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New mobile options for shoppers at Layton Hills Mall
Samantha Neri
Issue date: 1/30/08 Section: Business and Technology
The Layton Hills Mall is making shopping a little easier for its customers by offering a search of products, brands, and sales through e-mail and text messaging.
The program, referred to as NearbyNow, offers customers to use the mall's Web site, Shoplaytonhills.com, or a text message service. Customers can text 'LY' to ' 632729 (nearby). A response should come within minutes inquiring which product the customer is searchin for. Customers then can ask about any product or sale in the mall. Within 10 minutes the customer will recieve a reply back whether or not a store has the product.
"The text messaging is more beneficial if you're in the actual mall," said Danielle Gallegos, Marketing Director for CBL & Associates Properties' Layton Hills Mall. "You can look just on your phone and see what the products are in the other stores." Gallegos releated a senario of how she envisions a husband shopping with his wife. He sits down on a bench as his wife goes to Macy's to look for a teapot. The husband takes out his cell phone to see if JC Penney might also have teapots.
"You can do the text messaging at home as well if you don't have internet access, but you can't put anything on reserve," said Gallegos, "as far as online, you can actually have something reserved."
NearbyNow call their service a concierge service. Gallegos explained how it works: "You go online and there is a pair of jeans that you are interested in. You're sitting at home and wonder if American Eagle has this particular pair of jeans. A little service pops up and it asks what size you would like and you fill that out. The NearbyNow Company calls the store and says, 'Hey do you have this pair of jeans in this size and if so, so-and-so would like to come and pick it up.'"
To use the web site, customers click on "Product search." While searching, the website shows images taken from the business's website.
"The customer never has to call us," Lance Perry said. Perry is the store manager at Sports Authority. He added that while the customer is waiting for a text reply or an e-mail reply the concierge is calling around to different stores to find out which store has the item.
"It gives customers one more avenue into our store," Perry said. "So often when customers shop online, they still want to touch the product and look at the jacket. They can find it online, call the NearbyNow number and then come and get their purchase that day. That helps the customers and in turn helps us."
Gallegos said that by using this service the customer doesn't have to worry about paying shipping online. "It eliminates the wait factor. You can come try it on and you can actually feel the product and see what it looks like."
So far the major store companies are participating. Smaller businesses, like the kiosks, may not be on the online search.
The Layton Hills Mall is owned by CBL & Associates Properties INC., nation-wide, CBL owns about 80 malls, each participating in NearbyNow. "We are the only mall participating west of the Mississippi," said Gallegos.
The program, referred to as NearbyNow, offers customers to use the mall's Web site, Shoplaytonhills.com, or a text message service. Customers can text 'LY' to ' 632729 (nearby). A response should come within minutes inquiring which product the customer is searchin for. Customers then can ask about any product or sale in the mall. Within 10 minutes the customer will recieve a reply back whether or not a store has the product.
"The text messaging is more beneficial if you're in the actual mall," said Danielle Gallegos, Marketing Director for CBL & Associates Properties' Layton Hills Mall. "You can look just on your phone and see what the products are in the other stores." Gallegos releated a senario of how she envisions a husband shopping with his wife. He sits down on a bench as his wife goes to Macy's to look for a teapot. The husband takes out his cell phone to see if JC Penney might also have teapots.
"You can do the text messaging at home as well if you don't have internet access, but you can't put anything on reserve," said Gallegos, "as far as online, you can actually have something reserved."
NearbyNow call their service a concierge service. Gallegos explained how it works: "You go online and there is a pair of jeans that you are interested in. You're sitting at home and wonder if American Eagle has this particular pair of jeans. A little service pops up and it asks what size you would like and you fill that out. The NearbyNow Company calls the store and says, 'Hey do you have this pair of jeans in this size and if so, so-and-so would like to come and pick it up.'"
To use the web site, customers click on "Product search." While searching, the website shows images taken from the business's website.
"The customer never has to call us," Lance Perry said. Perry is the store manager at Sports Authority. He added that while the customer is waiting for a text reply or an e-mail reply the concierge is calling around to different stores to find out which store has the item.
"It gives customers one more avenue into our store," Perry said. "So often when customers shop online, they still want to touch the product and look at the jacket. They can find it online, call the NearbyNow number and then come and get their purchase that day. That helps the customers and in turn helps us."
Gallegos said that by using this service the customer doesn't have to worry about paying shipping online. "It eliminates the wait factor. You can come try it on and you can actually feel the product and see what it looks like."
So far the major store companies are participating. Smaller businesses, like the kiosks, may not be on the online search.
The Layton Hills Mall is owned by CBL & Associates Properties INC., nation-wide, CBL owns about 80 malls, each participating in NearbyNow. "We are the only mall participating west of the Mississippi," said Gallegos.
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