- Target is enhancing its mobile app with beacon and Bluetooth technology that shows a customer’s location on the app’s map as they move about the store, Target’s chief information and digital officer Mike McNamara said in a company blog post. In a video, he likened the technology to driving with GPS.
- Target's app will also point shoppers to nearby promotional prices, dubbed "Cartwheel" deals, for users of its mobile app. The new features are is set to go live in about half of Target’s stores for the holidays.
- The mapping capability comes a few weeks after Target began to move its Cartwheel savings app to its flagship mobile app.
- A new voice technology integration from Unata, an enabler of digital solutions for grocers, will allow grocery retailers to offer voice ordering to their customers, according to a press release.
- The new capability was developed in-house by Unata and can be used through a grocer's website or mobile app, a company spokeswoman told Retail Dive. Unata plans to showcase the voice ordering technology next week at the Shop.org Digital Retail Conference in Los Angeles.
- The technology supports a number of conversation-driven shopping interactions, including comprehensive list building, updates on sales and offers specialized for the shopper, placing orders, finding store information and more, according to the company.
Dive Brief:
- More millennial-age consumers visit multiple stores in search of deals than their baby boomer elders do, according to research from consumer engagement firm First Insight. Some 71% of millennials frequent a variety of stores, compared to 57% of baby boomers, according to a report emailed to Retail Dive.
- While most millennials do go online to search for deals (82%), the study found that same shopping behavior within both generational groups, as more baby boomers (65%), especially those with higher incomes, are also looking online for the best price rather than in-store, First Insight said.
- Most millennials (92%) this holiday season plan to spend money in a physical store, according to other research from the International Council of Shopping Centers, which is forecasting a 3.8% year-over-year growth in retail sales for the season. On average, they plan to spend $554.40 on holiday gifts and related items, according to an ICSC report emailed to Retail Dive.
There is no doubt to me that the use of mobile by all generations is up and that being able to be found is important.
More to come.
Joe Rossini
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