Virtual Mall Helping Retailers
The current state of economy is hard on everyone. Businesses and people are both cutting back and trying to survive. One of the first things Americans cut from the family budgets is entertainment. With the finances tight, families in Minnesota spend less on going out to restaurants, bars and live music events. While the entertainment related businesses try and attract foot traffic to their establishments, the patronage has definitely dropped from what it was just a few years back.
As the saying goes- "the best defense is a good offence." To deal with the negative side effects of today's economy, businesses need to work together rather then compete. One of the best inventions in the retail industry is the concept of a mall. Although mall retailers are also affected heavily by the economy, the one advantage they have over other retailers is they get to share their customers with others. Although a mall usually has multiple department stores that compete with each other, the sharing of customers that come to one department store and visit another one as well is what keeps the retailers in business.
A new entertainment/discount network based in Minnesota has made the concept of "Malls" virtual. SuddenDeals.com connects merchants with shoppers in real-time through the use of SMS text messages on mobile cell phones. Shoppers create free accounts that only take a few minutes to open. No identifiable information is collected. As the network grows, so does the pool of local shoppers that the participating merchants get to share.
The network's website serves as a virtual mall where the shoppers have all gathered. When a business needs more foot traffic, they make their announcement to the requesting shoppers in the network and within minutes see results. With most people these days carrying cell phones, they are a perfect medium to receive requested retail advertising. Unlike physical malls, a virtual mall eliminates unnecessary driving and the hassle of parking. The shoppers simply wait to receive a message that interests them-then act on it. In the end, a virtual mall helps businesses in a bad economy and also helps the environment by minimizing driving and parking.
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