As a result, the retailer has seen a 150 percent growth in mobile shopping. This is of course thanks in large part to the company’s ongoing efforts to streamline its mobile shopping experiences.

“We wanted to create the most seamless, enjoyable experience for our clients, and spent a lot of time thinking of new, innovative ways we could do this with our iOS app,” said Johnna Marcus, director mobile and digital store marketing at Sephora.

“We streamlined the updated app to feature four main functions that our clients use Sephora to Go for: to shop, to access their loyalty information like past purchases, to find a store that has the product they’re searching for, and to browse fresh beauty industry content,” she said. “We want to give our clients options in the ways they shop, and mobile is the future of shopping.”

New efforts
In addition to the increase in mobile shopping, Sephora has also updated its Sephora To Go iPhone application.

New features include making every product in-store scannable and letting customers get more information on price, ratings and reviews.

Furthermore, the app also includes new filter and refine features, as well as a quicker checkout that lets consumers scan their credit card, which they are able to add to their profile.

Consumers can also access their favorite products and view past purchases.

It is important that marketers continue to rework their mobile offerings to keep up with new technology, as well as their ever-growing tech-savvy consumer base.

“Sephora has seen a 150 percent increase in mobile sales this past year, emphasizing the mobile growth that’s so prevalent in the retail industry,” Ms. Marcus said. “Consumers appreciate the simplicity and easier access that mobile offers present when shopping or browsing for products.

“They like having the option of using their mobile while at home, on-the-go, or in-store,” she said. “At Sephora, for example, the ability to test a lipstick in-store, to ask one of Sephora’s experts in-person which shade matches your skin tone best, and to browse ratings and reviews of that lipstick on your mobile, all create the best, most integrated shopping experience for the customer.

“We’re dispelling the myth that people don’t shop on their mobile, and are excited to continue innovating and testing new initiatives in this space.”

Past initiatives
For many years now, Sephora has been strengthening its mobile commerce efforts.

Last year, the retailer strengthened its position in mobile commerce  and expanded its reach even more by implementing Apple’s new Passbook to drive in-store foot traffic (see story).

Earlier this year, a Sephora executive at Mobile Marketer’s Mobile FirstLook: Strategy 2013 conference said that its customers are increasingly turning to mobile to shop, browse and purchase products and the retailer is continuing to make the medium a top priority this year to further enhance shopping experiences (see story).

Most recently, Sephora announced that it was letting consumers collect their favorite products, organize them in one place and keep track of online and in-store purchases through its new My Beauty Bag initiative (see story).

“Digital innovation is and has always been a huge part of our DNA,” Ms. Marcus said. “Our digital strategy team lives and breathes tech and has the advantage of testing out and trying new things with our clients who have proven to be early tech adopters.

“We were one of the first to create a mobile website in 2010 and are consistently pushing the boundaries for the way we shop,” she said.

“Since Sephora clients are predominantly cross-channel shoppers, we’re always focused on creating new, and improving existing mobile initiatives so we can be where our clients are.”

Final Take
Rimma Kats is associate editor on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York

Pulling ahead with mobile

Please click here to register for the Mobile Marketing Summit: Holiday Focus 2013 in New York on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2013

Registration is open for the fourth annual Mobile Marketing Summit: Holiday Focus 2013 New York conference Thursday, Sept. 12 featuring speakers from Sears, American Eagle Outfitters, Time Inc., Ogilvy & Mather, InterContinental Hotels and Cabela’s. This day-long New York event is a must-attend for brands, retailers, ad agencies and publishers looking to map out an effective mobile marketing and commerce strategy tying in with other channels, especially around the holiday season.

At this exclusive summit organized by this publication, attendees will get to listen and meet with key executives moving the needle for mobile marketing and commerce. The conference, whose agenda is below, will be limited to only 200 delegates.

“The sheer growth in smartphone and tablet usage threatens to make mobile the primary consumer channel of choice for searching and shopping,” said Mickey Alam Khan, editor in chief of Mobile Marketer and Mobile Commerce Daily, New York.

“Ineffective or inadequate mobile marketing over the holidays this year will definitely lead to lost opportunities to capture shopper attention and budgets,” he said.

Tapping patterns

“In a way, holiday 2013 will see a decisive shift in power among media and marketing channels, with mobile sites, applications, mobile search, SMS, QR codes, banners and rich media ads, coupons and mobile payment options swaying consumer buying decisions toward those marketers and retailers who have mobile DNA infused throughout the organization.”

Holiday seasoned
The Mobile Marketing Summit is designed to offer senior marketing, retail, publishing and agency delegates clarity on how to proceed with the right mobile strategy that drives traffic not just to online or mobile commerce destinations but also to stores where the bulk of retail transactions still occur.

A deep-dive, the summit is also geared to helping marketers with mobile marketing decisions that continue to build on the customer relationships established in other channels.

Attendees will also get access to the presentations.

The event is priced at $595 for the day, which includes breakfast, lunch and cocktails. Refunds will not be offered 72 hours before the event or for no-shows on the day of the summit.

For sponsorship, please contact Jodie Solomon at ads@mobilemarketer.com.

The Mobile Marketing Summit is part of this publication’s exclusive summit series that also includes Mobile FirstLook and the Mcommerce Summit. A major point of different with these events is their strong editorial spine and deep-dive into topics under discussion.

The summit agenda can also be accessed via http://www.mobilemarketingsummit.com.

Please click here to register for the Mobile Marketing Summit: Holiday Focus 2013 in New York on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2013

The agenda is below.

AGENDA

Mobile Marketing Summit: Holiday Focus 2013
Thursday, Sept. 12, 2013

A Napean presentation

Venue
Time & Life Building
1271 Avenue of the Americas (between 50th and 51st Streets)
8th Floor Gallery
New York, NY 10020

8 a.m. – 8:45 a.m.
Registration and Breakfast

8:45 a.m. – 9 a.m.
Welcome Address
Why holiday mobile marketing is critical for multichannel retail
Speaker:
Mickey Alam Khan, editor in chief, Mobile Marketer and Mobile Commerce Daily

9 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.
Opening Keynote
Sears: Why mobile is key for Sears’ holiday marketing efforts
As the nation’s leading integrated retailer, as well as the largest provider of home services in the United States, Sears Holdings Corp. is on a mission to serve and engage its customers through mobile. Sears carries out this task through its many mobile commerce-enabled Web sites and applications. Its holistic approach allows loyal customers to experience and connect with the Sears brand wherever they are, be it at home, in-store or on the go. Indeed, Sears is a pioneer in the mobile space, being one of the first retailers to offer mobile commerce. With more than 2,000 full-line and specialty stores across the country and in Canada, how has this century-old company accomplished such feats that mesh traditional retail channels with mobile? And what does Sears have planned in mobile marketing and commerce for the upcoming holidays? The keynote will discuss:

 How Sears’ has evolved with its mobile strategy over the years
 Why mobile is key to Sears’ future
 How mobile is leveraged in-store, at home and online to drive engagement and loyalty
 What Sears has planned for the holidays
 Best-practice tips for holiday mobile marketing

Speaker:
Ryan Deutsch, divisional vice president of addressable marketing, Sears Holdings Corp.

9:45 a.m. – 10 a.m.
Break

10:45 a.m. – 11 a.m.
Break

11 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.
Ogilvy & Mather: How mobile is molding the shopping environment irreversibly
Ogilvy & Mather has made great strides since it was founded in 1948. On its journey to the top, the agency has helped to build some of the most recognizable names in the world, including American Express, Ford, Sears and Barbie. The ad agency is now not only one of the top ten ad networks in the world, but also the world’s largest digital agency. It has shown remarkable foresight by acquiring many mobile marketing companies during the recent years. This session will address:

 How have customers started to embrace mobile technology
 Differences between customers at the point-of-sale versus away from it
 What are the implications for retailers as well as brands selling through mobile
 The long-term perspective on the shopping environment from a mobile perspective
 What are the success drivers for the upcoming holiday season and beyond

Speaker:
Martin Lange, executive marketing director of digital strategy and global head of Mobile@Ogilvy, Ogilvy & Mather

11:45 a.m. – Noon
Break

Noon – 12:45 p.m.
Time Inc.: How the world’s largest magazine publisher is adapting to mobile
With brands that include Fortune, Sports Illustrated, People, InStyle and Time, Time Inc. is one of the largest media companies in the world. A division of Time Warner, the publishing conglomerate has more than 138 million consumers of its products, upgrading hundreds of thousands of them to online and mobile editions. Though Time Inc. has had its foot in the mobile door from the beginning – Time was the first magazine on the iPad when the tablet launched – now all of the company’s 21 U.S. titles have become tablet editions, and the media brand is recognizing the platform for the game-changer that it is. In this presentation, delegates will learn:

 What it takes to adapt a long-established strategy for the digital age
 Time Inc.’s unique approach to mobile audience data
 What Time Inc. is doing to adapt native experience to the small screen
 How the company is planning to capitalize on mobile during the holiday marketing season

Speaker:
Sol Masch, director of mobile sales and strategy, Time Inc.

12:45 p.m. – 2 p.m.
Sponsored Lunch

1 p.m. – 1:25 p.m.
Lunch Keynote
Urban Airship
Speaker:
Brent Hieggelke, chief marketing officer, Urban Airship

1:25 p.m. – 1:50 p.m.
Lunch Keynote
Fiksu
Speaker:
Jim Thomas, product manager, Fiksu

1:50 p.m. – 2 p.m.
Break

2 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.
InterContinental Hotels: Connecting the guest journey through mobile
When booking a hotel stay, the consumer faces many different stages: search, shop and compare, booking, the pre-stay plan, market arrival, property arrival, the actual stay and, finally, checkout. InterContinental Hotels Group recognizes the need for a constant travel companion throughout these stages, which is why it has implemented a mobile plan to cover all bases. The company, which comprises seven brands such as Holiday Inn, Hotel Indigo, Crowne Plaza and InterContinental and boasts more guest rooms than any other hotel chain worldwide, books more than 160 million guest stays annually and understands the importance of staying completely connected to its customers. In this session, attendees will learn:

 Importance of focusing on all stages of the guest’s travel cycle
 How guests are using their phones in each stage of this cycle
 Unique marketing programs being used to address the customers’ mobile needs
 Key considerations for holiday marketing

Speaker:
Bill Keen, director of mobile solutions and emerging products for Web and interactive marketing, InterContinental Hotels Group

2:45 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Break

3 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.
Cabela’s: Using an omnichannel approach to bring the outdoors to mobile
Since its beginnings in a Nebraska kitchen in 1961, Cabela’s has grown exponentially. Today, it is the world’s foremost outfitter of hunting, fishing and outdoor gear, with sales spanning more than 125 countries across the world. Though the foundation of the retailer lies in catalogs, Cabela’s has been stepping out of its comfort zone and expanding where its consumers want it most. After going online in 1998 and becoming the number one outdoor retail site in less than 10 years, Cabela’s aims to find the same success as it now dives into the mobile space. Attendees in this session will learn:

 How to use segmentation to deliver the right product recommendations to the right customer
 Incorporating the foundational pieces of Cabela’s into the mobile strategy
 The importance of reinforcing the focus on omnichannel
 What Cabela’s is doing to surprise and delight Club Visa customers
 The holiday approach on mobile

Speaker:
Greg Hickman, mobile marketing manager, Cabela’s

3:45 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Break

5 p.m. – 5:45 p.m.
American Eagle Outfitters: How a leading specialty retailer taps mobile marketing for holiday engagement and sales
After 35 years in the retail business with a key demographic of 15-25-year-olds, American Eagle knows a thing or two about the importance of keeping up with the times. Under the company’s umbrella lie both the American Eagle Outfitters and aerie brands, which together have a global presence, both online and through franchise stores, shipping to 81 countries worldwide. However, in an age when online existence is no longer enough, American Eagle has joined its fellow retailers and is expanding its mobile presence to reach young customers with programs such as the virtual Style Mixer, in-store scanning rewards and trend updates. This keynote presentation will look into:

 American Eagle’s mobile strategy
 Who is American Eagle’s mobile customer and what are they looking for?
 The retailer’s holiday mobile focus
 Best-practice tips

Speaker:
Joe Megibow, senior vice president and general manager of omnichannel ecommerce, American Eagle Outfitters

5:45 p.m.
Raffle for Dom Perignon

5:45 p.m. – 6:45 p.m.
Sponsored Cocktail Hour

Please click here to register for the Mobile Marketing Summit: Holiday Focus 2013 in New York on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2013

Hotels in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood (from nearest to farthest):

The Hilton New York
1335 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019; tel: 212-586-7000
Please click here for the Web site

The Palace Hotel
455 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10022; tel: 212-888-7000
Please click here for the Web site

The Bryant Park Hotel
40 West 40th Street, New York, NY 10018; tel: 212-869-4446
Please click here for the Web site

New York Marriot Marquis
1535 Broadway, New York, NY 10036; tel: 212-398-1900
Please click here for the Web site

Sheraton Times Square
811 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10019; tel: 212-581-1000
Please click here for the Web site

Hotels in the Lower Manhattan neighborhood:

DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel New York City – Financial District, 8 Stone Street, New York, NY 10004; tel: 212-480-9100; please click here for the Web site

The Ritz-Carlton Battery Park, Two West Street, New York, NY 10004; tel: 212-344-0800; please click here for the Web site

New York Marriott Downtown, 85 West Street at Albany Street, New York, NY 10006; tel: 212-385-4900;please click here for the Web site

W New York Downtown, 123 Washington Street (entrance on Albany Street), New York, NY 10006; tel: 646-826-8600; please click here for the Web site

Millennium Hilton, 55 Church Street, New York, NY 10007; tel: 212-693-2001; please click here for the Web site

Please click here to register for the Mobile Marketing Summit: Holiday Focus 2013 in New York on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2013

Kohl’s recognizes the need to rapidly deliver new omnichannel features to online customers as the space continues to quickly evolve. By leveraging the Qubell Adaptive PaaS platform, the retailer expects to be able to accelerate its app development processes and to be able to update and deploy apps in near real time.

“Companies need to innovate faster – they simply need to create more features faster than they have ever had to do before,” said Victoria Livschitz, president and CEO of Qubell, Menlo Park, CA.

“They also have to operate in more channels because there is an explosion of devices,” she said. “Which means you have to have more development than before and it also needs to be synchronized across more channels.

“The omnichannel experience means that the same features and the same capabilities have to be available e to all channels. And that introduces unique challenges that the industry has never had to face before.”

Kohl’s operates 1,155 specialty department stores in 49 states.

Omnichannel experiences
The significant growth in mobile adoption in forcing companies to rethink how they develop and deliver software.

The challenge for retailers is how to get new features and services into the market quickly so they are not beat by their competitors or some upstart.

Kohl’s goal is to create a streamlined, end-to-end app delivery platform as part of its omnichannel initiative with the Qubell platform part of the initial implementation. The expectation is that this will speed up the delivery of ecommerce features and services.

The Qubell Adaptive PaaS platform is built on cloud technology. It will enable Kohl’s to engage in continuous app deployment, continuous testing and environment management as part of a continuous integration process for its omnichannel initiatives.

The platform will integrate with any technology stack chosen by Kohl’s.

Mobile is disruptive
The strategy will enable Kohl’s to adapt quickly to technology changes and provide app developers with fast feedback during the development process. New builds and code drops can integrated and tested in hours.

“Mobile is a piece of the bigger puzzle, but it is increasingly a bigger part of the puzzle,” Ms. Livschitz said. “More and more consumers’ dollars are coming through the mobile channel and that is expected to increase.

“But more than just percentage of the dollars, it is also bringing new technologies and new paradigms,” she said. “It is creating diversity that they didn’t have before.

“So not only is mobile becoming more and more important, but it is also becoming a disruptor of the way development used to be done.”

Another challenge merchants face is working with outside companies on their development process as it can take a long time for these third parties to learn how to work the merchant’s services and technology.

To remove some of that friction, some merchants are investing in automation platforms.

An automated platform for app development can help retailers ensure the consistency, quality and reliability they need to speed up their processes.

“These companies are turning into software factories,” Ms. Livschitz said. “They have to allow new features literally every day.

“And they also are shortening the cycle time from when a marketing department comes up with the idea  and when it gets into the hands of the customer,” she said.

“Traditionally, it used to be years and then it was quarters. Now it has to weeks, sometimes days.”

Final Take
Chantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York

Juniper’s “Mobile Commerce Markets: Sector-by-Sector Trend Analysis & Forecasts 2013-2017” report looks at how mobile commerce transactions will be split up by industry, with financial institutions leading the pack for volume. The study suggests there is a particularly strong use case for mobile with bill payments that carry substantially bigger transaction sizes.

“While there are far more transactions for digital goods, the majority of these are sub $2,” said Dr. Windsor Holden, principal analyst at Juniper Research, Hampshire, England. “Compare that with an average mobile banking transaction, which is in excess of $70.”

Buy on mobile
The forecasted $3.2 trillion in mobile commerce transaction is an increase from the expected $1.5 trillion from this year.

Although bill payments will lead for transactions, mobile will still only capture a fraction of total financial transactions.

For example, the total number of financial transactions in 2012 within the United States hit $4,400 trillion.

The volume of mobile commerce transactions will grow at an average rate of 19.8 percent year-over-year.

Currently, activity in the Far East and China bring in the greatest amount of mobile commerce transactions.

However, by 2015, countries in North America will steal the biggest volume of transactions, and will lead as the No. 1 region through 2017.

Driving factors
According to the report, the expected uptick in mobile commerce will stem from convenience, ubiquity and access.

For mobile bill pay specifically, there is a big opportunity for banks and carriers in developing countries.

Often times, only a small percentage of consumers in developing countries own a credit card or have a bank account, but a bigger portion of users own a mobile device and often use services such as money transfers.

Smartphone and tablet ownership continues to grow, but more importantly mobile device ownership has hit a mass amount of users globally.

For example, by the end of 2012 handset penetration in central Europe hit 119 percent and 125 percent in eastern Europe of the populations in 2012.

Mobile penetration in the United States hit 89 percent of the population last year.

In the next few years, retailers will not only need to buckle down on mobile for awareness and brand building, but for commerce to keep up with their competitors.

Nailing the basics such as a mobile Web site is a given nowadays, and savvy marketers are thinking about next-generation features such as one-click purchasing or integrating with a mobile wallet service to streamline the checkout process for consumers.

Additionally, marketers should strategically view mobile as a complement to their other marketing initiatives, such as coupons.

“If they want to marry digital and physical assets, mobile couponing is a good place to start – not only drives footfall but provides information on user behavior,” Dr. Holden said.

“For this, they will thus need to ensure their point-of-sale infrastructure can scan the 2D barcodes on the handset,” he said.

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is associate reporter on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York

Bricks-and-mortar stores are still a fairly new tactic for online retailers, with brands often only opening up temporary pop-up stores or pilots. Given mobile’s role in bridging the two together, savvy retailers are likely thinking ahead of the curve with how mobile can impact their digital assets with these types of stores.

“Many innovative retailers, like online retailers, believe the future of retail is the intersection of ecommerce and bricks-and-mortar,” said Tom Thomas, vice president of marketing intelligence at Organic, San Francisco. “These showrooms keep little to no on-site inventory while allowing shoppers to try product and provide direct feedback for both product design and consumer behavior.

The mobile implications are more efficient retail operations and the ability to offer a more personalized shopping experience,” he said.

“Online retailers with physical showrooms are best equipped for mobile purchasing since their operations are already highly digital.”

Mobile insight
Warby Parker recently made the jump to bricks-and-mortar stores with a store that lets consumers try on different glasses frames that they can then buy online.

However, the online retailer is also using physical locations for more than sales, and is using in-store data to get a better grasp on its users.

In an interview with Gigaom, Neil Blumenthal, co-founder of Warby Parker, New York, told the publication that it is using Wi-Fi, sensors and other technologies in-store to better understand its shoppers.

Warby Parker declined to comment on any additional specifics with its bricks-and-mortar stores for this article.

Using Wi-Fi and touch sensors will let Warby Parker not only understand how consumers interact with products tangibly but also look at how shoppers use their mobile devices to access information while in a store, which can then be used to influence the retailer’s inventory and merchandising strategies online.

Leveraging in-store QR codes can also help online retailers gather data on their consumers and also eliminate queues.

“Instead of a checkout station, the shopper simply purchases through a QR code on the item, which automatically processes payment, schedules shipping and collects data on the shopper,” Mr. Thomas said.

“These analytics along with a behaviorally adaptive content system could allow the retailer to notify the shopper of products whenever they are within proximity of the showroom,” he said.

In another example of how online retailers are embracing bricks-and-mortar stores, Gilt is opening up a month-long pop-up store later this month in Louisville, KY.

The store will be located nearby to the company’s largest distribution center. The temporary store will offer discounts up to 90 percent off on merchandise.

Given Gilt’s large focus on mobile as an integral part of its online-only business, it is not hard to imagine that the retailer is likely looking to gain some insight into the shopping behavior of in-store shoppers, where they are plugged into their mobile devices, to influence its Web strategy.

“Over time, Gilt has built a number of features that enhance the shopping experience – editorial via GiltMANual and product discovery via the what’s trending feature enhance the ever-present ability to gauge how something will look by seeing it on model whose measurements are provided,” said Steve Smith, partner of planning and insights at Firehouse, Dallas

“Mobile can bring some of this functionality into the bricks-and-mortar environment, enhancing the experience and making it more on-brand,” he said.

Mr. Smith is not affiliated with Gilt. Gilt did not meet press deadline for a comment on this story.

Specifically, Gilt has a strong mobile strategy with applications, which could be leveraged by the retailer to get an even closer look at how mobile is used as part of a multi-device shopping journey.

The retailer could potentially have a trove of data to tailor an in-store experience around, including past purchases, product discussions and social media activity.

Additionally, there could also be an in-store mobile app component to ultimately drive consumers to an online store if a product is out of stock.

“It’s not about establishing a store strategy – mobile is going to enable [online retailers] to understand the behavior between the online and in-store shopper,” said Adam Silverman, principal analyst at Forrester Research, Cambridge, MA.

“And for those retailers that have a larger adoption of mobile apps, they are at an advantage because they can track more people,” he said.

“Measuring across touch points is the hardest challenge and tying back that store shipper to a shopper in your database. They need to deploy a mobile app to create a hook and a single view of the customer.”

Seamless user experience
Although there are many challenges with operating bricks-and-mortar stores, including expensive costs, there is also a big opportunity for online retailers to use physical locations to build brand affinity that can be translated to online sales or through incremental revenue.

Additionally, online brands can use bricks-and-mortar stores to try out location-based tactics that they otherwise would not be able to implement.

“This starts away from the store with enticing content but also includes near the store via geo-fenced offers and in-store with tools and tips like augmented reality,” said Doug Rozen, chief innovation officer at MXM, New York.

This helps fill in the entire customer journey with mobile adding a contextual layer to the shopping experience.

At the same time though, retailers also need to understand the differences between shoppers on each medium, according to Ben Kennedy, group director of mobile marketing at The Integer Group, Denver.

“The biggest challenge online retailers will face is to find an answer to a tough question, what is the role of the store?” Mr. Kennedy said.

“People will enter a store to be inspired, to feel better, see products that they have never seen before, presented in a beautiful way – it’s not going to be for convenience [because] same0day delivery and online platforms provide this value,” he said.

“Today, this doesn’t happen in a lot of stores, which provides both an opportunity and a challenge to an online retailer. Data generated through online and mobile platforms will empower online retailers to offer a very unique and differentiated customer experience through physical outlets.”

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is associate reporter on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York

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Mobile first – well, kind of
Mobile may not make sense for every marketer and industry out there.
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Matt Goynes is mobile marketing manager at Expedia Inc.’s Hotels.com

By Matt Goynes

Having a mobile-first mentality as a business is not quite as simple as most mobile industry professionals would have you believe.

It seems that no matter which mobile conference or summit you attend, someone is talking about mobile first.

Dial down
This strategy of “mobile first” is the idea that every business decision you make as a company needs to give strong consideration to mobile opportunities or implications first, and ahead of other sales and distribution channels. This sounds smart, right?

I mean, mobile for most companies is the fastest-growing medium, with no signs of slowing down as U.S. smartphone penetration just exceeded 50 percent of the market.

Additionally, most mobile users want to be treated special or get exclusive deals and discounts for being tech-savvy early adopters and loyal users of a company’s mobile products. So why not think of mobile users first when making business decisions?

Well, kind of.

It is not quite that simple.

Top the desk
First, mobile may not make sense for every marketer and industry out there.

Secondly, mobile may not be a revenue-driving medium, or have the potential to produce the lion’s share for your business such as some companies in the financial sector, for instance.

Most consumers are not buying life insurance via a mobile application, but they may use a tablet app to manage their 401(k) investment plan, which is more of a retention and CRM tool than a revenue driver.

In that case, it does not make sense to build out a product or strategy on mobile first in lieu of your desktop site or bricks-and-mortar store.

If mobile is a revenue-driving business medium where a large percentage of your customers reach you through a mobile device, then here is something to consider.

Even a mobile-fast-forward company such as Hotels.com, where more than 20 percent of the business is from mobile, the non-mobile part of the business is still the majority of the revenue stream and therefore priority cannot be given to mobile at the expense of the rest of the business.

Most product rollouts happen on the desktop first and then mobile where appropriate.

Some products or marketing strategies may not make sense for the desktop business and, therefore by de facto, mobile gets first look and priority.

THE CHALLENGE comes in balancing mobile growth without hindering your core business.

Until the mobile revenue share of your business demands priority over your non-mobile business, then it may never make sense to implement a “mobile first” strategy.

Most of this shift for your business will be consumer-driven. The trick is staying in front of consumer demand and aligning your product and strategy with that demand.

Matt Goynes is mobile marketing manager at Expedia Inc.’s Hotels.com, Dallas, TX. Reach him at mgoynes@hotels.com.

The new digital gift card offering, called Amazon Birthday Gift, lets users create a digital gift card on Facebook and then invite anyone in their social network to contribute. The gift card shows up in the recipient’s Facebook timeline on his or her birthday.

“I think it’s a brilliant idea,” said Paula Rosenblum, managing partner at Retail Systems and Research, Miami, FL. “It takes the happy birthday statement to whole new levels – all of a sudden everything can be a group gift.

“The beauty of mobile is you can do something when you think of it during down time instead of at pre-constructed times in pre-constructed places,” she said.

Ms. Rosenblum is not affiliated with Amazon and spoke based on her experience in mobile commerce.

Amazon did not respond to a request for comment by the  deadline.

Social giving
As digital gift cards increasingly replace the plastic version, mobile is playing a bigger role in how consumers purchase, store and redeem them since consumers often have their smartphones within arm’s reach at all times.

For example, recipients of digital gift cards want to be able to store them on their mobile devices so they will have the cards when they are needed.

As the use of Facebook increasingly migrates to mobile, Amazon is looking to not only make it easy for mobile users to send a birthday gift while on the go, but to also make the process more social, with multiple friends able to contribute no matter where they are.

To create an Amazon Birthday Gift, users go to Amazon.com/birthdaygift from their desktop, mobile or tablet device, enter a message, select the gift card amount and checkout on Amazon.

At this point, users are able to send invitations to anyone in their Facebook network to also contribute to the gift card and include their own message. Friends can contribute $1, $5, $10 or $25 to the birthday gift card.

On the day of the friend’s birthday, the gift card and any accompanying messages will post to his or her Facebook timeline.

Better customer experiences
To help promote the new offering, Amazon is offering users a $3 Amazon.com credit for a limited time.

To use the service, Amazon.com customers need to connect their account with the retailer to their Facebook account.

Doing so will also enable users to view improved product recommendations, share items with friends, import photos into Amazon Cloud Drive and share notes on Kindle books.

Merchants such as Amazon are looking for ways to create more social shopping experiences, but are often challenged from a technological standpoint.

“Social is not as much about pure commerce as it is about the customer experience at any point in the path to purchase,” Ms. Rosenblum said. “The problem is, the world is moving faster than retailers’ IT departments can move.

“The integration buses required to support the flexibility retailers need just haven’t been installed at enough sites, and point-to-point integration gets really tiresome and inefficient,” she said.

“We expect to see retailers to do some serious platform upgrading over the coming two years.  It’s the only way they can provide more options going forward.”

Final Take
Chantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York

Pulling ahead with mobile

Please click here to register for the Mobile Marketing Summit: Holiday Focus 2013 in New York on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2013

Registration is open for the fourth annual Mobile Marketing Summit: Holiday Focus 2013 New York conference Thursday, Sept. 12 featuring speakers from Sears, American Eagle Outfitters, Time Inc., Ogilvy & Mather, InterContinental Hotels and Cabela’s. This day-long New York event is a must-attend for brands, retailers, ad agencies and publishers looking to map out an effective mobile marketing and commerce strategy tying in with other channels, especially around the holiday season.

At this exclusive summit organized by this publication, attendees will get to listen and meet with key executives moving the needle for mobile marketing and commerce. The conference, whose agenda is below, will be limited to only 200 delegates.

“The sheer growth in smartphone and tablet usage threatens to make mobile the primary consumer channel of choice for searching and shopping,” said Mickey Alam Khan, editor in chief of Mobile Marketer and Mobile Commerce Daily, New York.

“Ineffective or inadequate mobile marketing over the holidays this year will definitely lead to lost opportunities to capture shopper attention and budgets,” he said.

Tapping patterns

“In a way, holiday 2013 will see a decisive shift in power among media and marketing channels, with mobile sites, applications, mobile search, SMS, QR codes, banners and rich media ads, coupons and mobile payment options swaying consumer buying decisions toward those marketers and retailers who have mobile DNA infused throughout the organization.”

Holiday seasoned
The Mobile Marketing Summit is designed to offer senior marketing, retail, publishing and agency delegates clarity on how to proceed with the right mobile strategy that drives traffic not just to online or mobile commerce destinations but also to stores where the bulk of retail transactions still occur.

A deep-dive, the summit is also geared to helping marketers with mobile marketing decisions that continue to build on the customer relationships established in other channels.

Attendees will also get access to the presentations.

The event is priced at $595 for the day, which includes breakfast, lunch and cocktails. Refunds will not be offered 72 hours before the event or for no-shows on the day of the summit.

For sponsorship, please contact Jodie Solomon at ads@mobilemarketer.com.

The Mobile Marketing Summit is part of this publication’s exclusive summit series that also includes Mobile FirstLook and the Mcommerce Summit. A major point of different with these events is their strong editorial spine and deep-dive into topics under discussion.

The summit agenda can also be accessed via http://www.mobilemarketingsummit.com.

Please click here to register for the Mobile Marketing Summit: Holiday Focus 2013 in New York on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2013

The agenda is below.

AGENDA

Mobile Marketing Summit: Holiday Focus 2013
Thursday, Sept. 12, 2013

A Napean presentation

Venue
Time & Life Building
1271 Avenue of the Americas (between 50th and 51st Streets)
8th Floor Gallery
New York, NY 10020

8 a.m. – 8:45 a.m.
Registration and Breakfast

8:45 a.m. – 9 a.m.
Welcome Address
Why holiday mobile marketing is critical for multichannel retail
Speaker:
Mickey Alam Khan, editor in chief, Mobile Marketer and Mobile Commerce Daily

9 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.
Opening Keynote
Sears: Why mobile is key for Sears’ holiday marketing efforts
As the nation’s leading integrated retailer, as well as the largest provider of home services in the United States, Sears Holdings Corp. is on a mission to serve and engage its customers through mobile. Sears carries out this task through its many mobile commerce-enabled Web sites and applications. Its holistic approach allows loyal customers to experience and connect with the Sears brand wherever they are, be it at home, in-store or on the go. Indeed, Sears is a pioneer in the mobile space, being one of the first retailers to offer mobile commerce. With more than 2,000 full-line and specialty stores across the country and in Canada, how has this century-old company accomplished such feats that mesh traditional retail channels with mobile? And what does Sears have planned in mobile marketing and commerce for the upcoming holidays? The keynote will discuss:

 How Sears’ has evolved with its mobile strategy over the years
 Why mobile is key to Sears’ future
 How mobile is leveraged in-store, at home and online to drive engagement and loyalty
 What Sears has planned for the holidays
 Best-practice tips for holiday mobile marketing

Speaker:
Ryan Deutsch, divisional vice president of addressable marketing, Sears Holdings Corp.

9:45 a.m. – 10 a.m.
Break

10:45 a.m. – 11 a.m.
Break

11 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.
Ogilvy & Mather: How mobile is molding the shopping environment irreversibly
Ogilvy & Mather has made great strides since it was founded in 1948. On its journey to the top, the agency has helped to build some of the most recognizable names in the world, including American Express, Ford, Sears and Barbie. The ad agency is now not only one of the top ten ad networks in the world, but also the world’s largest digital agency. It has shown remarkable foresight by acquiring many mobile marketing companies during the recent years. This session will address:

 How have customers started to embrace mobile technology
 Differences between customers at the point-of-sale versus away from it
 What are the implications for retailers as well as brands selling through mobile
 The long-term perspective on the shopping environment from a mobile perspective
 What are the success drivers for the upcoming holiday season and beyond

Speaker:
Martin Lange, executive marketing director of digital strategy and global head of Mobile@Ogilvy, Ogilvy & Mather

11:45 a.m. – Noon
Break

Noon – 12:45 p.m.
Time Inc.: How the world’s largest magazine publisher is adapting to mobile
With brands that include Fortune, Sports Illustrated, People, InStyle and Time, Time Inc. is one of the largest media companies in the world. A division of Time Warner, the publishing conglomerate has more than 138 million consumers of its products, upgrading hundreds of thousands of them to online and mobile editions. Though Time Inc. has had its foot in the mobile door from the beginning – Time was the first magazine on the iPad when the tablet launched – now all of the company’s 21 U.S. titles have become tablet editions, and the media brand is recognizing the platform for the game-changer that it is. In this presentation, delegates will learn:

 What it takes to adapt a long-established strategy for the digital age
 Time Inc.’s unique approach to mobile audience data
 What Time Inc. is doing to adapt native experience to the small screen
 How the company is planning to capitalize on mobile during the holiday marketing season

Speaker:
Sol Masch, director of mobile sales and strategy, Time Inc.

12:45 p.m. – 2 p.m.
Sponsored Lunch

1 p.m. – 1:25 p.m.
Lunch Keynote
Urban Airship
Speaker:
Brent Hieggelke, chief marketing officer, Urban Airship

1:25 p.m. – 1:50 p.m.
Lunch Keynote
Fiksu
Speaker:
Jim Thomas, product manager, Fiksu

1:50 p.m. – 2 p.m.
Break

2 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.
InterContinental Hotels: Connecting the guest journey through mobile
When booking a hotel stay, the consumer faces many different stages: search, shop and compare, booking, the pre-stay plan, market arrival, property arrival, the actual stay and, finally, checkout. InterContinental Hotels Group recognizes the need for a constant travel companion throughout these stages, which is why it has implemented a mobile plan to cover all bases. The company, which comprises seven brands such as Holiday Inn, Hotel Indigo, Crowne Plaza and InterContinental and boasts more guest rooms than any other hotel chain worldwide, books more than 160 million guest stays annually and understands the importance of staying completely connected to its customers. In this session, attendees will learn:

 Importance of focusing on all stages of the guest’s travel cycle
 How guests are using their phones in each stage of this cycle
 Unique marketing programs being used to address the customers’ mobile needs
 Key considerations for holiday marketing

Speaker:
Bill Keen, director of mobile solutions and emerging products for Web and interactive marketing, InterContinental Hotels Group

2:45 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Break

3 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.
Cabela’s: Using an omnichannel approach to bring the outdoors to mobile
Since its beginnings in a Nebraska kitchen in 1961, Cabela’s has grown exponentially. Today, it is the world’s foremost outfitter of hunting, fishing and outdoor gear, with sales spanning more than 125 countries across the world. Though the foundation of the retailer lies in catalogs, Cabela’s has been stepping out of its comfort zone and expanding where its consumers want it most. After going online in 1998 and becoming the number one outdoor retail site in less than 10 years, Cabela’s aims to find the same success as it now dives into the mobile space. Attendees in this session will learn:

 How to use segmentation to deliver the right product recommendations to the right customer
 Incorporating the foundational pieces of Cabela’s into the mobile strategy
 The importance of reinforcing the focus on omnichannel
 What Cabela’s is doing to surprise and delight Club Visa customers
 The holiday approach on mobile

Speaker:
Greg Hickman, mobile marketing manager, Cabela’s

3:45 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Break

5 p.m. – 5:45 p.m.
American Eagle Outfitters: How a leading specialty retailer taps mobile marketing for holiday engagement and sales
After 35 years in the retail business with a key demographic of 15-25-year-olds, American Eagle knows a thing or two about the importance of keeping up with the times. Under the company’s umbrella lie both the American Eagle Outfitters and aerie brands, which together have a global presence, both online and through franchise stores, shipping to 81 countries worldwide. However, in an age when online existence is no longer enough, American Eagle has joined its fellow retailers and is expanding its mobile presence to reach young customers with programs such as the virtual Style Mixer, in-store scanning rewards and trend updates. This keynote presentation will look into:

 American Eagle’s mobile strategy
 Who is American Eagle’s mobile customer and what are they looking for?
 The retailer’s holiday mobile focus
 Best-practice tips

Speaker:
Joe Megibow, senior vice president and general manager of omnichannel ecommerce, American Eagle Outfitters

5:45 p.m.
Raffle for Dom Perignon

5:45 p.m. – 6:45 p.m.
Sponsored Cocktail Hour

Please click here to register for the Mobile Marketing Summit: Holiday Focus 2013 in New York on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2013

Hotels in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood (from nearest to farthest):

The Hilton New York
1335 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019; tel: 212-586-7000
Please click here for the Web site

The Palace Hotel
455 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10022; tel: 212-888-7000
Please click here for the Web site

The Bryant Park Hotel
40 West 40th Street, New York, NY 10018; tel: 212-869-4446
Please click here for the Web site

New York Marriot Marquis
1535 Broadway, New York, NY 10036; tel: 212-398-1900
Please click here for the Web site

Sheraton Times Square
811 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10019; tel: 212-581-1000
Please click here for the Web site

Hotels in the Lower Manhattan neighborhood:

DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel New York City – Financial District, 8 Stone Street, New York, NY 10004; tel: 212-480-9100; please click here for the Web site

The Ritz-Carlton Battery Park, Two West Street, New York, NY 10004; tel: 212-344-0800; please click here for the Web site

New York Marriott Downtown, 85 West Street at Albany Street, New York, NY 10006; tel: 212-385-4900;please click here for the Web site

W New York Downtown, 123 Washington Street (entrance on Albany Street), New York, NY 10006; tel: 646-826-8600; please click here for the Web site

Millennium Hilton, 55 Church Street, New York, NY 10007; tel: 212-693-2001; please click here for the Web site

Please click here to register for the Mobile Marketing Summit: Holiday Focus 2013 in New York on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2013