Changing the Game at Retail
It’s still extremely early in the location based services space, however a few important new partnerships may quickly introduce this trend to the masses.
Yesterday Simon Property Group (Simon Malls) announced a partnership with Shopkick, a new iPhone app that rewards customers for a variety of location-based activities. If you open the app and enter a participating retail location you’ll earn points called Kickbucks. Early retailers include American Eagle, Best Buy, Sports Authority and Macy’s. Once you’re in the store you’ll receive additional notifications including special offers and instructions for earning more Kickbucks which can be redeemed for gift cards, Facebook Credits and music downloads. If you’re feeling generous you can even trade your points for a charitable donation through CauseWorld.
This marks the first time I’ve seen an app in the location space that connects with your existing brand loyalty card. One can imagine the value this could provide for the retailer and the consumer in terms of personalized offers, recommendations and more.
Many critics doubt there will be enough consumer adoption for this app, or others like it, to provide a significant return for retailers. Facebook could completely change the game for everyone in this space when they announce their location plans later today on the new Facebook Live.
I believe it may take some time to reach a critical mass, but eventually our phones will be our loyalty cards and granting retailers access to our location data will become a valuable proposition.
Do you think Shopkick will appeal to a limited audience or will teens and parents join the early adopters and take advantage of location based apps sooner than later?
