At the recent Women's Wear Daily CEO Summit, Macy's chairman, chief executive officer and president Terry Lundgren identified mobile as one of the company's "engines of growth" and that the company was "betting big" on the technology.
The latest bet the department store chain has made in mobile involves the launch of a new app, Macy's Star Gifts, that enables customers to scan photos from catalogs, magazine ads and billboards to get product information, special offers and then buy the items.
"Visual recognition technology is the next evolution of our mobile strategy, leveraging Macy's omni-channel capabilities to be everywhere our customers are in order to enhance their shopping experiences on the go," said Martine Reardon, Macy's chief marketing officer, in a statement. "This new application of technology will assist us in delivering helpful and relevant content to mobile shoppers while at the same time providing them with the opportunity to get their holiday shopping done with ease."
The app, which will be available for free on iTunes or Google Play, will offer videos, gift ideas and gift-giving advice. Consumers who download the app will be able to point the device at products in the Macy's Star Gifts catalog, tap the screen and get information. The app's users will be able to scan the first page of the catalog to receive a $10 Macy's mobile Gift Code.
Macy's Star Gifts app adds to previous mobile initiatives including a standalone app and a mobile-optimized version of Macys.com.