Feature

Chinese Style Mobile Shopping

Networks & Network Services
Púca, a global leader in mobile marketing, today announced the unveiling of an award-winning mobile marketing system, which is proving a major hit with shoppers at China's largest shopping complex, Super Brand Mall in Shanghai.
The kiosks, are located at the entrances to the Super Brand Mall, which is visited by up to 400,000 people a day.  The first two months have seen half a million transactions.

The backbone of the system is a free-standing coupon-dispensing unit called the TxtLink Kiosk, a multimedia terminal linked to a mobile marketing platform.  The kiosk provides shoppers with an interactive store guide, a diverse selection of information and services, as well as mobile money-off coupons redeemable for outlets within Super Brand Mall. The kiosk brings money-saving offers to shoppers, as well as eye-catching advertising and sales opportunities to the Mall's tenants. 

Kesrin Ariyapongse, Vice-President of Marketing at Super Brand Mall, expained that the kiosk system is providing the retailer with new ways of reaching the Chinese consumer. "Instead of sending our customers direct mail we are using the system to send them text messages and coupons, which can be very personalised and cost effective at the same time. The kiosks are giving us a whole new way to communicate with our customers almost in real time."

Stephane Vidaillet, general manager of Puca China said, "Results have been very positive so far and we are expecting to drive significant incremental business when we have fully engaged with all Super Brand Mall outlets."
  
Using the kiosk, customers register to become a member of the Super Brand Club, giving their preferences regarding the type of product categories they are interested in. They are then sent money-off coupons in electronic form to their mobile phones. The kiosk recognises the code on the mobile phone's display and prints out a coupon that can be used at the check-out.
  
Commenting on the potential of mobile marketing, Púca founder and CEO Eamon Hession, said, "The mobile phone is revolutionising the way retailers interact with their customers. Mobile loyalty programmes offer retailers a very fast, cost-effective and personal channel to communicate with willing customers."

The current generation of mobile users has fully embraced SMS messaging as an everyday communications tool. It therefore provides a logical step forward for retailers wishing to communicate directly with their customers in an effort to strengthen relationships and improve customer loyalty."