Shoppers at Mall of America shopping centres now have access to last minute sales offers, in-store coupons and up-to-date event information, thanks to a text messaging service from MallCall International, called 'MallCall, The Text Best Thing'.
When arriving at Mall of America shopping centres, visitors have the option to opt-in to the service by texting a number displayed above the entrance. Those who opt in will only receive text messages during Mall business hours for the day. After the Mall closes, the messaging ends until the next time the shopper revisits the mall and opts in again. Customers can opt-out at any time by texting STOP.
When arriving at Mall of America shopping centres, visitors have the option to opt-in to the service by texting a number displayed above the entrance. Those who opt in will only receive text messages during Mall business hours for the day. After the Mall closes, the messaging ends until the next time the shopper revisits the mall and opts in again. Customers can opt-out at any time by texting STOP.
Big idea. Big Mall. User Experience? Doubtful.
This is far too general for most Users. We're talking about the largest Mall in America with a myriad of stores.
A User should be able to opt-in to specific Incentives that interest them via SMS. Add some AI engine behind this and you might get a usable and repeat User Experience.
For example, Text the Number and then in natural language include what you're interested in: "specials on men's sporting goods" or "panties under $2" or anything that the Retailers could have a daily update to pull from in real-time.
Having the ability to drill down or to receive multiple discounts or receive MMS graphical coupons would be a nice touch. There are systems that can do this and be implemented quickly and at fairly low cost. The system they're using now? Sounds far too general to add value to either the Retailer or the Consumer.
Posted by: Marcus D. | October 20, 2009 at 04:14 PM