Mobile marketing in the retail sector is growing at a fast pace. Many retailers today use effective text message marketing strategies like text message alerts, mobile clubs and mobile coupons to win customers and keep them coming back time after time. A recent report by e-marketer showed 10.7% of US multi-chain retailers have used mobile advertising to promote sales and special offers and this number is continuing to grow.
Popular retailers American Apparel and Macy’s are no stranger to mobile marketing. Both chains use mobile as a key component of their marketing strategy.
Youth retailer American Apparel use mobile marketing to connect with loyal customers on a regular basis. American Apparel customers can sign up for SMS alerts by texting the keyword ‘american apparel’ to an SMS short code to receive news and special offers.
Department store Macy’s use mobile to keep their customers coming back in store. Regular text message alerts push news and special offers to customers weekly. Macy’s also run text message campaigns as an integrated component in other marketing campaigns including print. A recent ad in Oprah Magazine encouraged consumers to text the keyword MACYS to an SMS short code for a chance to win a trip to New York.
There are countless case studies of big retailers using text message marketing like our recent example of Best Buy's mobile strategy.
Mobile marketing for the retail sector is predicted to move into a more personal, intuitive stage in the future. Emarketer predicts in the future customers will not only be able to use their mobile device to receive generic news or special offers but rather they will “receive promotions based on their past purchase history and what they are interested in at the moment”.
The future for mobile marketing in the retail sector is bright. With an ever increasing number of customers owning a mobile device, text message marketing in the retail sector is a natural fit.