Google Retail ?

Source: Advertising Age

Here is an interesting article which talks about Google's plans for  Boutiques.com. Will we see Google competing with fashion boutiques now ?  The technology is fascinating too.

Outstanding Merchandising Idea

Darrell Lea, East Gardens. Outstanding Christmas window and execution of the visual merchandising idea with height, symmetry, lighting and colour.

IKEA advertising idea

Source: PSFK

In a replay of previous advertising ideas in the Paris Metro, IKEA is providing commuters in Paris with an enhanced level of comfort during the pre-holiday season. Till December 21st, the Swedish brand has transformed 12 bus stops into tiny lounges centered around one of their sofas.

More pics at PSFK HERE.

Consumer Research: Pretty Things Make Us Buy More

Source: Science Daily

New research shows that a seemingly innocent luxury item purchase can lead to an unintended, budget-busting spending spree. The problem starts with the purchase of a new item, particularly those among designer product lines, luxury branded items, or consumer goods of high-end design. Once home, these items -- graced with what researchers call salient design elements, such as a unique pattern or interesting color scheme -- can look out of place when compared to other possessions. The most obvious solution to this aesthetic mismatch would be to return the item to the store. 

But instead of making a return, consumers who were surveyed said they would make more purchases in an effort to try to surround their designer purchase with other luxury items and restore aesthetic harmony, according to marketing professors Vanessa Patrick of the University of Houston and Henrik Hagtvedt of Boston College, whose study is forthcoming in the Journal of Marketing Research.  READ MORE HERE

Retailer Marketing Strategy: Walk The Line

A few months back I attended the launch for Treeet, the new online shop for books, mags, music, movies initiated and funded by Gordon and Gotch, the big Australasian magazine distributor. I have since signed up for their emails, which I have been watching with interest, especially with regard to their marketing strategy.  At the time they said they would be differentiating from other players in this crowded market by promoting their 'in-stock' position and ability to ship quickly. ie. a marketing strategy built around service.


So, it was interesting when I opened one of their latest email offerings in the mad run-up to the retail Christmas.  Let me say that I think they do a lot of things right, and have done a credible job of establishing their business in one of the most challenging retail trading environments, ever.  


First up, was their opening:

My first thought ? $30 for a stocking filler ?  In an era of price deflation, I would expect a stocking filler to be less than $20 and heading rapidly south at that.  $30 and under seems way off the pace in today's market....


However, their presentation was enough for me to look further, especially as they advertised 'In Stock Now'.


Next up, I had a look at the products they thought would appeal to me, and this really got me thinking (and not in a positive way):

Please understand, I am a content maven - I devour books, mags (when I find one that interests me), movies and music - I own in excess of 400 dvds, and about the same number of cds - some would say I have a problem...  Of course lately, with my iPad I also devour a lot more content online than I used, and at a variety of times, too.  Reading an online mag in bed is somehow rather decadent.


I thought, wow, I am not sure I would pay over $20 for a new book. I have recently joined our fabulous new local library and also buy secondhand books (the new frugality), and it is very rare I feel I want a new title badly enough that I need to shell out more than $20 (often in excess of $30) for it. My friend has a Kindle and I am thinking about downloading (and paying for) some titles on my iPad.  Think about it, why would you buy new books, if not to give to a non-Netizen ? I could get a fabulous new move dvd for way less than that up the road my local JB Hi-Fi.... and my house is choc-full of books anyway... garage sale anyone ?


The magazine - I can't remember when I last took the time to read a physical magazine from cover to cover - and now, with FlipBoard on my iPad I can create my own customised magazine.  So that, too, fell by the wayside.


Which left me with good old Johnny  Cash - believe it or not - and this IS embarrassing - I do listen to some of the songs from Walk The Line - but just the other day I was putting a playlist together for my best friend, and I downloaded some tracks from iTunes - instant and only $1.49 for the ones I wanted.  That felt good!


So when  I took another look at their offers - I thought 'Wow - imagine being in a retail business - an online one at that - where you have so much competition and where the demand dynamics and distribution channels are changing so rapidly', and that's forgetting about those retailers locked into physical distribution outlets - those things called 'stores'.  You've got to work a lot harder to get me to part with my Christmas Dollar now. That means service and personalisation.....


So, what's it going to be ?  What's your marketing strategy ? Are you going to Walk The Line ?

Rudolph's Cool Shades

Optometrist, TGV centre.  Rudolph looks quite cool in this merchandising idea, but I have to say it doesn't do a lot for the product.  This optometrist deserves some credit for an attempt at this merchandising idea, but the execution has clearly not been thought out. 

Simple retail design

Source: PSFK, Camper Store South Beach

I love the simplicity of this shoe store design.  Read PSFK's article for more info. and pix.

Retail Lighting

City Chic, East Gardens. Outstanding lighting from this mid-market retailer succeeds in creating some retail drama and theatre.  In many ways the lighting could have been even more effective if there had been some additional colour in the merchandise styles chosen for display.

merchandising idea

Optometrist, East Gardens.  I thought the merchandising idea behind this backlit display was clever.  The images were arresting, especially the liquorice allsorts.  A great example of a stand out merchandising idea in a visually cluttered yet somewhat shadowed mall environment.

Suggestive dance shoes

Aldo, WBJ. Suggestive imagery here, stands out - although perhaps  dwarfed by  the 40% off offer.  Advertising idea not quite effectively executed ?

cell phone shop

Vodafone, Westfield Pitt Street Mall. This cell phone shop has some interesting lessons.  Firstly, it is a clear move by Vodafone away from the white clean lines (almost synthetic) feel to a warmer, more welcoming look, with some wood finishes.  Secondly, they have used mood change lighting - difficult to see from the pic, but the centre of the Voda logo changes it's colour, as does the lighting on the back wall - a range of colours from green  to purple and of course red.  This trend is not only evident in the cell phone shop genre, but also in other stores (Nespresso springs to mind).  It poses some interesting issues when applied to the brand identity - does it detract or enhance ? Presumably the Voda logo is sufficiently recognisable for this to be enhanced, by being 'funky', and visually more interesting, and less of a corporate cell phone shop.  Finally, this  is one of the best (first ?)  uses of dramatic lighting (interior spots/ hotspots) by a cell phone shop I have seen.  Long overdue, and a great improvement on the blandness and often harsh lighting of other cell phone shops. Worth a look.

The Christmas Gig at Target (USA)

What a cool idea !! Target USA have teamed up with well known artists to provide some Christmas cheer. You can download 14 funky Christmas tunes here - for free too :))

Smiggle

Smiggle, Mid-City Mall.  A strong presentation, as expected from Smiggle.  A great use of LCD, and simple, bold colours with uplighting in the window for dramatic effect.  

advertising ideas

JB Hi-Fi, TGV.  Some great advertising ideas here.  I like the consistent and bold yellow colour - one of the most visible in the muted lighting conditions typical of many CBD malls.  In particular I like the advertising ideas of gift card promotion on the security bollards.  This is one of the best executions like this I have seen.  It also helps provide definition to the often busy and visually cluttered JB shopfront.  Note how the catalog boxes are well located, and are clearly picked up by customers. Retail advertising ideas worth thinking about.

Easy Poster

The Body Shop, TGV.  I like the simplicity of this easy poster.  Uncomplicated and an easy poster for retailers to erect.  A great seasonal message too.

Wishful Thinking

Tree of Life, East Gardens. A stunning romantic graphic.  However, I don't think it  was well supported by the window merchandise, and am  not entirely sure it fits with the brand's positioning as exotic, mainly ethnic clothing.  Most window imagery to date has been of Indian or south Asian models.

Heart Me

Sportsgirl, Broadway. A stunning <3 me graphic from this retailer in tune with it's target market.

Rebel WITH a cause ?

Dotti, Broadway.  I am not sure everyone in their target market will get the play on words, but a striking window despite that.

Blackberry overtakes Apple in US mobile wars

A very interesting stat with implications for Australian retailers as well. Inevitable, but happening really quickly.

Source:  Statcounter

Boston, USA and Dublin, Ireland; Wednesday 1st December, 2010:BlackBerry OS overtook Apple's iOS for the first time in the US in November in terms of mobile internet usage according to web analytics company, StatCounter. The company's research arm, StatCounter Global Stats finds that for the first time in the US BlackBerry OS at 34.3% overtook Apple's iOS which recorded 33% in November.

Google's Android is rapidly gaining and has almost tripled internet market share from 8.2% last November to 23.8% this year. Apple's iOS has fallen from 51.9% to 33% over the same period.

** read the rest of the article HERE **

Meeting the Market

Oxfam, Broadway. Clever marketing to the shopper's value mindset. And $30 is probably a good gifting pricepoint.

Retail Pain

Jeans West, Broadway.  Not looking good for the Christmas selling season.

Checking In all Checked Out ?

Interesting article (and amusing)  - do you feel Foursquare fatigue ?

Link Source: AdAge

Why I'm Fed Up With All the Check-In Hoopla

Perhaps I'll Check Back In When This Stuff Works

by Kunur Patel 

Yo Optus !

Optus, Broadway.  It seems a bit too coincidental that Optus have used an orangutan in their advertising and M&C Saatchi (their agency) was also responsible for the ING TV campaign featuring a talking orangutan. Having said that, the Optus one stood out in-store, and was visible from a distance. Now to wait for the complaints from animal rights campaigners .....  no animals were hurt in the making of this blogpost.

Blood Diamonds or 'Hot' Jewellery ?

Jeweller in Broadway. Blood Diamonds or 'Hot' jewellery ? either way the associations are not the best :().  

Tesco iPhone App Hyperlinks Reality To Your Shopping List

Source: PSFK

Tesco enters the iPhone app market with an impressive offering that makes innovative use of the materials already on hand with both company and customer.

The app seamlessly integrates existing Tesco hallmarks (such as loyalty card data) but its most interesting element is the use of image recognition software to enable customers to update their shopping list on the fly. The app utilises the iPhone's camera feature to take a snapshot of a product's barcode and automatically syncs that item to the customers Tesco Online shopping list.

There's no need to make a shopping list anymore. Imagine that you've used up the last of your tea bags. Just scan the barcode and add the product to your online basket.

The most informative aspect of this app is how it approaches the internet of things. Perhaps the most interesting element of these two features taken together is the contrast between them and the other herald of the internet of things. RFID is often trumpeted as one of the major vanguards of ubiquitous computing (and has been enthusiastically embraced by Walmart, a company of similar relative proportions to Tesco). However, the image recognition championed by Tesco is another means towards hyperlinking reality into the digital realm. Relative to RFID, the latter option requires much less in terms of early adopters now that smartphones are so diffuse among the consumer populace.

Commentary on AMP Social Media Cafe

kind comments in my presentation yesterday on the shopper psychhology of geo-locational technologies.

	maverickwoman Thnx to Todd King AMP Shopping Centres, @shoppologist @kcarruthers @hollingsworth 4 interesting exploration of social shopping at #AMP_SMC Thursday, 11 November 2010, 10:01 pm - Reply - View Tweet - Retweet - Direct Message
	paulwallbank @shoppologist your pun on Pavlov dogs ringing a bell wasn't wasted #AMPSMC Thursday, 11 November 2010, 5:26 pm - Reply - View Tweet - Retweet - Direct Message
	kcarruthers <3 @shoppologist he knows stuff! Gr8 preso re consumer psych @ AMP Social Media Cafe Thursday, 11 November 2010, 5:25 pm - Reply - View Tweet - Retweet - Direct Message
	paulwallbank @shoppologist & @maverickwoman bounce around ideas on situational awareness, stimulus and perceptual vigilance #AMPSMC Thursday, 11 November 2010, 5:24 pm - Reply - View Tweet - Retweet - Direct Message
	hollingsworth RT @maverickwoman consumer psychologist @shoppologist talking arousal, perceptually vigilant shoppers+receptiveness 2 relevant msgs #AMP_SMC Thursday, 11 November 2010, 5:24 pm - Reply - View Tweet - Retweet - Direct Message
	maverickwoman Now consumer psychologist @shoppologist is talking about arousal, perceptually vigilant shoppers+receptiveness to relevant msgs #AMP_SMC Thursday, 11 November 2010, 5:21 pm - Reply - View Tweet - Retweet - Direct Message
	hollingsworth Now consumer psychologist and retail strategist @shoppologist is talking about "social shopping activating our brains" #AMPSMC Thursday, 11 November 2010, 5:20 pm - Reply - View Tweet - Retweet - Direct Message
	champagnejayne Enjoy! RT @paulwallbank: On way 2hear words of wisdom from @kcarruthers @hollingsworth & @shoppologist on why geolocation matters to retail. Thursday, 11 November 2010, 3:39 pm - Reply - View Tweet - Retweet - Direct Message
	paulwallbank On way to hear words of wisdom from @kcarruthers @hollingsworth & @shoppologist on why geolocation matters to retail. Thursday, 11 November 2010, 3:34 pm - Reply - View Tweet - Retweet - Direct Message

The World's Innovators

Source: PSFK
A really interesting graphic depicting which countries file the most patents for each dollar of research expenditure, essentially showing the efficiency of their innovation and research efforts.  Click here to access article and here to enlarge image.

The GAP in Facebook's Places

Source: PSFK

Tying into Facebook's Deals announcement last week, The Gap announced a promotion in which it offered free jeans to the first 10,000 people to check in to Gap outlets via Facebook. According to Fast Company, the promotion definitely met at least one of its objectives by generating awareness, interest and store visitation:

When I asked one store staffer whether any free jeans were left, she smiled and shook her head. The free jeans were long gone, she said, with lines stretching out the door since before the store opened at 8 a.m. People were actually showing their check-ins? Yes, she said. On Facebook Places!?! Yes.

Perhaps this store was the exception, I thought. But after calls to a slew of Gap stores in high-traffic New York City areas–Soho, the Financial District, Midtown–it appeared this was the norm. Every store worker I spoke with–only aware I was a potential customer–explained that the promotion had ended hours ago. Lines, they said, stretched out the doors, filled with eager-to-check-in customers. Many weren't sure of the exact number of free jeans offered before the 40%-off deal kicked in, but estimates were pegged between 50 to 100 for each store.

The promotion may have succeeded in generating PR, awareness and trials of Gap's jeans, but the question of what longer-term impact this may have for the brand remains. Will Gap be able to qualify who these customers were? Did they buy any other products while in store, or did they purely capitalize on the free denim? Will those customers remain, and did new customers consider the Gap as a result of their friends' experience and 'check in'? And was the cost of 10,000 pairs of free jeans worth it?

We'll keep our eyes out for additional word on the impact of this promotion.

Fast Company: "Facebook Places 'Deals' Gap a Huge Success"

US Shoppers Grow More Skeptical of Green Products

Source: AdAge

Green marketing, a movement so hot that not even a deep recession could kill it, is starting to show signs of consumer revolt. At the very least, it's a signal that green alone isn't enough of a marketing proposition; at most, it could signal consumers simply aren't buying the benefits of environmentally positioned products and brands.

Brand Attachment Thicker Than Money

Source: ScienceDaily (Nov. 4, 2010) — Can you forge an emotional bond with a brand so strong that, if forced to buy a competitor's product, you suffer separation anxiety? According to a new study from the USC Marshall School of Business, the answer is yes. In fact, that bond can be strong enough that consumers are willing to sacrifice time, money, energy and reputation to maintain their attachment to that brand.

The study advances existing brand research in consumer psychology and goes beyond the existing paradigm, indicating that traditional measurements such as brand attitude strength do not adequately explain consumers' intense loyalties to the brands they love -- that they fail to explain how brands capture "consumers' hearts and minds." Brand attachment, the authors claim, does exist, is predicated on a brand/self-relationship and can better explain what drives consumer behavior and their loyalty and commitment to the brands.

It is brand attachment that explains consumers' devotion to the iPod, fans' intense reaction at celebrity deaths and the torment of teenagers who are denied their favorite brand of jeans. Through brand attachment, the USC Marshall study suggests, consumers see the brands as an extension of themselves

The Zamel's Sale Mystery Tour ?

Zamel's Broadway.  I am not a huge fan of this biz as I think some of their offers are a bit shonky.  However I was impressed with their Sales' effectiveness.  I think the curtain is a nice touch.  The Zamel's Sale Mystery Tour ?  A bit too high pressure for me, but the implied 'exclusivity of offer' appeals to some - witness the queue on a quiet day at the mall.

Jeans West Maxi is actually mini

Jeans West, Broadway.  A great looking maxi dress - a real pity that their core product is denim :P  What does the brand stand for ?

Facebook takes on Foursquare and Groupon

Source: AdAge

It will be interesting to see who the winners in this play will be - I am backing Facebook.

Facebook Ads Provide 'Deals' for Local Merchants, Marketers

 Facebook has a new offer for users willing to share their locations in status updates: deals from nearby merchants or big-brand marketers such as Starbucks, Gap or McDonald's.

The social network announced "Deals," an extension of its Places mobile feature, which allows users to check in at locations such as bars, coffee shops or malls. Users will be able to claim those deals by walking into a merchant and checking in on their phones or other mobile devices, giving marketers the ability to reach consumers and potentially attracting them into a given store.

The new service combines two of the hotter trends in local marketing: location-based check-in services such as Foursquare, and local group deals services such as Groupon or LivingSocial. "There are many changes in mobile, and there's a revolution in the social space," said Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, which has 200 million mobile users. "Mobile is as big as that -- when you combine mobile and social, industries can get disrupted."

But like everything Facebook does, it has the potential of taking a niche phenomenon now exploited by a coterie of small startups and turning it into a mass phenomenon. "While businesses have been able to use other geolocation services to incentivize customers to some extent, Facebook Deals allows global brands to do so at massive scale," said Michael Lazerow, CEO of social marketing firm Buddy Media.

Facebook announced the Deals Platform and another feature called "Single Sign On," which allows users to log into any app on their iPhones and Android phones, eliminating the need for remembering passwords and typing on tiny mobile keypads. There are 550,000 games and applications available on Facebook, and developers can now build the single sign-on into any of them or build new apps with the feature.

Facebook is launching the Deals service with 22 big brand partners -- Starbucks, McDonald's, H&M and Gap -- and 20,000 small- to medium-sized businesses can start creating Deals on their Places page inside of Facebook. Merchants create a Facebook page where there is an option for choosing the kind of deal they would like to offer: individual, loyalty, friends or charity. Individual and loyalty offers are digital versions of the traditional coupon and loyalty cards, where a customer gets a punch hole for every coffee or sandwich purchased. The friends offer is a strictly Facebook style deal, where if a user checks in his or her friends, they get a discount. The charity deal is where the merchant will donate $1 for each check to a charity.

"The Deals concept solves the long term," said Facebook's director of local, Emily White. "For a long time, merchants have been told to get online. This solves that problem for them and turns the fans into real dollars."

Gap decided to immediately participate in Deals, offering 10,000 pairs of jeans for free to all users who check into one of the 900 Gap stores nationwide. "It's important for us to connect with our customers where they are," said Olivia Doyne, a Gap spokeswoman on hand at the event at Facebook headquarters in Palo Alto. "This can be used in so many ways. If a store has too much inventory, we can use Deals for that. We can tailor the deals to our customers' locations."

Facebook does not earn money in the Deals promotions, and Ms. White said this project is very much in a beta state. But inadvertently, by having more businesses create pages on Places and having more people checking into those businesses, there will be a natural increase in Facebook traffic.

Marketers have long seen mobile phones as a powerful means of reaching consumers while they're out shopping or physically close to a given store. "This is continuing Facebook's empowering of small businesses," said Dave Marsey, senior VP of Digitas digital media. "We're gonna see the biggest response with small local businesses that can more directly and electronically manage attracting new customers and rewarding loyal customers."

Mr. Zuckerberg said that, as always, Facebook's focus is to make things better for users. "Whether the deals platform turns into something more commercial, or we choose to monetize something else -- though we have no plans of doing that any time soon -- that works for us too."

It would be interesting to see if this rather complex promotion generates any incremental sales.  Interesting idea, though.

Source: PSFK

H&M's GoldRun Mobile Game

Retailer H&M and AR platform GoldRun have partnered together for an interactive mobile & display window activation, in which the GoldRun app lets iPhone users interact with H&M clothing & accessories displayed in the storefront windows of the retailer's Manhattan locations. Users choose the items they want to view and capture them with their phones to create their own 'virtual fashion show', receive an instant 10% off the store's wares and be entered for a chance to win gift certificates and a trip to Las Vegas. The app will facilitate trying on outfits virtually, posting of images to Facebook, and creation of custom lookbooks.

For a fast-fashion retailer like H&M – whom also arguably counts on a younger demographic for a not-insignificant portion of its business – the app and activation feels like an instinctively fun game and competition-based tool. But will it generate incremental sales for the retailer? We'd love to learn about the activation's impact and results, given it's much-hyped 'game'-based motivation.

Let's Dance ? Are you serious ?

Source: Creativity
M and S Christmas TVC 
Can't say it inspired me - perhaps the music is a bit too dated ? (Sorry Bee Gees) - what do YOU think ? 


Play HERE

Ted Baker Twitter season launch

Source: creativity

Interesting idea.

Twitter-driven style.

At 6pn GMT this Friday, November 5, U.K. clothier Ted Baker will celebrate the launch of its U.S. online store and promote its Fall/Winter 2010 line with #TakeOnTed. Conceived out of Guided Collective, the online promotion will enlist eight fashion bloggers to style Ted Baker looks solely over Twitter.

The bloggers will have 15 minutes to style two different looks from a selection of 450 Ted Baker pieces, giving their instructions to a hair stylist, make-up artist and three runners remotely over Tweets to@ted_baker.

The general public can observe the styling sessions live ion the Ted Baker site. They'll also get in on the styling action for five minutes after the final blogger session, tweaking the looks by directing their own Tweets to @ted_baker. Those looks will be then tagged in the Ted Baker U.S. Facebook page, and creators of the most "Liked" looks will earn a $500 gift card to Ted Baker online.

Sportsgirl's Leaf in Fashion

Sportsgirl, East Gardens.

A great summer window from this sharp retailer.  The window tells a positive, fun story - I just wonder about the shape of the leaf top left - maybe they have a 'special' offer ?? :))

Boring Male Fashion

Roger David, East Gardens.

Are blokes really this boring ?  This display has been in this menswear retailer's window for at least 3 months.  The cardinal rule of retailing: freshness/variety/novelty sells.  Come to think of it, the gear looks like 'oh so last season' - do you think their customers would notice ?  Maybe the answer lies hidden in their POS system data.....

A Fashion Take on Shop Local: Go Native

Source: PSFK

Has the "buy local" grocery shopping trend started to infiltrate the fashion industry? A recently launched website gives style-savvy customers a new resource for locally designed clothes and accessories. ShopNativeLA brings the convenience of the Internet to trendy boutique shopping, offering fashions from promising new LA designers, along with vintage items carefully curated by founders Camille Joseph-Jordan and Mandy Mitchell.

The philosophy that inspired the venture shares some of the principles behind the movement to buy locally grown food and produce: providing consumers with quality products and boosting the local economy. ShopNativeLA is specifically focused on helping rising designers grow their business by offering their products to a wider audience.

Starbucks bolsters its in-store experience with an exclusive content network

Source: Creativity

Starbucks customers can now get more than just a coffee, scone and Wi-fi when they step into their local branch thanks to the launch of Starbucks Digital Network, an in-house content network created in partnership with Yahoo that provides patrons with access to news, entertainment, business and the local goings on.

The network's channels feature content from a variety of providers, including the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and USA Today for News, iTunes and the Bookish Reading Club for Entertainment, and Rodale for Wellness. A hookup with Linked In will also provide job searchers squatting the coffee shop tables access to a career blog and tips from career coach Lindsey Pollak. The network will also be site specific, and a Neighborhood channel will bring relevant local content via Foursquare, Patch and Zagat.

Interesting Stat

Source: Nielsen 

The latest Nielsen 'Online Retail Monitor' study has shown travel sector purchases account for 47% of all spending in a flourishing online retail market.

The study, which analysed spending across 16 major retail product categories, showed that around one third of online shoppers bought travel product or services, from flights to hotels to travel products, with an average purchase of $1,168 over the 30-day study period.

FCUK launches Youtique

Source: FCUK
An interesting take on online shopping.

A temporary website with a message

A really inspiring temporary website - click on the site to see the message for the world :)

http://shep.ca/

Gilt MANual: A Fashion Retailer Steps Into The Editorial World

Source: PSFK

The online fashion retailer Gilt has launched an editorial site for men.

Called Gilt MANual, the content revolves around style guides, advice, and features about designers. The site also features an "Ask Us Anything" section.

On the front page and throughout the site, the only advertisements direct users towards Gilt sales.

The editorial topics on Gilt MANual have been the main staple of men's lifestyle magazines such as GQ and Esquire. The license for expertise derived from Gilt's proximity to apparel products might grant it enough authority from a reader's perspective over other publications.

Designed by Code and Theory, who have also recently worked on the Vogue.com redesign, the site strikes a fine balance between useful editorial content and subtle advertising for the company.

Are Mobile Apps Still the Way to Go ?

Good points in this article.
Posted by  Circus Communications to Circus Communications

Are mobile apps worth the hype? The short answer – it's complicated. A recent blog post we read on Fast Company.com is drawing a bit of controversy by knocking the effectiveness of mobile apps, but the blog's author, Aaron Shapiro does make some great points.

Apps can be both useful & fun to use on mobile devices! There are currently over a quarter million apps available to download for the iPhone, and users are quick on the download. But because most apps aren't terribly useful, most are downloaded & discarded as quickly as a fleeting thought. According to facts in a study Shapiro quotes, users only use 20% of those they have taken the time to download anyways.

Depending on how cool and original you want to be, the development of a mobile app will cost you somewhere between $5000 and $50,000. If you'd like the app to be available on more than one phone model - be prepared to pay again. In this case, your ROI is your accessibility, cutting-edge image and the value of the incentives offered to your shoppers.

Finally, a comparable alternative to building an app is building a mobile website. According to Shapiro, a mobile website, which can be viewed on all smart phones, has 50 times the reach of an app, and costs a tenth of the price to develop. The other advantage is that the user doesn't have to go out of their way to download an entire program to begin interacting with your brand.

The choice of course is yours, and there is no shortage of opinions or information on the subject. Whatever the case, we're curious to hear from you, and to help your business reach its mobile market.

Cheryl Cardon, President

Circus Strategic Communications Inc

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