Swirl's New Mobile Presence Management and Marketing Platform Helps Brick and Mortar Retailers Better Compete with Amazon

BOSTON, May 19, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Swirl Networks, Inc., the leading in-store digital marketing technology provider, introduced today the retail industry's first complete Mobile Presence Management and Marketing Platform. The new software platform allows retailers to systematically generate and leverage first-party shopper behavioral data based on a broad set of digital location signals (spanning GPS, WiFi and Bluetooth beacons) in and around their physical stores. Swirl's platform includes a suite of specialized tools that enable marketers to take advantage of digital location signals for measurement, marketing, merchandising and customer service applications in their stores. Armed with this new set of data and digital marketing capabilities, brick and mortar retailers can now deliver highly personalized interactions at every customer touchpoint.

Brick and mortar retailers have struggled to keep up with Amazon's personalization capabilities because they have been unable to build the necessary data foundation – a deep understanding of individual customer needs and preferences. Amazon's personalization engine is powered by a massive set of behavioral data that is collected from every visit, click and purchase that is made on its ecommerce properties. Traditional retailers, on the other hand, have been hamstrung by an inability to capture similar data on individual customers in their physical stores, where more than 90% of their sales take place. Swirl's Mobile Presence Management and Marketing platform provides retailers with a comprehensive solution to combat Amazon's growing data and personalization advantage by allowing retailers to harness their most valuable asset, the physical store, in a unique new way.

How it Works
Every day, millions of consumer smartphones scan the airwaves in search of digital signals that can be mapped to specific geographical locations. By systematically managing these location signals and the corresponding data that is generated (with the consumer's permission), retailers are able to create a valuable and proprietary data asset that can be leveraged in a variety of ways. When coupled with specialized mobile marketing and measurement tools offered by Swirl, this data can be used to personalize digital content and services that can be accessed by in-store shoppers or store associates on their mobile devices. The same data can also enhance existing digital communication channels (email, website, mobile app) and improve the performance of digital media campaigns by providing new omnichannel measurement and targeting capabilities.

The Swirl platform comprises two core sets of mobile presence capabilities:

• Mobile Presence Management: Swirl's infrastructure management software allows location owners to deploy, manage and control a broad set of digital location signals in and around their stores. By taking advantage of a variety of signals, including GPS, WiFi and beacons, retailers are able to reach the broadest audience of shoppers, both near and in the store. Consumers can interact with these signals in a number of ways, including through the retailer's branded mobile app, using third party mobile apps that are part of the Swirl Audience Network, opening the Google Chrome browser on their smartphone, or accessing the retailer's in-store WiFi network from their mobile device. Swirl also provides a full set of APIs and data integration capabilities that allow retailers to easily migrate mobile presence data to their existing enterprise platforms and databases. 
• Mobile Presence Marketing Cloud: Swirl's platform includes a collection of specialized modules that enable retail marketers to act on the customer behavioral data they are collecting in their stores. Proximity Marketing capabilities allow retailers to deliver highly targeted offers, product information, buying guides and personalized purchase recommendations directly to shoppers while they browse in store. Swirl's Digital Shopper Marketing Exchange provides retailers with a highly controlled environment for including their brand partners and manufacturers in digital marketing activities within their stores. An all-new Online-to-Offline Attribution module offers retailers the industry's most accurate first party data source for measuring the effectiveness of online digital advertising programs in driving store foot traffic.  And an Offline-to-Online Retargeting module allows marketers to target their digital advertising campaigns based on a consumer's past in-store behavior.      

"Brick and mortar retailers have been at a significant disadvantage relative to their online-only counterparts for far too long when it comes to data and digital marketing capabilities," said Hilmi Ozguc, Swirl CEO. "Until now, traditional retail marketers have not been able to take advantage of data-driven personalization capabilities in their physical stores, where more than 90 percent of sales still take place. With the introduction of the Swirl Mobile Presence Management and Marketing Platform, we are leveling the playing field by enabling retailers to take full advantage of the digital location signals in their stores. With these new capabilities, retailers will be able to transform their stores into valuable strategic marketing assets that can be used to drive even greater business results."        

ABOUT SWIRL NETWORKS
Swirl offers leading retailers the industry's first complete mobile presence management and marketing platform. By leveraging GPS, WiFi and Bluetooth Low Energy beacon signals in their brick and mortar stores, leading retailers rely on Swirl to generate greater value from every shopper visit. Swirl's patented technology is used by leading retailers such as Lord & Taylor, Hudson's Bay, Urban Outfitters, Alex and Ani, Timberland and many more. Swirl is backed by top-tier investors including Twitter, Simon, Hearst, SoftBank and Longworth Venture Partners.

PR CONTACT

Rob Murphy
Swirl Networks
[email protected]  

Christine Lewis
InkHouse for Swirl
[email protected]

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SOURCE Swirl Networks, Inc.