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Marketers need to look beyond mobile deals to drive foot traffic: NRF exec

NEW YORK ? A Criti executive at the National Retail Federation conference said that shoppers increasingly connect and engage via mobile and while deals are somewhat effective for driving in-store traffic, it is key to build the relationship first through positive enriching experiences.

During the ?Localizing in-store customer experiences increases revenue? session the executive discussed how social and mobile go hand in hand. According to the executive, shopping is more emotional than functional.

?At the end of the day, it?s all about relationships and relationships are not built by deals, they are not build by getting a share of the consumer?s wallet,? said Gev Satarwalla, senior vice president and chief technology officer of Criti.

?They are built through mutually enriching experiences and it?s about how you can build these experiences into your store,? he said. ?A lot of mobile shoping apps we see today are active.?

Moment of truth
According to Mr. Satarwalla, there is the confluence of moments of truth such as the zero moment of truth and the first moment of truth.

?Sometimes we decide to purchase in the store or decide to purchase somewhere else,? Mr. Satarwalla said.

?Your store therefore is the place where the confluence of moments of truth takes place,? he said.

The executive also said that it is important to harness the true power of check-ins, however, it is still unclear what retailers do with the information.

Although mobile check-ins are a great incentive to drive in-store foot traffic, brands and marketers need to treat check-ins as a means to start a new experience in-store.

Check-in techniques
Many consumers are using foursquare and Facebook Places and brands such as Crumbs and Saks Fifth Avenue are taking advantage and offering them specials.

However, just having a consumer check-in to a company?s location may not be enough anymore.

There are a variety of in-store check-in techniques that can be used, per Mr. Satarwalla.

For example, QR code identification, location-based services and in-store Wi-Fi credentialing are some of the techniques.

?Once you?ve done that you have the ability to now provide an interactive, fully-guided shopping experience to your consumers and you can do this by making it personalize, yet maintain boundaries of privacy,? Mr. Satarwalla said.

Additionally, the executive said that the Helios iPhone application is a good way to help consumers in-store and through their turn-by-turn navigation.

?It?s about finding the location of products of interest in the store," Mr. Satarwalla said. ?The app features scan free product identification and information.

?There?s more to a shopping experience than scanning a bar code,? he said.

According to Mr. Satarwalla, it is important to measure the success of in-store social and mobile initiatives.

Brands and marketers need to drastically and measurably improve effectiveness of in-store interactive advertising and messaging, per Mr. Satarwalla.

Final Take
Check-in apps are all the rage now, but are they enough?