GameStop Corp. plays the mobile commerce game well.
The video game retailer recently updated its mobile site and app, and expanded its beacon program.
For the mobile site, GameStop worked to improve its search speed and predictive response when shoppers search for items. As a result, the number of searches on the mobile site increased 35% since the launch of the new site, a GameStop spokeswoman says. Even better, she says, the percentage of searches that result in no results being found dropped by a third compared to the average level before to the upgrade.
“This means more people are searching and more people are finding what they want,” a GameStop spokeswoman says.
On its app front, GameStop digitized its PowerUp Rewards Loyalty program, letting consumers load their GameStop loyalty card in the app. Consumers can also put the digital loyalty card into other mobile wallets, such as Google Wallet. This way, consumers don’t have to carry around their loyalty card since it is installed in their smartphone.
Also new in the GameStop app is the onboarding process. GameStop asks a consumer when he creates his profile in the app to choose his favorite gaming platforms. GameStop then personalizes the app for him with those games’ theme colors and backgrounds, and suggests new games for him based on what he likes.
Recently, GameStop integrated content from Gamer Informer magazine into its iOS and Android apps, which has boosted daily return uses to the GameStop app, the spokeswoman says. The video game magazine features news articles on the gaming industry, reviews of video games and consoles, and gaming strategy articles.
All of these app initiatives combined have resulted in an increase of daily unique visitors to the iOS and Android apps to twice what they were last year, the spokeswoman says.
In the spring of 2015, GameStop piloted beacons at its Austin stores. A beacon is a small piece of hardware that lets a retailer track shoppers’ mobile devices and send marketing messages based on their location.
GameStop places the beacons out in the open around its stores, and signs encourage consumers to tap their smartphone to the beacon to get special deals.
If a consumer taps the beacon, the GameStop app launches with a list of current offers on products near the shopper’s location. From there, shoppers can also watch trailers, read reviews and customer feedback about products in the app. These beacons are set to have a short range, so a consumer will not receive any notification unless his smartphone is held up the beacon for a second.
The beacons are now in 150 locations across Texas, New York, California and Tennessee. Consumers need to have GameStop’s iOS app to interact with the beacons, and the retailer will soon integrate the technology with its Android app. GameStop uses mobile technology vendor Shelfbucks to integrate the software and Gimbal Inc. beacons for the hardware.
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