Last week the mobile industry descended on Barcelona to Mobile World Congress. With entire halls dedicated to apps, marketing and the latest mobile connected technology, the show is no longer a place just for manufacturers. This year we saw bikes, cars, smart remotes, NFC payments and even a ‘connected’ bottle of whisky.
Fmcg brands should be taking note of what goes on here. All the announcements pointed to growing connectivity between brands and shoppers via the smartphone. These innovations are set to make it even easier for customer engagement.
For me, one of the most exciting announcements was Diageo’s Johnnie Walker Blue Label smart bottle. The prototype uses electronic sensors to relay where the bottle is in the supply chain, creating visibility and route to market efficiencies. The NFC technology in these sensors can tell if a bottle has been opened or not. As a result, Diageo can send information to customers who scan the bottle with their smartphones. For instance, while it is in store Diageo can upload promotional offers, but then change this information to cocktail recipes when the bottle has been opened at home.
“Through mobiles, brands can own the dialogue with their customers”
In the past, ownership of the shopper sat very much with the retailer. Now through mobiles brands can own the dialogue with their customers directly, regardless of which retailer they use. Furthermore, with retargeting increasingly vital to successful marketing in highly competitive markets, brands can use the data to then tailor relevant communications to specific customers directly on their phones.
The show highlighted the importance of connecting and tracking shoppers via mobile to better understand why they buy and what motivates them. Our customers know being able to track shoppers at each stage of the path to purchase through mobile ultimately gives them a competitive advantage, and helps to drive repeat purchases. The latest technology is enabling consumers to see an offer or advertisement through browsing on their mobile, and redeem in store, all through their phone.
This technology, combined with a rise in showrooming and dwindling loyalty to specific retailers (just 45% of us are loyal to just one retailer), points to an opportunity for fmcg brands. You can now not only build relationships with your customers via mobile, but enable engagement no matter where a shopper considers, interacts, purchases or repurchases.
Mobile World Congress also highlighted the growth in NFC payments, making tracking the exact moment purchases are made even simpler. It’s an exciting time for mobile payment systems, too, with Samsung and Mastercard launching as a competitor to Apple Pay, and Google announcing its own Android Pay.
The latest technology can and must only be seen as a positive thing for brands and customers alike. The more connected shoppers are, the better positioned marketers will be to engage with them, and the better each individual’s brand shopping experience will therefore be.
Chris Newbery is director of sales at Shopitize
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