Groupon Revenue, Income Improve Dramatically

Groupon's postponed initial public offering seems to be a possibility again, and these numbers therefore are significant.

It sometimes is hard to remember that big questions were also raised about whether Facebook or Twitter would find a revenue model, as well.

Good numbers for Groupon

Sprint Changes Tethering Plans

Sprint is pulling the plug on its unlimited data plans for Wi-Fi tethered access, starting November 2011. Unlimited usage will remain in effect for smart phone usage, though. 


If you subscribe to 3G/4G Mobile broadband service or have a Mobile Hotspot Add-on for your phone, you may have received a notification from Sprint that the data allowances for these services are changing. Please see below for details on the data allowances that will begin with your next bill following notification. Visit sprint.com/termsandconditions for other important information.


If you have a mobile broadband device such as a tablet, netbook, notebook, USB card, connection card or Mobile Hotspot device, effective beginning with your next bill following notification, your on-network monthly data allowance will no longer include unlimited 4G.


There are no changes to your monthly recurring charges, on-network overage rates, off-network overage rate, or off-network data allowance. For information on how much 3G and 4G data you currently use, visit sprint.com/mysprint. Find out what you can do with 3GB, 5GB or 10GB of data here.

Mobile broadband plan changes

Retailers Still Not Convinced About Mobile Paymentss

Retailers are an essential partner for developing mobile payments and mobile wallet services, but retailers understandably are leery of supporting the new services until the value is made clearer.


While it is clear that end users, mobile service providers, processing networks, mobile device manufacturers, marketing and advertising networks could benefit, it still is generally unclear what the quantifiable benefits are for retailers, who face a need to invest significantly in payment terminal systems.


That suggests a major conclusion about what it will take to drive retailer interest. It long has been the case that if consumers massively indicate a preference for specific payment modes, that retailers will embrace those preferences to avoid losing business to other outlets. So if the direct value proposition for retailers remains murky, then the ecosystem will have to entice large numbers of consumers to prefer and then demand support for the new features.

In the mid-2000s, Visa, MasterCard and American Express all introduced contactless payment cards that consumers could tap against a payment terminal to complete a transaction. Years later, the number of merchant locations that accept such transactions number 140,000 out of an estimated 11 million overall locations.


Today, the card brands are working toward putting tap-and-pay capabilities, along with offers and coupons, into smartphones. But retailers would face expensive upgrades to their payment systems without assurances sales will follow. A compatible payment terminal might cost between $400 and $500, experts say.

Retailers remain hesitant to move on mobile payments

Is PayPal Card Friend or Foe?

Value in mobile ecosystem

In a complicated ecosystem such as retail payments, no legacy contestant can be completely sure that other new participants in the broader ecosystem are complementary or disruptive.

PayPal, already a payment system for e-commerce transactions, has made no secret lately of its ambitions to move into the world of brick-and-mortar commerce. 


And PayPal might worry card issuers more than Google for a couple of reasons. First, Google clearly wants to build a business around advertising. PayPal wants to grow a transaction fee business, even as it works with traditional card issuers. 


Traditional payments typically involve a merchant, acquirer, issuer, and a consumer in the visible parts of the business. But essential roles also are played by the payment network provider as well. 


The roles of merchants and consumers are obvious. "Acquirers" are responsible for aggregating merchants  and enabling merchants to process payments. 


"Issuers" create payment devices for consumers to use (credit and debit cards, for example) and process the transfer of funds from consumer accounts to merchants. 


In the case of credit and debit cards and other electronic forms of payment, a payment network provider, such as Visa or MasterCard, resides between acquirers and issuers to facilitate the transfer of information and funds. 


The mobile payments business adds other potential participants as well, such as handset suppliers, mobile service providers and application providers that create "wallet" systems. That also means other functions such as daily deals services, loyalty program services, local advertising and other functions likely will be part of the ecosystem as well. 


You might argue that PayPal, up this point, has acted as a payment network of sorts, even though it works with existing clearing networks and card issuers. What does not seem completely clear is what it might mean now that PayPal has decided its "wallet" functions will take the form of a plastic card.  

The PayPal Card is a magnetic-striped plastic card that will become available to its base of 100 million active users some time in the first half of 2012.

The unembossed card, which account holders will have to apply for, will carry the PayPal logo on its face, but will bear no other identifying information—no name, no account number. 

Transactions on the card will be protected by a PIN. PayPal will also introduce at the same time a companion payment product it calls “Empty Hands,” a system that will let account holders pay the point of sale by entering a phone number and a PIN.

The card is intended to let users access the funding sources they have stored in their accounts, or digital wallets. These can include credit and debit cards, but also loyalty points, prepaid and gift cards, and demand-deposit accounts. 

Although it looks like a familiar payment card, its magnetic stripe stores encrypted data that lets consumers access a variety of accounts through PayPal. The card will not carry the customer's name or an account number but only the PayPal logo.


Keep in mind that The PayPal card might be viewed merely as an extension of wallet functions PayPal has had for a decade or more, experts say. For example, PayPal has had a MasterCard-branded credit and debit card for years. In that sense, PayPal already has been an issuer in its own right. 


But some in the banking industry will see a threat. "It is another step in PayPal's march to disintermediate" the traditional card companies, says Andy Schmidt, research director for commercial banking and payments at TowerGroup.

PayPal s New Card Is a Trojan Horse for the Consumer Wallet

Smart Phones Change Shopping Behavior

Marketing and commerce are changing because of growing adoption of smart phones and the ways people actually use smart phones when shopping.

About 63 percent of smart phone users have visited a retailer’s website from their mobile device, up from 53 percent in 2010, and 41 percent have done so while in the retail store, according to a study by Hipcricket. That has clear content implications.

While mobile retail sites have historically served as “brochures,” lightweight versions of retailers’ full websites that provide limited information such as store locations, directions and hours, today’s mobile-specific retail sites are now providing more significant benefits to consumers as they move along their path-to-purchase.

Fully 50 percent have checked a competitor’s mobile website while in another store.
The survey found that smart phone owners are visiting mobile retail sites to:

Research prices (46 percent);
Search for coupons and offers (36 percent);
Research products (28 percent); and
Purchase products (13 percent)

Some nine percent report that any of their favorite brands market to them using the mobile phone. At the same time, consumers continue to indicate a willingness to join mobile customer relationship management or loyalty programs for their favorite brands. Some 33 percent would be interested in joining such a program, but only 12 percent currently participate in one.
Mobile sites now a factor in retail shopping

Some 79 percent of U.S. smart phone owners relying on their phones to help with shopping, according to Google.

About 70 percent use their phones while shopping in-store and 74 percent of smartphone shoppers made a purchase as a result of using their smartphone.

Some 67 percent said they research on their smartphone and then buy in the store. Fully 95 percent of smart phone users have looked for local information, and as you might expect, such searches often are an immediate precursor to purchasing.  After looking for local information, 77 percent contacted a business, and 44 percent made a purchase. Reaching Today’s Mobile Shoppers

All of that suggests mobile websites will change. First, mobile websites will likely emphasize new types of content, especially local content related to products in stores close to where a users is "right now." Since comparison shopping also is more frequent, retailers will have to adjust by making sure content addresses product variety, "other products like this" and other issues aside from price and availability.

In many cases, such content will aim not only to engage prospects but move them along the sales funnel.

In August 2011, HiveFire surveyed nearly 400 marketing professionals about business-to- business  marketing, with a particular emphasis on content marketing. The top two objectives of content marketing programs are to engage customers and prospects (82 percent) and drive sales (55 percent), respondents indicated.

The survey also found that content marketing has an essential role in B2B strategies but half (50 percent) of content marketers dedicate less than 30 percent of their budgets to it. You might take that as an indication content marketing is affordable, that marketers are devoting a significant amount of resources to content marketing or that there is room for content marketing to become more important.

One caveat is that firms have different ways of accounting for items in a marketing budget. In some cases, personnel might also be “in the budget,” where in other cases only campaign or event costs are tabulated. In a budget containing trade show and conference expenses, advertising and promotion activities, 30 percent is not a “low” number, many would say.

Content marketing is changing the way B2B marketers work. In fact, it is now the most-used marketing strategy, Hivefire says. Report here.

95% of Marketers Increasing Social Media Investments

Marketers routinely use multiple social media platforms, about 4.6 on average, according to a study by Buddy Media and Booz & Company. Facebook and Twitter are the two platforms used most frequently.

Perhaps significantly, “softer” success drivers were cited, compared to budgets. About 94 percent of respondents said ability to react fast was important. Some 93 percent said a clear champion was key. Just 53 percent said a “dedicated budget” was a key success factor, while just half indicated that a “head of social media” company-wide was a key element for success.

Some 96 percent of respondents said they use social media for advertising and promotions, while 86 percent use it for public relations. About 75 percent use social media for customer service.

Fully 90 percent of respondents see social media as most useful at the top of the sales funnel, to drive branding. Just 46 percent saw social media as most useful for generating leads or sales.

And 95 percent of respondents plan to increase social media spending.







Booz & Co Buddy Media Campaigns to Capabilities Social Media and Marketing 2011

Smart Phones Now are Commerce Platforms

About 63 percent of smart phone users have visited a retailer’s website from their mobile device, up from 53 percent in 2010, and 41 percent have done so while in the retail store, according to a study by Hipcricket. That has clear content implications.

While mobile retail sites have historically served as “brochures,” lightweight versions of retailers’ full websites that provide limited information such as store locations, directions and hours, today’s mobile-specific retail sites are now providing more significant benefits to consumers as they move along their path-to-purchase.



Fully 50 percent have checked a competitor’s mobile website while in another store.

The survey found that smart phone owners are visiting mobile retail sites to:


Research prices (46 percent);
Search for coupons and offers (36 percent);
Research products (28 percent); and
Purchase products (13 percent)



Some nine percent report that any of their favorite brands market to them using the mobile phone. At the same time, consumers continue to indicate a willingness to join mobile customer relationship management or loyalty programs for their favorite brands. Some 33 percent would be interested in joining such a program, but only 12 percent currently participate in one.



Mobile sites now a factor in retail shopping