A Major Retailer Is Experimenting With New Uses For Beacons In Stores

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TESCO USES IBEACON FOR PERSONALIZATION: Most retailers are experimenting with beacons so that they can push offers to consumers who are shopping in stores, but British retailer Tesco wants to use them for customer service. Tesco argues that consumers could be overwhelmed by beacon technology if every retailer starts pushing messages to consumers while they are browsing in-store aisles. So, to introduce the technology softly, Tesco is using Apple's iBeacon to help customers locate items in-store. Applying beacons in this way cuts down on the time consumers spend looking for items, therefore improving their shopping experience. It also provides a service to users first and foremost, giving them a reason to opt-in to the service. (Mobile Commerce Daily)

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Many retailers are focused on using beacons to deliver offers to consumers. Tesco is innovative in their use of beacons to smooth the check-out process." - Robbie Allan, vice president of marketing and sales at Carnival Mobile, New York. "

NEIMAN MARCUS COMMITS TO OMNI-CHANNEL STRATEGY: Fashion retailer Neiman Marcus is restructuring operations and management ranks so that it can merge its offline and online sales channels. As part of the restructuring, John Koryl, who was previously president of the retailer's online division, is being promoted to president of Neiman Marcus Stores and Online. "Our customers do not differentiate between channels and now neither will we. These changes allow us to operate as one single Neiman Marcus brand," said CEO Karen Katz. (Internet Retailer)

COSTCO LAUNCHES WEBSITE IN MEXICO: Big box retailer Costco launched a new website in Mexico at Costco.com.mx. The launch is part of a broader effort by Costco to expand its international e-commerce strategy and to cater to the shopping habits. By offering an online shopping platform specifically for Mexican consumers, Costco is hoping to capture more share of the retail market in Mexico. (Internet Retailer)

SECURITY EXPERT - TARGET WAS 'BETTER PREPARED THAN MOST RETAILERS': "Target was actually better prepared than the vast majority of its peers … It had dedicated security and IR [incident response] teams using multiple advanced tools … Exacerbating this situation is the incredibly manual, ad hoc nature of today's IR … The issue isn't Target's security team or investment in tools, but rather the current state of the threat intelligence and IR practices…" (Dark Reading)

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REDUCING SHOPPING CART ABANDONMENT: With online shopping cart abandonment rates as high as 78%, retailers are trying to figure out how to convert more shoppers into paying customers. To help them with that task, e-commerce solutions provider AbandonAid, and payment processor ePaymentAmerica are partnering to better understand why online shoppers so frequently add items to their shopping carts only to leave the website shortly thereafter. (Yahoo Finance)

TAIWANESE SHOPPERS PREFER CHINESE E-COMMERCE SITES: Survey results released by Market Intelligence and Consulting Institute show that consumers in Taiwan prefer to shop on Chinese e-commerce sites, rather than on sites operated by local merchants. Roughly half of Internet users in Taiwan said they had made a purchase on a Chinese shopping site in 2013, which is up from just 12% who did so in 2012. (Focus Taiwan)

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