willing to share their current location via GPS with retailers nearly doubled year-over-year to 36%. Thirty-eight percent of consumers would provide their mobile number for the purpose of receiving text messages and 32% would share their social handles with retailers.

With the surge in smartphone and tablet purchases in recent years, and the increasing accessibility of Wi-Fi, there is no surprise that almost 70% of consumers are now shopping online as well as in stores. Among those leading the trend are millennials (ages 18–33) making $75,000 or more a year.

New York -- From mobile devices to social media to 24/7 connectivity, it’s a brave new world for retail — and one that Chain Store Age will explore at its first-ever Customer Disruption event, May 7-9, 2014, at Sofitel Hotel, Redwood Shores, Calif., the Gateway to the Silicon Valley.

In partnership with PlaceWise Media, CBL & Associates Properties has launched websites with technology that connects retailers and customers at 27 of its malls.

The technology collects deals offered by retailers and puts them in front of shoppers via smartphones and tablets. It provides every retailer and restaurant in a mall with an online presence that enables each to engage local customers.

Northbrook, Ill. — Pine Tree Commercial Realty LLC has appointed Graham Grochocinski to serve as the firm’s director of omni-channel marketing and social media.

Grochocinski will handle Pine Tree’s omni-channel retail coordination as well as the firm’s social and digital communications.

Grochocinski comes to Pine Tree from USAgain, an award-winning recycling company, where he managed the integrated marketing efforts for lead generation and branding.