By Aimee Chanthadavong
Major retailers in the US are benefiting from a new smartphone application that is helping bridge the customer service gap between retailer and customer.
Shopkick, a mobile, location-based shopping iPhone app that was launched less than a month ago, is the first program to reward consumers just for entering into partner stores.
Turning a physical store into an interactive world, the Shopkick app allows customers to receive reward points, called kickbucks, for entering a store, trying out a product or scanning a product. The points are redeemable for in-store discounts, store gift cards and music downloads.
Also, core to the app is the Shopkick Signal that can inform retailers of the exact location of consumers in the store whether they are at the door, at the counter or inside the change rooms rather that they’re just within the vicinity of the store.
Shopkick was first trialed for charity as an app known as CauseWorld, which saw 550,000 downloads in five months. The Shopkick app is the flagship product, which can be used by retailers to drive foot traffic and incremental sales
At the time of reporting, the company was unable to make any comments, including whether the app would be extended to international retailers.