Target announced that it will be bringing the mobile-shopping enhancement system shopkick to its stores nationwide.
We’ve covered shopkick multiple times before and think it’s a very interesting way to augment the in-store experience. Basically, it rewards users with virtual currency for actually visiting stores and these can be redeemed for discounts on products or for other goods.
“We’ve learned from our guests that they appreciate being rewarded for doing what they already love to do — shopping at Target,” said Bonnie Gross, Target vice president of marketing and guest engagement, in a prepared statement. “In our test launch, Target guests in seven cities had the opportunity to experience shopkick at Target and we received rave reviews. Now guests nationwide can start earning valuable points just by shopping our stores.”
What’s interesting about this to me is that many retailers see mobile technology as a threat, particularly with companies like Amazon encouraging people to use stores as a show room. I think shopkick shows that this type of technology can actually help retailers by providing a better experience.
[Photo credit: Flickr, infowidget]