Tag: qr codes

That said, QR codes are still holding a respectable place in the opinion of study respondents.

According to the results of a poll that was recently conducted by Mobile Commerce Press, there are forms of mobile marketing that consumers feel are the most effective, and others in which they have yet to see very much value.

That said, overall, it is clear that consumers do see the value of some types of mobile ads.

The survey was conducted over the first half of November and has indicated that consumers have definite preferences in the way that they want to be reached over their devices such as smartphones and tablets, when it comes to the mobile marketing strategies of their favorite companies.

Some of the top options were those that were on the very cutting edge of mobile technology and that brought to mind images of certain blockbuster science fiction films that were set in the future. This suggests that consumers are becoming quite open minded about the use of mobile commerce and in being reached by companies by way of their favorite connected devices.

Among the key findings that resulted from this mobile marketing study were the following:

• Over 30 percent of respondents felt that geolocation and location based marketing techniques were the most effective.
• More than 30 percent felt that mobile apps with a loyalty program had the greatest effectiveness.
• QR codes continued to hold a respectable position as 24.5 percent of the respondents still felt that they were the most effective form of mobile advertising technique.
• Augmented reality (such as virtual dressing rooms and print ads that “come to life” with digital media when viewed through a mobile device) was thought to be most effective by 7.5 percent of the respondents.
• The categories of SMS mobile marketing, mobile coupons, Hipcricket, and NFC technology were each valued the highest by under 2 percent of the survey respondents.

It was interesting to note the value that was placed on some of the more cutting edge technologies such as geolocation and augmented reality, which are not yet nearly as commonplace as QR codes in today’s mainstream marketplace.

This suggests that it may not be too long before the experience of the character John Anderton (played by Tom Cruise) in the blockbuster movie Minority Report, when he walked through a mall and into a Gap store, may not be too far off. Though that technology involved the use of retina scans in order to identify him and present him with personalized advertising and customer service, a similar type of experience would not be out of realm of possibility for future mobile marketing. Smartphones, tablets, or even wearable technology could be used to identify the individual through geolocation tech, in order to use augmented reality for a personalized advertising and shopping experience.

The newly released mobile wallet from Apple is already being shut down by the competition.

According to The New York Times, Rite Aide and CVS Health, two prominent retailers in America, stopped Apple Pay from working in their stores across the country over this past weekend, and although the decision may not make sense in terms of ensuring customer satisfaction, as a business decision it makes more sense considering these retailers and others are planning to implement a mobile payments system that will compete with Apple’s.

A group of retailers are currently working on a mobile payments system called CurrentC

Although CVS did not comment on the decision, A Rite Aid spokesperson, Ashley Flower, said that Rite Aid “does not currently accept Apple Pay,” and that the company was “still in the process of evaluating [its] mobile payment options.”

Furthermore, while Apple also declined to comment on the recent actions taken by the retailers, the chief emerging payments officer at MasterCard, Ed McLaughlin, said that MasterCard believes customers should be able to pay using any method they want and that Rite Aid and CVS made the wrong choice. The well-known credit card company has teamed with Apple on the new system.

However, while the move made by many retailers across the US to disable Apple’s contactless payments has come as a surprise to many, analysts say that disabling Apple Pay could have been a decision that was made to benefit a rival m-payments system known as CurrentC, which is currently being developed by Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX), a consortium of merchants, which include CVS, Rite Aid, Gap Inc., Walmart, and Best Buy, among others.

Many believe that Apple Pay will give CurrentC a run for its money.

CurrentC, which is set to be released in 2015, will be connected to the debit account of consumer’s who uses it via an app that users download. This means the payments system would bypass credit card companies, which could mean that merchants might potentially save money on how much they pay in fees for every transaction. To make a purchase, the merchant has to scan a QR code, which initiates the transaction.

Apple Pay, on the other hand, only works with the company’s newly released iPhone 6 devices and it basically supplants tradition credit cards, giving consumers the power to pay for their merchandise with a wave of their smartphone using NFC (near field communication) technology. Presently, over 220,000 retailers are equipped with this technology.

The New York Times reported that those who are opposed to CurrentC say that the system will be harder to use than Apple Pay, as it will require customers to unlock phones or open an app, which is more complex than simply paying with a credit card or cash. McLaughlin believes Apple will win in the end because its payment system “is the most convenient, most secure, and what’s best for consumers.”