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Retail Stores Cry Wolf Over Price Check App from Amazon.com

Amazon.com launched a new Price Check app for smartphones that allows users to scan an item’s barcode in a store to check if Amazon has a cheaper price. If so, you can buy it right there in the store…from Amazon.

The Retail Industry Leaders Association is understandably upset claiming, “the app unfairly uses bricks-and-mortar stores as “showrooms to then purchase merchandise online from inside the store.”   

Fair enough. However, I’ve never heard them complain when people go online to sites like Amazon to research products and services then go and buy them in the store.I’ve never heard Jeff Bezos publicly decrying that his conversion rates are lower because people do research and read product reviews online then go into a brick-and-mortar store to buy something.

I would encourage retailers to stop complaining about technology and focus on making the in-store buying experience exceptional for the customer. It’s the one thing Amazon can’t compete with. If you focus on great services and buying experiences customers won’t be thinking about apps on their phone.

Should Apple Buy Yelp?

I don’t have the new iPhone 4S yet but I’ve had a chance to play with it and it is every bit as exciting as it looks. One thing I found interesting is how heavily Yelp, and its reviews, are integrated into Siri’s recommendations. When you ask Siri to find something nearby she will return results from Yelp focusing on user review ratings and distance.

Thanks to this integration Apple is placing a great deal of Siri’s user experience on the quality of Yelp’s reviews. For the short term that’s fine. However, placing a significant chunk of the user experience in the hands of an outside company doesn’t make sense in the long term. 

A large tech company like Apple buying a content based review company isn’t a new concept: Google purchased Zagat a few months ago. With Apple’s war chest of roughly $76 billion in cash they could certainly afford to make a move in this space. By purchasing Yelp, Apple can better control the quality of Yelp’s results and potentially improve its integration into Siri’s programming. 

What do you think? Does an Apple – Yelp combination make sense? Oh and if you have an iPhone 4S, why not ask Siri what she thinks? I’d be interested in knowing her thoughts too!

Blogging over at Webtrends

Hi everyone - I'm blogging more over at the Webtrends company blog right now. You can check out my posts right here.

Yes Virginia: You Can Combine Hitting on Strangers and Conversion Rates

I just discovered a new dating startup called Cheek’d. You order cards from them that have a quirky come-on line and instructions to go to Cheekd.com and enter a code id which will bring up a dating profile. With funny lines such as “don’t overthink this” and “i just put all my drinks on your tab” they look like a great way to break the ice.

As a result of my experience in e-commerce product development I could only think of one thing they are missing: What are the conversion rates of each card? It would be great to allow the Cheek’d community to rate each card’s effectiveness. This will help others know which cards have a better chance of working. Basically the community can tell you which cards convert random strangers into dates better than others.

You could even break it down by geographic locations. For example, the card that says “i still have a job” may convert better in Seattle and Minneapolis but poorly in Washington DC. Heck, it could get as granular as the actual locations (bars, parks, etc.) where the cards converted. That could open opportunities in terms of an iPhone / Droid app or Foursquare partnership.

It’s a pretty fun way to think about conversion rates. What do you think? What kind of lines do you think would work on a Cheek'd card or better yet, what lines would work on you? Oh and a quick note to my wife: I didn’t order any! :-)

Top 10 Most Awesome Places With Foursquare Mayors

Thanks to Foursquare the term “checking in” has become a common phrase. People can check in to their favorite bars or stores to find their friends, earn badges and, if they check in enough, become the location’s Mayor.  

Sure, it’s great to be the Mayor of your gym or local bar but who are the Mayors of some of the world’s most awesome places? Check out my Top 10 below. Which are your favorites? What places do you think should be on this list? Let me know in the comments! Let's get started.

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10. The Great Sphinx of Giza; Egypt

Mayor: Paulina L.
Mayor's Location: Mexico City
Mayor's coolest badge: I'm on a Boat! 

Editor's Notes: The Great Sphinx is approximately 5000 years old. Foursquare is 5 years old. Makes you think.

 

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9. The Guinness Storehouse; Dublin, Ireland

Mayor: TextMe A.
Location: Dublin, Ireland
Mayor's coolest badge: Super Mayor 

Editor's Notes: Guinness is my favorite beer so anyone who is the Mayor of The Guinness Storehouse is a Super Mayor to me.

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8. The World of Coca-Cola; Atlanta, GA

Mayor: Jeff L.
Mayor's Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Mayor's coolest badge: PA Groundhog Day 

Editor's Notes: There's nothing more American than a museum dedicated to soda. Mayor Jeff L. has checked in here over 50 times so he either works there or he is on a constant caffeine high. 

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7. The Eiffel Tower; Paris, France

Mayor: Romain
Mayor's Location: Paris, France
Mayor's coolest badge: Smells Like School Spirit

Editor's Notes: Made Up Fact: Being Mayor gets you to the top for free. Well. It should.

 

 

 

 

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6. Disneyland; Anaheim, California

Mayor: Brendan B.
Mayor's Location: Anaheim, CA
Mayor's coolest badge: Crunked

Editor's Notes: I hope being Mayor of Disneyland gets you into Club 33. With a Crunked badge, I have a feeling Brendan B. knows the answer.  

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5. Facebook Headquarters - Building 1 & Building 2; Palo Alto, CA

Mayors: Building 1: Brittany M. & Building 2: HLTH
Mayor's Locations: Palo Alto, CA
Mayor's coolest badge: I'll give it to Brittany's Packers Super Bowl badge

Editor's Notes: Facebook almost bought Foursquare last year and has since created their own check in service. I doubt Foursquare "Likes" that.

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4. Brooklyn Bridge; New York, NY

Mayor: Meryl C.
Mayor's Location: Brooklyn, NY
Mayor's coolest badge: Jetsetter

Editor's Notes: Props to Meryl for snagging the username 'grape'. Early adopter much?

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3. Experience Music Project | Science Fiction Museum; Seattle, WA

Mayor: Ron
Mayor's Location: Seattle, WA
Mayor's coolest badge: Zoetrope

Editor's Notes: The EMP | SFM is at the foot of the Space Needle and looks, like, um...a museum dedicated to music and sci-fi. Yes. That's it. It doesn't matter though. They are hosting the Battlestar Galactica Exhibit! It's awesome!

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2. Stonehenge; England

Mayor: Mister R.
Mayor's Location: Salisbury, Wiltshire
Mayor's coolest badge: Bender

Editor's Notes: You know what I love about the Internet? A bunch of ancient rocks in the middle of England have a Mayor. I repeat. A BUNCH OF ANCIENT ROCKS IN ENGLAND HAVE A MAYOR. Awesome.

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1. The Whitehouse; Washington, DC

Mayor: Aya M.
Mayor's location: Washington, DC
Mayor's coolest badge: Rally to Restore Sanity

Editor's Notes: Does the Foursquare Mayor of the Whitehouse outrank the president? I doubt it but I bet it at least gets Aya into a few Cabinet meetings.

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Lose Weight Using Foursquare

Here's another great way to use Foursquare: Losing weight!  

We all have different weight loss goals: dropping pounds, waist sizes, dress sizes, you name it. But what if one of your goals is to become the Mayor of your gym?

After all, to be Mayor you actually have to go to the gym to check in. You'll have some competition (other people checking in too) but that should motivate you even more to get there, check in and workout.

Foursquare can also help hold you accountable by tracking how many times you've checked in to the gym, you can link it to Facebook or Twitter to tell your friends you're there and, if you are successful, you'll need to defend your Mayorship! 

I made a commitment to losing weight this year and I've used this method as a fun way to motivate myself to workout. I'm proud to say it's worked: I'm not only the Mayor of my gym but I've lost 15 pounds! 

Any other ideas on how Foursquare can help you lose weight or accomplish your goals?

Foursquare Strikes Back: Using Irony

In my previous post I commented on how Starbucks' Foursquare marketing plan of giving discounts to Mayors of their stores was flawed because employees often check in on Foursquare more than customers. Thus it is much more difficult for customers to actually win the discounts. 

Then this morning I checked in to my nearby Starbucks...and became the Mayor...and got the discount.

Well played Foursquare. Well played.

Gowalla Exploits Foursquare’s Mayor Weakness

Underdog location-based social network Gowalla has launched a new marketing promotion that has a great chance of gaining traction over rival Foursquare.

Companies can partner with Gowalla to reward check-ins randomly with chances to win a prize or, even if you didn’t win, a discount coupon. This is different from Foursquare’s marketing programs with companies like Starbucks of rewarding users who are “Mayors” (people who check-in to a location the most).

Here’s an example of Gowalla’s program with Eye-Fi via TechCrunch:

…when a person checks in through Gowalla at any U.S.-based Best Buy or Apple Store, they’ll automatically have a chance to win a free 4 GB Eye-Fi card. A message will pop up on their screen about the card post check-in. And a simple click on the “Did I win?” button below that message will reveal if you’re a winner of the $75 card the spot. There will be 500 winners for this particular promotion.

But even if you don’t win, the check-in grants you access to a coupon code for one year’s worth of free hotspot access if you do choose to purchase an Eye-Fi card. 

The weaknesses of Foursquare’s “Mayor” discounts are two-fold: 

1. Employees are often the Mayors of their stores: How can you offer a discount to the Mayor of your store if the Mayor isn’t even a customer? If customers feel like they can’t actually achieve the discount what’s the point? That’s why any company that works with Foursquare has to have an Employee Foursquare Policy that discourages employees from checking in.

2. As a user if I know I’ll never be the Mayor I sometimes don’t bother to check-in: Let’s say Best Buy has a deal with Foursquare to reward Mayors with discounts. If I don’t go to Best Buy often I know I’ll never be the Mayor so I probably won’t check-in on Foursquare. However, if the reward is a random check-in on Gowalla I will definitely do so. This increases my chance of winning something and will also get users in the habit of using Gowalla more.

Props to Team Gowalla. If they can get more companies to sign on to this type of program it could be a windfall of positive press and increased adoption by users.

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