Best Buy Taps Smartphone Promotions

Electronics retailer Best Buy has become the first major U.S. retailer to begin offering targeted promotions to its customers' smartphones when they enter their stores.

August 10, 2010

RICHFIELD, MN - Electronics retailer Best Buy has become the first major U.S. retailer to begin offering targeted promotions to its customers?? smartphones when they enter their stores, the Financial Times reports.

A Best Buy store in San Francisco has deployed a location-based marketing tool by Shopkick, and the concept has some predicting the integration of internet-connected phones into the retail environment will be revolutionary.

To receive the in-store offers, customers must activate the Shopkick application, after which they receive "kickbucks" credits that can be traded for gift cards, computer gaming credits, music downloads, or special in-store offers that can be customized to reflect shopping behavior.

The Shopkick application does not rely on the phone??s GPS signal, but rather, an audio signal transmitted within the store. As such, it is far more precise than GPS at determining location.

"We can tell whether you are inside or outside the door," said Cyriac Roeding, Shopkick??s co-founder.

Best Buy plans to roll out the technology in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Macy??s is also taking part in the Shopkick launch.

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