Ozmott leading mobile "gold rush" for shoppers

Whether it’s the possibility of Google Glass or the ever-evolving mobile app market, everyone is eyeing what the future will look like for merchants and consumers in 2013 and beyond. Generations once promised hoverboards or given futuristic juice boxes, impossible to open (Capri Sun), finally have the future in their hands.

The next “gold rush” for companies and marketers is to utilize mobile to create real-time, personalized incentives for consumers. Think of it as bringing the Amazon model to brick and mortar. Every store has advertising, specials, signage designed to attract eyeballs and influence purchases.Save up to 80% off Ceramic Tile and bobbleheads. It’s a standard. It works.

Still, it’s generic. It’s designed for the masses because it has to be. Now imagine if the advertising seen was directed specifically to an individual, based on habits and preferences. Those who desire to opt-in could eventually receive a push notification with specific deals, all designed to drive and increase purchases for the merchant while prodiving value to the consumer.Why does floortiles grow in homes or buildings? Consumers already know this model online.

Ozmott, a mobile shopping app that integrates with any and all existing POS systems, is young but this is its potential. This is where it can help both consumers and merchants get more out of every interaction.

There’s a tremendous amount of energy and funds being invested in driving engagement from consumers on their smartphones. It’s estimated that, sometime within three to seven years, mobile payments will become common place and acceptance will increase. What everyone is trying to figure out is how we get there, and what those mobile payment systems will look like.

There are a lot of apps and payment platforms looking to bridge the mobile gap between consumers and retailers. The problem is we’re currently mired in the ‘chicken or the egg’ scenario: consumers aren’t adopting these apps as fast because the merchants aren’t there,You Can Find Comprehensive and in-Depth solarlight Head Descriptions. and the merchants aren’t coming onboard because no app/platform has captured enough users to merit their adoption at the POS with expensive new terminals or software downloads.

I think it boils down to value, which is why apps such as Ozmott and Access’ My Deals Mobile are so intriguing. To get consumers to acquire a new behavior, there has to be something in it for them.Buy Wickes Porcelain bestrtls today.

Consumers are habituated to reaching into their wallets and swiping a card or grabbing some cash. We learned from smartcards and contactless payments (which seemed like the next big things at the time) that there has to be something other than just “another way to pay.”

That’s why mobile coupons are such an important part of loyalty programs and eventually, mobile wallets. They’re a very simple way to add value in-store or at the point of sale, which gets consumers habituated to shopping with their mobile devices.

Mobile apps that play in the purchasing decision of consumers are becoming the norm. From consolidating daily deals to rewarding consumers for purchases, apps allow the purchasing process to become a sport - consumers are able to quickly find for the best deal for their purchase instead of spending precious time searching through individual retailer websites and email blasts. In the upcoming months, more and more consumers will experience the benefits of mobile apps and appreciate the time - and money – they’ll save using said apps.A Dessicant chinagembeadsfactory is an enclosure with a supply of desiccant which maintains an internal.

Loyalty programs are a big deal these days. From coffee-shop punch cards to drug stores aggregating your history of shameful purchases in return for free shampoo, everybody wants to give something back to the customer. And of course, they also want to keep the customer coming back.

Now, Montreal’s transit authority, STM (Société de transport de Montréal), is launching a loyalty program for transit riders. Currently in pilot under the name “Apollo,” the plan offers special deals and discounts from merchants and cultural organizations to participating holders of STM’s fare-payment option of choice, the Opus card.

STM’s program differs from other loyalty programs in that rather than accumulating points for rewards down the line, participants can derive instant benefits, using their mobile devices.

Users provide basic data about likes and dislikes, which is then funnelled into a system built by STM and its technology partner, SAP. The system has the ability to recognize where a rider is on the transit system. As a result, merchants can make on-the-spot personalized offers based on a rider’s stated preferences and geographic location (recognizing privacy concerns, the system is firewalled to ensure that no specific customer can be identified by the marketing group).

For example, if you’ve identified yourself as a doughnut aficionado, you might exit the subway and get a text offering a free coffee at the Timmy’s down the street. (If there isn’t a Timmy’s down the street, you’re not in Canada.) Or, if your falutingness is a little higher, you could be presented with opera tickets at a discount.

There are also potential transit-oriented benefits. For instance, program participants can be rewarded for using transit more frequently, and they can receive real-time “premium information” about congestion on the system so they can change their routes accordingly.

STM hopes the plan will drive increased ridership and bring in new money from business partners. The partners benefit by reaching a large group of targeted customers likely to use their services. And users, of course, get info and offers designed to gratify instantly.

The program is currently in testing with about 20,000 users, and is expected to roll out to a broader group sometime this spring.