[ Screenshot of Estimote ]
Many people think buying products online is a better way to save money than shopping offline. We sometimes see people who browse the online shopping malls to check the best price at the retailer shops. As Amazon and eBay grow rapidly, consumers shopping habit of shopping more economically is becoming a big problem to offline shops. This also accelerates showrooming that turns the retailer into a displaying space and not an actual shopping site. Smartphones have played an important role in spreading this phenomenon widely. Even some chain stores hid the barcode or changed the model name to evade the direct price comparison between internet shopping malls and themselves.
Actually, it is possible for offline retailers to change the axis of competition with online players by focusing on what consumers are really concerned. Through Shopsavvy and barcode reader applications, consumers look for information, which includes price, detail specification, and reviews. As showrooming get offline players into a predicament, they can escape out from the problem that they face by utilizing mobile technologies. Contextual information can be a strong differentiator and winning point at the battlefield of next commerce.
When consumers drop by a mall or a supermarket to buy something (or to just browse), they often do not know what they want. Although they have a clarified shopping list, they impulsively grab a bunch of bananas that are not included on the list but put them into the shopping cart just because they are on a big discount. It looks like a price competition. However, what intrigues consumers’ interests is the timing of information. Underneath the consumer’s consciousness, there are diverse unmet needs and sometimes they are triggered by external information, resulting in the purchase of the product. From this flow of a consumer behavior, we need to focus not on what the external information is but on how the external information is delivered to the prospective consumers.
The factors that decide the delivery method are constituencies of the context: time, place, and occasion. If the product is very cheap but a consumer bought it yesterday at a higher price, it fails to entice the consumer to buy it. If a tourist walks around shops in Bali, the tourist would never purchase furniture or electronic devices even if they are on a big discount. Also, we react differently to each situation whether it is a birthday party or a funeral. Many people and companies are used to making mistakes by packing their services with a lot of unnecessary information, which makes consumers get distracted from finding their actual needs. In order to connect consumers’ desire to the final purchase, commerce players must stop being obsessed on providing the cheapest price.
Interestingly, some offline retailers are working to give information to the right target at the right timing by adopting a new strategy and a new technology. The business opportunity will come from how to offer a product with relevant information and how to access and buy the products. A sensor network may be the tool that can enable offline players to compete with giant online commerce players. NFC and a beacon can be the prospective candidates for the next battlefield. Especially, a beacon lets consumers know more about what they are interested in right away. If the price and feasibility of this technology are enhanced further, the technology can be adopted by more shops and retailers than now.
The following video clips are about some examples using this technology. The first two services, Estimote Beacon and Shopkick, are examples of that show promotion or campaign that is delivered to consumers to purchase a product. Also, a payment method, like Paypal Beacon, can be provided to the consumer.
[ Estimote Beacon ]
[ Shopkick ]
[ Paypal Beacon ]