Hello, Teens? Marketing Firms Are Calling

Retailers "eager to connect with teen and twentysomething shoppers" are increasingly marketing to them through their cell phones, reports USA Today. New marketing approaches include "coupons that go to shoppers' cellphones." The marketing firm Access 360 Media "saw redemption rates of about 40%" with cell-delivered coupons, as opposed to "less than 2% for many print or online coupon campaigns." Then there's GPShopper, "an Internet-style search engine that lets shoppers search a chain's entire inventory," with Best Buy, Toys R Us and Sports Authority among the chains using the service. Lastly, "an interactive dressing room mirror" was unveiled at a Manhattan Bloomingdale's last week. The mirror "streams high-definition video of shoppers modeling clothes to their friends' computers or mobile devices." The friends can then "comment on a shopper's outfits" and help "select other clothes for her [sic] to try."