The data used for the infographic stems from a report White Horse published last year called “The Future of In-Aisle Mobile,” in which the agency conducted a first-of-its-kind ethnographic study on consumer use of smartphones to aid in-aisle shopping.  The result was a dramatic picture of the gap between consumer mobile behavior in the aisle and retailers’ readiness to channel that behavior into customer loyalty and sales.

In creating the report, White Horse surveyed 390 smartphone users and turned six of the most interesting findings into the below infographic.  The free report is available for download here.

Blue Bite

Blue Bite teamed up with RMG networks — a provider of Out-Of-Home (OOH) TV & video networks — as well as mobile advertising provider Amobee to launch the campaign for HotelTonight across a handful of major U.S. markets.  HotelTonight’s mobile app allows users to book same-day hotel reservations.  To jumpstart the campaign, Amobee utilized RMG Network’s locations outfitted with Blue Bite’s mTAG Platform to reach HotelTonight’s core demographic.  These RMG network locations included eight major U.S. airports and hundreds of “busy downtown cafe locations across the country.”

As people passed by one of RMG’s digital screens, they saw a 30-second video clip promoting the app.  If interested, users then had the option to tap their NFC handsets on Blue Bite’s mTAG located in the venue to immediately download the HotelTonight app.  Those without NFC on their mobile devices were also able to download the app using a QR Code, Bluetooth or WiFi.

In the six-week campaign period, Blue Bite recorded over 15,000+ unique mobile engagements, with more than 5,000 unique handset engagements from iPhone and Android devices.  In addition, 50 percent of all Blue Bite interactions resulted in the user downloading the HotelTonight mobile app.  This is substantial given NFC’s recent entry into the U.S. market and the fact that’s only now beginning to be used as a marketing tool.

Blue Bite has had a lot of success with unique marketing campaigns that leverage new-age location-based technologies such as Bluetooth and NFC, and this campaign is no exception.  “This groundbreaking campaign demonstrates the combined power of digital place-based media and mobile technologies to activate customers in meaningful ways,” said Mikhail Damiani, CEO and Co-Founder from Blue Bite.  “As people rely more heavily on their mobile devices, digital place-based media has become the front line for marketers looking to engage active consumers who are on the path to purchase,” said Chuck Strottman, Sr. Director of Marketing from RMG Networks.

“Innovative digital players like HotelTonight understand that mobile plays an invaluable part in the brand experience and consumer engagement,” said Mark Strecker, COO of Amobee. “Many merchants are starting to use Amobee’s leading edge mobile advertising technology to interact with the physical world, whether it be through NFC, QR codes and Bluetooth technology, to provide an engaging customer experience and maximize revenue.”

Location Labs has largely been known to provide an underlying location-based infrastructure for mobile apps, but has recently transitioned into a provider of specialized location-based services for niches such as family safety and safe driving.  Both Wirkle with its development platform and Volly with its group mobile messaging solution fit nicely with Location Labs’s future plans, making both acquisitions timely and relevant for the company.

It seems Location Labs was also interested in the talent associated with these startups, with the company saying new engineers and product managers acquired through Wirkle and Volly will be focused on “strengthening investment in its Safely suit of services — which includes services to allow parents to keep tabs on their children, as well as other family and driving safety programs.

“We looked at many different mobile companies and were extremely impressed by the talents and mobile expertise of Wirkle and Volly.  These acquisitions of IP, products, and team signify a milestone for Location Labs as we accelerate our growth in the mobile personal security space.”

The company found that Millennials own 2.4 connected devices on average, and of those who connect to JiWire’s free Wi-Fi networks, 62% percent are using smartphones and nearly a third are using tablets.  It was also found that twenty-eight percent use location-based apps multiple times per day for locating stores (54%) and points of interests (46%), as well as connecting with others (40%) and checking in (32%).

Click the infographic below to view full size:

For those unfamiliar, Google Wallet is a new service that allows users to make mobile payments from their mobile devices using Google Prepaid Cards or a Citi MasterCard.  At the moment, the service is extremely limited — only available to users rocking Sprint’s Nexus S 4G — but availability to other phones and carriers should be announced in the coming months.

One of the biggest improvements is the addition of in-app offers, which replace the email notifications that were sent our for each offer when the service was first announced.  Here’s a full list of the updates and enhancements:

• Updated transaction detail screen (for Tap & Pay and in Transaction History)
• Merchant name and amount now available for Google Prepaid Card purchases
• Improved button to turn your cards on and off
• Five minute default PIN timeout for new users
• An improved tutorial
• Account Number validation for some gift cards
• Bug fixes

Google has high hopes for Google Wallet, but until compatibility and NFC adoption catch up, it’ll remain limited to a select group of users.  Apple is also planning NFC integration with the iPhone, but it likely sees the writing on the wall in terms of low adoption.  Google, never one to wait until the market catches up with its ideas, is taking a preemptive strike.  Only time will tell if it gives them first-mover advantage.

The following is a guest post from Joe Marcallini, Vice President of Internet Strategy for SteadyRain. You can reach Mr. Marcallini via email at Joe.Marcallini@SteadyRain.com or via Twitter @JoeMarcallini.

Near Field Communication (NFC) has been a popular topic lately.  NFC is not a new technology, but it is new to most of the general public.  The primary premise of this technology is to allow users with compatible devices, such as smartphones, the ability to tap a similar device and transfer funds, files or specific data.  While this may not sound exciting, it is a huge step forward for mobile technology.  It is important to understand NFC technology and its many uses; it could benefit your business now and in the future.

Companies such as MasterCard and Google have jumped on the bandwagon with both feet.  For example, a new application called Google Wallet was announced.  This application will allow you to check out at retail stores by simply tapping your phone on a device that will accept your funds for goods or services.  The application on your smartphone will be connected to your account with MasterCard.

There are many enticing opportunities with NFC for businesses.  Here are just a few:

• Check into a local establishment with much greater accuracy, as current GPS readings are not always correct.  This will allow establishments the ability to provide coupons and be sure the visitor has entered their store.  Once a coupon is redeemed, the user can also purchase in the store with their NFC compatible device.
• Restaurants can provide checkout services that allow multiple parties to purchase and add tips after a meal.  This will speed up the process for the patron as well as waiters and waitresses.
• Travel and Mass Transit can utilize NFC for Passenger and Baggage Check-In for increased efficiency as well as Boarding and Luggage recovery.  For example, should a piece of your luggage get lost, use a kiosk to locate it instead of waiting in lines to speak to an attendant.
• Vending machines will allow you to tap your phone and purchase a soda.

While there can be many uses for NFC technology, it is important to understand the benefits.

NFC is a very simple technology that anyone can use, and will soon be available to most smartphone users.  NFC utilizes a chip that can be embedded on SIM Cards, Micro SD Cards or on the phone unit itself.

NFC will provide for more efficient and timely customer service.  Reporting on the data the users are providing will instantaneously allow businesses to track and view results of various campaigns in real time.  When a customer checks into your establishment, redeems a coupon and purchases the discounted product or service, the business will immediately know the path and trend for that customer.

For the customer, NFC will allow them to redeem coupons, archive receipts, build on various loyalty programs such as check-ins, redeem gift cards/certificates and connect to their existing credit card accounts.  All of these options will bring great value to the end user and provide a much more efficient way to purchase products and services.  These factors help aid in the technological transition to NFC as many will be skeptical in the beginning.

Over time, technologies such as NFC and “mobile wallets” will continue to progress and act as prominent payment methodologies in our daily lives.  Security will always be an issue and pose as the primary threat to future adoption.  However, as these mobile technologies grow, the security measures that help protect your valuable assets will strengthen.  Security for mobile is no different for security for web; it will be an ongoing battle.  However, NFC lends itself to a more secure environment.

It’s important to understand and acknowledge the concerns associated with emerging mobile technologies, such as NFC. However, as mobile continues to be a leading field for technological innovations, the public can be assured that the proper care and dedication will go into making sure these advancements are safe for the consumer and a benefit to business. Early adopters of NFC are already witnessing the benefits of this type of mobile technology. As the field continues to grow, your role as a consumer and as a business will also bear witness to these benefits.

About SteadyRain

SteadyRain is a privately held, St. Louis-based Internet strategy, design and development firm that works closely with each of its clients to develop unique and profitable Internet strategies through website development, online marketing, e-commerce, database integration, and mobile development. Since 1999, SteadyRain has been helping businesses and organizations develop their online strategies, increase revenue and decrease costs. For more information about SteadyRain, please visit www.steadyrain.com.

You’ve likely waited to visit a dealership after-hours to look at a vehicle you’re interested in simply to avoid being hounded by a salesperson.  Nissan recognizes this and hopes QR codes can help provide the information potential buyers want, without having to suffer through a salesman’s pitch.

The QR codes link users directly to a mobile optimized page that includes videos, features, vehicle inventory levels and more.  The codes work with any smartphone reader app and is first being offered on the 2012 Nissan Altima and Sentra lines.  The company plans to roll out the solution to its entire fleet eventually.

While it’s a smart move from a consumer standpoint, Nissan dealerships will get the added benefit of receiving valuable user data as well.  There’s likely several calls-to-action on the mobile site linked to from each QR code that allows the dealer to collect contact information for follow up.  If some sort of opt-in mechanism was integrated, dealers could continue messaging users after they scan a code, already knowing which vehicle they’re interested in and when they visited the dealership originally.  Hopefully we’ll see some usage and engagement numbers soon.

Note: the QR code above is an actual code being used on the 2012 Nissan Altima.  Give it a quick scan to see what it’s all about.

The promotion is a highly integrated “crime-solving” campaign in New York City that began on June 27th and ran for one month.  The NFC technology is being provided by Blue Bite’s mTAG solution and will allow those walking by on the street to place their phone near an identifying marker on the storefront that “immediately immerses the person’s mobile phone into the experience.”  Content being delivered includes a “unique and exclusive” mobile game, an opt-in “tune-in reminder” for the show, a unique and custom wallpaper and a video trailer of the show.

In addition to NFC, the campaign incorporates WiFi, Bluetooth and QR Codes to ensure everyone had a chance to engage with the campaign — not just those with smartphones.  Upon completion of the campaign, the brand was able to engage with just over 4,000 unique mobile handsets, making the promotion an all around success for not only the show, but NFC and other new-age mobile marketing concepts as well.

We’ve heard good and bad things about the use of so-called “proximity marketing,” but as we’ve always said, it can be extremely successful if implemented properly.  Blue Bite is one of those companies who has a lot of experience in creating highly engaging campaigns using everything from NFC, WiFi and QR codes to Bluetooth marketing as well.  Below is a quick video provided by Blue Bite that shows how the campaign worked, along with a few photos.

Click here to view the embedded video.

We’ve covered Placecast’s ShopAlerts service quite a bit on MMW, and it’s gained significant traction since its introduction.  The service has garnered big-name clients like The North Face and AT&T who want to leverage the latest concepts in location-based marketing.  With the new self-serve version, merchants can now create, deliver and track redemption of mobile promotions via a simple Web-based portal.

ShopAlerts uses a technology known as geofencing to automatically trigger alerts when opted-in users come within a pre-determined radius of a particular location.  So a retail store, for example, could target customers that come within a block or two of their location with a special coupon to help drive foot traffic.  The self-serve version allows merchants to upload and manage store locations and information, create geofences and promotions on the fly, track coupons and redemption codes and access analytics on participants, geofences and ROI.  Users can also change messages in real-time.

The company says the ShopAlerts platform can reach 268 million phones across the four main carriers — AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon and Sprint.  Though the new version of the platform is dubbed “self-serve,” the company says it’s not actually directly available to small business, but rather larger vertical companies like mobile operators, yellow-page providers, retailers, financial institutions or deal services who can then work with SMBs to deploy for merchants.  We’ve embedded a short demo overview of the ShopAlerts platform below . . .

Click here to view the embedded video.

“If you use a Groupon mobile app and you allow sharing through your device, Groupon may collect geo-location information from the device and use it for marketing deals to you (and for other purposes listed in the ‘How Groupon Uses Personal Information’ section of the Updated Privacy Statement),” the email said.  The company also said that these changes “address some new types of business relationships the company is forging and new technologies it is implementing or may use.”

What this means is that the company has broadened the definition of personal information to include your interests and habits and that it will share that personal information with partners in new offering areas, such as travel deals with Expedia.  The company said that it’s trying to improve readability of its consumer information and give greater transparency to its customers.  While the group-buying phenomenon continues to gain momentum, the real battle will be on the mobile front going forward, and that’s exactly what Groupon is preparing for.

While Groupon may have had an advantage in the beginning by simply being the first to market with the “social buying” concept, a slew of competitors have popped up since offering the exact same thing.  Companies like LivingSocial have done well giving Groupon a run for its money.  Moving forward, however, the emerging winner will be defined by how these companies translate their success on the Web to the mobile channel.  Groupon knows this and is positioning itself to collect as much user data as possible to be able to serve up the most relevant deals possible.

Therein lies the key to the future of social buying.  While daily deals are big with users these days, there remains no relevance between the deals emailed to users everyday and what the users actually like to purchase.  Building on this model while leveraging the targeting and relevance capabilities of the mobile channel will be the true test.  Groupon is quickly laying the groundwork, but only time will tell if it will pay off in the end.