Tapping Emerging Marketing Trends: Target Takes Advantage of Mobile-Marketing Trend By Offering Scannable Coupons Via Mobile Devices
Although has been promoting its mobile coupon program through social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter and through its email program since the beginning of March, Target officially announced last week it would begin sending a list of mobile coupons to consumers once a month who have opted to receive promotions. The coupons are redeemed by scanning the 2-D barcode on the mobile device at check out.
Target's move to implement mobile coupon program into their mobile marketing strategy is a step in the right direction, but hurdles still remain, said Mark Beccue, ABI Research senior mobile retail analyst. Beccue said although mobile coupons take the hassle out of clipping, there is still the nuisance of remembering to use the coupons in digital form. "This is all back to really the kind of the challenge of coupons in general. Are they worth using?" he said, CNBC reports.
Currently, the company plans to send out the same offers to all of its registered customers, with no specific targeted coupons to specific groups of consumers, said Leah Guimond, a Target spokesperson. But targeting specific groups is not something the company is ruling out, reports CNBC special correspondent Cadie Thompson.
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