Well, it’s already Labor Day again if you can believe that and we figured a lot of you might be out there shopping today. If you are, check out Shopkick and then be sure to go crazy with your smartphones on barcodes and check-ins. Get those deals people!
Anyway, The Minority Report-like future of advertisement we can all imagine just got a whole lot closer with Shopkick for iPhone and Android.
Shopkick is a location-based app that has partnered with large retailers like Target, Macy’s, Best Buy, and others to provide deals and specials to you right on your phone. That doesn’t really seem all that special, there are a few apps you could say do the same thing. Shopkick takes everything a step further though. The biggest thing? You don’t have to remember to check-in, it knows when you enter the store and offers up the deals without any work on your part.
The app uses the microphone on your phone to pick up a frequency from transmitters inside the store. With the transmitters, Shopkick and the store can actually determine whether you are actually in the store or not, and even where within the store. At American Eagle, you get points for using a dressing room, Sports Authority gives you points (kickbucks) for trying out various pieces of equipment, and you can get even more points by scanning bar codes or Shopkick posters in the store.
With Foursquare and the others, getting a deal means remembering to check in, which during a shopping storm like the one coming on Black Friday, can be difficult to remember. Shopkick gets around that and brings the deals to you. They don’t have partnerships with all the retailers yet and they are working to add more, but they have a good start on some major ones. Stores love the ability to influence behavior and personalize the shopping experience, Best Buy is even integrating their rewards card with the Shopkick system to provide more personal recommendations and to know when you as an individual actually visit. Yes, Best Buy will soon be greeting you by name, albeit through your phone, when you enter their store.
Get Shopkick going on your phone for the holiday season, not every store has the transmitters going but, many of them are in the Shopkick system and you can check in for points now. Some of the deals are really good and those kickbucks turn into real prizes pretty quick. Bringing together the offline and the online in shopping is the future and Shopkick has a great start on that future. Try it out and let us know how it goes for you this shopping season.