shopkick in Germany
Douglas, Media Markt, Saturn, OBI, Karstadt, Procter
& Gamble and Henkel usher in the future of retail with the US
market leader in shopping apps / ProSiebenSat.1 is the strategic
partner
With over 1,400 locations in Germany and eight major
strategic partners, shopkick launches the world's most extensive
mobile rewards system. Germany is the first port of call
in the successful US company's international expansion.
Berlin, 23 October 2014_ shopkick, the
trailblazer and US market leader in the field of mobile shopping,
has launched its eponymous shopping app in Germany: the shopping
app ranked as the most widely used in the real world by Nielsen
rewards trendy shoppers simply for entering a store with attractive
reward points, known as "kicks", and prizes. And what's more,
active users are also attracted into stores by the best special
deals and products.
In the USA shopkick already has over eight million fans who
regularly use the reward app for iOS and Android - the two
operating systems which account for over 90% of all smartphones -
and claim prizes, for instance when trying on the latest fashions
at Macy's or American Eagle Outfitters. Anyone scanning Procter
& Gamble product barcodes at Target or calling up further
product information at Best Buy will also swiftly amass kicks.
Since its launch in the US shopkick has driven more than one
billion dollars in revenue for its partner retailers.
The pioneering "live in store" reward system is now being rolled
out in Germany too: at over 1,400 locations nationwide of the
German participating partners Douglas, Media Markt, Saturn, OBI and
Karstadt users can collect reward points and prizes such as
vouchers for a host of retailers or iTunes song downloads. Anyone
with the app switched on can start adding the first "kicks" to
their account as soon as they enter a store. Customers who also use
the app to scan the barcodes of certain brand partner products in
the store receive additional reward points too. Procter &
Gamble and Henkel are the launch brand partners in Germany. In the
USA shopkick is already working with around 15 retail and over 150
brand partners.
"With shopkick Douglas is further extending its cross-channel
strategy for the seamless integration of its sales channels. The
employment of such innovative technologies enables us to cater even
better for the constantly growing demands of our customers. Each
customer is individual - as is evidenced by their specific
preferences, personal favorite products and specific purchasing
behavior. With shopkick we are now even better able to take this
individuality into account. Every customer is guaranteed to find
something suitable among the plethora of prizes with which we will
reward a visit to our stores through the collection of kicks. And
in addition we can make our customers much more familiar with the
diverse world of our perfumeries. By linking the real and the
digital world we can deliver a unique and innovative shopping
experience," says Dr. Henning Kreke, Chairman of the Executive
Board of Douglas Holding AG.
Dr. Nils Daecke, Corporate Vice President International Digital
Marketing at Henkel Beauty Care, adds: "In the beauty care category
in particular many purchasing decisions are made by the point of
purchase. Direct contact with the product prior to purchase is very
important. For example, when a consumer wants to smell the aroma of
a shampoo or shower or to read the text on the packaging to find
out more about the product. Shopkick can help us to achieve
precisely this product contact by the point of sale."
"We are absolutely delighted to be teaming up with shopkick at
the launch of its eponymous shopping app in Germany. The young
company is a pioneer in this field, the market leader in the USA
and a digital trendsetter in the sphere of mobile shopping. So it's
all set to repeat its success in this country," explains Christian
Wegner, Member of the Executive Board Digital at ProSiebenSat.1
Group.
Accrued kicks can be digitally retrieved and redeemed with one
click - for example, for Douglas or Media Markt gift cards or for a
download of the customer's current favorite song. The shopkick
rewards mall offers an array of choices from the outset and more
features will follow. The app - for iOS and Android - is available
for download now in participating stores.
The "presence" technology behind the shopkick app is completely
unique: Its patented ultrasound technology enables shopkick to send
an inaudible signal in each store to the app on the customer's
mobile end device. So when a shopkick user enters a partner's store
and switches on the app, this receives and decodes the patented
ultrasound signal in the store. In the same device this in-store
technology is fused with Apple's iBeacon technology. For the launch
over 2000 shopBeacon™ devices will be installed in the entrance
areas of the shopkick partner stores.
With shopkick everyone is a winner: The user benefits from
information on deals and when they redeem their bonus points, the
retailer increases their footfall and gains loyal customers and the
brand partner gets valuable product interactions directly by the
point of purchase.
The launch in Germany will be accompanied in a few weeks' time
by a major TV campaign through the strategic partner
ProSiebenSat.1., which will inform consumers about the benefits of
the app and provide an overview of the participating partners. The
ProSiebenSat.1 subsidiary SevenVentures SevenVentures identified
shopkick as a "beacon" investment in the USA and established the
company in Germany with an office in Berlin.
Shopkick is in 35th position on the Forbes List of
America's Most Promising Companies, while the World Economic Forum
named the company a Technology Partner for 2013. The successful US
company was acquired in October 2014 by SK Planet, South Korea's
largest mobile commerce player and a subsidiary of the Fortune
100-listed SK Group.
About shopkick
shopkick is a shopping app that makes shopping in the real world a
simpler, more rewarding and more beautiful experience. shopkick
users see the best deals in their vicinity and automatically
collect reward points the moment they enter a store. With shopkick
everyone is a winner: The user benefits from information on deals
and when they redeem their bonus points, the retailer increases
their footfall and gains loyal customers and the brand partner gets
valuable product interactions directly by the point of purchase. In
the USA shopkick has its "shopBeacon" hardware installed in over
10,000 stores of major retailers and 150 brand partners.
Since its launch in the US in 2010, shopkick has driven more than
one billion dollars in revenue for its partners,, including 500
million US dollars in the last year alone. Its current retail
partners in Germany are Douglas, Media Markt, Saturn, OBI and
Karstadt. The brand partners for its launch are Procter &
Gamble and Henkel.
shopkick already has over eight million users in the US and is
in 35th position on the Forbes List of America's Most Promising
Companies, while the World Economic Forum named shopkick a
Technology Partner for 2013. Fast Company named shopkick - along
with Apple and Starbucks - one of the Top Ten Most Innovative
Companies in Retail. In October 2014 the successful US company was
acquired by SK planet, South Korea's largest mobile commerce player
and a subsidiary of the Fortune 100-listed SK Group, and it also
recently established a presence in Berlin.
Ansprechpartner:
Marcus Prosch
Leiter Kommunikation Sales und Diversifikation
ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG
Medienallee 7
D-85774 Unterföhring
Tel. +49 [89] 9507-8920
Fax +49 [89] 9507-98920
E-Mail: Marcus.Prosch@prosiebensat1.com