J.C. Penney in mobile initiative to drive sales

Shoppers at J.C. Penney stores this holiday season will discover a more rewarding experience following the retailer’s decision to team up with leading retail app Shopkick.

J.C. Penney shoppers will be able to Shopkick’s currency known as "kicks” along with special offers from the retailer when visiting any of its nearly 1,100 stores

"As more and more people adopt smartphones, mobile devices are quickly becoming a key shopping tool and the integration of mobile Internet has become key to delivering a modern, in-store shopping experience," said Debra Berman, J.C. Penney’s SVP of marketing. "Through our partnership with Shopkick, we are able to cater to today's mobile savvy consumer and take our in-store shopping experience to the next level by rewarding and engaging customers who are already shopping inside a J.C. Penney store."

When a shopkick user walks into a participating store, the app detects the shopkick signal emitted from a patent-pending device, which is picked up by the shopper's smartphone. The app then deposits kicks, which can be collected and redeemed for gift cards, song downloads, movie tickets, Facebook credits, donations to charities and more.

"JCPenney's nationwide rollout of Shopkick makes shopping more inspiring and rewarding," said Cyriac Roeding, CEO and co-founder of Shopkick. "For shoppers, we delight them by rewarding them for behaviors they are already doing while shopping. For retailers, like J.C. Penney, we are driving incremental traffic and sales and ensuring that marketing dollars are invested in driving actual foot traffic. It’s a win, win."

Shoppers can also collect additional kicks by logging into the app daily, viewing look books, inviting friends to join and by linking their Visa or MasterCard to Shopkick's "Buy and Collect" program.

Other retailer’s who work with Shopkick include American Eagle Outfitters, Best Buy, Crate and Barrel, Macy's, Old Navy, Simon Property Group, The Sports Authority and Target.