product launch strategy

The effective app-based product launch strategy brands should know

The number one goal of a product launch strategy is to get the product in the consumer’s hand, literally, which typically leads to a sale. When a consumer picks up a product, they are more likely to purchase that product. In a landmark study published in the Journal of Consumer Research, physical interaction with a product made consumers willing to spend more on that product while also instilling a sense of ownership. Using this as a strategy in marketing is known as haptic priming and is something leveraged through mobile apps.

Brands are starting to experiment with haptics in digital marketing, especially CPG brands, and the results aim to improve both user experience and brand engagement to direct consumers to new products in the store. Even after the product is located, the work is not done, as the brand must find a way to encourage consumers to pick up these products. Mobile apps can act as your brand’s map to purchase, directing consumers to your product in the shopping aisle and getting them to interact with it through incentives.

Understanding Haptics in a Product Launch Strategy

Haptics in digital marketing is a tool of which most marketers are familiar, though much of a haptic strategy is handled in research and development. Essentially, haptics involve using the packaging of a product to both improve brand recall—the consumer’s ability to remember a brand spontaneously—and boost sales.

haptics in product launch strategyThis strategy relies on how the product feels in the consumer’s hand to make an impact. For example, the maker of a shampoo designed to straighten hair would want the outside of their shampoo bottle to have a smooth, sleek feel. This texture would be an attribute the consumer would subconsciously extend to the shampoo’s ability. The feeling of the bottle would make the consumer more likely to purchase the product. It would also help them remember the product and associate it with smooth, sleek hair.

Haptic components used in conjunction with an advertising campaign can improve purchase conversion by up to 67% when compared to a non-haptic ad. Of course, a significant part of the ability to leverage the potential of haptic in a new product launch is getting consumers to pick up products in the first place. This step is where mobile can offer a valuable benefit.

Guiding Consumers in the Store With Mobile Apps

When preparing to market a new product, your brand is faced with several challenges from a brick-and-mortar standpoint. First, your brand must get consumers to that product’s location in the store. Then, your brand must get that consumer to pick up the product physically. Both these challenges are overcome using a shopping app, like Shopkick. The steps work as follows:

  1. Incentivize use: Leveraging a mobile app requires downloads and active users. Brands can accomplish this through partnering with an app that provides rewards not just for making the purchase, but also for interacting with products.
  2. Deliver offers by location: A location-based app allows brands to share timely messages with consumers as they’re about to enter the sore. Once there, those consumers can open the app to see participating brands and items.  
  3. Use UPC scanning for engagement: Using their phone’s camera, the consumer locates the product’s UPC and scans it for rewards points. They may also receive a notification that even more points are available when the product is purchased.
  4. Reward purchase behaviors: The consumer decides to try the product, scans their receipt, and receives additional points. This heightened reward creates an emotional connection with the consumer that builds trust in the brand.  
  5. Encourage follow up: Due to the haptic engagement, the consumer decides to share their experience via social media, driving awareness of the new product.

A mobile app designed for shoppers is an ideal way to improve the awareness of your new product by leveraging both incentivized sales and haptics. The incentives create a bond between your brand and the receiver, while haptic marketing solidifies the connection. Also, as this process takes place within a shopping app, the brand can access a pool of established household purchase decision makers—as they are typically more likely to download shopping apps.

A mobile app designed for shoppers is an ideal way to improve the awareness of your new product by leveraging both incentivized sales and haptics.

A robust product launch strategy uses haptics as a means of creating a connection between the consumer and the product. However, gaining attention in the crowded CPG market can be a challenge. This is where mobile apps can be used to direct consumers to products on store shelves and encourage them to pick up those products. Third-party apps provide a way for brands to better leverage haptic marketing as part of their product launch strategy.

Shopkick uses innovative features like UPC scanning to help our partners reach consumers during a new product launch. For more information, contact us.

Image courtesy of vchal

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Dima Volovik

EVP of Product and Engineering

Dima Volovik is the EVP of Product and Engineering at Trax Retail — Shopkick.

Dima Volovik is the accomplished product and engineering leader who led teams to deliver innovative and commercially successful e-commerce products, marketplaces, and enterprise solutions for Amazon, Comcast, Fandango, and Universal Music. Before joining Trax, Dima was the Director at Amazon, where he led product development and Engineering for Amazon Appstore and Amazon Prime Video, CTO at Fandango, and Paciolan, head of technology at Golf Channel/Golf Now, and Global VP of Direct to Consumer Technology at Universal Music Group. Dima’s expertise includes developing consumer products, marketplaces, and enterprise solutions.

Dima grew up in Baku, Azerbaijan, where he received his MS in Electrical Engineering from Azerbaijan Oil Academy, and he currently resides in Los Angeles, California, with his family.