INNOVATION ECONOMY
Latest apps let discounts find you. But will retailers see an advantage in mobile coupons?
By Scott Kirsner November 21, 2010
While walking into the H&M clothing store in Downtown Crossing last weekend, Yishai Knobel noticed a sign suggesting that he use his mobile phone to "check in'' and let all his Facebook friends know where he was shopping. In exchange for a few taps on the screen of his iPhone, the retailer dangled a digital coupon for 20 percent off his entire purchase.
Knobel, who works for a medical device company in New Hampshire, stocked up on coats and shirts, spending about $300. "It was the first time I saw Facebook offering me a deal for checking in somewhere,'' he says. "The geek in me was really impressed, and I do think it increased my loyalty to the store a little bit.''
In an age when few of us leave home without a mobile phone in our possession, it seems obvious that the crinkly paper coupon would be ready for a digital upgrade. Businesses hope that the right offer on the screens of our smartphones might pull us over their thresholds, and that bargain-seekers may not be able to resist offers like a half-priced sandwich in the North End presented to them when they're in the neighborhood.
So how do you get these new digital discounts, and who are likely to be the winning players in this market?
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