Shopper Marketing - January 2016 - 98
INSTITUTE STRATEGIST compared to last year," Fernando Madeira, chief executive officer of Walmart's online business, said in a media release. "Our customers went from previously mostly searching and browsing on mobile, to making purchases at a much higher rate." In time for the holidays, Walmart updated its mobile application with new capabilities such as a check-in service for shoppers picking up online orders. The new function sends a notification asking app users to check in when they arrive at a store. They can then tap an "I'm Ready" button to alert the store to prepare their order for pickup at new in-store areas branded specifically for that purpose. Walmart also promoted its mobile application throughout the holidays, even releasing its Black Friday ad via its mobile app one day prior to making it available on its website. An email blast, home page carousel ad and a dedicated landing page all touted the ad's availability "only in our app." The sneak peek followed a flurry of emails that invited consumers to "Rule holiday shopping with the Walmart app" 98 y SHOPPER MARKETING JANUARY 2016 and touted benefits that span checking in for faster pickup and the ability to search store inventory. In stores, Smart Network ads proclaimed, "It's easy with the Walmart app." Walmart also used the app to send multiple push notifications during key shopping events. "More than 25 million customers accessed store maps and the circular through our online and mobile tools for Black Friday," Bratspies said in a media release. Despite the heavy mobile push, Walmart bucked a related holiday season trend in that it did not offer free delivery. While rivals such as Target and Best Buy kicked off the holidays by throwing out minimum purchase requirements for free shipping, Walmart stuck with its standard policy of a $50 minimum threshold on online orders to qualify. The retailer hoped that shoppers would instead use its in-store pickup option or sign up for its "Shipping Pass" pilot program, which offers unlimited threeday shipping for $50 per year (half that of Amazon.com's popular Prime memberSM ship program).
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