Point of Sale and Location Based Social Networks

by Bukola Ekundayo on December 3, 2010

in Gaming News

foursquare

I’ve been trilled with the business partnerships Foursquare has snagged over the past few months (Gap, ToysRus, etc). It made me think about the data retailers can tap into now.

(And for those of you wondering if this is gaming related. Foursqaure’s success is due in large part to its gaming mechanics.)

It also made me think about the last time I’ve been to the Gap. I haven’t been to a Gap in months. If I was anywhere near one of their stores during the Black Friday promotion I would’ve at least shown up to get the coupon. These promotions get people into stores.

What if retailers could combine Foursquare or Gowalla with their point of sale systems? It could change the game entirely. Retailers would be able to get users into the store and track their buying behavior. You can learn more about it here.

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  • Tracking buying behavior is certainly one of the post important aspects, but also tracking what happens between store entrance and purchase. ShopKick doing interesting things, but I've been disappointed with there implementation so far. Just dislike all the things they've sent to my phone without my asking. Not relevant enough.

  • I've tried Shopkick. Its incredibly deal driven which means that the app won't be useful until they reach a critical mass of merchants offering deals. However, with Foursquare I check in to see if there might be a tip to make my experience at a store more enjoyable.

    How is Shopkick spamming you? (via text message or through the app?)

  • Agree with you that ShopKick won't be useful until the critical mass of merchants is there. But could also say the same about Foursquare to a certain degree in regards to users. Without the tips to make your experience more enjoyable, why continue to check-in? Because of the points/gaming? That works for some, not so much for others, so hit or miss.

    That being said, I went through check-in fatigue, but am now back because of more tips and I'm starting to get more repeated value. It's great to watch their growth.

    In regards to ShopKick..."spam" seems so harsh...I prefer just "not relevant" - but it was the push notifications from the Android app that really got me.

  • You're right about the points system working for some people and not for others. I'm convinced that team foursquare is segmenting their users into different buckets to deal with that (e.g. gamers, explorers, deal shoppers, etc) to offer up features that appeal to everyone.

    The tips increased my usage of the product as well. I've been using Foursqaure to find new venues and places to eat for the past 4 months or so. So I was happy to see the Explore tab in the recent upgrade. Foursquare is catching up to the behavior of their users.

    You're right about spam being a harsh word but I still think its appropriate. Spam is anything I don't want to see in my inbox, or my Android notification window.

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