Has the internet changed the nature of the way shopping occurs in stores these days? more
To a society fascinated with the process of buying and consumption, a great retail experience should be of significant importance; yet despite the fact that 90% of dollars are spent “in store,” the media are crowded with stories and analysis of “online experience” but scant mention is made of the ways in which we can improve the “in-store” experience for consumers.
The 2D Barcode is already making news and I suspect it will continue to make waves. Let’s examine why? And more importantly let’s examine what will it take to make a real difference and go beyond the hype.
On Oct 6th, 2009 Google’s logo was just a barcode in place of their logo – they were celebrating the 57th anniversary of the first patent on the barcode. The barcode is also known as Code 128 encoded, a standard way of encoding ASCII character strings. If I scanned it with a barcode scanner it would be decoded as “Google.” Two things are noteworthy about this: one, barcode has been around for a long time, especially given the rapid rate of technological innovations, and two, the barcode does not hold a lot of information – a name like “Google” or a product ID/SKU (Stock Keeping Unit)
So how significant an innovation are 2D bar codes. Ordinary bar code is "vertically redundant", meaning that the same information is repeated vertically. It is in fact a misnomer and is actually a one-dimensional code! The heights of the bars can be truncated without any lose of information. A two-dimensional code stores information along the height as well as the length of the symbol. Since both dimensions contain information the amount of information which can be stored is significantly more – approximately the square of a regular barcode. Also, most two-dimensional codes use check words to insure accurate reading. I am sure there are several technological improvements in store, such as improving read-rates and defining open standards, however what is more important is the business value which 2D barcodes can deliver.
Here are a few recent applications of 2D barcode. Tickets.com has a new method of game ticket delivery -- tickets are delivered to a cell phone. The Tickets@Phone message contains a 2D barcode which stores the usual ticket information: game date, time, section, row, and seat. You simply save the Tickets@Phone ticket in your messages inbox and retrieve it when you arrive at the game. There is no need for physical tickets – the 2D barcode ticket can be scanned directly from your phone.
J.C. Penney has recently launched a mobile coupon program letting shoppers ring up savings at the register using their mobile phones with a 2D bar code coupon program. J.C. Penney customers can download and carry coupons on their mobile phones that can be scanned directly from the phone's display screen at the point of sale. So no more clipping and carrying physical coupons. The 2D barcode has all the details about the coupon – validity dates, discounts, product information etc.
I like the fact that a 2D barcode can contain all the details about a promo or a coupon, and that it can be read directly from a cell phone. However, I would argue that for this to be truly effective, the coupon should be delivered when I am at the store. When I need a book urgently I go to Border’s. If Border’s sends me a mobile coupon when I walk into the store saying that they are giving 20% off for purchases exceeding $30, I believe I will respond. I will browse the store a little longer and buy an extra book, a gift item etc. to get the discount. Border’s is happy too: they have increased my basket size and the coupon redemption has served its purpose. I like to call this Presence Marketing. So by combining the best of 2D barcodes with a fresh approach like Presence Marketing you can actually create something quite compelling!
What do you think? We would love to hear from you.
