FutureM Recap Part Two: Beyond Mobile Browsing – Mobile Commerce Goes In-Store

By Jason Fidler

September 20th, 2011

This is the second part of a two-blog series recapping my time at FutureM. For an introduction to the event, along with my thoughts on Hill Holliday’s “The Pitch”, please click here or scroll down.

Beyond Mobile Browsing – Mobile Commerce Goes In-Store
Thursday, September 15
4:30-6:30pm, Market

Thursday evening provided quite a different experience from Hill Holliday’s event.  Hosted by Modiv Media, “Beyond Mobile Browsing – Mobile Commerce Goes In-Store” was an excellent, intimate look at the future of one mankind’s most cumbersome regular activities: grocery shopping.

The event’s panel included John Caron, SVP of Marketing for Modiv Media (disclosure: Modiv Media is a Racepoint Group Client), Kristin Murphy of Ahold USA (parent company of Stop & Shop) and Senior Mobile Analyst Nick Holland of Yankee Group.

What factors influence the modern grocery shopper? As Murphy noted social networks, the expectation of personalization and mobile access to information are among the most important.  “Our customers and our consumers want all of this (grocery shopping information) while they are on the go,” Murphy explained.  These are also the primary factors that led to the creation of Modiv Media’s mobile app, Scan It!.  The app allows users to receive personalized real time deals while shopping, however the proximity is so pinpoint that offers are distributed based on whatever aisle you are in.  Additionally, the app is programmed with a self-service scan checkout.

So the ability to have a personalized and streamlined shopping experience is already available to us.  What does the future hold?  “We’re just at the tip of the iceberg here,” said Caron.  “It starts with a basic ability to scan my items, put them in my bag, get coupons, pay , walk out the door.  We’re going to shrink that over time.”   He then gave the hypothetical example of an app that would connect your shopping list with the store, and the store would have the items ready for you by the time you arrived, or a “smart” mobile shopping list that provides you with recommendations as to what you should be buying or might like to try out.

The event closed with Nick Holland’s eloquent take on the future of the mobile wallet and m-commerce.  A clip of his presentation is can be found below.

All-in-all, even though my time at FutureM was brief, it was still an educational and entertaining day. The state of marketing is strong, fellow citizens!

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