Brief:

• Sportswear brand Mizuno USA updated its mobile app with geofencing features that will push notifications to smartphone users who have opted in based on their location and proximity to a Mizuno dealer. Consumers can download the Mizuno app and opt in to receive alerts about exclusive events and offers, according to an announcement shared with Mobile Marketer.
• Mizuno app users who open the push notification will see a call-to-action linked to Google Maps that directs them to stores in a geofenced area. A frequency cap sensor will prevent mobile users from being inundated with too many notifications every time they travel through a geofenced area.
• Mobile commerce platform Shopgate helped Mizuno to update its app with features such as geofencing and notifications designed to lure shoppers into nearby brick-and-mortar stores, the announcement said. As Mizuno expands the capabilities of its upgraded mobile app, it plans to launch a variety of push notification campaigns around different sports, events and special product offers.

Insight:

Mizuno’s updated app boasts several new promising mobile features to help the brand and its dealers drive foot traffic to stores. Shoppers who are willing to receive push notifications and share their location can receive real-time offers from the brand at convenient times, including when passing a store. Receiving these messages from the brand when walking near a store may compel potential customers to swing by and browse athletics products.

Other brands and retailers have integrated geofencing technology into their apps and promotions this year, including secondary shoe marketplace GOAT, 7-Eleven and skincare brand Pond’s. Burger King’s recent geoconquesting campaign targeting McDonald’s customers was one of the most notable geofenced efforts of late, as it helped to drive more than one million downloads of the revamped BK App and spur restaurant visits.

Most retailers (71%) have some sort of location strategy to drive foot traffic and trigger location-based mobile advertising, according to a study by Blis, researcher WBR Insights and Future Stores. The marketing strategy can lead to a lift in store visits and overall conversions through retargeting, proximity tools like geofencing and beacons and marketing automation, the study found. A majority of marketers (82%) planned to boost their use of location data within the next two years to gain more insights into how consumers interact with businesses, according to a separate study by 451 Research and Cuebiq.

Mizuno also can take advantage of the growing trend of deal-seeking shoppers using mobile and online channels to find discounts. The percentage of shoppers who use a mobile savings app to find deals has grown to 38% this year from 10% in 2014, according to a Forrester Consulting study commissioned by digital coupon marketer RetailMeNot. The percentage of survey respondents who are willing to receive text messages with discounts while they’re shopping in a physical store grew to 52% this year from 25% in 2014, the study found, pointing to how Mizuno’s latest strategy could resonate with mobile-savvy shoppers.

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