Sure, it might be convenient getting coupons and other retail deals delivered to your mobile phone, but 1020 Placecast wants to take that convenience to the next level with their geo-fenced ShopAlerts service that sends retail deal alerts to your mobile phone when you come within eye-shot of a store. ShopAlerts will notify you, via SMS text message, of current deals and sales when you get within half a mile of your fave stores. You, the consumer, simply sign up through ShopAlerts to follow your favorite retailer and the location-based service handles the rest. Today, ShopAlerts graduates from trial status and is opening its doors to any retailer looking to take advantage of geo-fencing.
ShopAlerts represents a new wave in retail marketing. Your mobile phone – it doesn’t even have to be a smartphone – has the power to track your general location throughout the day. That gives retailers a unique opportunity to push highly relevant marketing campaigns to potential customers. It’s one thing to have a coupon delivered to your mobile phone every morning, but it’s a completely new ball game when those coupons are delivered to you as you walk by a particular store. With ShopAlerts, consumers get more value from location-based retail deals, and retailers get the added benefit of driving more foot traffic through their stores.
And, since the retail alerts are sent through SMS text messages, the ShopAlerts service is compatible with practically all cellphones, regardless of their cost or feature-set. You don’t need a special app to get deals delivered right to your handset. All you need to do is keep your phone powered on and in your pocket as you walk around town.
This is how it works:
Interested? You can sign up to follow your favorite retailers through their individual sites (as long as they’re part of ShopAlerts’ network). For example, you can sign up for REI ShopAlerts here and The North Face ShopAlerts here.
[Image credit: NYT]