London, UK 19 June 2014:Proxama PLC (AIM: PROX), the global mobile proximity commerce company, has been awarded funding by the Technology Strategy Board, the UK’s innovation agency, to enable mobile proximity marketing and loyalty services across the City of Norwich. The main objective will be to drive engagement in the high street by connecting consumers on mobile with high street retailers. The successful conclusion of the pilot will mean the potential for national and global roll out.
The project will validate the role of mobile proximity services for high street retailers through to national chains, using mobile technology or ‘Proximity Engagement Points’ such as Near Field Communication (NFC), QR codes and Bluetooth beacons. Through this project shoppers in Norwich will be able to discover and purchase new products as well as sign up for incentives such as coupons, discounts and loyalty services.
Miles Quitmann, CCO at Proxama comments:
“Businesses are striving for new audiences and to be able to engage with consumers in a way that is relevant and personalised. This exciting project connects a consumer’s smartphone, which on average they view 150 times a day, with the high street, by alerting shoppers with incentives from participating businesses. Retailers benefit by marketing directly to consumers on mobile, increasing sales and repeat visits to their stores. The project funding will help us prove the value of proximity services on the high street, enabling a broader rollout in the UK and beyond.”
Consumers can interact with proximity engagement points throughout the city by using their smartphones to scan or tap relevant tags, or by entering beacon-enabled zones. Once connected, relevant messages and incentives provided by the retailer community will be presented to consumers that can then be used in-store. Consumers will be able to decide whether they want to opt-in to receive incentives on their first visit before choosing to receive highly personalised interactions on repeat visits.
Out of Home media (OOH) and transit based media will also be enhanced for mobile engagement by the deployment of NFC, QR codes and Bluetooth Beacon technologies so that consumers can engage with the service whilst travelling into and around the city.
By enabling mobile proximity services across Out of Home media and physical retail stores, Proxama is enabling the entire mobile proximity commerce journey.
Proxama will be working alongside Norwich Business Improvement District (BID), the Association of Town & City Management (ATCM), and experience design agency Foolproof, who will manage user research and optimise the user experience.
Martin Blackwell, Chief Executive of the Association of Town & City Management comments:
“Our mission is to equip local high-street businesses with the tools that they need to reach their full potential, further benefitting the towns and cities they are located in. We recognise the economic and social importance that these new technologies can bring to areas like Norwich and believe that the success of this project will inspire and lead the way for developing future-proofed towns and cities nationwide.”
Stefan Gurney, Executive Director of Norwich BID said, “Norwich BID are delighted to be involved with this smartphone technology led project, which will change the way we look at and use our city centre. The prospect of Norwich being at the forefront of innovative smartphone development will position it as one of the UK’s first “Connected Retail” cities, future proofing the high street for its consumers and businesses.”
“Norwich is a creative and vibrant technology city and partnering with Proxama will open up Norwich to new opportunities and really put our fabulous city on the map”
The ‘Connected Retail Service’ based on Proxama’s TapPoint® platform, will enable local businesses to engage with their customers through a “Norwich City Aggregation Wallet” and will also offer them the opportunity to build their own mobile app. Both services will provide real world ‘call-to-actions’ to provide contextually relevant incentives that can be used by the consumer when they visit a participating store.
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