The apps outlined in the article were interesting.  I could see the appeal how the apps would appeal to certain shoppers.  However, I do believe there is a bigger idea out there.  Albeit not an easy idea to execute, but if successful the application could define the category. 

Before I paint a vision of what that could be, let’s first briefly review the mobile apps discussed in the article.  I grouped the mobile apps based on perceived shopper benefit: saving money, knowledge, and convenience.  Note that some apps may fit into multiple benefits.

Saving Money
Some people spend time to save money, others spend money to save time.  When a person is driven to save money, they view their time as an investment to get the best deal.  The lowest price, coupons, rebates, are priorities.  These shoppers are willing to drive out of their way to get a deal.  So it is not a question of ”if” they will drive out of their, rather it is a question of “how far” they will.

•  Yowzadelivers coupons to nearby stores based on GPS-ing the shopper’s location. 
• ShopSavvycompares store prices (through scanning the bar code) with  online and at nearby retailer pricess.  Also includes coupons and allows users to make online  transactions.
•  The Find will locate retailers, both online and offline, that carry desired products, will compare prices of the product, and even calculate the cost to drive to each store.

Shopper Knowledge
Making an informed decision is a desired benefit for many shoppers, especially on a high-consideration purchase.  Achieving this goal is not always easy.  It is not for lack of information — the internet provides an abundance of information on products, pricing, and product reviews.  No the issue isn’t information.  The issue is gathering knowledge to determine what is the right product.  What product meets the shopper’s needs.

• RetrevoQ uses texts and tweets to provide shopper with information about electronics equipment including pricing information, reviews, and whether it is a good buy.

Convenience
Sometimes it is a manner of getting in and out quickly.  For many shoppers going to a mall is an experience.  A social journey where they explore stores and take in the ambiance of the mall.  For others it is a task.  They prefer not to waste time. Get in. Get out. Or get to where their desired location as quickly as possible. 

• Fastmall provides interactive maps displaying the quickest route to stores and it can remember where their car is parked.
• GroceryIQ (now owned by Coupons.com) allows consumers to create grocery lists, organize them, access coupons and share lists with others.

By reviewing the list of apps one can see the inherent benefits of each app.  However, I do think there can be more benefit.  The true killer apps will get more personal.

Get Personal
Right now the apps listed are rather impersonal, and a bit pushy.  Pushing coupons to the phone.  Pushing prices to the phone.  Pushing reviews to the phone.  We need to be a little less pushy, and take a more empathetic view of the shopper.  Make it more about them.  Make it personal.

Mobile phones are digital wallets. Potentially, they have reams of personal data.  Mobile phones know who we know.  They carry our contacts, our social groups, our trusted advisers.  Mobile phones also know where we have been.  They can capture visually a place or the specific GPS location.  Mobile phones can learn our tolerances.  They can record how far we are willingto travel for certain items like shopping or dining.  Mobile phones can learn our time-value relationship.  By combining these factors and more we can match shopping information with our personal code will generate knowledge.  If the app can fuse  our personal information the shopper environment think of the possibilities. 

My Meals
We don’t eat ingredients, we eat meals.  We all have favorites meals. So, imagine GroceryIQ with a taste layer – finding and recommendingfood and recipes based on personal or family food genres like ethnic flairs (e.g. Thai, Italian), and then incorporatingthe recipes into your shopping list. Also, imagine a time layer – accessingyour calendar to determine how much time you have to cook and making meal recommendations (then pullingrecipes, coupons into the list).  There are sites on the web that do aspects of this today.  The challenge is combining the elements together in a seamless experience for the shopper.

My Money, My Time
Some people save pennies, some save dollars, some just spend. The variance is mostly explained by how we valuate our time.  As stated prior some people will spend time to save money, others prefer to spend money to save time.  There can be an app for both.  Apps like Shop Savvy and The Find could be fine tuned to understand a shopper who is willing to wait a week (for shipping) to save ten dollars, while another shopper may willing to spend $30 to buy the product today.  The Find is headed down this path with the ability to calculate the driving cost to each store.

 My Purchase
Many marketers (and tech people) think what people need is information.  This is a misconception.  People do not need information, the internet, publications, and retail environment offer an abundance of information.  No, what the shopper needs is knowledge.  In the case of shopping, knowledge is the synthesizing of personal needs  with product information to determine the appropriate fit. 

Think about a high-consideration purchase like an HDTV.  The mobile app can combine electronics advise from experts with your friends with your personal needs and home environment.  The goal of the app is to not push the information, rather synthesize the information by fusing the data points into knowledge.  Think of this as a three step process.

The first step would be to create a personal foundation.  The app could capture a picture(s) of where the television is to be located including room lighting, distance from viewing area, and accessibility to cable, stereo and internet/wi-fi.  The app would also ask the shopper questions like budget, primary television usage (e.g. movies, sports, gaming), and brand preference.

The second step would be to fuse this information with product data (e.g. specs, pricing, product availability) and expert reviews.  This overlay would inform the shopper about product fit with their needs, product reliability through expert reviews, and where the television can be purchased (and for how much).

The final step is to fuse it with social information.  Mobile phones are a gateway to our social network.  For important purchases, most shoppers seek advice from someone in their social circle.  Maybe the person is a tech geek or fashion savvy or just a friend whose opinion matters.  From the shopper’s perspective the social circle could provide first-hand experiences from people who either bought the product recently or knows someone who has.  Based on this first or second hand experience, the shopper would receive additional input.

It is not about My Phone, it is about My Life
Based on the last example, you get the idea of the depth and breadth of an app.  However, the complexity of the app brings up a final point: the best apps should be integrated into our life – accessible from multiple access points and not limited to just our mobile device.   Think about facebook, YouTube, or Twitter — they began as experiences to accentuate different aspects of a person’s life.  Each began by fulfilling a need.  Each has multiple touchpoints including a mobile app.

Generating an app solely for a mobile device is limiting.  While there are merits of mobile, there are also restrictions.  The more complicated the application, the more cumbersome the application usability within the limited screen realestate.  The more visual the application, the more difficult it will be to shrink it to a mobile screen without compromising visual aesthetics.  That is why the best mobile apps will transcend the device - the best apps will emanate from the shopper within the shopping experience.

The topic intrigues me as of late.  For many products advice from social groups typically is a primary influencer in products considered and ultimately purchased.  For example, about 20% of new vehicle shoppers state friends and family were the primary influence ( more than any other medium). 

This social factor has influenced people for years — my interest focused on the use of facebook as a “social shopping” tool for shoppers to make educated decision.   By the way, don’t confuse customer reviews and testimonials as social shopping.  Although both may influence a shopper’s decision, they lack the strength of social advice from someone the shopper knows.  Someone the shopper trusts.

Asking the Right Questions
My perspective is the benefit of social shopping is related to the shopper’s inquiry.   Social shopping questions can be unstructured and open ended (Anyone have advice on a new HDTV?) to structured (Anyone have advice on purchasing an HDTV for about $1,000?  or What is a better deal the Sony Bravia XNT-1234 or Panasonic Vizio DDF-1234?).  I believe the usefulness of the response will be more helpful the more structured the question.  To this end I decided to test a structured question meant to give specific advice to an HDTV shopper (see below).

I am looking for a new LCD HDTV for about $1,000 to $1,200 What features are “gotta have” versus “nice to have” versus “not worth it” ?

The goal of the post on facebook was to bucket responses in a way that I can use them.  That is why I structured the question on positive attributes “gotta have” and “nice to have”, and negative attributes “not worth it”.  Through this questions, I was hoping to tap into people within my network who recently purchased a HDTV, and focus on what they were thrilled about in their purchase and/or uncover aspects of buyer’s remorse.

Based on these expectations, the responses somewhat surprised me (see below).

Patrick W

make sure it is 1080i other than that at least 2 HDMIi ports and your good. Buy at Sams club if ur a member they have best return policy in the world! Vizio is great brand for the money (it took two years but they worked out all the kinks in the last two model years) Samsung and sharp are also impressive but more pricey! Good luck!

 

Jay G

You didn’t mention plazma, but compare the differences between the “black” on a plasma vs. an LCD. I don’t own either, but my brother in law has an LCD and swears the “black” on the plasma is so much deeper and clearer. He has mentioned it several times when he’s seen the in-laws tv. I wouldn’t have thought to notice that. Costco and Sams club both rule, but of the two, I give a slight edge to Costco.

 

Jeff H

I’m one to talk, since my newest TV is a 52″ rear projection thats 10+ years old… but if you’re going to research, find out about these new LED Tv’s. They’re like 1″ thick vs LCD which are 3-5″… (I’m hoping you do all the research and then report back!!)

 

Jimmy J

Costco rocks. Check out the power consumption as well. My understanding I’d that plasma is very power hungry.

 

Stevie G

You won’t get an LED in your price range. LCD is good for brighter environments, though I just got a Panasonic Plasma that is nice and bright.

 

Brian G

Don’t worry about the features, just focus on getting the biggest screen possible in your price range. Don’t worry about the picture quality either, only the screen size can properly define your manliness.

 

A recent Sears commercial with Brett Favre highlights the deliberation many people have when buying a high priced product.  People agonize over product details.  They want to make the right decision.  They do not want to regret the purchase.  Sears concludes the commercial with a promise of no regrets.  A simple concept.  Yet a promise difficult to achieve.

Sears’ no regrets promise centers on one dimension of the purchase: price.  Given their ability to do real-time price checks, Sears can probably deliver on best price at the point of time of purchase.  And that may be enough for deal seekers.  However, the reality is that regret is more than one dimension, and the “no regrets purchase” can be a huge opportunity if a marketer can solve it.

Regret has many dimensions all centering around a consumer’s personal value equation.  Price is a part of the calue equation, evaluated in context of value received.  And the valuation of a product (even the same product) can be different by person.  For example:

• Value can be how a product feature saves a person time.
• Value can be found in how a brand experience makes one feel.
• Value can be in an social association with a person and a brand. 
• Value can be how a product feature accentuates an experience.
• Value can be … you get the idea. 

Regret is difficult for many shoppers to assess at time of purchase, because many shoppers lack the foresight on how trade-offs made at purchase will impact their satisfaction with the product down the road.  This is common in vehicle purchases.  Most people buy a vehicle based on a monthly payment.  Shoppers will blindly negotiate to their payment goal, and often lose site to what they are giving up feature-wise.  This leads to buyer regret.  Most of us know someone who purchased a vehicle and wished they spent a little more and got the heated seats, higher end stereo, remote engine start, or sunroof. 

So what can a marketer do about regrets prior to purchase?  The answer is within their reach if they turn to their customers.  Ironically, the people who regret their purchase can be the best consultant for future customers.  Some customers already pay-it-forward by completing reviews of the product they purchased.   Although a review can be beneficial to shoppers, the no regrets purchase is much more robust than a review, because it takes into consideratio trade-offs people make at purchase that impact their product experience.  Also, the no regrets purchase would match people based on lifestyle, needs, and takes a perspective of the product experience over time.

Matching people by lifestyle and need takes into account how people use the product.   HDTVs are a good example.  Think of three different buyer segments for HDTVs:  older couple without kids who watch primarily broadcast television with some movies; a couple with two kids ages four and six who watch broadcast television and a lot of movies; and a single guy who is a heavy sports fan into technology and gadgets.   Although they could be looking at the same HDTV, their needs vary.  Do they need plasma versus LCD?  What contrast ratio meets their needs?  Do they need internet connectivity? 

The goal of a no regrets purchase would be to match a buyer with customer with a similar lifestyle profile, interest, and needs.   The customer could inform the shopper on functionality and features they found most beneficial.  They could talk about features they wished they spent a little more to get.  And finally they could reveal features that did not live up to expectations and may not be worth the a higher price.  Expectations can vary from delivery, to product performance, to customer support.

The robustness of a no regrets purchase would work best on high-consideration products where there is a lot of variability in product features.  In this would be products whose product lifespan is measured in multiple years and many times decades.  Examples include HDTVs, computers, cars, homes building, remodeling to name a few. 

Ownership of the no regrets application would vary.  In some product categories a retailer would be the owner, while others the manufacturer would be more effective.  What drives ownership would be the point of sale or who has the customer contact.  In electronics customer contact and assistance gravitates to the retail outlet (e.g. Best Buy, Amazon) while automotive it is the dealership or manufacturer. 

A no regrets purchase would help many shoppers.  Unfortunately, even if a no regrets program were available, I don’t know if it would help Brett Favre decide on a television.  It would be hard to match Brett up with ex-quarterbacks, er, current quarterbacks, wait, retired quarterbacks — um, either way I like the commercial.

There are many text-based guides available to shoppers on the web. If a shopper is technically inclined, he or she could muddle through it. However, most shoppers probably need an online advisor that matches their needs with HDTV features.

Enter Samsung. Samsung HDTV Selector is a well-designed application. The seven-step advisor makes recommendations based on a shopper defining the following needs: wall space, couch distance from the television, room location in the house, room lighting, program preferences (sports, movies, internet, gaming), and budget. The output is a list of HDTVs.

Seems great, right? Not so fast. Although I chose a budget of under $1,000 the first three HDTVs on the recommended list where $4,499, $3,999, and $2,499 respectively. Where did the advisor go wrong? Do we have a problem with listening skills? I said under $1,000, umm, please? Without understanding the business logic, it appears budget is not weighted as much as some other needs. One improvement Samsung should consider is the ability to weight the importance of each need. If budget is important, you probably cannot afford a 1080p LCD 60-inch HDTV that is DLNA Compliant. If money is no object, ship it!

I never was a big fan of major retailer sites (e.g. Walmart, Kmart, Sears). A few years back, my wife and I were trying to buy a hard-to-find toy box for Christmas. The only store that carried it was Kmart … online. Although the toy box only cost about $125, we ended up paying about $70 in shipping, due to bulkiness, inability to stock in the store, and they had us over a barrel (Merry Christmas!).

This holiday season I noticed while Kmart was pushing layaway, Walmart is offering free shipping to participating stores. I’m intrigued. But how good is it? As a comparison I searched for large bulky items on both Walmart and Amazon. When comparing dinette sets it was a push. Both retailers offered free shipping on some items, but the majority of dinette/kitchen sets had a separate charge for shipping (e.g. about $100 on a $500 set). Amazon offered free shipping on items they stocked, while Walmart offered free shipping online items stocked in their store.

Another comparison was on a 52″ 1080p Sony HDTV. Both had free shipping, but that is where the similarities ended. It occurred to me getting an HDTV to the local Walmart still left a span of 4.56 miles from the shipping dock to my living room. Checking the dimensions I noticed my Ford Explorer does not have the clearance inside, and strapping it to the roof rack is probably not the best way to transport a $2,000 television. On the other hand, Amazon had a wonderful shipping value proposition: Free White Glove Delivery. The White Glove delivery entails:

When you purchase this TV from Amazon.com, it receives our special white-glove delivery service. After your purchase, an agent will call you within five days to arrange delivery. At your home, delivery experts will: carry your product to any accessible room in your home — including upstairs rooms — provided the package will fit; unpack your product and place it on assembled furniture; provide a setup checklist; and remove all packing materials from your home if you wish.

Not bad. Ironically, while Walmart is trumpeting its ability to get your holiday gift most the way home, Amazon’s White Glove treatment could be this holiday’s best kept secret.