SeaWorld is promoting an app that helps visitors find their car in the parking lot — but also lets it find you in the theme park for targeted advertising.
The San Diego home of Shamu is becoming a pioneer of what industry insiders call “contextual commerce.”
The Discovery Guide app for iPhone and Android devices gives the usual ride wait times and daily show times, but also contextual notifications.
Discounts available only to users can be triggered by attributes such as time of day, proximity to points-of-interest and guest interests, SeaWorld says.
“Starting next month, guests inside the park will be alerted automatically on their mobile device with offers and discounts only for app users, such as tours or culinary specials,” SeaWorld said in a news release. “In future releases, guests will receive contextual notifications, based on interests particular to each guest.”
Internet Retailer reported in April that “as shopping on smartphones and tablets becomes routine for consumers and the importance of home desktop computers fades, retailers will need to focus more on a consumer’s location and context and less on the type of device a consumer is using.”
During the next five years, the site predicts, mobile commerce will become even more influential than it is today.
“As a result, retailers will need to shift their focus from the type of device a consumer uses (mobile or stationary) to a consumer’s location and context, Internet retailing experts predict. And because context will be key at a time when mobile devices come to dominate the way consumers interact with the web, knowing the best ways to serve customers on smartphones and tablets will remain a strategic priority for retailers.”
Jeff Schueler, president of Usability Sciences Corp., was quoted as saying: “In five years … the consumer will make a purchase in whatever situation he is in when he realizes the need for that purchase — on a desktop computer at work, on an iPad on the couch at home, on an iPhone as he rides in a car.
“That said, the odds of the consumer completing that purchase in a given context is dependent on whether the retailer can, in that context, assure the customer he’s getting the best price, assure the customer he can get it delivered when he wants it, assure the customer he will receive a quality product and assure the customer the product fits his needs.”
In online shopping five years from today, location will be a critical component of context, a component that will drive design, features and functions, experts say.
Nikki Baird of Retail Systems Research LLC told the site: “Location services will become so sophisticated — and consumers, in their typical approach to their privacy, ignorant enough — that the shopping experience will hinge on the combination of the type of device and the location of the consumer.”
“That will tell the retailer how to engage with a shopper, down to whether the shopper is accessing the retailer on a smartphone from the retailer¹s own Wi-Fi in-store or in the parking lot, or from the same IP address in the home, and so on.”
Meanwhile, the revised SeaWorld app — downloaded free from the Apple or Google Play stores — is being rolled out as the SeaWorld, Busch Gardens and Sesame Place Discovery Guide.
It promises a “truly interactive park experience” and is “powered by” by TE2, The Experience Engine Inc.
New features launched in 2014 also include:
Day Planning Tools: Up-to-the minute ride wait times, daily show times, insider park tips and other information helps guests make the most out of their day.
Interactive Park Maps: Each park’s Discovery Guide app is designed to save visitors time and increase their enjoyment while navigating through the park. Using a GPS-enabled “Live Branded Map” (provided by TE2) guests can access real-time updates of show schedules and events, see clear walking paths with start and end points with estimated walking times, and receive proximity-based park notifications.
50th Celebration Scavenger Hunt: Guests test their SeaWorld knowledge to collect 20 badges throughout the park and earn valuable in-park rewards.
Height Limit Attraction Filter: Attractions can be sorted by minimum height requirements to find the perfect ride for everyone in the family.
Car Finder: The Car Finder helps guests locate their parking spot quickly and easily after a fun day in the park.
Social sharing and integration: Fans and visitors connect easily with park brands through Twitter feeds and Facebook updates that are integrated directly into the app. Fun picture borders encourage guests to share photos on their favorite social networks.
Park admission: Guests who purchased tickets or passes online can use the app to scan their barcode at the entrance turnstiles for park entry. The app also integrates park pass member and Fun Card accounts with Apple Passbook® for easy park admission.
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