So this is not exactly a brand new application, but the current offer that marries up with this app is new, and one you may want to consider using, more on that later.

Back to the war on the high street:

The last thing any high street retail store or chain wants to hear right now, is that a huge online competitor going by the name of Amazon is going to aggressively highlight how retailers current roles as “agents” or “middlemen” of the high street, is not serving the public’s best interest when it comes to value for money!

Shock horror! You can get that thing cheaper online?

We all know this to be true in many cases, but the fact of the matter is that convenience and habit is what make us humans very funny indeed, and we are still more than happy to just get out and do “the shop”, but all this is about to change as we start to seriously alter our buying behaviour.

Two forces at work:

This behavioural change is born out of two major factors:

Technology:

Recent mobile technology has allowed us to utilise applications on the go, and it was only a matter of time before we were all checking online while shopping and putting back that toaster or TV when we can see that a bargain is to be had online.

Economic distress:

Times are damn tough for many right now, so finding a bargain is pretty much the way forward for many people, and if this means altering buying habits by adopting new technology then trust me, if you make it easy to do, and it works the people will follow.

Saving is the new spending:

Yes what you can save on one thing you can spend on another, and Amazon know this all too well.

They have not only just released their cut price tablet the Amazon Kindle Fire, which has aggressively entered the tablet market promising to bring price reductions across the board for the average consumer.

But now they have also brought out a price comparison application that is set to revolutionise the way we shop for good.

With Tesco in the UK saying they have not had a great run of recent, this form the store that was rumoured to process one pound for every ten pounds spent in the UK. The fact is that many retail outlets and chains are on the brink of collapse globally.

Death of the high street:

Are we seeing the slow inevitable death of the high street once and for all?

I fear most for the technology stores initially. You know, the ones you would not be seen dead in when you can get almost everything in them at a considerable discount online.

Then there is the big shed equivalents like Wal-Mart and in the UK Tesco and Asda, now these stores have branched out considerably over the last decade into being much more than your large grocery store, and offer electrical goods, and various other “big ticket” items, Wal-Mart even stocks the Amazon Kindle Fire in the US.

So have Amazon picked a fight with the wrong people? Probably not at this stage.

So back to the Amazon price check app:

As a high street retailer, you would also not want to hear that the online store that has its eyes firmly set on your current customers has just released a price check app. One that offers genuine convenience when comparing what you are buying to their own online prices.

What is more, Amazon, the veritable behemoth of E-commerce are going to give you the tool for free to ensure that you always find the cheapest price by using an application that checks prices in their store when you are out shopping on the high street.

How to use the app?

The app is hugely versatile and will allow you to take photos of the product you want to check, scan the barcode, say its name, or simply search for it, and will then deliver the price in seconds, pretty cool tool.

So in a flash, the application will tell you if you are onto a bargain or not.

Current offer from Amazon:

To show you that Amazon mean business with this app, they are currently offering users the chance to claim rewards for using the app.

On December the 10th if you use the application in-store Amazon will give you a 5% discount capped at $5 on up to 3 eligible products.

This offer is a great way to get new users started with using the technology and will surely mean more people get introduced, and intrigued and carry on using it after the deal is gone….job done as far as Amazon are concerned.

And why is that?

Amazon are masters of cutting out the middle man, and have done this since their inception. Their whole business model is based on this. They have no need for expensive rent other than their huge out of town warehouses which are less in number and also cheaper to run than most supermarkets. No need for huge staff costs beyond the warehouse guys. No need for massive utility bills beyond the huge sheds that they work from.

Amazon can and will compete on price all day long, and will be doing, you mark my words.

Is Amazon going to make life better for all?

Amazon are going to make things cheaper for you, but we have to ask at what actual cost?

Have you used this application or others?

And if so, what do you think of them? And are you worried that smaller retailers may be affected negatively or is it the likes of Wal-Mart and Asda, who will see their existing shoppers going Amazon’s way as a result of this type of technology?

If you have not done this yet, you are very possibly either going to be doing it soon, or getting ripped off!

Mobile commerce is big news.

A retail sea change is emerging that is seeing a shift in consumer behaviour like no other. Not only are we more likely to find out what retailers are charging online using our smartphones and tablets before we go shopping, we are also very likely to use our smartphones and other mobile devices while we are actually in store to check prices of competitor retailers?

Usablenet states mobile traffic up 60%:

The company who power so many mobile sites for the likes of JCPenney, Aeropostale, and REI, said that traffic across the board over Thanksgiving and Black Friday saw an increase by 60% or more with iOS devices being used by the majority of mobile surfers with around 42% of the share, beating Android devices and Windows and Nokia.

Black Friday also saw an increase in retail spending. With the help of mobile this has increased by 24.3% this year, mobile facilitated both the purchase of products and pick ups.

How mobile use also helps shoppers:

We have already covered how people are accessing reviews on their mobile devices to aid decision-making as they shop, and it is obvious that with geo-location services installed on many devices, that the mobile is perfect for obtaining directions to stores that are unfamiliar. But, another area that apps and mobile devices in general are helping consumers is in gaining access to wish lists that are either contained in-app or indeed quite simply in a memo or email sent to yourself.

Mobile promotions an untapped market for many retailers:

You have perhaps already had the familiar text message that when opened has suggested you go to a store for a daily deal, I can see this type of promotion taking real shape over the coming months. Though I also understand there are potential legal issues about opt in requirements in order to send this type of promotion via a text, currently many similar promos use bluetooth messaging while you are, for instance, in a stadium watching an event in order to promote drinks or offers etc to patrons. I imagine this concept will be pushed to its maximum in the future.

Will shops ban smartphone use in-store?

I can just see it now, a blanket ban on smartphone use in store on the grounds of increased risk of “terrorism” poking fin aside, I do wonder whether this issue will bring about some kind of ruling on where you can operate a smartphone on retail premises.

Have you used smartphones to aid your shopping experience or like me stopped going through with a purchase after reading a bad review about it?

UK mobile operator o2 (Telefonica UK) have hit onto something with their “o2 more” campaign.

Essentially a discount based offer scheme aimed at helping o2 customers save on items such as high street stores, coffee shops…you get the picture.

Where it does get a little more clever is that o2 tailor their discounts to peoples preferences at the opt in stage. (a notorious mine field of legal issues often arise at this point)

As o2 already have you as a customer they can utilise an existing database that can then profile each subscriber in more detail following the opt in questionnaire and then ensure that discounts are relevant to that person.

Why no other operators are doing this is a bit of a mystery, they already have that valuable connection with customers just waiting to be tapped into.

Figures:

With a 23% subscription rate o2 have found a very receptive audience with their existing customers and a television advertising campaign that must have hit home in these austere times.

Apparently in one campaign, o2 sent out around 300 thousand m-coupons to users who had opted in for 50% off a Starbucks coffee. Of these 14% redeemed and 93% said the remembered the campaign/offer.

Powerful stuff?

So why so successful?

o2 claim that the section at the opt in stage that allows for further profiling via a short questionnaire has boosted the response rate of their offers. I would assume due to the relevance of offers sent based on this data…or perhaps o2’s exceptionally high bills means any saving counts!

I have signed up for priority moments and have not found the offers particularly appealing, and do not remember any profiling at the opt in stage at all. I therefore wonder if this slightly different Groupon style campaign will have had the same impact, reach and success as the “more” campaign when figures are eventually released.

Mobile marketing – The future:

This is no doubt the future for marketeers, coupled with augmented reality and social networks, is on mobile devices. The ability to communicate with users instantly and anywhere has so much potential it is staggering.

The growing ubiquity of smartphones among the spending classes, i.e the people who still have some cash to spare (more than you think in reality) is starting to really make a difference in spending habits among those who are seeking to save cash while they shop.

Price comparison applications:

The growth of mobile internet on smartphones has given rise to an increasing amount of people who are now more than prepared to access data telling them if they can save some hard earned pennies on anything from a good book to a sofa, to a holiday deal while they are out and about shopping.

Of course big ticket items are well worth researching before you go onto the high street but with savings of well over $40 or £25 to be made on various items in a weekly shop it makes sense that your humble smartphone may well be a money saving machine when used correctly.

Ability to buy on the go:

With various mobile payment systems coming to market for mobile transactions, from Text payments that appear on your bill to fully integrated credit card systems linked to your phone, the area of mobile commerce is going to soar in the coming years. Currently a growing number of forward thinking retailers are putting some effort into allowing their customers to gain access via their mobile and indeed pay for goods and services while they browse.

Indeed some well respected high street stores have simply given in to the pressures that are currently felt on the high street and gone totally web based, a recent case in point being the high brow Habitat chain in the UK which went into administration in June 2011 but said it would carry on as an online entity.

Access to reviews on the go:

One great feature that I have actually used when speculatively looking to buy an aftershave was to simply get myself onto “Fragrantica” and see what the reviews were for an unknown cologne that seemed to be a bargain, result, that shop lost my speculative purchase as it sounded average.

The power of reviews to sway buying decisions is something that retailers are bound to learn the hard way if they are selling at top heavy prices or indeed have a poor range of goods on sale.

People still love to buy goods in shops but are not prepared to pay over the odds when they can easily find out the going price and obtain an almost instant review on various websites that are not even available as applications as yet.

Indeed a great idea for an application would be a crowd sourced user review application where people collaborate and vote on reviews offered on anything they wanted, they could even add video, pictures and text.

Consumers are getting way too savvy of late for retailers to ignore the slow shift in behaviour of their core purchasers.

Top 5 iPhone shopping applications to save cash:

[arrowlist]

• Amazon Mobile
• Grocery IQ
• Shopper
• ShopSavvy
• Red Laser

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Have you used your smartphone to make a buying decision of note, saved cash, decided on something different as a result of a review you accessed while shopping?…do tell all?