Tech Guest Viewpoint: Integrating Your Omnichannel Marketing Strategy
By Ben Kaplan, CashStar
It is clear that mobile has an essential role in omnichannel retail, serving as the bridge between in-store and online with shoppers using their devices for product research both in and out of the store, to store and manage points, coupons and gift cards, and increasingly, to make purchases.
Retailers with successful mobile and omnichannel marketing strategies have a major competitive advantage in their arsenal this holiday season. However, many retailers are still on their heels when it comes to developing a successful strategy. Even so, there’s still time to put omnichannel plans in place that will drive results during this critical time. The key: recognizing the importance of integrating loyalty, gifting, offers and mobile to engage audiences and influence consumer behavior.
Uniting In-Store and Online with Branded Promotional Currency
The flexible nature of digital stored value products, including digital gift cards, coupons and loyalty points, combined with their convergence on mobile devices, provide retailers with a tremendous opportunity this holiday season and beyond. By harnessing their combined power, retailers can influence purchase decisions on- and off-line and build more valuable and enduring relationships while providing consumers with greater convenience and control as they move across shopping channels.
Retail Leaders in Action
Some retailers have already recognized the importance of integrating loyalty, gifting, offers and mobile. Just look at Sephora. The beauty retailer has embraced mobile, recognizing that these devices serve as a discovery engine for its customers. Not only does Sephora encourage mobile usage in-store, it integrates this strategy tightly with its Beauty Insider loyalty program to further enhance the shopping experience. For instance, consumers can use their mobile devices to scan a product and quickly access ratings and reviews for more informed decisions.
Strategic use of promotions is another tool that Sephora employs to engage and delight its clients while also benefitting the business. For instance, Sephora offers a special Beauty Studio Services digital gift card product priced at $50, which comes with the added value of a 45-minute in-store customer makeover. By strategically packaging the branded promotional currency with an in-store service, Sephora is driving store visits and lift through personalized product recommendations.
Starbucks is another leading example. The coffee chain has pioneered the branded currency revolution by effectively transforming its gift cards into mobile payment/loyalty cards that are reloadable through its branded mobile app, where offers are also presented. The mobile experience it has created is seamless and convenient for its customers. Today, more than 10 million people use the Starbucks mobile app to make more than 11% of transactions a week in-store.
Strategies for the 2014 Holiday Season
While devising and implementing a complete mobile strategy between now and the holiday season is virtually impossible, there are still ways to take advantage of the opportunities branded promotional currency provide immediately. Digital stored value products like digital gift cards are inherently mobile, so they are always with consumers who never go anywhere without their phones. Knowing this, retailers can easily use them as a value-add to purchase, a reward for loyalty or an incentive to come back again to drive immediate results during this critical shopping season.
Don’t forget about the power of digital when it comes to last minute gifting, either. Implement a promotion for procrastinators, offering a bonus gift card for every last minute digital gift card purchased of a particular dollar amount.
As the lines continue to blur between shopping channels for consumers, opportunities abound for those retailers that recognize the increasingly omnichannel shopping behaviors. Strategies taking advantage of branded promotional currency is one way to get you there quickly.
Ben Kaplan is president and CEO of CashStar.