WSS, a Southern California retailer specializing in a wide variety of footwear, clothing and accessories, recently went live with a location-aware mobile app from iViu Technologies, Inc., Anaheim, Calif.
“We were looking for something to give us an edge and to us provide us with the best value possible,” said Tony Oliver, WSS chief operating officer. Other mobile apps had been tried earlier, but hadn’t produced satisfactory results. “We wanted a way to enhance the shopping experience for customers. This enables us to provide a lot more content to our customers than some of the other [mobile apps].”
With the iViu app, downloadable from the Apple App Store or Android Play Store, WSS engages customers with real-time, personalized information on best sellers, special offers and discounts, giveaways, exclusive events, and customized push notifications for creating a compelling in-store customer experience.
The iViu app pinpoints a WSS customer's location, even when indoors, enabling the merchant to offer instantaneous, relevant product, brand or in-store information. WSS uses the app to deliver updates on promotions, shopping tips, photos, videos, special events, reviews and recommendations.
Among the most successful promotions to date, according to Oliver, are ones that offer a certain dollar amount off purchases exceeding a specified limit (the amounts of both vary).
“Our offers are very minimum purchase driven,” Oliver said, adding that it’s difficult to balance the amount of the incentive and the minimum purchase in such a way to boost incremental sales without giving away discounts to shoppers who would exceed the minimum anyway.
"By providing relevant information along with real-time notifications based on our customers' preferences, we can deliver an engaging and personal experience that differentiates our brand from other retailers,” said Oliver, who expects the app to help WSS to boost membership in its loyalty program. WSS offers loyalty program shoppers $10 for every $200 spent in the store, with no restrictions on use of the incentive or the purchases contributing to the $200.
“With 58 stores and participation in hundreds of local community events each year, WSS will be a terrific example of the scalability and reach of our iViu application,” Chris Turner, CEO of iViu Technologies, said in a prepared statement. “Our location-aware system empowers retailers to communicate relevant, timely, actionable information to their customers and – in turn – lets them share that information with their social networks to drive much greater brand awareness and ultimately bottom-line revenues.”
Though Oliver doesn’t have any specific figures on the results from the iVui app at this time, he sees anecdotal evidence that the app is helping WSS boost its marketing and sales.