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Jacksons was the first retailer in Europe to offer customers a way of saving money on their shopping through mobile vouchers. Through Mobilize Systems’ flagship technology we created SHOP SCAN SAVE®, a mobile club which was rolled out into 35 convenience stores in the Greater Hull region.
Customers opted in by texting JOIN to our SMS shortcode and in return we sent them a unique ID in the form of a barcode. SHOP SCAN SAVE® members received targeted offers via SMS during every promotional period, which entitled them to discounts on their shopping. Customers simply showed their membership ID at check-out at any point during the transaction, where it was scanned with a handheld scanner and the discounts automatically applied if relevant items appeared in the basket.
Customers could also request or search for offers. If shopping for washing powder, for example, a member could text “washing powder” and we provided them with a relevant offer within seconds via SMS.
The really smart thing about The Mobilize Engagement Platform is that every time a unique barcode ID is scanned we collect the exact time and location of the transaction as well as all the products within the customer’s basket – the real-time data enables accurate profiling and the ability to target the customer with highly relevant offers. The Mobilize Engagement Platform also allows tailoring offer types whether it is price modeling or product/category specific to secure brand loyalty. More creatively, in SHOP SCAN SAVE® we analysed basket data to draw conclusions about brands that complement or exclude each other, and plotted consumption lifecycles of brands vs. competitive brands. We analysed the effectiveness of different promotional offers at specific stores as well as post-redemption behavior. | Working with Sainsbury’s at Jacksons
| | "Working with Mobilize Systems, we have seen some positive sales increases from both our customers and promoted products involved in the SHOP SCAN SAVE® trial. We remain interested in the use of mobile phones for adding value to our customers but we are not looking use mobile nationally at this time. As the Jackson’s estate is brought into the Sainsbury’s fascia we have decided to stop the trial in order to maintain a consistent customer offering across the Brand."
- Helen Buck, Head of brand communications, J. Sainsbury Plc
There were 115 Jacksons convenience grocery stores in a chain stretching from Harrogate to Leicester and from the East Coast to Bradford and Halifax. Its heartland is Hull, where there are more than 25 stores.
The chain was acquired by J. Sainsbury Plc in August 2004, becoming known as Sainsbury’s at Jacksons. Prior to this acquisition, Jacksons was recognised as the biggest independent multiple convenience chain in the UK. Stakeholder benefits
There are three broad stakeholders in SHOP SCAN SAVE®, all of whom benefit in different ways.
Customers receive discounts on their shopping in a way that is easy, convenient and relevant.
Brand owners get an immediate, measurable distribution tool to distribute offers to a targeted selection of consumers. It also eliminates mis- and mal-redemption, saving millions of pounds whilst growing loyalty by engaging consumers in one-on-one dialogue through an intimate medium.
Jacksons benefit by operating a loyalty program without the associated investment costs. SHOP SCAN SAVE® generated new revenue streams and footfall as well as providing an immediate and flexible tool to respond to time-sensitive stock issues.
Best of all, SHOP SCAN SAVE® develops a database of member shopping habits that can be analysed in numerous ways, using current shopping behaviour as the key discriminator. This means that Mobilize Systems can target users of brand X with an offer for brand Y, or can reward brand Y shoppers for their loyalty. We can also promote complementary products and trial new ones. We can promote regular purchase of every day items or pantry load in the face of competitive threat. The number of objectives that can be accommodated by The Mobilize Engagement Platform is huge. IT development
At the time of the trial, Jacksons was updating its EPoS systems to StoreTrader, so Mobilize Systems commissioned the developer to integrate The Mobilize Engagement Platform with StoreTrader software. This made integration easy for the retailer and ensured that the solution we delivered performed faultlessly from the outset. In practice, it was a straight forward upgrade.
When development was complete, Jacksons first tested The Mobilize Engagement Platform in a safe Head Office environment and later in single store. Everything performed well with “no negative impact on performance at point of sale”, according to the retailer’s EPoS Manager, referring to the speed at which his customers passed through checkout as well as the reliability of the barcode scanning equipment. Staff training
With the support field marketing firm of Headcount, Mobilize Systems held a series of training sessions with store managers and all sales assistances in each store. Staff members were invited to join SHOP SCAN SAVE® to familiarise themselves with the service. Mobilize Systems also trained the HR department and all new staff were provided training packs at their recruitment stage. Procedure at point-of-sale
The Mobilize Engagement Platform application is easily controlled by a key on the cashier’s screen. When a member presents her barcode, the cashier presses the button on her screen, marked SHOP SCAN SAVE®. This can be done at any stage in the transaction (before the first product is scanned, in between products or just before payment). A prompt is displayed on the cashier’s screen, instructing her to scan the customer’s Membership ID. Using a normal handheld barcode reader, the cashier scans the customer’s Membership ID which is displayed on their mobile phone. The customer does not need to hand her phone to the cashier for scanning. In the case of a numerical equivalent this is entered through the keypad.
The Mobilize Engagement Platform application, running on the EPoS system, connects with Mobilize Systems’ securely hosted Campaign Manager using dial-up ISDN or ADSL and receives a list of the offers available to the SHOP SCAN SAVE® member.
MOBILIZE ENGAGEMENT PLATFORM® interrogates the customer’s basket to determine whether they have purchased any of the items on promotion. If it discovers an item on promotion, the relevant offer or discount is automatically applied. The cashier only needs to scan the Membership ID once, regardless of how many offers are being redeemed in the transaction. No other action is required.
The Mobilize Engagement Platform Campaign Manager can also control messages on the customer’s receipt.
At the end of the transaction, The Mobilize Engagement Platform cancels redeemed coupons from the member’s account, eliminating fraudulent multiple redemption. Weekly list of offersA sample message is shown below. Remember, a standard SMS must use 160 characters or less including spaces – so the offer below would have run across two sequential SMS messages.
Consumer AcceptanceWe beat our membership targets and members were high redeemers. In just 10 weeks Mobilize Systems secured a 11,000 strong membership base through in-store POS and 30-second commercials on ITV (Belmont Transmitted). The membership base represented 6% of the local population – clear evidence of consumer acceptance.
During October to December 2005 18.5% of all members showed their membership ID without having any offers to redeem which showed that mobile phone scanning had become a habit.
On average Mobilize Systems received over 250 texts per day – if SHOP SCAN SAVE® had 10 million members it would equate to 100 million conversations per annum.
SHOP SCAN SAVE® is essentially a supplier-funded promotional tool, competing with traditional paper coupons and generic in-store discounts to stimulate sales.
In our experience to date, the programme has been funded from brand owners’ trade marketing budgets rather than traditional above-the-line budgets, though we are experiencing a wave of interest from media and channel planning agencies which may alter this.
A number of leading brand owners invested in the trial and remain valued clients. We enjoy the support of Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Masterfoods, News Group Newspapers Ltd, Red Bull, Tate & Lyle and Danone to name a few.
The benefits of SHOP SCAN SAVE to brand owners are fairly clear:
- There is zero mis- or mal-redemption of coupons
- SHOP SCAN SAVE® is very flexible and can be used both tactically and strategically. It can drive new product uptake, cross-promotion and last-minute clearance (our offer turnaround time is measured in days).
- Because of its real-time reporting capability, it provides instant feedback and the ability to adjust strategy on the fly. It works best when considered as part of a total promotional strategy working with scheduled in-store promotions.
- SHOP SCAN SAVE® targets the right consumer at the right time. We can reward existing loyalists and target competitive brand users.
- We monitor shopping patterns and provide a data management capability that segments a population based on the only metric that really counts: current shopper behaviour.
- It’s easy to predict return on investment and manage promotions so that they become self-funding, depending on brand owner supply economics.
- SHOP SCAN SAVE® is cheaper, more accurate and more measurable than the paper alternative. Our cost benefits are particularly powerful when compared to paper printing and distribution.
Some clients’ endorsements:
| "We are convinced that Mobilize Systems offers the best technology to deliver mobile coupons, that it is a great idea and that we should continue to explore consumer acceptance."
| | | | Head of Digital Operations, TBWA/GGT | |
| "We have been part of the Anlaby Park test from the start and are very keen to continue to be part of this pioneering work into Mobile Marketing. We are still very excited about the potential this medium can deliver to both ours and our customers’ business."
| | | | Relationship Marketing | |
| "After searching for 2 years to find a suitable platform to breathe life into this type of innovation we found Mobilize Systems. Mobilize Systems have the knowledge, the technology and the enthusiasm to turn this piece into a ‘must have’ channel in the marketing mix."
| | | | CRM Manager, Masterfoods | |
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