The opportunities for local merchants in the mobile search space are huge. “Location-aware devices are changing the order of ‘instant gratification,’” Mr. Dunlap said. “It used to be that buying online was the fastest since you would get it in 24 hours. Now with a location-aware mobile device, you can purchase it near you and have it in your hands within the hour.”
“A store’s physical location is its greatest asset in a location-based world, .... Why buy from Amazon when you can have it in one hour down the street? As long as local merchants are sharing what brands and products they have (so searchers can find them), they will become the ‘instant gratification’ choice. In most cases, they can charge a premium for this since there is no hassle, no shipping, and you can have it now"
“We’ve seen the most success for local merchants by teaming up with magazines,” he said. “For example, we have an iPhone app for Runner’s World that allows you to read reviews and see images of over 100 shoes. If you want to try on a pair, you just tap “find near me” and it finds the closest specialty running store that has your size (these are typically small businesses).
“Runner’s World is great at producing content that inspires people to purchase, but it’s the local merchant who benefits. Note that there is no need for the local merchant to do anything. This is where I suspect you are going to see the biggest benefit for local merchants – media and brands adopting the technology to drive local purchasing.” From Mobile Marketer at http://bit.ly/HURmcFor more information contact mike@zipstripe.com
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