Foursquare, who claimed that its members were over 10 million in September 2011, is a kind of location-based services (LBS), which are able to accurately point out a user’s location at a specific time. And I strongly believe that LBS are offering new opportunities to marketers in mobile commerce. Actually many marketers have worked with location apps. For example,
Starbucks rewards customers who check-in on Foursquare; Gap has given rewards to the first 10,000 customers who check-in to their stores on Facebook by giving away free jeans. Marketers also need to decide which location app they should turn to since different app has different speciality:
Gowalla (bought by Facebook) targets at travelers; Foodspotting aims for people who likes trying new food; and Checkpoints is tailored to grocery stores.
Moreover, the development of LBS will bring not only new opportunities but also challenges for retailers in relationship marketing, which has been a trend of marketing strategy for both global companies and regional or local chain enterprises. To fully make use of LBS applications, enhancing online identity has become more important for retailers to keep in touch with their consumers on a personal level, and then motivate consumers to repeat their purchasing and reach their social connections.
Hi, Lu, I think the app function you mentioned here can only be well displayed when smart phone is available to everyone.
ReplyDeleteyeah. that's what I started to use after I came to the U.S. where smartphone is much more widely used than in China. Actually there have been more LBS apps created in China, but they're still growing, not that mature.
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