Shopkick Nails One Piece of the Puzzle, but "Holy Grail" is Yet to Come!

Shopkick launched thier flagship app on Apple's App store yesterday, which allows you to check in at retailers and get rewards.  If you're running the application in Shopkick's handful of early retail partners, you'll get pinged with points and special discounts based on how you move around the store.

The Shopkick interface is beautiful. Smooth graphics and cool sound effects add to the attractiveness of the application.  Also impressive is the integration of social gaming and Facebook connect. This is a concept embraced by aisle411 and you'll see our version coming this fall across the country.

The "Holy-Grail" of mobile in retail, we think is yet to come.  The "Holy-Grail" of mobile in retail is the convergence of retail utility, search based customer service tools with relevant offers connected to those actions.  Driving the engine is the location based social gaming and loyalty component.

By combining utility, search based customer service, social gaming and loyalty, you create a service that:

1.) Addresses real, re-occurring consumer pain points
2.) Integrates mobile into the physical retail space through location based information
3.) Ties relevant customer-centric promotional offers to a user's wants and immediate needs
4.) Makes it fun through social gaming and sharing
5.) Generates valuable shopper insights that make for a better user experience over time
6.) Allows a brand to truly connect with a consumer in the store at the moment of truth

aisle411 encapsulates these elements in one comprehensive solution, from the pre-planning shopping stage (at home on the computer) and seamlessly integrates it into the store (with the power of location based mobile solutions).  This fall, the "Holy-Grail" of mobile in retail launches with aisle411!