Originally published December 29 2005
SuperTarget to offer "mobile messages" for your cell phone
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
SuperTarget is introducing online messaging with grocery specials, coupons and meal ideas. Customers can receive the messages by texting "Join 7'' and their ZIP code on their cell phone.
Text message from SuperTarget: You can get $3 off on that holiday cheesecake with an online coupon!
If you feel you're not getting enough pitches from retailers these days, Minneapolis-based Target Corp. is now offering to shoot your cell phone "mobile messages" if you register at its Web site, target.com.
SuperTarget stores combine full-line grocery stores with Target's traditional general-merchandise departments.
"Mobile messaging is a quick, convenient way to communicate with our guests and help them manage their time,'' said Target spokeswoman Paula Thornton-Greear.
While some U.S. telecom carriers and a smattering of other businesses, including shopping malls, have employed mobile messaging, Target is considered a retail pioneer of sorts in this emerging marketing channel, industry experts say.
"Target is very much ahead of the curve in the U.S.,'' said Sandeep Krishnamurthy, associate professor of e-commerce and marketing at the University of Washington in Bothell, Wash.
Shoppers can get wired for SuperTarget's mobile messages by text typing "Join 7'' and their ZIP code on their phone.
Their other option is registering online at Target's Web site by providing their cell phone number, ZIP code and name of their mobile carrier.
Target said that, as a general rule, it will send out no more than three text messages per week.
For now, Target may enjoy a competitive advantage in being among the first retailers to roll out mobile message marketing before that channel becomes crowded, industry experts said.
But they noted the jury is still very much out over whether that marketing connects with shoppers.
In an era where advertising reaches beyond conventional media to computer screens and even restroom walls, time will tell if consumers are ready to draw the line at their personal cell phones.
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