Shop Bites

While at the recent Retail Expo in Melbourne, one of the event’s most curious exhibits was ShopBites. ShopBites is a smart phone app that employs geolocation technology to drive customers back into stores, keep them there longer and encourage them to engage with products. It is a well-known fact that the longer a customer lingers in a shop, the more likely they are to purchase.

ShopBites consultants are currently talking with various retailers about being part of this new technology in Australia. I spoke with CEO Richard Johnson.

How did you come up with the concept of ShopBites?

We have been aware that Australia’s retail industry has been suffering in recent years, and part of the reason is that people are simply not going to stores to shop as often. Looking for a solution, we came across a very successful application in the United States called shopkick. After learning more about the product and its potential, we came up with a version of our own and are now bringing ShopBites to market.

How will ShopBites help retailers increase their foot traffic?

Customers are lured into participating partner stores by the promise of free reward points that we call ‘bites’. They can get these bites simply by walking into the store. And they can get even more by finding particular products and scanning their barcodes. ShopBites’ goal is to funnel people into stores, move them around, and encourage them to not only see merchandise, but to handle and engage with it. Being physically present with a product dramatically increases the likelihood of purchase and ShopBites hopes to push consumers into this pattern of behaviour. The more often you can get them into the store, the more you can draw them around and get them handling products, the longer you can keep them in the store … the more chance there is of converting into a sale.

Walk me through the shopper experience when accessing ShopBites…

When it’s available, consumers download the app via iTunes or Google Play. Through a number of different views they’ll be able to see which stores have bites on offer. As an example, Store X has 500 bites on offer, and this acts as an incentive for the user to visit that particular store. Let’s say that 50 of those 500 bites are for a walk-in. The customer is enticed into the store just to get the 50 bites, and that process happens automatically using a technology we’ve developed. Now they’re in the store, and they know they can get an extra 450 bites if they find particular products and scan the barcodes. So the customer is now lured around the store and compelled to handle and engage with products. The goal for shoppers is to claim enough bites so they can be redeemed for various rewards from the Rewards section within the app.

Shoppers can also look for “Mystery bites” on offer to create a fun, quirky shopping experience not unlike a treasure hunt. Bites can also be earned by sharing merchant offers with friends via social media platforms.

In addition, the app also acts as a brochure for any products, specials and offers the merchant may want to display. The user doesn’t have to be in-store to see any of this content; they can access it anywhere.

Tell me a little about the geolocation technology ShopBites uses.

ShopBites employs a couple of different types of geolocation technologies to drive customers into stores. Using the smartphone’s GPS, ShopBites displays a kilometres-wide radius of stores offering reward points to their customers for that day.

The second technology feature is a beacon that identifies when a user enters the store and instantly awards them bites. These can be installed in literally minutes and we’re developing the technology further to allow proximity-related in-store messaging.

Is there anything else like this on the market anywhere in the world? If so, how have customers and retailers accepted it?

As we mentioned earlier, shopkick has been available in America and has had several million downloads and has partnered with retail giants like Target and Macys.  We would obviously like to have the same success for ShopBites, and that’s why we’re actively seeking out launch partners now. We hope that in addition to the app’s main role in driving customer footfall, retailers will recognise the benefit of having an immediate mobile channel presence and the opportunity to advertise their specials and sales.

I am a retailer and I want to use ShopBites in my business. I want to know …

1. How do I get it?
Email us at hello@shopbites.com.au and a representative will then schedule a time to meet with you to explain the product and how it works.

2. Would I need any special software installed into my systems?
Not at all. The beacons are like a thumb-drive and simply require either a USB or coin-cell battery to supply power. The merchant management system is all online.

3. What maintenance does it need and how often?
The only maintenance the app needs is to keep the merchant content updated. We provide an online merchant console to handle all this. ShopBites will assist the merchant through this process, but all control is ultimately with storeowners.

Where can I get more information and if I have any other questions, who can I contact?

You can visit www.shopbites.com.au  or email us at hello@shopbites.com.au.