Question

• Describe some of the ways that people are using mobile devices to shop for products and services.
• What are some ways in which traditional brick-and-mortar retailers can use mobile technology to enhance a customer’s in-store shopping experience?
• List the types of mobile entertainment available to consumers.
• List some ways that travelers and travel-related businesses are using mobile technology.
• How are companies using QR codes to promote products and services to mobile consumers? Why are QR codes not as popular in the U.S. as they are in Asia and other parts of the world?
• Explain why the mobile gaming market represents such a lucrative market opportunity.

Answer 1

People are using mobile devices to download an app like Amazon and shop for their favorite products.

In the past five years, footfall in retail stores has declined by 57 percent,3 but the value of each visit has almost tripled.
Before heading, in-store people use their smartphones — to collect ideas, study goods, and then browse for local information. It is no surprise that over the last year, requests for "close me" have doubled.
But work isn't the only way to improve the retail experience with a smartphone. Shoppers, too, are shopping on phones. An individual today may make a purchasing decision about a $15 sunscreen stick, a $300 camera, or a $3,000 mobile handbag while commuting to work as she walking the pet, or waiting to pick up her child in the carpool line. Time on site for smartphone users in the U.S. is down 5 percent year-over-year,6 but the share of online shopping sales continues to increase. Thirty-four percent of retail electronic sales currently take place on mobile devices.
In this mobile shopping world, the flourishing retailers see the potential to be there and be helpful to customers in what we call micro-bursts — those bursts of intent where consumers turn to their smartphones or other apps to learn, go, do or purchase something.

Retailers will exploit new technology to reach their customers dynamically through different smartphone apps.

1. Beacon Technology: Beacons or iBeacons are minimal-cost hardware that can relay information, identify mobile devices, and even allow point-of-sale payments.

   Analyzing massive consumer data collections to identify patterns, dynamics, and correlations about human activity and engagement in the transaction.

   Retailers will figure out what buyers want inside the shop, what they are looking at, and how long they can finally watch what they are purchasing. This research lets retailers understand the behavior and engagement of customers. It can also further improve customer loyalty by delivering customized messages by specifically relevant exclusive product deals, coupons, and coupon delivery.
   Beacons are more of a micro-local vicinity than the place itself. Retailers should exploit their full ability to provide relevant digital content, product descriptions, sale, and coupon notifications in real-time and offer aisle guidance to provide a more comfortable buying experience for the shoppers.
   Small retail team members can give the shoppers useful support and assistance if their location in the store can be verified by the beacon. The smartphone application will also promote contact between customers and employees while the customer is not in-store; a massive motivation to tend to be drawn towards the retailer.
   Customers in-store can navigate to product recommendations based on the saved shopping list through beacons. This will tremendously every their buying time, and would enjoy the idea of purchasing helped.

2. Augmented Reality: A simulated layer on top of the physical or actual world. Increased reality as a concept is thrilling, ambitious, and has plenty to offer retailers. How an Augmented Reality applies to a single store depends on the goods or services available.
   The retailers are now using AR very dynamically to give their consumers a better visual experience. For eg, many pieces of jewelry, clothing, and footwear retailers require their customers to test out their products using the in-built cameras by that their products into themselves through mobile applications.
   Many furniture or paint shops enable customers to take pictures of their rooms or walls and test out furniture or paint colors to help them make choices. The use of virtual reality is constrained only by one's imagination. Learn all about a Virtual Reality App created for a customer in the paint industry.

3. GPS Technology: This is one of the manufacturers' most commonly used innovations today. Shop owners may send advertising messages when they notice a customer in the proximity of a competitor's location. Retailers with several outlets can support their clients by helping them to find their closest store outlet. This is perfect if you have several stores in a given area.

4. External Hardware Integration:

   1. Mobile POS: A Mobile Point of Sales or POS is a method to ease the experience of the customer's checkout using a smartphone or tablet. They will meet some sales workers as soon as a customer stops shopping. The member of staff will help create an invoice and collect payments from a mobile app. It also creates an opportunity for the sales personnel to engage with the customer in a meaningful way.

   2. Self-Checkout counter: Many stores have introduced self-checkout counters in which shoppers can use a smartphone checkout device to search their shopping and pay.

5. QR Codes: Abbreviated as a Simple Response Tag, it is a two-dimensional barcode that a computer can read through its camera to distinguish the optical mark containing information about the object it is connected to. This will allow consumers to self-checkout as well as checking similar items in the stores.

Types of mobile entertainment available to consumers:

• Online video on demand: Platform such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, etc are allowing the customers to enjoy a movie on the go as and when required.
• Music on-demand: Platform like Spotify, Apple music enables the customer to listen to the music they like without paying for each individual album. This revolutionized the music industry and enabled many small music production houses to release their music and get recognized without having a massive budget.
• Mobile games: Previously electronic games are mainly available to PC consumers. Now with the development of mobile OS like Android and iOS, enabled mobile consumers to enjoy the game without having to invest in the PC or consoles.

Applications like Ola, Uber, Makemytrip, Airbnb are using mobile features like GPS to locate the customers and customize their offering to each individual. This changed the whole cab as well as the tourism industry. On the other hand, google maps and its integration with third-party apps like the ones mentioned above allows the customer to check the pricing for the services offered without having to open the individual app and thus allowing customers to choose the services that they require.

Companies are using QR code in the following way:
One of the most successful ways for merchants to take advantage of QR codes is by incorporating them as a tool into print ads to enable consumers to access their brand on the mobile network. A customer will be connected directly to a purchase, a special discount or deal, or other exclusive content, after scanning a QR code in an ad. The goal is a perfect example of a company taking the ability to incorporate QR codes into their ads. For example, in a recent advertisement, Target led readers who scanned its QR codes to videos featuring Sabrina Soto, a design expert, during which she shares knowledge and ideas about how to use Target home decor and furnishing items.

Another effective way for retailers to incorporate QR codes is by integrating them into the in-store experience — leading online shoppers who scan the codes to improved product details, ratings, or other relevant content. Successfully expanding the in-store shopping experience, Macy's new "Backstage Pass" initiative invites shoppers to check QR codes displayed on merchandise displays to access unique video content that offers fashion inspiration, guidance, and tips from style stars and experts including Martha Stewart, Tommy Hilfiger, and others.

In fact, Best Buy has been an early mover on QR code technologies and added QR codes to all of its product identification tags last year. On Best Buy's mobile app, users who check the QR codes on Best Buy product tags are led to the product information tab. Demonstrating the importance Best Buy puts on QR codes, Advertisement Age recently quoted a Best Buy executive as saying they regard QR codes as a "personal shopping assistant."

The paperless fare, popularized by airlines like Delta, which requires travelers to use their smartphone as a boarding pass, is perhaps the most convincing use of QR codes in the travel world. Travelers can remove the possibility of missing their printed boarding pass by easily uploading the boarding pass to their computer and, most importantly, saving time at the airport.

A recent Jet Blue initiative introduced QR codes in the New York City subway system into the poster ads. Upon scanning the file, users were led to a landing page where they were asked for a chance to win a free flight to submit their contact details.
Airlines can also put QR codes inside in-flight magazines in targeted commercials. Airlines will take passengers straight to exclusive products or sales by enabling readers to check certain codes. Another way airlines can greatly boost their passenger service is by integrating QR codes into their award programs. Airlines can conveniently guide users to the online award status area by printing QR codes on award statements or some other materials.

Hotels are another rational business that can make a major difference with QR codes. QR codes can be used on the hotel property to easily direct guests on their mobile phones to local activity guides so they can prevent lugging printed guidebooks throughout the day. In addition to the hotel itself who will use these knowledge guides to improve connections with nearby companies, this is good for the client.

In fact, hotels will inspire visitors to compose online reviews of their hotels when they're still on the premises — and the good memory of their stay is still fresh on their minds — by having a dedicated show where visitors are asked to scan a QR code that will guide them to an online feedback website. Ultimately, hotels can incorporate QR codes on loyalty cards they give to visitors upon departure to facilitate return visits and maximize recommendations. Users will be led to an opportunity to book additional rooms with a special family rate and friends after scanning certain codes.