Add to del.icio.us     Digg this

Nov. 8, 2008

Walmart says it wants to help its customers save money, and its Single Touch Systems’ abbreviated dialing code program is helping the retailer achieve its goal.

To keep consumers up-to-date on special weekly holiday savings, Walmart has launched a Savings Alert mobile service to offer its shoppers weekly notifications.

Customers can sign up at www.walmart.com/mobileinfo or by dialing #WMT from a mobile phone.

In advertisements done on flyers Thursday and Friday, Walmart included a note letting consumers know they can sign up for the mobile alerts. Throughout the holiday season, Walmart will send messages about instant gift ideas, recipes, product information and reviews.

After the holidays are over, #WMT will continue to serve up seasonal features, along with money-saving tips and tools, according to the company.

Along with Kraft Foods, Walmart's new Single Touch feature is a finalist in the North American category for “Best Use of Mobile Marketing, Direct Response” in the Mobile Marketing Association’s (MMA) annual global awards. Winners will be announced Nov. 13.

The new alert system is fully scalable and Walmart doesn’t have to train all its cashiers on something new to make it work either, said Anthony Macaluso, president and CEO of Single Touch.

Macaluso has worked with Walmart over the years for another one of his inventions – nets for sports, like golf and baseball. For large retailers, the point of sale is “everything” for their business, and the last thing they want is someone tampering with that system.

“We’ve been able to demonstrate that our system really works in conjunction with what they’re doing,” with no behavior or other modification, he said.

Add to del.icio.us     Digg this

    This article was featured on Business 5.0 and on Tech Blog.

Source: Walmart.