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Toys R Us heightens mobile presence via upcoming pilot program

Toys R Us will run a new pilot program this Fall that rewards consumers just by stepping into its stores.

The company is working with shopkick on the mobile initiative. The pilot program will bring shopkick?s walk-in rewards and special deals to 100 select Toys R Us and Babies R Us stores in four markets including Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco.

?Shopkick continues to strive to make the shopping experience more interactive, rewarding and fun,? said Cyriac Roeding, cofounder of shopkick. ?Expanding our partner base offers more opportunities for users to earn rewards, therefore making the shopping experience literally more valuable for consumers.

?And, since shopkick rewards can be earned and spent across all partners, the more brands and retailers that offer rewards through the app the more exposure they get to our user-base of savvy shoppers and the more opportunities there are for those shoppers to earn rewards,? he said. ?It?s a win-win.?

Toysrus.com is the Web portal for Toys?R?Us Inc., one of the biggest toy retailers in the world. The company operates 1,550 stores, including 849 Toys"R"Us and Babies"R"Us stores in the United States and more than 700 international stores in 33 countries.

Shopkick is a location-based app that focuses on driving foot traffic into stores.

New partner
With the new announcement, Toys R Us will be the 10th partner working with shopkick.
Others include American Eagle Outfitters, Best Buy, Crate and Barrel, Macy?s, Simon Property Group, The Sports Authority, Target, The Wet Seal and west elm.

Additionally, brand partners include HP, Intel, Kraft, Procter & Gamble and Unilever.

Via the Toys R Us initiative, consumers can enter any of the participating locations and automatically be rewarded just by using the shopkick app.

The app, which works with devices located in stores, lets consumers check into stores and earn rewards, including gift cards, movie tickets, hotel vouchers and song downloads.

?There was the demand [to expand to other brands],? Mr. Roeding said. ?And, since with shopkick there is only a small barrier to entry for partners, it was relatively easy for us to onboard them in a short period of time. 

?Plus, consumers love it,? he said. ?These are their favorite brands and they get rewarded for interacting with them. 

?It?s also become a great discovery tool for users to find cool new products and new stores.?

More news
In addition to the new Toys R Us partnership, shopkick is also working with InStyle to connect consumers with their favorite brands.

The company?s other partner, The Sports Authority is also rolling out nationally and Simon Property Group is expanding to premium outlets.

?When shopkick began outreach to companies, many could see the vision and potential, but the urgency to get into the mobile space wasn?t quite there yet,? Mr. Roeding said. ?Now, more large companies realize that mobile needs to be an integral part of their marketing strategy if they want to compete. 

?For the first time, there is an opportunity to have a direct dialogue with a consumer starting outside the store and inside the store,? he said.

?I think more and more companies will be looking to figure out how they can best utilize this incredible new opportunity.?