Mobile Commerce Game Changer: Interview with John Caron, Modiv Media

Position Matters, August 2, 2011

We caught up with John Caron, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Modiv Media, to ask him a few questions about Modiv's new product for Stop & Shop and why he thinks mobile is the biggest game changer in the industry.

Having worked in the technology and retail industry for 20 years, what do you think is the biggest game changer?

The growth of and excitement around mobile reminds me of when I was at Art Technology Group and we were defining ecommerce. Mobile is taking that to a new level. Mobile completely changes the game for retailers. We saw dramatic changes with the internet and ecommerce, but mobile is changing the way people buy products, consume media, learn about products, make purchase decisions, and leverage our networks to influence our purchases. It’s faster than anything we’ve seen and is moving in so many directions it’s almost impossible to comprehend it all. But, mobile can be transformational in the way that retailers engage their customers. Think about how the online experience leverages clickstreams, cookies, implicit and explicit personalization, and collaborative filtering to drive a personalized experience for the visitor. With mobile, retailers can emulate many of those components because they know when you’ve entered the store (you open their app), they know your purchase history (because it’s tied into the loyalty program), they know where you are (using in-store, wi-fi based triangulation), they know what’s in your cart (using scan-and-bag), and they know how you want to pay (using a mobile wallet, mobile payment or NFC). The smartphone becomes the tool by which retailers can directly engage and influence purchase decisions while the customer is in the store and just before they make a purchase decision. That’s transformational!

Modiv Media is launching their iPhone application in 3 Stop & Shop locations this summer. Can you tell us a little about this application and the technology behind it? 

Imagine being able to walk into a store, open that retailer’s app, scan and bag your purchases as you walk through the store, receive targeted offers based on your preferences and location in store, and then quickly checkout when you’re ready to leave. Cool, right? You can do that today in these three Stop & Shop locations. And, based on the interest we’ve received since introducing Modiv Mobile in April, we expect the number of stores in which you can do this to grow exponentially over the upcoming years. As we look to the future, we’re looking at integrating social networks, mobile-based payment, shopping lists and product search. Wouldn’t it be cool to type or speak a product and then be able to locate it in the store, add it to your shopping list, receive a targeted offer for that product or category, and pay for it on your smartphone?! That day is coming.

What does Modiv Media mean to the customer experience in 3 words? What does it offer the retailers in 3 words?

Shoppers will never know Modiv’s name. But, they will know the apps we build for our retail clients. For consumers the experience can be summed up as personalized, fast, and easy. For retailers, it’s summed up with loyalty, lift and reliability.

Modiv Media got its start on enhancing the in store experience in grocery stores. Does the company have any plans to extend their offering to non-grocery retailers?

Our core has been grocery, however, our mobile commerce and media solution is applicable to nearly any retailer who wants to provide a highly personalized, relevant and valuable mobile shopping experience (dare I say “app?”) for their customers.

What do you read to keep up on the market?

I’m not sure you can keep up with this market! It’s moving just that fast. Twitter is, somewhat surprisingly, a great source. It’s like the front page of the Wall Street Journal. In less than 10 minutes I can do a quick scan and see what’s trending or new and then dig into what’s interesting.

Bringing more than 20 years of management and entrepreneurial experience in digital media technology and services, John is responsible for Modiv's marketing and business development initiatives. Through innovative programs, John has been a driving force behind the success of a half-dozen early-stage and high-growth companies including ATG, Gartner, and Compuware. At ecommerce pioneer ATG, John developed the marketing strategies that drove the company's revenues from $25M to $165M. During his tenure at Gartner, a billion dollar global technology research and consulting firm, John's team oversaw the global rebuild of sales efficacy and customer loyalty programs. John holds Bachelor of Science Degrees in Marketing and Finance from Syracuse University.

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