Starbucks Launches Mobile Payments App

Big news this week as Starbucks coffee drinkers can now use their smartphones as a payment method at nearly 6,800 of the Seattle-based coffee shops nationwide. The app allows users to attach Starbucks giftcards to a user’s Blackberry or iPhone and then scan a barcode on their phone at the point of sale, and can also be charged with value via PayPal or any major credit cards. The message coming out of Starbucks HQ seems to be that they’ve opted for a barcode-based payment system today, but are planning to take this technology in some pretty interesting directions, such as Near Field Communication (NFC) in the future. Starbucks also has the ability to add value to its customers reward cards for taking surveys, and will now presumably be able to complete this entire process of presenting a survey offer, accepting customer responses, adding value to the customer loyalty app and accepting payment all on a single smartphone. The functionality being utilized for this rewards app is very similar to the Digital Wallet software available from companies like Google and Accelitec, and the fact that Starbucks has now taken the lead should serve as sign to other brands and retailers that now is the ideal time to be targeting customer loyalty by creating and launching rewards applications for smartphones.

Gowalla 3.0 Integrates With Major Social Media Outlets

With the release of version 3.0, Gowalla has taken the lead in location based services as “the richest virtual check-in application available”. According to their CEO, Josh Williams, v3.0 is meant to begin reshaping the company into “a socially curated guidebook”, or in other words become a portable summary of things to do, informed by the opinions of your friends and connections on the Gowalla social network. This is a significant pivot for the LBS provider because up to this point they had appeared to be losing ground to Facebook Places, Twitter and Foursquare with regard to user base; this new version will allow Gowalla users to share and aggregate information across these different platforms and provide an “application-agnostic” location based check-in service for consumers. This shift is particularly relevant for retailers to take note of because it represents a major opportunity for them to begin generating brand and store awareness across all of these social media platforms simultaneously. The net effect for these manufacturers and merchants should be an ever-accelerated sharing of data from a consumer to their group of friends and followers, allowing customer reviews, thoughts and opinions to move across the spectrum of virtual friendship at unprecedented speeds. As unbelievable as it may sound, this release of Gowalla 3.0 means that information sharing via the internet and social media just got even faster!

Is Brand Loyalty Evaporating Forever?

According to a recent study by Deloitte, consumers across the country have changed their buying habits and are now more focused on “cutting spending and saving money” than on shopping as a hobby or loyalty to their favorite brands. This trend has led several major corporations like AT&T and ING Direct to acknowledge the paradigm shift and implement new campaigns based around Customer Experience Management (CEM). One example of a CEM initiative at AT&T is customer service reps now answering calls with the phrase “How can I make you feel like a valued customer today?”, while ING Direct has “opened seven cafes around the country” where their financial brokers will whip up double-shot mochas and cappuccinos while servicing your portfolio; all of this is an attempt by companies to connect with their customers at a more meaningful, personal level. As these CEM programs evolve, it will be very interesting to see how consumer purchase histories and individual profiles are integrated into the process of personalized connections between shopper and brand.