The document outlines ten essential mobile app features that enhance in-store engagement for consumers, focusing on functionalities such as store mode, payment options, beacons, and loyalty programs. It highlights successful implementations by various retailers like Walgreens, Home Depot, and Starbucks to facilitate customer interaction and improve the shopping experience. Additionally, the report emphasizes the significance of features like shopping lists, wayfinding, and events in maintaining consumer interest and driving engagement within physical stores.

1. 10 Must-Have Mobile App Features for
In-Store Engagement
› Peter Sheldon, VP & Principal Analyst
April 7, 2015
Participate live on Twitter!
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@Peter_Sheldon

2. PETER SHELDON
2
VP & Principal
Analyst
Peter serves eBusiness & Channel Strategy
Professionals. His interests focus on mobile
and tablet commerce trends, digital in-store
experiences, multichannel retail, social
commerce, and digital media.
@peter_sheldon
© GPSHOPPER 2015 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
MAYA MIKHAILOV
CoFounder & EVP,
Client Strategy
Maya is a Co-Founder of GPShopper, a
leading mobile platform solution for retailers
& brands. Maya has served as a professor at
New York University specializing in mobile
marketing and strategy.
@gpshopper

3. Beyond the Essentials, What are the
Must-Have App Features that Consumers
Demand for In-Store Engagement ?

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1. In-Store Skin

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The Walgreens mobile
app automatically
shifts to “Store Mode”
when a user enters a
store. This presents
users with their
shopping lists,
clipped coupons,
and Balance Rewards
information.

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The Home Depot
& Lunds and
Byerly’s also use
this feature. Their
apps adjust to
bring in-store
specific features
to the homepage
while they shop
in-store.

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Walmart “Store
Mode” promotes the
Weekly Ad, what’s
new in the store,
Rollbacks, and a
Scanner.

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2. Payments

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Source: North American Technographics Retail Online Benchmark Recontact Survey, 2014
Base: 140 US Online Adults 18+ (Online Weekly or More) Mobile Phone Users Who Have
Purchased A Product On Their Mobile Phone In Physical Store
Which of the following payment methods did you
use to pay for the purchase(s) you made with your
mobile phone in a physical store?
64%
37%
26%
24%
18%
11%
9%
7%
7%
6%
12%
PayPal
Bank or credit card mobile app
Google Wallet
Starbucks Mobile app
MasterPass by MasterCard
Merchant mobile app
Isis Mobile Wallet
LevelUp
Square Wallet
Tabbedout
Other
6% of consumers
have used their
mobile to make an
in-store purchase.
5% have used their
mobile to access a
mobile wallet
in-store.

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Starbucks allows customers to have a balance in
the app that they can then use to pay.

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Apple EasyPay allows users to scan and purchase
products on their own using their Apple ID.

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Neiman Marcus &
Express integrate
their store card
programs to allow
payment from
directly within the
app.

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3. Beacons

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North American Consumer Technographics Retail Survey, 2014
4% of consumers
have received push
notifications that
contain offers or
product information to
their mobile device
while in a store.
42% are interested in
receiving digital coupons
or product information
on their mobile phone
based on their specific
location within a
physical store.

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Apple’s iBeacon
informs the
customer about
in-store features
and app
capabilities.

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4 .Offers
Coupons, circulars, and weekly ads

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North American Consumer Technographics Retail Survey, 2014
20% of consumers
have used their
mobile in-store to
find or redeem a
coupons code.
10% have used their
mobile to learn
about an in-store
promotion or event.

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Rewards and offers are easily found on the homepage of
the Sephora & Charlotte Russe mobile apps.

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Walgreens displays a shopper’s card information,
along with estimated savings and clipped coupons.

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Target’s Cartwheel connects couponing with
social media.

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5. Loyalty
Account status, reward balance, and
redemption

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North American Consumer Technographics Retail Survey, 2014
10% of consumers have
used their mobile
in-store to access their
loyalty rewards account.

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Starbucks customers earn “levels” of loyalty.

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Sephora, RiteAid & Bebe all provide unique loyalty
benefits to their app users.

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6. Barcode Scan
Product details & inventory lookup

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North American Consumer Technographics Retail Survey, 2014
19% of consumers
have used their
mobile in-store to
lookup product
information. 10% have used
their mobile to scan
barcodes to get
additional
information.

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H&M’s scanner is
quick, accurate, and
saves the user’s
“Scan History.”

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The CVS App allows users to
Scan a Product in the store
and Scan a Prescription to
refill from the homepage.

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Home Depot: after scanning an item, the customer can
elect to pick it up at another store.

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Bloomingdales’ scanner is quick, but inventory accuracy
is key to driving engagement when the shelf is empty.

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7. Associate Clienteling
Device to device communication, assist me,
and checkout

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Associate adoption of mobile devices is mission-
critical to driving customer engagement.
› Become obsessed with helping
associates accomplish their goals.
› Empower the associate with the
technology to be the conduit
between enterprise data and the
customer.
› Prepare associates to interact with
digitally empowered customers.
Source: November 4, 2013, “A New Generation Of Clienteling” Forrester report

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Neiman Marcus lists
sales associates by
location, alongside
icons so consumers
can call, text, email, or
FaceTime with them
from the app.

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8. Lists
Shopping lists, wish lists and registry

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North American Consumer Technographics Retail Survey, 2014
15% of consumers
have used their
mobile in-store to
access their
shopping list.
35% are
interested in using
a digital shopping
list tool on their
mobile phone while
in-store.

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Target’s app lets
customers scan
products to add
them to their
shopping list.

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For kids:
For parents:
Target’s Wish List App gives parents 10% off products
selected by their children.

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Bloomingdales
allows users to
manage an
already existing
registry, or create
a new one and to
search for a
friends’ registry.

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Walmart
offers a
“smart
shopping
list” which
can show the
aisle location
and price of
items on
one’s list.

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Whole Foods’ App
has 3,745 recipes
that customers
can browse,
comment on, and
add items to
shopping list
directly from the
recipe page.
Shoppers can also
make numerous,
custom-named
lists.

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Lunds and Byerly’s recipes provide inspiration and
ingredients that can be easily added to the shoppers
list.

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9. Wayfinding

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North American Consumer Technographics Retail Survey, 2014
5% of consumers
have used their
mobile to locate a
product within a
store by using
indoor maps.
37% are
interested in
receiving indoor
mapping on their
mobile phone in the
store to help them
find products
faster.

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Few retailers offer interactive “Wayfinding”, rather they
provide static store maps.
IKEA Home Depot

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Target notes an item’s aisle location in the product page
and on the shopping list. Shoppers can also view the
location of that aisle on the store layout.

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When in Walgreens’
store mode, users
can search for an
item and find its
location within a
floor map.

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10. Contests and Events

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Bloomingdales’ App
hosts contests.

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Home Depot’s App
displays information
about upcoming
workshops for
adults and children.

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Whole Foods filters
events by location,
and users can
directly share the
event information via
e-mail, text, or social
channels from the
page. They can also
add the information
to their calendar.

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Shoe Carnival
exposes “scratch &
win” contests for
surprise in-store
savings.

52. Consumer devices activating in-
store digital experiences – with
employee devices, signage,
payments and more…
Truly an interconnected store
THE IN-STORE FUTURE: DEVICE-TO-DEVICE
COMMUNICATION

53. 53© GPSHOPPER 2014 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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54. Thank you.
› Peter Sheldon
617-613-8819
psheldon@forrester.com
forrester.com
@Peter_Sheldon
› Maya Mikhailov
212-488-2222
maya@gpshopper.com
gpshopper.com
@GPShopper