Get Smart About Smartphones

April 2012 Integrated Solutions For Retailers

By Simon Thompson, global director of commercial solutions, Esri

Location-based services help retailers understand the relationship between customers, their phones, and their purchases.

Today’s smartphones are making retail marketing and store operations divisions look dumb, and that’s a serious problem. As a consumer device, the average smartphone is a boon that offers easy access to the Internet and constant contact with Facebook, Google+, and other social media apps. Consumers can also check in on Foursquare or tweet their status on Twitter, providing a vehicle to be social and enabling a person to share, engage, and stay connected from anywhere at any time. Yet, the very thing that makes smartphones so powerful and good for the consumer is increasingly becoming a challenge for retailers.