Shopper Culture

Lagerfeld’s Concept Store Provides Holistic Digital Experience

March 2013 saw the Kaiser of Fashion unveil a brand new concept store in Paris that offers ready-to-wear collections for men and women, along with a selection of limited-edition accessories, design, and photography books.

The 200 square meter black and white shop cleverly mixes baroque-inspired and state-of-the-art digital features, paying tribute to the off-the-wall personality of the high-profile fashion designer.

2013 Trend Sighting—Interactive Retail

Back in January, we posted about some of the top trends you would see in shopper marketing this year—one of which was interactive retail. Retailers and brands are not only striving to bring fun to the shopping experience through interactive retail but also efficiency. Case in point, the recent installation of Me-Ality (a self-billed "digital sizing station") in five Bloomingdale's locations. 

These installations aim to solve the chronic shopper problem of finding the right pair of jeans in the right size. I know from experience that trying on jeans is one of the most daunting shopping tasks. It requires the right mindset, knowledge, selection and setting to achieve the goal (buying the perfect pair of jeans). If even one thing goes wrong that can result in a no sale situation (which is not good for retailer or brand). That said, I would take the 10-15 seconds to give Me-Ality a shot. It appears to offer a fast and efficient way to get some knowledge (size and style recommendations) to aid the ever-daunting jean shopping experience.

Have you encountered other examples of interactive retail that have helped make your shopping process easier and more efficient?

Photo source: Mashable.com

Burberry Introduces Smart Personalization for Shoppers

For the launch of its new Fall/Winter 2013 womenswear collection, the London fashion house Burberry created a seamless digital shopping experience. Following a similar principle to the Topshop “Enter the Catwalk” campaign, which provided viewers with live-streamed footage of the show and customization features, The Burberry smart personalization allows shoppers to browse and shop for items they like straight from the catwalk via their mobile devices.

Once an order is placed, shoppers receive tailor-made outerwear and bags with personalized, engraved nameplates. Shoppers are also invited to virtually

Redefining Brand Engagement - British Airways

It’s the time of year when many of us are in planning mode for summer holidays because airline and holiday companies are holding big sales. I’ve scoured the internet for deals to good locations and on a recent glance at my Facebook news feed, I spotted a shared post about the chance to win a holiday. Lo and behold, it was a British Airways competition that offered a chance to win tickets to a chosen destination, such as Orlando or Barbados, every day for a week. Usually these competitions offer one pair of tickets and a highly unlikely chance of winning, but British Airways was giving hundreds of tickets away each day through two entry routes.

I could enter online via Facebook, where one person could win two tickets each day by answering a question about the chosen destination. It was an easy mechanic, and I completed the task in two minutes.

 

The Second Screen Adds Engagement to Super Bowl Ads

After an eventful Super Bowl XLVII, which included two brothers pitted against each other, Beyonce’s halftime show, the power outage, and the 49ers (almost) rallying, today it’s all about recapping the ads. According to Ad Age, fans eagerly awaiting the 2013 ads were not looking to connect with a brand; rather audiences simply wanted to be entertained. The entertainment this year was brought to audiences by extending the ads onto a second screen. For example, the Coca-Cola Mirage ads added in some humorous competition plus engaged audiences via mobile. As MediaPost points out, we might start seeing more of the creative and engaging side of the Super Bowl ads taking place on a second screen. The first screen might then be used as a teaser to encourage user involvement.

The key to asking audiences to engage further with your brand on a second screen is being sure the payoff is enough. For the Coca-Cola Mirage campaign, users were able to not only vote for their preferred team, but also were able to sabotage the opposition. This addition cleverly turned the ad from a poll to a game and heightened the personalization for players.

Overall, using mobile might be the future of drawing audiences’ attention during the Super Bowl. The potential for personalization, along with a choose your own adventure component also sets brands up nicely for follow-up engagement with consumers.

In the end, the audience chose the Showgirls to win the race for the Coke, but there is a lot of discussion about which ads stole the show. Which ads were your favorites for Super Bowl XLVII?

 

The Unofficial Brand Olympics, London 2012

As the final wisps of smoke from the Paralympic flame dissipate over East London, and the gates to the Olympic Park close (until 2014), London after the London 2012 euphoria finds itself in a period of reflection. While the media and the government reflect on the golden summer, and Brazilian Olympic organizers reflect on learnings to apply to their plans; we at Integer London have reflected on the brands that decided that official status wasn’t for them. An unofficial Brand Olympics, if you will.

 

For guerrilla product placement, the gold medal goes to Dr Dre and The Beats 

Athletes from the top 20 countries in the last Olympics were invited to The Beats store in Shoreditch, not far from the Olympic Village where, after having their photos taken in front of the “b” logo they received a free pair of headphones in their team colors.

A Sunny Take on the Ubiquitous QR Code in Korea

The effectiveness (along with the proper use) of QR codes is debatable, but we found one retailer that is making brilliant use of them.

Korean mass retailer E-Mart suffered from weak mid-day sales. Inspired by this very specific business problem, they created sculptures that—only during the sunniest part of the day—enabled a QR code shadow that could be scanned for discounts and coupons.

While the QR code took shoppers to the E-Mart app and encouraged online purchases, the E-mart malls saw an increase in traffic as well.

Called the “Sunny Sale,” E-Mart saw a 25 percent increase in lunchtime sales and significant media coverage.

On top of that, they saw a 45% increase in membership and gave shoppers an incentive to experience the convenience of shopping for household products online.

All of this means that a Quick Response code could also equate to longer-term business change.

See more here: 

 

Contributed by Integer Asia-Pacific

Which Has Greater Influence—an Expert’s Opinion or a Friend’s?

Shoppers are increasingly demanding a more personalized shopping experience. According to eMarketer, half of shoppers would like retailers to offer promotions tailored to their past purchases. And 46% would buy more if the shopping experience was personalized across retailer channels. This shows that personalization is not only important in-store but online as well.

While consumers express their individualism on social sites such as Pinterest^(R), they are also looking for their personal style and interests to show up more directly within their shopping or browsing trips. Pickie, the iPad Magazine that was recently introduced at TechStars^TM NYC Demo Day, fulfills this need by curating personal recommendations for the user based on whom they follow within their social network. On the other hand, e-commerce site ModCloth^(R) offers personalized expert advice. The site allows users to live chat with stylists who suggest products based on user history and profile information. So the question becomes, which personalized experience do online shoppers prefer—an expert opinion or a friend’s social mentions? 

We may not know the answer just yet, but it is likely to become clearer as more retailers incorporate personalization into their operations, both online and in store. The one thing we do know today is that to be more personal with our shoppers, we must make it comfortable for them to share more personal information. As with Modcloth^(R) and Pickie, the more they know about their audience, the more helpful they are in offering individualized input per shopper.

Contributed by Jillian Kyle, Planner, Integer Denver

The Checkout: Mobile Shopping Behaviors

Shoppers in the US have evolved significantly in the past few years in the realm of digital shopping tools. So much so, that the term "The Digital Shopper" has effectively lost meaning as about half of all shoppers in the country have adopted some type of digital behavior to aid in their shopping.  As many of the tools in this space are related to the boom in smart phones, mobile shopping tools are of special interest.

In this issue we take a look at many aspects of mobile and other digital shopping behaviors across different shopper segments to understand which shoppers are adopting what tools and how they are using them. What are the differences and similarities across gender or cultures and what is the impact of children in the household?

For example:

• Almost as many shoppers are using coupons from email and enewsletters (49%) as they are clipping them from the Sunday paper (57%).
• Men might be the traditional lovers of tech toys, but in using technology to enhance shopping, women are ahead of the curve.
• Having children in the household drives accelerated adoption of digital technologies to deliver shopping solutions.
• African-American and Hispanic shoppers adopt new shopping technologies at a faster rate than Caucasians do.

Click here to download the Mobile Shopping Behaviors Issue of The Checkout.

Disney Characters Come to Life in Singapore Malls

To promote the upcoming ice-skating show Disney on Ice, Disney set up interactive playgrounds themed “Let's Celebrate!” at malls throughout Singapore.

The promotion incorporated augmented-reality technology to allow children to interact with and virtually ice-skate with Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters. In addition to the augmented-reality experience, the playground also offered various activities like real-life ice-skating, dancing, and a coloring station for children to create their own Disney art.

Creating unique experiences for shoppers is a great way to not only gain immediate awareness and promote purchase but also build brand advocates—children in this case. For many parents, it is hard to resist their child’s request, and it is likely that Mickey Mouse, Disney, and Disney on Ice were topics of conversation well after this mall experience was over.

Contributed by Integer Singapore

Stayed tuned for more from Integer Singapore next week.

Valentine’s Day Spurs Innovative Retail Ideas in Asia

Brands looked beyond flowers and cards this year for Valentine’s Day in Asia. Kirin Ichiban beer pushed its “bro-quet,” while Lotte Japan and Coca-Cola Istanbul encouraged shoppers to show their affection.

Who says bouquets are just for girls?

Kirin Ichiban beer partnered with Singapore online florist Bloomdale to create a “bro-quet” of beer for ladies to give to the men in their lives. The bro-quets contained 10 refreshing mini cans of Kirin Ichiban beer, meticulously hand-arranged, and were available for purchase on the Bloomdale website.

Chocolate to the rescue!

To promote its chocolate product Ghana, Lotte Japan opened a “chocolate support house,” a pop-up store in the youth shopping district of Harajuku where visitors could get lessons on how to make unique gifts out of chocolate. On February 13, there was even a “rescue corner” for girls who needed last-minute help with gifts for their boyfriends. Source: The Inspiration Room

Kiss for a couple of Cokes

Coca-Cola Istanbul installed special vending machines designed just for couples inside some of the most crowded shopping malls. For the machine to work and dispense two cans of Coca-Cola, the couple had to demonstrate their commitment to each other by displaying affection. To see it for yourself click here.

Each of these brands brought a bit of fun to the sometimes stressful Valentine’s Day experience. And, in turn, it’s likely that many of those shoppers will have more affection for those brands down the line. We as marketers must remember that, while Valentine’s Day comes but once a year, it’s important to show your shoppers a little love every day with fun and innovative products and experiences.

Contributed by Integer Singapore

Photo source: http://beerbroquet.com/

Stay tuned for more posts from Integer Singapore in the next week.

New Report: Untangling the Social Web Part 4, The Value of Social Networking for Brands and Retailers

Now that Parts 1 - 3 of Untangling the Social Web have laid the critical foundation of understanding the social landscape and its different types of users, we begin to outline the value of brand engagement in Part 4. While brands and retailers alike have begun to participate in social web, there isn't a long tradition in this space as there are in other media channels, which means that rules and guides are still being formulated and broken everyday. This is a very exciting time, but also an intimidating time.

In this section we seek to remove some of the intimidation by identifying the benefits for the user/shopper, retailer and brand at various levels of engagement. Brands and retailers may opt to listen, connect, participate or create within the socail web. The benefits, implications and considerations at each level are articulated using current examples from the marketplace.

Click here to download Part 4 of the 5 part series entitled The Value of Social Networking for Brands and Retailers.  And if you have not already, download Part 1: Assessing the Social Networking Landscape, Part 2: Identifying the Allure of Social Networking: Traits, Behaviors and Motivators, and Part 3: Social Networking Personas: A Look at Consumer and Shopper Mind-Sets of the series by clicking here.

New Report: Untangling the Social Web Part 2, Identifying the Allure of Social Networking: Traits, Behaviors and Motivators

Social networking has surpassed email as the top online activity and it has fundamentally changed how we create community and with whom we connect. Through the social web, individuals can have direct connection to not only their family and friends but also favorite retailers and brands. Businesses are able to observe and engage with the public and offer real-time promotional perks and discounts – the number one driver for social networkers to engage with a business in the social web. 

This is the world we live in today, but why is social networking so addictive? And what motivates us to spend so much time social networking? Simply put, it stems from fundamental human nature and a desire to connect. Part 2 of the 5 part series conducted by The Integer Group and CCRRC of North America entitled Untangling the Social Web outlines human psychological principles, intrinsic motivators and online behavior that explain why we act the way we do both online and offline. 

Part 2 (Identifying the Allure of Social Networking: Traits, Behaviors and Motivators) is available for download TODAY.  Click here to download Part 2 of the series and past releases including Part 1 (Assessing the Social Networking Landscape). 

Stay tuned for Parts 3-5 of Untangling the Social Web, which dig deeper into social networking shopping dynamics, the value for businesses and professional social networking.

Report: Untangling the Social Web: Insights for Users, Brands and Retailers

Five years ago, as Thomas Friedman put it, “‘Twitter’ was a sound, the ‘cloud’ was in the sky [and] ‘4G’ was the name of a parking space.” It is apparent that the world of social networking is rapidly evolving but it is also fundamentally changing the way individuals and businesses interact. Today, individuals can have real-time communication with their favorite brands, earns special perks for following a retailer, and receive job updates from companies they dream to work at.

This is a space that businesses can no longer ignore.  Therefore, the Coca-Cola Retailing Research Council (CCRRC) partnered with The Integer Group(R) to provide a five-part series on the current state of social networking entitled Untangling the Social Web: Insights for Users, Brands and Retailers.  This series aims to provide the entire retail community with the foundational knowledge to decode the complexities of the social web and seed inspiration for how companies can set a path for change. Topics include: the social networking landscape of today, the allure of social networking for users, social networker shopping habits, and the role brands and retailers can and should play in this space.  

An Introduction to the series as well as Part One (Assessing the Social Networking Landscape) is available for download TODAY.  Click here to download the Introduction and Part 1 of the series and stay tuned for Parts 2-5 of Untangling the Social Web.

Didn't Go To The Gym: That'll Be $5

Ever heard of putting a quarter in the jar for saying a swear word? Now apply that to failing to follow through on your New Year’s resolution. 

With the new year rolling in, many people resolve to lead a healthier life, whether it’s eating better or losing weight. And just like all other years, most Americans’ enthusiasm and commitment will begin to decline as the year moves on. According to PRWeb.com, recent University of Illinois research shows this is due to a cognitive disconnect called “self-efficacy,” a confidence needed to succeed.

But this year, one particular tool to help people commit stood out. Instead of a brand promising success, why not make the shopper commit to themselves? The mobile app, Gym-Pact, actually fines individuals for failing to exercise. When a user signs up, they have to determine two things: 1) How many days a week they will commit to visiting the gym, and 2) How much money per missed visit they’ll chalk up. Then with the use of smartphone technology, users simply check-in every time they make a trip. 

 “Behavioral economics show that if you tie cash incentives to things that are concrete and easy to achieve like getting to the gym, it’s very effective,” said co-founder Yifan Zhang in an interview with the New York Times. “People don’t like losing money and it’s one of the strongest motivators, much more than winning money.”

And if that wasn’t enough, users are rewarded with cash for following through with their commitments. Of course, paid out by those who failed. While Gym-Pact is certainly not for everybody, it’s an interesting twist on the psychology behind New Year’s resolutions is intriguing. Instead of prompting the user with a less actionable "New Year, New You,” it gives them something to lose. 

 For more information on New Year’s Resolutions around health and wellness, download a copy of The Checkout - Issue 7, 2011.