With a consumer marketing and branding background,  I am interested in research about the consumer retail industry. In particular, the consumer behavior towards in-store Point-of-Sale (POS) marketing.  How much influence on purchase behaviour can be attributed toward POS marketing?  What new technologies are available to help brands promote their products at the time of purchase?   What is the % of adspend that companies spend on POS vs other media?

I am in the early stages of putting a business plan together for launching an in-store mobile marketing solution that enables real-time targeting of shoppers – while they shop!

Current Trends: 

Companies are developing real-time, mobile engagement in-store while tracking consumers’ shopping behavior and locations.  ‘Shopper Marketing’ brings together the physical and the digital to enable the communication of contextually relevant offers. Allows retailers to engage consumers with targeted offers and coupons as they shop. It relies on free in-store wi-fi into which shoppers are encouraged to log-in. (BizReport:  Mobile Marketing, March 12,2013)

Location-based mobile coupons are temping consumers into stores, according to recent research by the US’s largest digital coupon website, particularly when those consumers are in the vicinity.

A recent survey shows that 80% of consumers  are using their smart phones while in-store.  The days of writing a grocery list on a piece of paper have been replaced with mobile ‘to-do’ aps and digital notepads.  Marketing companies are leveraging mobile technologies to engage these customers in real-time while at the same time helping  retailers, CPGs and brands increase sales and profits.  (Contributor Report:  Point Inside – revolutionizing in-store shopping with mobile marketing, Oct 08, 2012)

Key Findings:

Today, the number of U.S. smartphone users using mobile coupons is 29.5 million, a significant rise from 2010 when 7.4 million used mobile coupons. By 2014, this figure is expected to rise further to 47.1 million, according to a recent BI Intelligence report.

Mobile coupons are effective at driving consumers in-store. About half (51%) of respondents said they would be more likely to buy products in-store if they received a mobile coupon while in close proximity to the store. Younger mobile users (18-34) were more likely to do so (63%) than those age 35+ (43%).Furthermore, respondents indicated that if they were already in-store when they received a mobile coupon they would be 61% more likely to make a purchase. (BizReport:  Mobile Marketing, July 12,2013)

In summary, there is a huge growth potential in this market segment of the retail industry.  As more consumers  rely on their smart phone’s to ‘guide/help’ them with in-store purchases, the bigger the opportunity there is for brands to ‘target’ them (in real-time).  Retails, brands & consumers  can all benefit with seamless integration of technology and point-of-sale marketing.  I want to be a part of this in-store marketing revolution.