Digital CPG Blog

Everyone has an opinion on QR codes. People mostly think marketers love them and consumers hate them. One consumer recently demonstrated to me that he could more quickly enter the website of a poster instead of open his QR code reader and have the code take him to the website. Dave Wienke of AdAge makes a strong argument that QR codes are just a transitional technology:

If someone had figured out a way to do that with a QR code, we would know it by now. We’ve seen them everywhere — bathroom walls, billboards and rub-on tattoos — tossed like digital spaghetti against a wall in hopes that some of it will stick, or click, to an ad. Overuse of a new technique is nothing new. New technology tends to follow a predictable path from discovery, to overuse and disillusionment, and eventually, a proper or right level of use. But in the case of QR codes, that “right level” is likely to be fairly low and short-lived. Because it’s the marketers, not the customers, who are so enamored with it.

Various talking heads have called this “The year of the QR code,” and said that the codes will revolutionize the print industry. Does anyone remember the Cue Cat? It was a device that came out in the 1990s and readers were going to use it to scan bar codes in magazines, which would take them to innovative websites. Sound familiar?

QR codes have a big leg up on the bar codes that were read by the Cue Cat. The technology to use them is already in most people’s pockets. We would assume this type of access might play a major role in the QR code’s success, but that’s only part of the story. The rest of the picture shows why we shouldn’t get too attached to the QR code.

Much is promised. Little is delivered. Remember last summer when Calvin Klein unveiled a giant QR code on Houston Street in New York? Probably not. The code took people to yet another video of alienated, attractive, semi-dressed 20-somethings traipsing around urban landscapes. Yawn. Where haven’t we seen that before? That was the advertising equivalent of “I shaved my legs for this?”

What do you think? Are QR codes transitional or will companies find a better use for them than marketing? Or will they dissipate all together?

Many businesses have failed to keep pace with the growth of smartphone usage, reports eConsultancy.

Mobile is rated the worst of five channels for quality of customer experience, and by some distance. Just 9% of respondents believed that the customer experience offered on their mobile channel was good, and a further 46% said it was just OK. 46% believed it was poor.

As we’ve said before, brands need to get their mobile commerce straight and the numbers continue to show that there is a huge opportunity on this platform.

The State Of Retailing Online 2011: Marketing, Social, and Mobile report conducted by Forrester Research Inc. is out and here are the key takeaways:

- 91 percent of retailers currently have a mobile strategy in place or in development (up from 74 percent a year ago).

- 72 percent of retailers say they will increase their spending on social networks this year over last year.

- Retailers report that 21 percent of all mobile traffic is coming from tablets.

- 48 percent of retailers report having a mobile-optimized Web site; 35 percent have deployed an iPhone app; and 15 percent offer an Android app and an iPad app.

- 62 percent of retailers said the returns on social marketing strategies are unclear, and nearly the same percentage said the primary ROI from social marketing is listening to and gaining a better understanding of customers.

This research begs the question: is your iPad app ready yet?

Groupon is entering the grocery market. But probably not how you think.

Groupon is partnering with a New England supermarket chain to offer deals on groceries. Here’s what will happen – Groupon subscribers will be notified of the deal at Big Y Foods stores — a $39.99 “Shellfish Grill Pack” for $24. But unlike most Groupons that rely on a printed coupon or mobile phone for redemption, those who purchase the deal will have it credited to their Big Y Foods loyalty cards.

“It’s seen as test of whether Chicago-based Groupon can adapt its daily deals to retailers beyond the small merchants that have been its core business,” reports Chicago Business. “One major challenge has been redeeming the Groupon offers. The traditional daily deals require Groupon users to print out paper coupons or use an electronic version on their mobile phones.”

Of course,  if it’s successful, other grocers are lined up to participate. Would your brand want in on such a deal?

We talked earlier this week a bit about what users want from their mobile apps. Today, we report that most apps aren’t getting the job done, so says the New York Times:

Even as phones get more versatile and sophisticated, many retailers’ mobile sites and apps make it difficult to shop. It can be hard to examine items on a small screen, and the pages are often slow to load. Perhaps most frustrating, the process of entering information on a mobile keyboard requires either surgical precision or very tiny fingers.

As a result, retailers report that only about 2 percent of their sales are coming from mobile devices, a number well below the expectations of many e-commerce analysts.

Shoppers told Tealeaf that mobile shopping was more frustrating than sitting in traffic or visiting the D.M.V., which helps explain why, despite all the interest, people are not yet spending much when shopping on their phones.

Users do expect and want to shop on their phones, but the experience is more soul-crushing than the DMV. Clearly, there is a large opportunity for CPG manus and others to make a big impact in this market. Part of it will be having a mobile payment system that doesn’t make you put in your info every time, and part will be having the right experience. Imagine if you did mobile shopping right! That would certainly be a huge differentiator.

Are you ready to make a good first impression? I sure hope so because new research has ”found that 26% of the time, customers never launch a mobile application they’ve download more than once. In a report titled ‘First Impressions Matter,’ Localytics detailed its findings, which includes both good news and bad.”

Want to know how to keep those who have downloaded your app opening it more than just once? Keep reading:

“As we noted late last year, mobile developers have been working to increase user retention and loyalty through a number of means in this crowded app ecosystem by using in-app purchases, subscriptions that deliver new content, notifications and app updates to encourage customers to return to their apps. At the time, however, Scott Kveton, CEO of Urban Airship, a mobile notifications provider, said that there’s only a 5% retention rate on free apps after 30 days. In that case, the numbers from Localytics are actually better news than expected.”

“The idea of turning your mobile smartphone into a mobile wallet is an appealing one. There is no device that spends as much time in our personal proximity than a mobile phone, much more than wallets,” reports Douglas Orr. Here are 5 reasons why mobile will get mainstream adoption this year:

1. Near Field Communication (NFC). NFC technology when included in your mobile phone enables a secure connection between the phone and another NFC enabled device. As a consumer you might use this to get more information about an offer on a product by tapping an NFC enabled shelf price tag (much easier than a bar code). More excitingly, you may be able to make your purchases at the check-out.

2. Apple’s iPhone 5. A simple tick of the upgrade box and your iTunes account is now an iWallet. This device is also expected to support NFC. In fact: in light of all of the patents that Apple have filed for novel uses of NFC technology to pay for everything from entertainment tickets to intelligent checkout baskets some belief that NFC and payments will be the focus of Apple’s new phone.

3. Mobile Wallets. True wallet functionality that enables small purchases is being rolled out in 2011 by a variety of operators, manufactures and others. You will be able to not only make purchases but also split a restaurant bill and transfer money to a friend in a way that is easy and fun.

4. Affordable mobile solutions for retailers. Platforms are now available that enable a technical integration with existing online solutions that are affordable, easy to implement yet secure. The transaction costs are also coming down to a level in line with other existing payment solutions. Leading players in this space to watch include PayPal, Cardinal Commerce, PayThru and Monetise.

5.VC Investment There are truly colossal sums of investment being made by VCs large and small on the mobile space. Mobile VC investment made up 34% of ALL tech venture investment in 2010, totalling $6.1bn.

Read three more reasons here. Do you think wallets will become as redundant as wristwatches? Or does the mobile market still have a ways to go?

Most young people with mobile phones choose their own device, with price being the main purchase driver. Interestingly, more males than females have smartphones in every country except for the U.S., where women lead the way in smartphone usage – certainly an opportunity for manufacturers trying to target their up-and-coming key demographic.

See the numbers below and read more here. How can you create apps and mobile experiences for Gen Y women?

We talked about the rise of mobile yesterday and today’s research reveals that social networking is more popular than voice or SMS (texting) on those phones. Or at least will be in five years, reports Read Write Web.

“When examined individually, traditional forms of communication still appeared to be at the top of the list. The operators said that 87% would use messaging (SMS/MMS) and 81% would use voice. However, when all the social networking options were combined, they totaled 94%, thus becoming the new majority.”

The study reported that social networking “wouldn’t just be the most heavily used service among applications, it would be the ‘most important form of communication,’ too.”

For brand marketers, it will become increasingly important to integrate mobile campaigns with existing social networks and apps. I think it will be interesting to see if brands go to where the customers are (Facebook, Foursquare) or build their own social network apps to talk with customers. Especially with social networks like Facebook introducing – and potentially dominating – new forms of communication like Facebook Mail (a potential email killer for younger generations), brands will need to quickly adapt how they communicate with the consumer.

With so many channels, can a cohesive result be achieved? Which strategy do you think would be more successful?

Targeted messaging at the point of purchase is becoming easier with the increased use of mobile.

“PepsiCo, Tyson and Seventh Generation are among the major companies teaming up with the likes of Foursquare, Gowalla and CheckPoints, promoting programs that reward consumers for picking up products and giving them added incentives to put that product in their cart,” reports AdAge.

“Through the end of the year, customers earn virtual Tazo bottles for checking in at any Whole Foods, as well as the chance to win a gift card. A week into the Whole Foods program, more than 1,000 virtual Tazo bottles had been collected, according to a spokeswoman. Meanwhile, through Dec. 29, consumers can check in at one of 643 Hess gas stations via Foursquare to get a Brisk and Frito-Lay product combo for $1.99. Via the program, consumers are also entered into a sweepstakes to win free gas and free Brisk iced tea for a year.”

“Tristan Walker, director-business development at Foursquare, said the PepsiCo-Hess promotion is one of the first cases of a CPG company working directly with a retailer to drive in-store purchases. And he expects there will be many more programs like it. Asked whether Foursquare would be doing more such deals, Mr. Walker said, ‘Yes. Stay tuned. We have big plans for CPG.’”

There have been a lot of privacy concerns with location-based apps, however, so it will be interesting to see if consumers find it valuable enough to reveal their location to reap whatever incentive is offered. Location-based apps only work if a majority of a group is on them, and so far, Foursquare and Gowalla haven’t been able to reach a critical mass. With Facebook joining the location games, however, an integrated campaign could make location-based check-ins the hot ticket.