With the advent of mobile gaming apps like FourSquare, location-based marketing and social media plug-ins for fashion brands and retailers are taking off. I, for one, like the trend and feel that a few brands out there are being very proactive in this space.
Ready. Set. PLAY!
Jimmy Choo and Marc Jacobs were ahead of the curve when they started offering discounts for customers who gained ‘Mayor’ status at their stores, or created realtime treasure hunts in which the customer who ‘found’ a pair of shoes on their app was rewarded with a real pair of Jimmy Choos.
Pepsi partnered with FourSquare to transform Gatorade from one of the largest sports brands in the world into one of the largest participatory brands through their Gatorade Mission Control initiative. In this way you make the act of purchasing interactive and can generate immensely insightful data. I think their is huge potential for department stores to take this concept and integrate it into their stores- offering checkin options for various areas, rewarding customers for purchases in one section with a discount or giveaway in another.
All About the Barcodes.
As more and more consumers adopt smart phones, barcode scanning features come into play. Wet Seal launched an app in which, once in the store, shoppers can ‘scan’ the hangtags with their iPhones and the application will generate different looks based on the piece of clothing scanned. Awesome.
In the eco-fashion space, what about an barcode app that allows you to scan an article of clothing and then trace it’s production, as well as be presented with a visual key as to what makes it ‘eco’ (ie: vegan, vegetable dyed, organic cotton, etc).
And, what if you could ‘review’ a product after scanning it? Perhaps add your personal take on how to style it, or state what the fabric feels like…
What About the Future?
“Mobile is definitely the ‘must’ marketing platform for Millennials, where they’re consuming content literally 24/7, instantly and constantly,” states Teen Vogue vice president and publisher Sabine Feldmann. With 75 million members aged 14-29 in the US alone, Millennials are the largest consumer group.
One thing is certain, don’t create an app just to create an app- Milliennials see right through it. Create something of value. Really ask the questions, “What is missing? What would I want to use?” And, keep rolling out the upgrades. When you launch an app have a timeline for when you want to release the next bit that will make it even more useful or cool. Just like the newest smart phone or Apple gadget garners a certain amount of lustful respect, having the latest upgrade will too.